That's the new slogan for Hyatt Hotels. It's all built on their great service and how, after your stay with Hyatt, you'll leave saying "there is a difference between a hotel and a Hyatt." I haven't stayed with Hyatt for over a year, but will do so this weekend as part of the MIHL High School Hockey Showcase in Trenton, MI. We'll be staying at the Hyatt Regency - Dearborn as they are the host hotel. So far, just within the reservation process, there is definately a difference between a hotel (pick one) and this Hyatt. I'm not sure the corporate mucky mucks would be happy though.
The initial call to the hotel was to reserve a block of 13 rooms for Thursday and Friday nights. Unfortunately, we were told, the hotel cannot block that many rooms under one reservation. Instead, we could block 3 rooms under a single name so using the names of 5 different people......you've got your reservation. Okay, that could work, but why does it have to be that difficult? We've spent nights in hotels all over the state and nobody has said they couldn't block 13 rooms under a team block. Typically, you email a rooming list to the hotel, show up with your check or credit card and the school's tax exempt form, the keys are ready, and you're check in is complete.
I contacted the hotel to inquire why the 13 room block could not be accomodated. The answer I was given was that it could not be handled that way through the corporate reservations system, but could be done if working through the hotel directly. I asked if I could send a rooming list for the 13 rooms, have confirmation numbers returned, and then exchange form of payment for room keys at check in and be on our way. I was told that could absolutely happen and that all I needed to do was send the rooming list directly to the Group Reservations Manager and she would make sure it was taken care of. She would also handle cancelling the original reservation placed through the corporate system.
Our rooming list was emailed to the GRM with a note asking for confirmation numbers. Later in the day I received a return email with our confirmation numbers......along with confirmation numbers for the other 200 people checking in on the same day. I couldn't help but wonder what the thought process was before sending that email. It was 8 full pages so it obviously took some effort to put together.
Hyatt: "Let's see, the coach wants confirmation numbers for each of his 13 rooms. I'm going to go ahead and send that to him. You know, why don't I also send him confirmation numbers for the other 200 people checking in at the same time. That's very interesting information and I'm sure he will appreciate receiving it."
Me: "Yes, thank you very much for sending me the information I requested along with the information I have absolutely no use for. It is quite interesting, however, and I plan to peruse it after taking a gander at the video of my Aunt Gert's colonoscopy."
Aren't they violating some type of privacy laws within the hotel industry? I wonder if Mrs. Hockey from Peoria would be interested in knowing our rooms were $20 per night cheaper than hers even though she's coming in for the same event and all rooms are supposed to be the same price. Hey, I've got her phone number now so maybe I should call her and let her know she can get her room for cheaper. I can give her the confirmation number to be used with her reservation along with the room type....I can make it very easy for her to communicate with the hotel. It seems as though they could use the help.
I can hear the response already. Just go stay somewhere else if it's such a big problem. That's true and I would do that, but if you don't stay at the host hotel they charge your team a $550 fee. The Showcase is a prestigious event and we are honored to be included. It would be nice, however, if the partner hotel would handle their business in a manner that reflected better on the event.
Last week, our team reservations coordinator received several emails from the Hyatt stating they were "seven days to arrival" notices. These notices were tied to five names, each name with three rooms under the reservation. What happened to our 13 room block? Several long phone calls later we had everything straightened out...again.
Yesterday, our reservations coordinator received a new set of confirmation emails. Again, five names with three rooms per name and now the check out date was changed from Saturday to Sunday. We're leaving for home after our game on Saturday so we won't be checking out on Sunday. But again, what happened to our 13 room block? Needless to say we are expecting quite the check in fiasco upon our arrival at the Dearborn Hyatt tomorrow afternoon.
Maybe someone within the Hyatt Corporate family will read this entry. To them I say, "You're More Than Welcome."
Wednesday, February 11, 2009
Thursday, February 5, 2009
Saving The Best For Last
Yesterday was the first day of the 2009 Special Olympics Michigan State Winter Games held here in Traverse City. Two of the events, figure skating and speed skating, are held at Howe Arena. With the figure skating competition set to begin at 8:00am several of the participants began to filter in to Howe Arena just as we (Traverse City Central High School) were finishing our hockey practice at 7:15am. By the time all of my guys had showered, changed, and seated themselves for breakfast in the Howe Arena lobby, the ice had been taken over by figure skaters.
I locked our lockerroom and weaved my way through skaters waiting to take the ice. Passing through a group of young ladies waiting to enter the ice surface from the visitor's bench I made eye contact with one of them. She smiled at me and asked, "Are you a hockey player?"
