My first realization that this was not a “business as usual” situation was encountering Troy at the front desk. He immediately welcomed me to the Hyatt, shared his name, and told me to remember it in case I needed anything while I was visiting.
While checking me in, he asked the purpose of my visit to Denver and when I said it was to speak at ASTD, he said, “Then we must get you a quiet room.” He listened to a special additional request I had and immediately took care of getting my friend a room a few doors away from mine which made my trip incredibly meaningful. In addition, he made sure that I knew where I was going, had instructions for the elevator (it required a room key to access the floor I was on—did he know how many times I have exhaustedly stood in the elevator waiting for it to go to my floor and after five minutes or so realizing it hadn’t moved?) Lastly, he asked if I needed a wake-up call (I said I would call down later) and said he would take care of my friend when she was due to arrive in an hour.
Just the start of a Legendary Service experience
Troy was just the start of an amazing visit to the Hyatt. Here are a few other highlights.
When I called for a wake-up call, the lovely person on the line asked me if I would like to order breakfast, schedule a massage, or if she could help me in any way. WOW—instead of feeling a bit like a pain for asking for help, I was treated like royalty. I left a note for the housekeeper to leave a few extra decaffeinated green tea bags and she had them arranged in a cup like a flower for me when I got back to my room.
My wake-up call the following morning was a gentle woman who shared it was time to rise and shine and the weather was 57 degrees and she was sure I was going to have a wonderful day. Within a few minutes, Bob, a young, friendly in-room dining staff member brought me my breakfast and inquired about my day. He carefully set up the tray and inquired if there was anything else I might need. He had a vibrant personality that started my day out with hope.
My last interaction was leaving my suitcase with the bellman downstairs. He exclaimed, “What?? You have to go so soon? We will miss you but we’ll take good care of your bag until you come back later for it.” To my amazement, he even remembered which bag was mine when I came back to retrieve it!
A clear sign of great leadership
Being next door to the convention center, this hotel is probably always packed with people, which could cause many employees to become tired and frustrated. Instead, they demonstrated an ownership and pride as they served each and every customer at the highest level. They were personable, friendly, interested, and did things for me that I could have done for myself, but gladly, let someone else do.
To me, this is a sign of excellent leadership at the top of the organization in training employees how to treat their customer and make them feel welcomed. Great leaders recognize the importance of getting all employees trained on the company’s standards of what excellent service is and then (hopefully) praising the employees’ great efforts!
I know that I felt loved and cared for during my stay at this hotel, and would gladly stay there again and recommend it to others. That is a sign of Legendary Service—when the service is so good, that your customers are doing the selling for you!
About the author:
Vicki Halsey is one of the principal authors—together with Kathy Cuff—of The Ken Blanchard Companies’ Legendary Service training program. Their other-focused posts appear on the first and third Thursday of each month.