marriott delray beach

If you’re like me, you’ll likely take notice of the temperature when you arrive in Delray Beach, Florida. Here’s a clue…it’s flippin’ hot!

Honestly, I have no idea how the Miami Dolphins can play in this weather! Anyway, back to our story…

I’m here for a conference for a few days and, in typical conference fashion, there’s a lot of people, a lot of confusion, a lot of noise, a lot of food, a lot of people (again), and of course, a lot of pool.

Enter Jeff…one of the the Delray Beach Marriott’s pool attendants/servers/towel people/nice guys. Why does this matter and why should you keep reading? Well, if you’re expecting me to review the hotel, you probably can stop here (just trying to save you some time). But if you’d like to know why Jeff, the Delray Beach Marriott, customer service, and the Miami Dolphins tie this thing together, keep reading.

To be honest, you probably don’t really have any reason to care about Jeff (or the Miami Dolphins) in particular. I only met him a few times and will likely never see him again. I’ve never met the Miami Dolphins. That’s not the point, though.

What is, then? Simple: people’s attitudes can make all the difference in the world when it comes to excellent or horrible customer service experiences. Jeff, in this particular instance, is the zen master.

Here’s why (I’m curious to know how you’d feel in the same circumstance):

Jeff’s the kind of employee who probably shows up on time every day and works through the end of his shift (if not later) without ever causing a stir (his attitude to other employees and guests isn’t something you can make up…it’s genuine)
Taking care of hotel guests all day around a pool in 90 degree (degrees F, for my Canadian readers) heat is not easy work…he makes it look easy
Engaging guests in interesting conversation (i.e., not, ‘hey, how are you?’; ‘boy, sure is a hot one!’, blah blah) is a skill and can’t really be faked very well, I think
We were approached a number of times and asked if there was anything else he could get for us (i.e., more towels, drinks, other servers)…I realize that this is his job, but you can tell he’s actually enjoying it (big marks)
He was curious about Vancouver (where we’re from) and asked a lot of good questions (i.e., not…’hey, do all Canadians live in igloos?’ or ‘how many states are there in Canada?’)
And, here’s the kicker (and is a sign in my books of great service)…eye contact and a smile when dealing with guests

So…you tell me? Would you be impressed? I mean, hey, I’m probably just like you in that I don’t want to be bothered a lot when on vacation (or at a conference relaxing). I’ll tell you what though…I’ve got time for run-ins with people like this.

After all, hotel/resort/beach hut/whatever employees like Jeff are those that stick out in our minds when we think back on our overall experience. And when we think back on our overall experience and recall how happy we were, that’s probably a good thing for all invovled, don’t you think? I do.

T&D Rating: 5 deck chairs (out of 5)