Kindness at the Hotel

"Customer service is just a day in, day out ongoing, never ending, unremitting, persevering, compassionate, type of activity."
― Leon Gorman

On a recent business trip, I needed a cab to go to a meeting.  One of the bellboys at the hotel put me in a car that was not a cab, but that he said operated the same way.  It did not have a meter, but the bellboy said that the driver would charge me $15 to where I was going.  Off we went.  I had the directions, but the driver was not keen on following them.  He had no idea where we were going and said he would charge me $30, then it became $50...  Because he ignored my directions, we ended up having to backtrack and the trip took much longer.  When we finally arrived at the destination, the person I was meeting told the driver that the trip should cost no more than $30.  That is what I paid him.

The next morning as I was checking out of the hotel, I mentioned what happened to the front desk manager.  He was very apologetic.  He walked me to the hotel entrance and put me in a cab himself.  He also credited $30 to my hotel bill for my negative experience with the ride the night before.

I already am a big fan of this hotel chain -- yoga mats and M&Ms are draws for me.  But this manager's kindness and great customer service really stood out.