THE HIGHS AND LOWS OF CUSTOMER SERVICE –ALL IN ONE STAY!
In August of 2011 the National Speakers Association convention was held at the Anaheim Marriott. It was an interesting experience of contrasts between people and systems and how they impact service.
The convention began on a Friday, and until Tuesday the service had been adequate but not outstanding. At the final banquet of the convention on Tuesday night, I was being inducted into the Speaker Hall of Fame, one of the highest honors NSA bestows, and all my children, two of my grandchildren, my favorite aunt and cousin, and a couple who is “adopted family” were all coming. However, the inductees were a secret, so no one was supposed to know who they were until that night, meaning that I could not be seen with my family ahead of time.
GrannaBarbara, Simon and Owen getting ready for the big event!
They all arrived sometime Tuesday afternoon which happened to be my grandson Owen’s sixth birthday. Because he was wearing a birthday pin he had been given on the airplane, the greeter in the lobby wished him a happy day which pleased him.
The banquet was an amazing experience for all of us. I was honored, thrilled, and humbled to be getting the award, and in my speech, I asked all 2000 people in the room to say, “Happy Birthday, Owen,” something he will never forget.
Somewhere during the evening the staff found a small cupcake and brought it to Owen during dinner, and using creative thinking since they had no candle, one of the waiters pulled out a match and did a quick “birthday wish.”
The evening lasted until almost 11:00 pm, so the little guys, 3 and 6, were exhausted at the end, but when they went back up to their room, they found a large tray filled with birthday goodies for Owen – a stuffed parrott, a pirate eye patch and sword, a treasure chest filled with candy, and a card from the staff at the Marriott. (The pirate theme tied in with the new update of “Pirates of the Caribbean which had recently opened at Disneyland.) We were blown away as NEVER had a hotel ever done anything like that before! Owen had a perfect birthday, and we could not wait to thank the manager of the hotel. Someone had been observant and had gone the extra mile to delight a little boy AND his family!
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