Monday, April 09, 2012

Travelogue: Australia – Weekend Side Trip: Sydney 1a) Life Lessons


“Welcome Back! We are so glad to see you again!”

The heartfelt hello and warm smile came from the concierge at the hotel I had just checked into.

“Where have they put you?” he asked, and when I responded “Oh no, that’s in the back of the hotel, would you prefer to be in the front section? I can see about moving you up.”

I have to say that I refused the kind offer, I explained that I was only there for the night and there was no point really. Why did the concierge remember me? I do something that I see so few people do – I thanked him for his time and trouble. The last time I was there he guided me to some truly cool off-the-tourist-radar type things. He took the time during my last visit to make sure that I was enjoying my stay and to give me the wealth of his expertise in getting the best of my visit.

Now there are two schools of thought here. The first is the group like me who believe in never letting a good job go unrecognized. I sent a personal note thanking him and an email to his manager (I would have done this in person and try to do so when I can) explaining the reason for the compliment and giving examples of where he had gone above-and-beyond.

The other school of thought is the (lamentably) much larger group who think to themselves, when they deign to think about the service staff at any place they patronize, “Isn’t that his job?”

I am glad to say that I don’t compliment the people that I feel do an exceptional job for any ulterior reason; I do it because it makes ME feel good to do so. When someone has done a good job it makes me feel good to make a note of it. I hope it makes them feel better too! Occasionally, on the rare example when it makes an impression, I perhaps get a smile or a handshake on my return. In this one case, it made the concierge remember me. And that was pretty cool!

As an added surprise, when I saw him on my way out of the hotel, he thanked me for the kind feedback and assured me that his manager had commended him for the positive feedback. I do highly recommend that more people do this. And not in the expectation of perks! That is NEVER the reason to pay a compliment – do it because it is the right thing to do to recognize a job well done. Would you want any less from your customers, clients, co-workers?

I think I read something about this somewhere. How did that go again? Something like “Do Unto Others…”

Wherever you are this morning I hope that you have had an adventure this weekend!

Don Bergquist – 09 April 2012 – Canberra, ACT, Australia

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