This summer I had two fabulous trips to two great tennis and golf resorts.  What made them fabulous were the people that I was with, and definitely not the resorts that we went to.  The first was with my husband in a world known resort in Florida, and the second was with a group of tennis friends to a Dallas area spa resort. What bothered me about both trips was the disappointing service that we experienced at both.  I have realized that manners on the whole are on the decline, but I am sad to see it trickle down to customer service in the hotel industry.

         The first resort in Florida was beautiful in every way.  Seven years ago when we went there for a friend’s wedding the groom went on about how the service was amazing from the hotel room service, to how their wedding went off without one problem.  We were all wined and dined by the very attentive staff during the wedding and reception from the moment we got there, to the moment we left.  My husband and I vowed we would get back there as hotel guests.  Now that we were there, it was the little things that disappointed us.  For example, I left my Kindle on the table when we lunched.  I went back 10 minutes later and the server said that she saw me walk off and knew I would be back for it.  Why didn’t she run after me and track me down really baffled me. The next day we heard the staff fight with one another.  I had to track someone down to set me up at the pool.  We had an outdoor massage and it turned out to be noisy – it was on a balcony over one of the pools.  Seven years ago I cannot imagine any of these things happening.  Seven years ago the service was seamless.  The staff magically made our time there flawless and over the top luxurious in the best possible way.

The resort that I went to with my tennis friends is one that I have gone to several times over for the past 15 years.  The first time was with my husband, and I remembered him saying that he heard the staff was trained to look every guest in the eye and say hello anytime they came into contact with them. It proved to be true. They also were known for walking you to where ever you needed to go if you looked unsure of your way.  Little details like this give any hotel and/or resort a first class feel.  I could not help but notice this past weekend how things have changed.

It started at check-in when they could not find my name.  It turns out they took my first name, and my tennis friend Kim’s last name, and united us as one.  They told us we were in a king size bed, and could not accommodate us when told them that we asked for two double beds.  Luckily my friend Kim has a good sense of humor, and did not mind our weekend arrangement.  You can only imagine the ribbing we got from the rest of the ladies when they heard of our situation.

Kim, my new closest friend, and I met our group for a drink in the lobby lounge that Saturday night.  After 10 minutes of the server not coming around to offer us a beverage at our not very clean cocktail table, I asked my roomie what she wanted, and went to the bar to get us drinks.  After a long five-minute wait of not being acknowledged, one of the servers finally asked me what I needed.  They got Kim’s beer and lime, and I had to request a glass.  After another 5 minutes of waiting I reminded them that I did not have my glass of champagne, and they told me someone would bring it to me.  Another ten minutes went by, and I finally got my drink.  30 minutes of waiting for a beverage is unacceptable anywhere, let alone a top resort.  They brought me the bill and we were not offered any type of compensation for our long wait.  I was very surprised.

The next morning I went for an early morning jog.  I was surprised to see a discarded cup in a bush, and then some other trash out in front of the resort.  The gentleman at the guard’s gate never acknowledged me as I passed by him several times, and other staff never said hello when I walked or jogged by them. When I approached the valet stand after my run no one offered me a towel or water and I knew it had all gone down hill.  I was saddened about the once great customer service that no longer seemed to exist in either of these great places.

No matter what the venue in life is from a hotel resort, to a department store, restaurant, or catching an airplane, customer service is an important value that consumers expect and deserve.  It does not matter where you are and how much you pay for a service, every company should be aware of how much people value being treated well.