ntamayo

I watched a program either on Discovery or Travel Channel about how hotels like Mandarin Oriental in New York have "pre-stay" interviews with the guests, enquire about favorite music, fruit, magazine, etc, so that it's pre-loaded into your suite before you arrive or return to your room.

Making the guest feel "at home" is one thing. But, to me, familiarity like this in the big-city hotels is even more spooky than the small-town property you described.

liveon777

Don't get me wrong, I do enjoy a little recognition from places where I frequently stay (not having to go through a whole check-in process every week and they just hand you your keys and off you go, being able to get service quickly at a crowded lobby bar, having the doorman double-check if you'd like the sedan for the airport to come at the regular time just in case. . . ).

I was thinking about this the other night, that's what prompted the post. Reflecting on some past long-term stays (Minneapolis Marriott City Center, Charleston Doubletree, Charleston Hilton Harbor, W Chicago) I always felt good about a comfortable relationship with the folks that work in these places, a smile, a "nice to see you again, hope the trip in was OK", "I couldn't get you the same room you stayed in last week, but one just like it on the floor above", or "oh, we got the new mattresses this week, let me know what you think about them". But this one just got a little weird.

Thanks for indulging me, and I have certainly enjoyed the comments and suggestions that followed my original post.

UAVirgin

This is what I call the "The Mid-West Friendly" approach to customer service. It often takes the place of more reserved (and comfortable) customer service in many parts of the Mid-West. It's a casual friendly that I like when I'm around people I know or in my town, but not what I want from the front desk or the server at breakfast.

The people are genuinely friendly, and believe they are being very customer oriented but it's really way to casual in my opinion.

jan_az

When I worked for Intel I used to stay at the Marriot Santa Clara about 2 weeks out of the month. I liked the fact that they knew what I wanted and made sure it was ready for me.

Of course - there is that old David Letterman routine on

10 Ways you know you work for Intel

10. You lecture the neighborhood kids selling lemonade on ways to
improve their process.

9. You get all excited when it's Saturday so you can wear
sweats to work.

8. You refer to the tomatoes grown in your garden as
deliverables.

7. You find you really need PowerPoint to explain what you do
for a living.

6. You normally eat out of vending machines and at the most
expensive restaurant in town within the same week.

5. You think that "progressing an action plan" and
"calendarizing a project" are acceptable English phrases.

4. You know the people at the airport hotels better than your
next door neighbors.
3. You ask your friends to "think out of the box" when making
Friday night plans.

2. You think Einstein would have been more effective had he put
his ideas into a matrix.

And, the number one sign you work at Intel. . .

1. You think a "half-day" means leaving at 5 O'clock


I am sure this applies at most of the big companies

whiteknuckles

This does remind me a bit of The Bates Motel.

vickiburton

On a similar note, I used to frequent a popular restaurant in my city. I'd always found the staff friendly and accommodating, but, nothing intimate. One day I brought a friend with me about 3:00pm and went into the bar to have a drink and a snack. The manager of the restaurant saw me and about as loudly as he could speak, said, "So, starting early today!" I wanted to crawl under the table. The friend looked at me trying to figure out if I was the resident lush. I wrote a letter to HQ and got a nice letter back with some certificates. Then I got a call from someone else at HQ who told me I had gotten management at that restaurant in a lot of trouble and wasn't I sorry for doing that to them.