Honey is Better

So, in complete contrast to my recent Alltel experience, I thought I'd share a couple of nice experiences I had when we went up to the Cities a couple of weeks ago. Because, for me at least, I really like to think that you can "catch more flies with honey", although I am often forced to get a little negative to get what I feel is right.

We stayed at the Park Plaza Hotel…I got the rooms on Priceline for $37 each, so I admit I was already liking them. But as I was brining in our stuff to mine & the babies room, I snagged my shirt on a nail that was sticking out of the closet door jam. That did irritate me a little, but let's be honest, 96.7% of my clothes either come from a consignment store or the clearance racks, so I doubt I paid more than $10.00 for it, and I'd had it for a while, so it's not like I was out a lot. I was also a little irritated the next morning to find out they actually charged me .80 per local phone call, I didn't realize any hotels still did that. But I was mostly irritated because I did have my cell phone with me, I just didn't use it. Before we left the next morning, though, I did stop by to let them know about the nail. When I told him that it snagged my shirt, he looked a little worried, but I assured him it wasn't a big deal, I just didn't want it to happen to anyone else. He had already pulled up the room and said, "well there are $2.40 in extra charges to your room, I can at least take those off." What a nice surprise…I wasn't even going to mention the phone charges!

Then we stopped at Famous Dave's on the way home for a late lunch. I had ordered a cup of Wild Rice soup as an appetizer. But when they brought our meals out 10 minutes later, I knew he obviously forgot about the soup. Since I was not in immediate danger of withering away from starvation, and since the meal arrived so fast, I didn't say anything. I did check the bill, though, to make sure he didn't charge me for it, which he didn't, so all was good. But when he came back to take my payment, he was carrying a Styrofoam container. He apologized for forgetting the soup, and had brought me a free bowl of soup to take home. I realize he probably wanted to ensure a good tip after he realized he had forgotten it, and I did make sure to tip appropriately.

Why more businesses can't do this sort of thing, too, before we consumer's have to get angry and make 10 phone calls to get things corrected.