"No," I said. "I'm just a coach."
"For what team?" she asked.
"Traverse City Central High School," I answered.
"Is your team good?" she said, still smiling.
"Yeah, I think we're pretty good," I said.
"Better than the Red Wings?" she asked.
"Well, we're not THAT good. But I'd say we're pretty good." I answered.
"That's awesome!!" she yelled and offered a high five.
I high fived her and made my way to the lobby.
My boys were in the middle of breakfast so I stood down the hallway a little way and watched the figure skaters warming up on the ice. I noticed there was a huge variance in the level of skating ability from one skater to the next. It was obvious some had been skating for a long time while others appeared to be very new to the sport. The one thing they all had in common was they skated with confidence and sheer determination. If they weren't practicing their routines they were skating, smiling, and sharing laughs with fellow competitors. The look of determination during their practice routines said they really wanted to win, but you also knew it wasn't the most important thing to them. Every time someone would stumble and fall there was immediately a fellow competitor by their side to make sure they were okay and to help them up. I had read an article about these games in the local paper and remembered someone being quoting as saying, "these athletes are accepted and celebrated regardless of race, gender, or ability." After observing these athletes for a few minutes I knew this to be true.
I was just about to leave Howe Arena when a young woman approached and dropped a duffel bag on the floor next to me. She looked at me, smiled, and began to take items out of the bag. Her skates, gloves, and a sweat shirt. She put the skates on her feet and called for her dad. A gentleman approached from near the front doors and proceeded to tie her skates. "Good luck," he said and winked at his daughter. She stood up and walked through the front doors to the visitor's bench and stepped out onto the ice. A very slow first step, then a second small stride, and then a third. Obvious now was the fact that she hadn't been skating very long. I kept thinking about how hard it must be to try to perform a figure skating routine when it appeared she had all she could handle just to keep her balance. I said to myself, "Wow. I give her a lot of credit for being able to go out and try that."
Her dad was still standing next to me and watched his daughter take to the ice just as I had. He was smiling as he watched her take those slow, calculated strides. He saw me looking at him and he nodded toward his daughter.
"She's always the happiest when she's on the ice," he said.
I looked back toward his daughter and she was making her way across the ice and toward the visitor's bench with a wide smile.
"She sure does look happy," I said.
We watched her step off the ice and make her way back toward the lobby. She stopped briefly to talk to the person in charge of the event, then came back through the main doors and down the hallway to where we were standing. She sat down next to her duffel bag and looked up at her dad.
"They said I won't be skating for awhile yet, but they'll let me know when it's my turn. I guess they must be saving the best for last," she said quite matter of factly.
Confidence and determination. If we could all approach daily life with the confidence and determination of these young men and women imagine what would get accomplished.......
I locked our lockerroom and weaved my way through skaters waiting to take the ice. Passing through a group of young ladies waiting to enter the ice surface from the visitor's bench I made eye contact with one of them. She smiled at me and asked, "Are you a hockey player?"
"No," I said. "I'm just a coach."
"For what team?" she asked.
"Traverse City Central High School," I answered.
"Is your team good?" she said, still smiling.
"Yeah, I think we're pretty good," I said.
"Better than the Red Wings?" she asked.
"Well, we're not THAT good. But I'd say we're pretty good." I answered.
"That's awesome!!" she yelled and offered a high five.
I high fived her and made my way to the lobby.
My boys were in the middle of breakfast so I stood down the hallway a little way and watched the figure skaters warming up on the ice. I noticed there was a huge variance in the level of skating ability from one skater to the next. It was obvious some had been skating for a long time while others appeared to be very new to the sport. The one thing they all had in common was they skated with confidence and sheer determination. If they weren't practicing their routines they were skating, smiling, and sharing laughs with fellow competitors. The look of determination during their practice routines said they really wanted to win, but you also knew it wasn't the most important thing to them. Every time someone would stumble and fall there was immediately a fellow competitor by their side to make sure they were okay and to help them up. I had read an article about these games in the local paper and remembered someone being quoting as saying, "these athletes are accepted and celebrated regardless of race, gender, or ability." After observing these athletes for a few minutes I knew this to be true.
I was just about to leave Howe Arena when a young woman approached and dropped a duffel bag on the floor next to me. She looked at me, smiled, and began to take items out of the bag. Her skates, gloves, and a sweat shirt. She put the skates on her feet and called for her dad. A gentleman approached from near the front doors and proceeded to tie her skates. "Good luck," he said and winked at his daughter. She stood up and walked through the front doors to the visitor's bench and stepped out onto the ice. A very slow first step, then a second small stride, and then a third. Obvious now was the fact that she hadn't been skating very long. I kept thinking about how hard it must be to try to perform a figure skating routine when it appeared she had all she could handle just to keep her balance. I said to myself, "Wow. I give her a lot of credit for being able to go out and try that."
