How Important, Service?

Took the wife and daughter to Big Cedar Lodge near Branson, Missouri between Christmas and New Years this year. Pricey by our standards, but it was a short trip and we like our niceties. (Note, the room we had is circled in red in the picture above. Second floor, all the way to the left.)

The first two days of our trip were great. We ate at the lodge restaurants, partook of a carriage ride around the grounds, bought a car load of souvenirs and generally acted like great patrons.

Toward the evening on that second day, our daughter started not feeling well.

Thinking ahead, I saw us perhaps wanting to check out a day early to get our sick daughter home. I stopped by the front desk that evening and asked the guy (we’ll call him John) about my chances of NOT being charged for that last day if we checked out the following morning, a day early. John’s response? “You’ll still be held responsible for that last day. Sorry.” He was implacable.

That night, our daughter’s fever spiked to 103.3 and by morning she was throwing up every fifteen minutes. We had to leave, regardless of whether or not we’d be charged for that last day.

I packed the car and went back to the front desk at 9:00 a.m. that morning to give them one more shot at doing the right thing. This time, I talked to a different guy (we’ll call him Andy), and I could tell before I even opened my mouth that he’d be able to help me out.

I told Andy my story and asked if I’d be charged for that last day. Andy’s response? “No sweat. I can take care of that for you.” Clickity clickity click. Done. No charge for the last unused day. Andy wished my daughter well and sent us on our way with a caring smile.

Had the first guy (John) with the obstructionist attitude prevailed, that resort would have made $269 more from me this year. But I would have left that resort angry, I would have never returned, and I would have made it my mission in life to steer others clear of Big Cedar Lodge.

Because of Andy, though, I’ll likely take my family back to that resort again around Christmas time, spending around $1200 on lodging, food, souvenirs and activities. And we’ll likely go back year after year.

How important is customer service?