In-Room Breakfast – On Time or the Best Banana?

While attending the Society for Human Resource Management conference where I am presenting on “Recognition ROI 3: Measuring Employee Recognition for Maximum Results”, I have been staying at the Marriott New Orleans at the Convention Center just across the road from the Morial Convention Center.

To speed things along each morning I have done the door hanger ordering of breakfast for the last two days.

Ashley has been my server each day and yesterday arrived bang on the initial time of the 15 minute range you tick off for arrival time. She even suggested I use the same door hanger again if I was ordering the same option. No one has ever suggested that before but for us creatures of habit it was a Green idea that I liked.

Today she arrived right in the middle at 7:07 a.m.

Ashley apologized for not being there on time – which for her the standard was the first time on the tick off box. Then she explained she had waited till they had some better bananas in the kitchen (I had ordered one) because what they had were small and not as nice.

I enjoyed that banana very much this morning. It was not picked fresh of the tree today. Instead, it was picked by a very caring server who thought more about the end result in the eyes of the customer that being absolutely on time.

After all she still had 7 minutes to go before it would have been considered late! Thank you, Ashley!!

Are we instilling similar initiative into our employees for them to think what would the customer really want? This can be the same for either internal or external customers. And when they take that extra special caring action why not share with the customer exactly what they did. Ashley’s actions made me thank her a little more enthusiastically than I normally do. She also made me think about what I do to give my clients “a better banana” with the service I provide.

Imagine starting your day with this experience as I did. It has left an impact and made a blog entry. Now go check the quality of your bananas before you give them to a customer.