I read an article today about the how often (or not) people say thank you to those in the service industry. (You know, waiters, waitresses, cashiers, gas station attendants, secretaries, help lines, mechanics, front desk clerks, housekeeping, maintenance, laundry, sales people, yada, yada, yada.)
In the article, the author relayed a story about his experience in calling an airline to make reservations and the fact that the call center associate was so very gracious during the course of the entire conversation. When their business was concluded, she thanked him. Before hanging up, he then returned the thanks to her for helping him out. She was so stunned that he would thank her back, she made it a point to convey to him that it was very unusual for people to thank her…. that the expectation seemed that people wanted (and needed) to be thanked for their business, but most times they never think to thank the person for doing the work.
So, I took a look at my own self and wondered if I indeed was hospitable enough, or more importantly, as hospitable as I wanted to be….. and the answer was no – I definitely could take ‘my power of saying thank you’ up a notch! I think we can all follow suit, not only with each other, but our staffs, our friends, our families and, oh wait – yes, our CUSTOMERS! How often do we send thank you notes? Every time? Or, just sometimes? How often do we thank our peers and direct reports? (Do you even have a box of thank you notes in your desk?)
National Housekeeping Week is fast approaching (September 14-20th). Many of our properties participate and create a week of activities thanking those line level associates in this department during this timeframe. While housekeeping and laundry are often the most thankless jobs, I totally agree with the practice of celebration. Are you planning a celebration? If so – get everyone involved!
In any case, saying the magic words “Please”, “Thank You”, and “Your Welcome” should be incorporated into your daily conversations and I encourage each and every one of us to ‘up the hospitality thermostat’ !
Thank you – to all of you out in Hotel-Land…. I DO appreciate all you do!
Happy thanking!
Linda