When I travel on business there are a few hotel conditions I live by:
- Don’t pick a hotel that was once a brothel
- Stay away from hotels that charge “by the hour”
- Ensure there are windows
- Hotels that offer ‘Happy Hour’ (but from 6pm – 2am) are generally to be avoided
I was in Dallas, Texas recently and as I was speaking at the ASTD International Convention and Exhibition Conference I chose to stay at the Omni Hotels & Resorts Dallas hotel – located adjacent to the Dallas Convention Center.
It’s a splendid hotel devoid of any of the bullets above. (it’s also devoid of bullets)
My flight back to Vancouver was slated for 7am. Naturally, being the time management nutbar that I am, I was in bed at 10pm with a wake-up call set for 5:15am so I could shower and head off to the airport to catch the flight.
At 2am the orchestral movement in the dark of high-pitched hyena-like laughing began from the room next door. My semi-catatonic // semi-conscious state presumed it was a dream but it ensued for the next 10 minutes. That’s when I took action. Yup, I began hitting the hotel wall presuming my thuds would be an inclination of displeasure.
It wasn’t.
I’m pretty sure they were snorting cocaine.
So, after another 10 minutes of Canadian patience I called down to the front-desk and explained the situation. I don’t recall the woman’s name I spoke with but she said not to worry and that it would be handled.
I found some earplugs from my bag, put them in to soften the hyena yelping down to a lower pitch, and I tried to go back to sleep.
When the phone rang at 5:15am, I got up, had my shower and with my trusty bag already packed, proceeded to exit the room on to a waiting taxi for the ride to the airport.
But what did I see under the hotel room door? The graphic below explains things rather nicely:
To Kyle – the night manager of Omni Hotels and Resorts in Dallas – you (and your team) should be recognized for the reassuring way in which you handled the situation (I presume you didn’t shoot the hyenas next door) as well as your Customers First approach to make me feel better about the inconvenience.
It wasn’t your fault, but you took responsibility which is certainly above and beyond the call of duty.
Thank you for an exemplary case study of customer service leadership.