Her dad was still standing next to me and watched his daughter take to the ice just as I had. He was smiling as he watched her take those slow, calculated strides. He saw me looking at him and he nodded toward his daughter.
"She's always the happiest when she's on the ice," he said.
I looked back toward his daughter and she was making her way across the ice and toward the visitor's bench with a wide smile.
"She sure does look happy," I said.
We watched her step off the ice and make her way back toward the lobby. She stopped briefly to talk to the person in charge of the event, then came back through the main doors and down the hallway to where we were standing. She sat down next to her duffel bag and looked up at her dad.
"They said I won't be skating for awhile yet, but they'll let me know when it's my turn. I guess they must be saving the best for last," she said quite matter of factly.
Confidence and determination. If we could all approach daily life with the confidence and determination of these young men and women imagine what would get accomplished.......
Wednesday, February 4, 2009
Take Responsibility For Your Actions
That is the title of lesson #4 in my book. I was 10 years old when my dad first taught me this lesson. I learned it through a sporting event, but it always amazes me how much it comes up in everyday life. Some people take responsibility for their actions and some don't. It's funny how those that don't never seem to get anything accomplished. They never seem happy because they never get what they want, yet it's always someone else's fault.
I've seen this in my coaching. Some players will be in a slump and they will step forward and say, "I need to play better." Others will slump and say, "My linemates aren't playing well and it's affecting my game." The players that take responsbility for their own actions, are accountable for their play, are the ones who end up being the best players in the end.
Looking at a company, doesn't matter which one, you can quickly separate the good employees from the bad ones. Mistakes are made every day and things can go bad quickly. Deadlines are missed, orders don't ship on time, you have a bad day in production and poor quality gets past QC, irate customers call and complain, there are all kinds of issues faced on a daily basis. When things start to go "sideways" who steps forward and gets things done?
Is it the guy in QC who says, "I can't catch everything." Or is it the customer service rep who tells the irate customer "it wasn't my fault." These people will be the first to blame a co-worker for a problem or issue that could have been prevented and they are the people you can count on the least to get things done.
The best QC people take responsbility for their actions. They'll say, "It's my job to make sure the product that leaves here is of the best quality and I missed it on this one." They'll talk it through with the production teams and find ways to make sure they don't make the same mistake in the future.
Your best customer service rep will apologize for the problem the customer is having and do what they can to make it right. They are the face of the company and will take responsibility for seeing the corrective action through regardless of whether or not they had anything to do with the actual problem. They know the customer doesn't care whose fault it was and they certainly don't want to hear someone make excuses for themself or their company.
It's easy to blame others when things don't go your way or when you know someone is unhappy with you. Pushing blame onto others only makes things worse. Being honest and taking responsibility for your own actions can be the tougher road to take, but you'll be better for it in the end.
I've seen this in my coaching. Some players will be in a slump and they will step forward and say, "I need to play better." Others will slump and say, "My linemates aren't playing well and it's affecting my game." The players that take responsbility for their own actions, are accountable for their play, are the ones who end up being the best players in the end.
Looking at a company, doesn't matter which one, you can quickly separate the good employees from the bad ones. Mistakes are made every day and things can go bad quickly. Deadlines are missed, orders don't ship on time, you have a bad day in production and poor quality gets past QC, irate customers call and complain, there are all kinds of issues faced on a daily basis. When things start to go "sideways" who steps forward and gets things done?
Is it the guy in QC who says, "I can't catch everything." Or is it the customer service rep who tells the irate customer "it wasn't my fault." These people will be the first to blame a co-worker for a problem or issue that could have been prevented and they are the people you can count on the least to get things done.
The best QC people take responsbility for their actions. They'll say, "It's my job to make sure the product that leaves here is of the best quality and I missed it on this one." They'll talk it through with the production teams and find ways to make sure they don't make the same mistake in the future.
Your best customer service rep will apologize for the problem the customer is having and do what they can to make it right. They are the face of the company and will take responsibility for seeing the corrective action through regardless of whether or not they had anything to do with the actual problem. They know the customer doesn't care whose fault it was and they certainly don't want to hear someone make excuses for themself or their company.
It's easy to blame others when things don't go your way or when you know someone is unhappy with you. Pushing blame onto others only makes things worse. Being honest and taking responsibility for your own actions can be the tougher road to take, but you'll be better for it in the end.
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