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I was staying at Hotel Cape Grace in Cape Town, South Africa, for ten nights
I remained for ten nights and from there I went to Botswana
to be able to spend some days in a safari
After the safari, I would get back to South Africa,
to Cape Town, and I would stay one more night in Cape Town,
again at Cape Grace, before getting back to Brazil
To avoid taking all my clothes, evidently,
in order not to take absolutely everything to the safari,
specially because you cannot take much, since the planes are small,
I asked a very friendly receptionist, actually a concierge called Sheeba,
and I never forget about her,
to make arrangements for my luggage to be kept there during the week I would be absent.
Of course this is very simple,
the majority of hotels in the world can arrange such a thing and should do it,
keep the belongings of a guest that travels somewhere else
and comes back the next week
I sat down with Sheeba
at the concierge table because the concierges and the receptionists have desks in this hotel
where they welcome you
She simply stands up when you approach to welcome you
and elegantly waits until you sit down, only then she sits.
She said to me: "How can I help you, Mr.Drummond?"
And I said: "So, Sheeba, I´m travelling tomorrow to Botswana".
And I remember Sheeba very well, she had a very funny way
of talking, she went like this: "hummmmmmmmmm"
And I went on: "So, Sheeba, tomorrow I´m going to Botswana"
"and first of all I would like you to arrange that a hotel car"
"take me to the airport"
She asked: "What is your flight tomorrow morning?"
And I said: "it´s so and so"
And she opened a big book, I recall it was a huge book,
and took a pencil, it was a very beautiful book, very elegant,
and she started by writing down my requests, she said: "hummmmmmmmm"
And I kept looking at Sheeba writing down all of the information.
She said: "Perfect, it´s already here, what else can I do for you, Mr.Drummond?"
I said: "Sheeba, I also need you to keep my suitcases here at the hotel"
"I will leave my bill paid, I will check out tonight",
"since I leave tomorrow morning..."
"No problem", she said, "you can leave them in the room"
"and it will be arranged tomorrow morning"
"that your suitcases are taken, you don´t even have to come down"
"It´s all written down! What else, Mr.Drummond?"
And I said: "Sheeba, I think that´s all"
"Oh, yes, I was thinking that, at the night I´ll be back"
"next week, I would like to have dinner at the Grand Café"
"in Granger Bay, that was the only one I didn´t get to try",
"and everybody says is great".
She said: "Excellent idea, should I make reservations for 9 pm?"
"We also need a car to get you"
"in a week, when you come back". "Don´t you think it is better, sir?"
"True, Sheeba, it´s better to have a car"
She asked: "In which flight do you get back?"
And she kept on writing everything down in that book
And I thought: "My God, all this information written down with a pencil",
"there are so many things, can this possibly work out?"
And I went, everything was arranged, and I left,
"Sheeba, thank you very much, here I go for my safari!"
A week passed and I returned to Cape Town.
When I arrived at Cape Town´s airport, after a lot of connections,
since I had to leave Botswana in a little plane,
and from there to Maun, which is the country´s main location, and from there
to Johannesburg, connection in Johannesburg,
I was exhausted from a full day travelling, I arrive in Cape Town at night
And go straight to the exit with my luggage in the cart,
And then I remember that I asked for a transfer, for Cape Grace to pick me up,
but I also remembered Sheeba writing everything down with a pencil
Could this work out?
The hotel was so impeccable, so impeccable
that I said: "I´m sure they will fail in something".
It´s not possible for them to get everything right
And there I was, disembarking at the airport and I see a crowd of drivers,
many guides from different companies showing little name plates, waiting for the
passengers to disembark, I looked at every plate and there was no way of finding my name.
And I said: "I knew it!"
Sheeba writing all that with a pencil, in that book,
I was so sure this wouldn´t work, couldn´t work,
a week ago… something had to go wrong,
I was about to get my cell phone to call the hotel
to say that they forgot about me
when I took my cell phone, and it was very fast,
this happened in a fraction of a second, I looked at the name plates,
and suddenly I heard: "Mister Drummond, welcome back",
"so good you arrived!" It was the driver from Hotel Cape Grace,
who actually went to the airport without a name plate.
He went to the airport without a name plate because he did not need one.
