Did you miss me? I know you did! Back after a couple of weeks in the U S of A – the land of customer service. Do I want to talk about that? Yes and no – except I’d probably cry as I’d love to go back for another couple of weeks holiday. Vegas Baby… Did me the world of good.
We had a couple of really great examples of how good the Americans are at customer service. An example being the Embassy Suites LAX South – after landing into the Four Points by Sheraton and stopping only long enough to find an alternative on the PDA – arriving into the Embassy Suites was a real treat. Calm and peaceful, shining and smiling we were welcomed with open arms and complimentary everything. Hilton, you know how to look after your brand. Sheraton, we’ll have a hard time ever booking anything with the Sheraton name on it again. You should be ashamed to allow your brand to be abused that way. We loved the porpoises and ducks in the Embassy Suites as well!
In Santa Monica we stayed in the wonderful Viceroy. First time I’ve ever been asked to sit down at check in. No big counter inbetween the receptionist and guest – a very welcoming experience. I believe they keep it so dark so that you can’t quickly spot the “Celebs” – I did hope for a glimpse of George, but would definitely be back even though it didn’t happen – lovely place.
We were back to South Point in Vegas – this year they were doing some building work and it wasn’t as bad as it could have been. They still gave us 25% off our entire stay when we complained about building noise going on up to midnight. We love that place though, it’s so relaxed and homey compared to the madness of the Strip – will definitely be back next time.
Tomorrow, I’m heading up to the Irish Business Women’s Conference in – of all places – the Mullingar Park Hotel again. I’m reminded of Terry Harmers story about how in an excercise to judge how first impressions matter a hotel treated two sets of guests completely differently on arrival. One set got treated abominably, the other got treated like kings and queens. The following day, they switched the treatment. Group 1 (the badly treated one) were so hostile to the hotel that even 5 star treatment was perceived as sub standard. Group 2 (the well treated one) forgave anything the following day, perceiving dreadful service as quirky or charming. I can’t forget the nightmare Mullingar Park put me through back in November, so I’m just going to set out early in the morning instead of going up this evening. I’m not looking forward to it… such a shame.
Tags: Customer Service
