I departed a Courtyard today and took a moment to thank the front desk staff for a late check out and for having very good (high-end) coffee available. The manager thanked me and said it was their pleasure to provide this for customers. They want to add special touches and I said it was things like these that I remember.

When I mentioned that most Marriott properties mostly have junk coffee, they said they are "dinged" every time an inspector for Marriott audits them - even though the inspector feels the customer service touch is nice, they get 'written up" for this. The manager said they just cannot have that awful coffee that Marriott wants them to use.

I have been Platinum with Marriott for years and this pettiness just gets at me. Marriott should be proud of this property for special customer touches.

I understand that Marriott wants to maintain standards, but keeping them overall low is sad. Seems like Marriott financial people are directing customer service decisions...??

I will support this property whenever I'm back in the area.

Please remember to acknowledge exceptional service whenever you can!

DD