Feeling at Home Away from Home

I am a big believer in the power of great customer service. I always enjoy receiving excellent service and I am guessing that you do too. I always do my best when I am the service provider to make sure my guests, agents or audiences feel that when they were in my care that they received my best - both in efforts and attitude.

When you receive great customer service these days it is usually the exception and not the rule which is probably why it usually stands out as such wonderful service. Sadly, we don't get a chance to recognize the people for making us feel special much more than a "thanks" on the way out or a few bucks extra in the tip jar.

For my loyal readers of The Realtor's Toolbox you know I like to use this blog to spotlight people or companies when I feel they have surpassed the bar of what is expected and really made me feel special. I've written about Bar Louie and The Goodie Shop , The Island Cow and just last fall I told you about a real-life Fred Factor at Thrifty Airport Parking. Today, I want you to know about my friends at The Courtyard by Marriott in Union Centre, Ohio.

My job as the Director of Training for the Ohio NRT Companies (Coldwell Banker King Thompson in Columbus and Coldwell Banker West Shell in the Greater Cincinnati area) keeps me moving. I am usually either in Columbus or Cincinnati and on occasion I have the privilege to get out and speak to other groups of agents or companies. When I venture down to Cincinnati, if I have to stay overnight, I certainly have lots of choices on where to stay. For the last two years, I have been choosing to stay with my friends at The Courtyard.

The Sales Manager of the hotel, Sheri Howard, really earned my repeat business by looking at her guest list over a period of time and realizing that I had spent more than a few random nights there as the hotel is just a block away from our CBWS Union Centre office. Sherri reached out to me to thank me for being a loyal guest and arranged for a corporate price for my stays, helping save me (and my company) on each stay. (Certianly a nice way to insure "repeat and referral" business)

I think the "rack rate" is certainly a nice perk. But it's the outstanding service I consistently receive that earned my loyalty to Sheri and her team of customer service superstars.

I am excited to always be greeted with a smile and a friendly "Welcome Back, Mr. Carpenter" by Lana and the others at the front desk. Lana is a lovely lady who came to the United States from The Ukraine and every day she's at work she seems truly excited to be there and help the guests have a better stay.

Of course upon arrival, there's always a plate of delicious cookies. Sure, I am partial to the chocolate ones but after some days of teaching and travel I will even force down a few oatmeal raisin cookies (even though I have to pretend the raisins are really chocolate chips).

When I pass through the lobby in the evenings as I head out to dinner the team members behind the counter always ask me how my room is and if they can help make my stay more pleasant. The rooms are always clean and comfortable and the modern updated features (huge desk space, flat screen televisions, free wireless Internet and large couches) are a wonderful benefit for a business traveler who usually still has some work to do before bed time.

One of my favorite people at The Courtyard Union Centre has got to be Sandy. Sandy works the third shift so not many guests probably get to meet Sandy but if they do, they know they'll always be greeted with a huge smile, a cheerful voice and a helping hand. Many a night heartburn has had me up searching for a Tums or a glass of water and those next mornings, you know who is the first to ask me how I feel? Yep - Sandy. She reminds me of that favorite Aunt or Uncle who used to magically make dollar bills appear behind your ears when you were a child.

Before you start your day, it's nice to enjoy a warm breakfast and that's what the crew in the restaurant in the hotel do each day. Cheryl and Laura see me coming and get my diet soda ready. Michael behind the counter is prepared to make a fresh omelet and there's always plenty of crispy bacon on the buffet. Seriously, I had you at "crispy bacon," didn't I?

I love chatting with Cheryl about her children because she always asks me about mine. We compare notes of their activities even though hers are adults now. She reminisces about their youth and we share similar stories. Just this past visit, I found out that Cheryl was good friends with many of the stars of The Cincinnati Reds before they were the Big Red Machine. She was close with Tommy Helms, Pete Rose and even went to Johnny Bench's wedding. That's stuff you just don't get from the counter girl at McDonald's is it?

I love what I do and I am lucky to have a wonderful family who supports me in my efforts. It's not always easy to be away from home as much as I am (and compared to some business people, sales persons or OTR truck drivers, it's not that much) but if I have to be out, it's nice to know that Bill Marriott and his family of hotels will probably have a place for me to stay.

I usually get good service from almost every Marriott property I have stayed at and as a new Platinum member of the Marriott Rewards program, I have stayed at a few. I just don't know if they will be as friendly and welcoming as my friends at The Courtyard in Union Centre.

Thanks Sheri Howard and the entire Courtyard Union Centre team for making me feel at home when I am away from home.

The Fred Factor in Real Life

One of my favorite books about outstanding service and making your customers enjoy a great experience is The Fred Factor by Mark Sanborn. The subtitle of this book is "How passion in your work and life can turn the ordinary into the extraordinary."

Have you read it?

It's worth going out to Amazon.com or your local bookstore or library and checking it out. It's a quick fun read and has many tangible concepts that will be useful to you in whatever field you're in but certainly those of us in a "people business" like sales.

Have you ever experienced a "Fred" in real life?

I have experienced a "Fred" many times and they always seem to jump off the page like a character in one of those children's pop-up books. As someone who makes a great effort to be a "Fred" myself, I get excited when I run into a "Fred" in the real world. It's even more amazing when they actually are named "Fred."

I returned to Columbus late Tuesday evening from a few days away with some good friends. It was a great 48 hours of "building relationships, solving problems and having fun." When I travel, I park my car at the Thrifty Car Park just outside of Port Columbus International Airport. I've been a Thrifty Perks member there for a few years and they do a great job.

For those of you who aren't familiar with this "valet" service, you swing through the Thrifty parking lot and pick up a driver on your way out of town. They ride with you to the airport and then take your car back to Thrifty while you're away on vacation or business. Upon your return, you catch a shuttle from the terminal and they drive you to your waiting car back at the lot.

It's usually a pretty benign drive from the airport to the Thrifty lot. You grab your luggage, trod out to the shuttle pick up lot and maybe send a quick text home to let your loved ones know you're on your way. The driver arrives, tosses your luggage onto the rack and you head out to get your car.

The Fred Factor in Real Life

Something different happened the last two times I've been picked up and it was all Fred's fault. The shuttle driver's name was Fred Rohe. He pulled in to the waiting areas and opened the doors with a big smile and said "Welcome Home, folks!" He hustled down the steps and grabbed the waiting passengers luggage and ushered us on board. After confirming we had all called in our claim ticket to insure that our cars would be waiting for us upon arrival, he did something different then all the other "average shuttle drivers." He offered all his passengers a choice of candy.

Really not a huge offer by any means...but when was the last time a shuttle driver offered you even a smile let alone of choice of free, sweet, chocolaty goodness?

As we quickly pulled away from the terminal, he asked us how our trips were, filled us in on the days weather here in Columbus and provided us all with a quick forecast for what to expect with the next day's weather. I even joked with Fred that it's amazing he has time to drive a shuttle after a full day on the Columbus Chamber of Commerce. He was really excited to share his positive mental attitude with others.

Thanks Fred for making the short 5 minute drive to my car memorable. Plus, I got a minty fresh blast from my two mini York Peppermint Patties that gave me a much needed jolt of energy for my ride home to see the family.

May you all have a great week encountering many "Freds"...or just decide to be a "Fred" yourself.