Octavio Rules

At a time when impeccable customer service is lacking in so many quarters, it's always a joy to see it practiced well. Just ask Octavio @FourSeasons in Chicago.

I originally called the @ParkHyattChi last night to make a reservation. The woman who answered the phone instantly transferred me to - yes, you guessed it - some horrible Hyatt worldwide reservations voice-mail system. I hung up quickly, but not before hearing something about technical difficulties and delays on their end. I'm sure the automated voice would have also assured me how important my business is to them. 

I called the nice woman back and told her that I dialed Chicago because I wanted to speak to Chicago and not to anonymous phone bankers 10,000 miles away. She sweetly told me that she could help me with the reservation, but that she was also alone in answering the phones. One person responsible for phones and reservations at a luxury hotel in one of the great cities in the world early on a Friday evening? Utterly preposterous! I told her that I was going to call the Four Seasons. It must be said that this woman was a thorough professional who was simply being compromised by her employer. It's not her fault.

I like the Park Hyatt, having enjoyed stays with them in Saigon, Shinjuku, Toronto and elsewhere as we look forward to visiting them soon in Sydney. Perhaps this was the proverbial "one off," but I doubt it. Obviously, the bean-counters want to minimize staff and push as much traffic into low-cost, robotized and lobotomized places. They will then gleefully point to saving a corresponding $1 million annually without ever considering the enormous, harder-to-calculate tens of millions lost in customer loyalty because, well, luxury brands should not work that way.

Enter Octavio. He answered the phone at the Four Seasons immediately and graciously. He handled my inquiry adroitly and with humor, promptly accessing my records. He already knew what we wanted in a room, acknowledged our recent stays, asked what newspapers we preferred and whether we'd need dinner or theater reservations. The Four Seasons remains a luxury brand because people like Octavio rule.

One is not likely to be as well served by distant phone bankers who may or may not speak English well and have likely never been to Chicago. @ParkHyatt needs to decide whether it's more Park or Hyatt and then perform accordingly. What's the number for the Four Seasons in Sydney?