Tonight I called the Lodge at Tiburon in California to speak with Room Service about delivering a Welcome Amenity for one of our customers whose meeting is taking place there right now.  I spoke with Saurlina who was one of the most proactive, courteous, and efficient room service attendants I’ve ever dealt with.

Whenever our customers meetings are taking place we order a Welcome Amenity to greet them upon arrival.  It’s the exact same order no matter where the hotel is located; milk and cookies at turn-down service with a note from us wishing you sweet dreams and best wishes for a successful meeting.  I can’t tell you how many milk and cookies Welcome Amenity orders we have arranged over the years but I would venture to guess in the hundreds.

It isn’t often that we meet a Saurlina.  Hotels tend not to put a whole lot of customer service training into their Room Service attendants.  Trust me.   I know.  I speak with people in this position often.  Most guests ordering Room Service want it yesterday and it better be hot and fresh.  It’s a challenging department within a hotel as there is no time for delays and no room for mistakes.  I guess it was my lucky night that Saurlina at the Lodge at Tiburon was working as a Room Service attendance as she handled me & my order perfectly.

Initially she told me I could have a variety of cookies such as Oatmeal Raisin, Peanut Butter and Chocolate Chip.  However, when I told her I needed the Welcome Amenity to be delivered right away, she put me on hold to confirm with the Chef that the cookies were ready.  When she came back on the line I was told that only the Chocolate Chip cookies were ready and unless I wanted to wait 45 minutes to an hour I had to go with all Chocolate Chip cookies.  And I did.  She asked me what type of milk I wanted and as usual I ordered 2%.  Somehow there’s really nothing better than real milk with a Chocolate Chip cookie, especially at bedtime.  And I requested, as usual, that the milk be placed in a pitcher, on ice, and served with stem glasses for a special touch.

Saurlina laughed at my specifics and said, “your guest must be a Princess as you are spoiling her”.  And yes, all of our customers are Princesses and Princes.  Who doesn’t like to be spoiled?  And so, every time we get a chance to talk with our hotel friends we’re going to remind them to put a ton of customer service training into their Room Service attendants so their guests’ have a Saurlina experience.