It's All in the Details

Dear B-Reader,

Got a little story for ya', Ags...

Jeff and I, as you likely know by now, B-Reader, are both Texas Aggies, graduates with two degrees each from Texas A&M University (He: B.S. '99 & D.V.M. '04; She: B.A. '00 & M.S. '05). During his last year of Veterinary Medicine and in the middle of my graduate program in Industrial/Organizational Psychology, we childhood sweethearts got married, where else but in College Station, Texas. After living up the evening with friends and family, we stayed the night at the most luxurious hotel in town, the Hilton. A towering, multi-story hotel with all the amenities: room service, hot tub, pool, gym, bar, coffee bar, restaurant, ballrooms. The honeymoon suite was everything it should have been: sweeping views of the College Station prairie (these were Ol' Ag Days, when there were many fewer buildings on campus), delicate wallpaper and little finishings like vased flowers, and ultra-soft bed linens. Wow, did we feel like we were in sweet honey-heaven!

Fast-forward seven years later, almost to the day...

Jeff is now a Director on the Board of the Texas Veterinary Medical Association. The board meets quarterly across the state, once annually in College Station, Texas. The only conference facility large enough for the state meeting, the board meetings, and the continuing education courses is at...you guessed it...the Hilton. We were totally excited to revisit our honeymoon hotel and have a nice, relaxing, early anniversary weekend in style.

Of course, our work schedules dictated a late arrival on Thursday night. Yes, I've read all of the travel blogs that strongly advise arriving in the golden window, that time shortly after standard check-in and before rush hour. The golden window is when a traveler is most likely to increase the chances of an optional, free upgrade and to decrease the likelihood of a required, free downgrade. But alas, we had no choice. All we could do was prepare, and Jeff called ahead the day of arrival to let the front desk know that we would be there very late and to please hold our room.

So, after driving from Houston to College Station, and parking the VW Bug, we lugged our luggage to the front desk, and checked-in. We were directed to a room down the hall, down to the basement, and on the other side of the pools...the dreaded Cabana Room area. Ugh! So, we again lugged our luggage (you are reading this correctly, no bell-person was in sight, and a luggage cart, ha!) through the maze to our dungeon-ous room. Jeff opened the door, and I swear that my hair instantly frizzed from the humidity and heat. The A/C unit (yes, that's right, an A/C unit in a posh hotel?) was running full-blast, but with only warm air being emitted. I was trying to tell Jeff that this room would not do, but I had to repeat myself and use sign language so as to be understood over the loud shouts coming from our adjoining room neighbors. Of course, we called down to the front desk and requested a new room. And, of course, the only available rooms would require an upgrade fee of an additional $30 per night. Desperate for a decent room, we agreed and re-lugged our luggage down the maze to the front desk.

In an effort to reduce the length of this blog posting, let me give you a summary of the remaining rooms we sampled.

• Room #2 - in the Tower, on a higher floor, opened the door to a room full of cigarette smoke. Poked my head out of the room to inspect the room marker: yes, it was a clearly-marked non-smoking room. Called down to the front desk, relugged luggage to the desk, got new key, lugged to the next room.
• Room #3 - between the Cabana Area and the Tower, on the first floor, opened the room to find a room within a room...sweet! Nope! This was an un-sweetened version of the suite. Huge room with microscopic, ratted furniture. Dirt and trash on the floor by the sofa. Hair in the sink. Can you believe that I, the clean freak, actually slept the night in this one? In my defense, it was nearing midnight.
• Room #4 - thanks to Courtney, the most courteous and prompt reception desk salesperson whom we encountered, this was the keeper for the weekend. In the Tower, on a higher floor, a semi-sweet suite. The room was proportionate to its furnishings, it was very clean, and there were nice, little touches which I would expect in the finest hotel in town.

Yes, folks, it's all about the details...a bucket of ice and two gratis bottles of water, a small package of extra toiletries which one might have left behind at home (beyond your typical shampoo), and the customer service. See, this was the first time in our now one-day experience at the hotel that a bell-person and/or luggage cart had been offered to us to help move our luggage from point A to point B. Thank you, Courtney, for seeing to this small, but pertinent detail to mend my view of your hotel. And, less than one hour after being seamlessly moved to our final destination, Courtney left a pleasant message on the room's answering machine to make certain that we were settled in nicely. Two days later, upon our check-out, Courtney greeted me by name, and with a genuine smile, she asked whether we enjoyed the room she found for us.

Customer service is all in the details, and Courtney at the Hilton College Station surely knows this. Thank you, Courtney.