In the movie Overboard the character played by Goldie Hawn is a very wealthy woman who has servants who attend to her every whim. Unfortunately she fails to appreciate their excellent service until she falls overboard from her yacht, gets amnesia, and lives for a time as the servile wife of a blue-collar worker with several small sons.
Increasingly these days good service is difficult to find. A few events in my life stand out as shining examples of the fact that excellent service has not been completely eradicated in our day, however.
Some years ago I had the wonderful pleasure of eating dinner with my wife in a restaurant atop a building in Madrid Spain called Casino de Madrid. The food was promised to be excellent and it didn’t disappoint, but what made our dinner there truly memorable was the outstanding service. The waiters stood out of our line of sight, but it was impossible to run low on a beverage or to finish a course without having the silver replenished. Inconspicuous, yet able to anticipate every need and satisfy it. If you are ever in Madrid, I highly recommend “the Casino”.
About a year ago my wife and I vacationed at a wonderful new place in Lake Placid, NY called The Whiteface Lodge. I wanted to arrange for certain preparations to be made for the celebration of our anniversary, so I called the Concierge. He handled every detail and ensured that our stay was a notable experience. His services included impeccable in-room preparations; special treatment during our stay that included nearly every staff member we encountered wishing us happy anniversary on sight; hard-to-get dinner reservations with an exceptional view of the fireworks; and a lakeside cottage rental for the three days following our stay at the Lodge–impossible to find, especially during peak season.
While service like this is pleasant while on vacation, it also has significant value. The Concierge at “the Lodge” saved me hours of telephoning and coordinating and following up. He also provided things I could never have obtained without him.
Good service is important in other areas of life as well. If your house catches fire you want your insurance company to handle the claim quickly and without quibbling over every nickel and dime.
After a job relocation moved us we rented a house for a time while our former home was being sold. An accident occurred that resulted in a small fire in the kitchen of the rented house. The damage was not great, but it did require that my family move to a hotel for a few days.
The difference in the way our insurer handled the claim and the way the insurer of the owner of the house handled theirs was startling. The owners had to fight for every little thing, while our insurer was telling us they would be covering things we hadn’t even considered. This excellent service was especially valuable since the fire happened on a day I had to fly to Germany to present the keynote address at a small user conference.
I was able to leave my family safely checked into a local hotel secure in the knowledge that they would be cared for and the necessary repairs would be made without incident. This event had an interesting side note. The conference organizers in Germany heard of my plight and presented me with a huge fire extinguisher when I was introduced to the 500 attendees. That made for a great laugh and broke the ice in preparation for my speech very nicely.
Exceptional personal service always has a price, but it carries with it benefits that outweigh the cost.
Well that was a great post. Service really is important. I look for good service everywhere. But it is so hard to find these days. I used to work at a McDonald’s, and as it happened the one I worked at was well run, and taught me much about good customer service. Now however, I can go to a McDonald’s and see every error. *sigh* It isn’t hard to be a good server… It really doesn’t require that much. But people these days seem too selfish to give up their pout for a smile!
I would like to point out that in “Overboard” the character played by Goldie Hawn begins to enjoy the life of a servant. (I use that term without demeaning it.) To be a servant is the highest calling. It isn’t the lowest. In the eternal future those of us who have lost ourselves and who have given of ourselves will be first among Christ’s servants.
I plan on losing myself for His purposes as much as possible, and I know you do too!
Peace,
Mrs Meg Logan