| Here, I'd like to offer a more personal piece. | | | | food and beverages were so excellent, we still |
| We're going to learn about how to give quality | | | | talk about that place fondly even ten years later. |
| guest service by examining customers-eye views | | | | Towards the end, a little band of musicians |
| of outstanding examples. these are various | | | | assembled on stage, mainly to get set up for the |
| incidents encountered in all varieties of | | | | expected crowds later that evening, but seeing |
| establishments, from both sides of the counter, | | | | just us, they improvised a little musical number |
| over the years. they're incidents that stick in the | | | | just for us. I think the whole restaurant staff |
| mind. | | | | could tell a young couple of sweethearts when |
| You want your business to stick in a customer's | | | | they saw one, and I swear there was a |
| mind, after all. That's the kind of business we | | | | coordinated effort behind the scenes to give us a |
| dream of - when a customer remembers your | | | | night to remember.the Best People Skills |
| experience years later. The kind of great service | | | | We were at a large inn in a tourist location. It was |
| that a happy patron can relate years later, as an | | | | a very popular and busy place, and the rest of us |
| example of service above and beyond the call of | | | | had grown noticeably uncomfortable waiting for |
| duty. | | | | our tables in the lobby, all because of one loud and |
| The Emergency Check-Out | | | | unruly man. He seemed very emotional, was |
| My wife and I were in the first years of our | | | | definitely intoxicated, and was hostile and abusive |
| marriage, with the kids still in the toddler stage. | | | | with the hostess and the headwaiter. Finally one |
| We had gotten away on one of our short | | | | of them paged for the security guard, who |
| weekend vacations from the kids, much-needed | | | | arrived to handle the situation. |
| rest for both of us, and had booked a room at a | | | | This guard had to be a psychiatrist moon-lighting |
| casino in Laughlin, which was only one city away. | | | | as a security guard! Where others might have |
| This was only to be for one night and one day. | | | | been brisk, stiff, and formal ushering the guest |
| We opted for in-home babysitting, split up into | | | | out of the building with his loud protests and |
| shifts between two teens. The one had been our | | | | making a scene, this officer was the most |
| baby-sitter for years and was a trusted family | | | | respectful and personal professional I'd ever seen. |
| friend, but the other we'd hired out of the paper | | | | He talked to the guest, listening to what he had |
| and we didn't know too much about her. | | | | to say. The guest rambled on, babbling about this |
| Anyway, we'd stayed at the hotel overnight and | | | | grievance and that, but the guard had a quieting |
| arose the next morning and the first thing we did | | | | effect on him. |
| was call in at home to check. The more | | | | The guard listened and nodded a lot, saying "I |
| experienced sitter answered, and informed us | | | | understand." and phrasing a lot of the |
| that she had arrived early and witnessed the | | | | conversation with sentences starting with "So you |
| other sitter being abusive with the kids. One of | | | | feel...". In ten minutes, the guest was calmed |
| them was sporting a mark. If your heart just | | | | down, his anger averted, and the guard actually |
| skipped a beat, you are a parent who can | | | | persuaded him to leave on his own, which he |
| empathize with how we felt. Even though we had | | | | meekly did. We were in awe. I hope that guard |
| the room for the rest of the day, we | | | | later got a job as an international diplomat.the |
| immediately crammed our belongings into our | | | | Cheerful Waitress |
| luggage and ran down stairs to check out. | | | | I was traveling on business, and of all things found |
| There was a huge crowd checking out at the | | | | myself stuck in a strange city on Christmas Day. |
| exact same time. Only one check-out clerk was | | | | What's more, my whole family was several |
| working the desk, with a line of about 20 people | | | | states away, and as if missing my loved ones |
| milling about. My wife and I skimmed the scene | | | | dearly on that day weren't enough, the whole trip |
| and then button-holed a passing clerk and | | | | had been a series of annoying mishaps, with not |
| explained our situation. | | | | even the business part going as I'd hoped. I'd |
| This saint of a clerk immediately sprang into | | | | completely forgotten to eat, on awakening late |
| action, opening another window just for us at the | | | | Christmas morning, and had stepped outside to |
| check-out desk and speeding us through the | | | | find some food only to be confronted by a city |
| minimum motions required to get us on our way. | | | | mostly deserted, as it seemed nearly every |
| We had another day paid for that we didn't use, | | | | business was closed with its staff home enjoying |
| but we didn't care - they could keep the money, | | | | the holiday while I shuffled through the streets |
| we just wanted a fast exit - and out the door | | | | alone and hungry. |
| we got. All eventually ended well when we got | | | | You can imagine when I did eventually find a |
| home, but we returned to that hotel later to | | | | restaurant after walking for blocks, I wasn't in the |
| personally thank the staff.the Best Date Ever | | | | best of spirits. I got in and ordered a table, and |
| This was when my future wife and I were dating. | | | | noticed that the whole place was busy, probably |
| We had discovered a gem of an Italian restaurant | | | | the only restaurant open for miles, and the rest |
| tucked away in a downtown area, and this was | | | | of the crowd was in groups and families. In the |
| the most memorable place we'd been to. It was | | | | middle of all this, the waitress, who had to have |
| huge and quirky, with two stories and a | | | | been almost too busy to bother, noticed my low |
| basement. The furnishings were incredible; a | | | | spirits as I ordered and stayed to talk to me. |
| "monster gallery" was set up in the basement | | | | She was incredible, handling orders for about ten |
| sharing space with a wine cellar, the restaurant | | | | tables with large families at each one, yet I got |
| proper was a practical museum of artwork, and | | | | equal time. When she asked why I looked so |
| the second story was a maze of balconies looking | | | | down and I related the situation, she said, "We've |
| out over the floor. | | | | all been there once." I kept my order simple, but |
| We showed up at an odd hour, and since the | | | | even though I didn't want to be any trouble she |
| place wasn't too busy, we got the full service | | | | made extra time for me, taking time to talk to |
| treatment. First we got an interesting guided tour, | | | | me and visit, making it clear that just because I |
| then were offered our choice of seating | | | | was one person in a wall-to-wall crowd that it |
| anywhere we liked. We picked a cozy alcove, and | | | | didn't mean I was any less important. |
| our meal spanned a couple of hours, during which | | | | This small bit of personal thoughtfulness alone |
| time every single waiter, server, and somelier | | | | made my holiday. It was such a small thing but by |
| appeared out of nowhere right on cue, performed | | | | the end of the day it was all that mattered. |
| their duties, and left us with some alone time. The | | | | |