Helpful hotel and restaurant serving staff and how dare you staff!

Some hotels and restaurants have staff who are there to stop inconvenient guests causing trouble. They aren't there when you need them But as soon as you move a chair an inch, they magically appear and tell you that you can't do that.

Fortunately not everybody is like that. The bad ones remind you how good the good ones are. Being good might come naturally. Or it might come fron the top, picking staff who are naturally friendly, or training them to smile.




Other hotels have staff who think its their job to keep visitors happy, help when asked, and offer new suggestions - do anything to keep the customer happy and coming back  to the hotel. They run to get spare glasses. They move the fragile glass and unwanted ashtray out of the way. They fetch another spare chair just in case your group expands.

They suggest you sit in a place with a better view. They tell you their name or the name of the person they are calling to help you.

They might say, please give us a good write-up on TripAdvisor. They might hadn you a card saying so. They might have a reminder on the hotel entrance. They might have their ratings at the entrance - obviously proud of their reputation.

They might be thinking it but not saying it. They might be hoping for maybe you will give a tip. The hotel or restaurant might hjave a feedback form asking you to name any member of staff who was helpful. I find it annoying to fill in the form on the last day and not know the name of the person who was so helpful on day one. So I try to remember to write their name in my diary, or take their photosgraph with their name tag so I can look it up later.

Staff Awards
You may have or commend the hotel staff with a name label so they get this month's helpful staff bonus. Occasionally you see a wall of staff photos with the person's name, how long they have been working for the company and the month's awards.

They might be bored. They might be chatty and love talking. They might want to look useful so the manager doesn't sack them as being surplus. They might just be jollly, jolly helpful types, who love to do favours and see you smile.

Remember to thank them, ask where they are from, how long they've been working here. Praise the hotel and service.

Author
Angela Lansbury, travel writer and photographer.