The Story of Romo

By: Roger Creasy

On a recent business trip, I stayed at a Marriott. The experience was great. The room was like almost any other hotel room; it was nothing special. The fitness center was adequate, but nothing special. Minor things went wrong. There was no coffee in the lobby one morning. The weather was miserable. Did I say the experience was great?

What made my experience great was the staff. The folks at the front desk not only met my requests, they thought of the next step that would allow them to do even more than I asked. I asked a staff member about local restaurants, he offered to have the shuttle take me to one. There were many instances like this.

On the hotel shuttle to the airport for my return home, I engaged the shuttle driver in conversation. His name is Romo. I complimented the attitude of the staff. Romo said, "I work for a great company. When you stay with us, you are our guest. You pay our salaries. We will do anything we can for you. If you need something from me, just ask. I will do it." When I got off the shuttle at the airport Romo said, "I hope you stay with us again soon."

Marriott gets it right. They understand the importance of their customers. More importantly, they push that understanding to the front line. Kudos Marriott!