August 26th, 2010 Exceptional
As promised, I am going to try and “review” my customer service experiences both at home and on the road. I was recently at one of my favourite hotels, (2X) and as always – had an amazing experience in the lounge there both nights. As this level of service is consistent, I have decided to make them my first review.
Now, please keep in mind that I have never reviewed anything officially in my life. I have no idea if there is a proper format, a scale… who knows? And honestly – I don’t really care. This is my own experiment, about something that I feel pretty strong about.
The Lounge at The Fairmont Winnipeg
On average, I am probably here once a month. Some months it’s more frequent, and others, I am not here at all. The Lounge has great hours (they are open until Midnight every night – and frequently stay open until 0100 if there are people in the lounge) and amazing food. The soup? amazing. The Dumplings? to die for. My personal favourite – the Curry. You can have it with chicken, shrimp or Paneer (I believe) and over rice or in a wrap. It is truly delicious and something I look forward to all day if I know I am going to be here for dinner. My last visit, I enjoyed the Cobb Salad for the first time. I substituted the stinky blue cheese with some wonderful feta… and it was – of course! – unbelievable.
What I look forward to the most, tho? Is the service. It is practically a guarantee that you will be greeted with a smile. Not one of those fake painted on “I have to smile” smiles either… it’s a genuine “happy to see you here” smile. You will be asked how you are doing, and a true conversation will take place. The service is fast but not rushed, and I have yet to have anything not be served to me EXACTLY as I ordered it. I’m sure tho, that if something were to come out not quite right – it would be fixed with no questions.
I like being greeted with a friendly smile. I like being called by name. I enjoy having a lovely wine list and amazing food. I like when I rave about a place, and have sceptics turned into believers within 10 minutes of sitting down. Because of all those reasons – I LOVE the Lounge at The Fairmont Winnipeg.
So to the management – keep up the good hiring! You certainly have a good thing going for you.
To Darlene and Maria – and to your co-workers – Thank you!
*** a note. I make it a mission now to try and remember people’s names when I see them more than once. This includes servers in restaurants I frequent because of my Job. I was recently made fun of a little bit by my crew because of this… I know it’s not common practice, but it SHOULD be. Just as they provide amazing service, they should be treated with courtesy and respect right back – and to me, that means remembering their names.***