I had stayed at the hotel for ten days,
so, automatically, he didn´t need a name plate to welcome me
It was just like my own driver coming to pick me up
This is so elegant, so discreet, so fantastic
And shows that the service is in fact customized and can be customized.
Something that we would often do,
taking a name plate to the airport anyway, they have done in the nicest possible way
They left the plate aside to show how important I was for that hotel
And he went on: "So great that you arrived, sir!"
And I automatically took a look at his badge
to also be able to call him by the name, because at this point I had already forgotten what it was
And he went on: "let me help you with your suitcases"
"How was your trip, did you enjoy Botswana?"
"Please, come with me, the car is parked over here"
"And we can go straight to the hotel".
When I get in the car, he offers me some mineral water, refreshing towels
so that I can clean my hands
and before starting the car he turns on the air conditioning,
asks if I prefer some specific type of music,
he gives me a menu so that I can choose the music I want.
On the way to the hotel he says: "Mr.Drummond, my only worry is that"
"you have a reservation at 9pm for dinner at Grand Café in Granger Bay"
"and actually it´s 20 to 9, because your flight had a little delay",
"so you prefer me to take you directly to the restaurant",
"and I leave your luggage at the hotel",
"or you prefer to stop by the hotel first?"
That for me was unbelievable. The driver knew that I had a reservation,
that I had an appointment, that I was late and he showed his concern
This is about a true team work for the benefit of the guest
To provide a unique experience, to take care of the guest all the time
To be concerned about every moment, so that everything is perfect during the stay
I thought: it´s incredible that the driver asks me this
I said to him: "I´d rather go first to the hotel"
"because actually I wanted to take a shower before dinner"
He said: "Great, so in the meanwhile I will call the hotel´s concierge and ask for your reservation to be delayed,
there´s no problem at all" "Do you prefer 9.30pm or 10pm?"
I said: "Do you think 10 is possible?"
"Of course we will get it"
While he was driving us, he called the hotel and asked for the delay to 10pm
"Take your time in your shower, sir, rest,"
"There´s no problem, when you are ready, "I will take you myself to the restaurant"
I thought that was so fantastic, apart from all this conversation,
all the way to the hotel he asked how my trip to Boswana had been,
asked relevant questions about my trip, my latest stay
showing that actually I was an important guest, as everybody else should be
And the most sensational of all was my arrival at the hotel.
When I get to the hotel to check-in, and knowing that I had to take a shower in a hurry,
that I had to get ready to have my dinner,
I thought "here I go, check-in, I will sit in the reception desk"
"will hand them my passport, my credit card, hand this, hand that..."
The receptionist stands up and says: "Mr.Drummond, welcome back, how was Botswana?
Then she said what sounded like magic words to me
She said: "we have a quick check-in for you tonight "
She said: "we have a quick check-in for you tonight "
"Here is your key, everything is ready"
"I already asked for your suitcases to be delivered to your room"
"you can rest, take your shower, and, as soon as you are ready,
our driver will take you to Grand Café. I had no check-in, just the welcome service.
Why have all that bureaucracy? Why make the guest go through all that?
If they already knew me, if I had already stayed ten nights with them,
and would only be there for an extra night,
they avoided all that nuisance and showed me
that they were waiting for my arrival,
and made sure my arrival should be very quick.
It wasn´t necessary to say: "our breakfast is served from such time,
to such time. They avoided all that
When I got to my room, my luggage was already there,
well kept, properly placed, there was an ice bucket with champagne
that had probably just been placed there,
in an action organized according to my arrival at the airport
The champagne came with a card signed by the hotel´s guest relations
whom I never met, which said:
"Mr.Drummond, I did not have the pleasure to meet you during your last stay,
but I´m the hotel´s guest relations, I was on vacation, but am here now.
I hope you´ve had an excellent trip to Botswana
and that I will have the opportunity to meet you tomorrow before your departure.
Have an excellent night, and please get in touch in case you need anything."
This is called customization, team work, communication,
and, above all, a type of work we call in luxury hospitality,
and that can be put in practice in any hotel business, specially at a small hotel,
what is very easy, what we call Guest Recognition,
that is, acknowledging the guest, preparing his arrival,
making him feel expected before he arrives in the hotel.