We got to the hotel and she hadn’t booked anything in advanced and she was a bit startled at the cost. She asked me if I knew of any other hotels and luckily I did as I used to work at one close by. I gave them a call and unfortunately they were fully booked. You would think that would be the end of the conversation but the receptionist went onto give me the details of other hotels close by, and their contact details. To save me time calling around she even checked Booking.com to see if there was availability. Bear in mind this hotel was fully booked and not gaining anything by helping me, I thought she went above and beyond.
Upon talking to the stranger some more I found out her name was Lisa and she’d travelled from France and was back up to Edinburgh the next door, not before presenting a poster at an event at a university. She was extremely tired, so even though the hotel I showed her to was the more expensive option, she booked a room there.
So there was the random act of kindness that I helped a stranger get a hotel room, but I also wanted to say thanks to the receptionist at the hotel I called. Luckily I was still in contact with the Front of House Manager, so I contacted her just to double check the name of the receptionist. I then wrote a little note and bought a bar of chocolate and dropped it off at the reception desk.
I’ve no idea if she has received it or her reaction; that’s not important. What I thought was important was that good customer service that goes above and beyond is recognised, which sometimes isn’t the case. Sometimes it’s easier to make a compliant because you’re hoping for a refund of sort, some sort of personal gain. Having worked in a couple of venues I recognise that at the end of the day venue staff work really hard and put up with a lot.
And who doesn’t like a free bar of chocolate? Free food always tastes better!
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