Up on a Sunday morning and back on a Monday evening, the evening being that of Memorial Day.

When I got back from another track meet on Saturday evening we were pretty much all packed — Ruth had done just about all of it.  That evening I saw a CNN online poll that indicated more than 80 percent of the respondents were not planning on traveling for the Memorial Day weekend.  From my standpoint, that of an intended 2-mode traveler, that was good news.

On Sunday morning we went to Cracker Barrel for breakfast; it’s located on Hwy 192, tourist alley, about a half mile from our house.  As we approached we could see the parking lot was almost empty, and as we were shown to our table it was obvious that the restaurant was, too.  We are familiar with the eating habits of tourists here and that hour should have seen the place pretty busy.  My expectation was confirmed by our server, who when told of the CNN poll, gasped and said that the wait staff had been beefed up for the day and that she was going working a double shift.  Cracker Barrel management obviously hadn’t been reading the poll.

Because were going to be driving the rental up to Atlanta but flying back, we drove to our usual Park-to-Fly lot and dropped off the car so it would be there on our return.  We’ve been using their service since shortly after we moved here and have stuck with them despite spotty shuttle service and their moving to a new location much farther away for us.  On the way there traffic seemed a bit light, but we were moving away from typical tourist routes.

Traffic on the turnpike to I-75 was very light and other than local traffic at points along the way so was I-75.  For any day of the week it was light, but most surprisingly light for Memorial Day weekend.  We really didn’t see any traffic until we got into Atlanta, and even then it wasn’t heavy, at least by Atlanta standards.  Atlanta and DC are 2 places I prefer to transit at 2 in the morning.

We checked into the Embassy Suites - Centennial Park, located in an excellent spot if you’re going to any of Atlanta’s downtown attractions such as the Georgia Aquarium, Coca Cola, or The Underground.  Embassy Suites is my favorite brand, though they are often not where I’m going.  I always look for them first in my trip planning because I like their physical layout, both in the suite and out in the atrium area, and their evening reception and morning breakfast are more than a nice touch.  I don’t mind paying a little more for them, and they are usually a little higher than others in the same locale, but I consider what they offer.

The complimentary manager’s reception was going on when we arrived, so we basically did a U-turn at the room as soon as we dropped off our bag and headed back downstairs.

The line at the service window was short, but standing in it was an experience of being pummeled by out of control children and adults leaving their responsibilities to others.  Ruth, luckily for her, had luckily chosen to have nothing and had selected a table far away from which she waited for me.

I ordered a Margarita on the rocks, received it, and headed from there to the table with tortilla chips and other items.  As I approached I saw two rather large women shoveling chips, by hand, and I do mean shoveling, into the provided cardboard containers.  The tongs provided for that purpose were resting on the side of the bowl, but that wasn’t going to slow down these pigs.  Not knowing where their hands had been all day, and guessing some of those smaller miscreants might be theirs, I immediately decided Embassy Suites could keep my portion of the chips and salsa.

We headed back up to the room shortly thereafter, my having consumed part of the worst Margarita I’ve ever been served.  I can handle pre-mixed drink preparations, but they work only if the proportions are correct and that means knowing when to let go of the dispenser button.  It might have helped if the “bartender” hadn’t been actively engaged in conversation with someone else back there, but he was, and the conversation was nonstop and rapid.  One might wonder where his priorities were, but then just a short observation removes the wonder.  In addition to the drink selection, I regret having left a tip prior to tasting the thing.

Back in the room a few minutes later we discovered that the television in the living room was nonfunctional.  At first I figured the remote control batteries were dead, but no, that wasn’t it.  The controls on the TV didn’t work, either.  Plugged it?  Yes.  Functional?  No.  Oh, well, there is another in the bedroom.

Later in the evening the bedroom television went out — it was on an analog channel so the screen showed pure raster.  Hmmm.  Must be a satellite problem, or the heavy storm clouds are preventing a good signal.

Not really thinking about it much, a little while later we ventured down to check in online with our airline for the next evening’s flight.  As we exited the room and stepped onto the walkway (7th floor), two guests were passing, she saying to him something about emergency lights.  I heard it but nothing registered.

The elevators were working and we went to the first floor, noting that maybe the atrium was a little more dimly lit than usual, and that the televisions on that level, set for public view, were also showing a raster rather than a picture.  Yep, lost satellite or cable.

As we slid our room key in the Business Center door to use the computer there, a security guard followed us in, stopping and holding the door open.  He told us the computers probably weren’t working “because of the power failure.”

Uh, hello!!  Power failure.  Dimly lit atrium, no television signal on our one working set and on the lobby area public sets…duh.

Yep, sure enough, the desktop PC didn’t come on.  Oh well.  No big deal, I just wanted to do an airline check-in; not like a life or death matter, for sure.

As we exited the Business Center I asked if the power failure was just the hotel or the surrounding area and he said the hotel had encountered a lightning hit.

And as we began to leave the corridor, he apologized “for the inconvenience.”

An apology for an act of God and coming from a security guard.  Very interesting.  In my experience most security guards are apart from real guest contact and are not much in the PR business.  An apology for an inconvenience having nothing to do with a security incident, from a security guard, rather impressed me.  He’s a part of the team, a bit different from the security-on-another-planet usual.  Kudos to you, sir.  A small thing to you, and probably normal for you as well, but a very good point for a guest.  I wonder if the management team is aware of the quality of your guest contact.

Back at the ranch, or in the room at least, we still had no television of course, but the elevator took us up and there was plenty of light.  Public areas were on reduced lighting, but if the TV had had a picture on it I doubt guests would have known of the power failure.  I’d love to know how many kilowatts those emergency generators are.

Later, it was time for a shower and shave.  As I turned on the water in the tub, I didn’t even get a grip on the knob before it clattered loudly to the bottom of the tub, along with the 3/4″ bolt that was supposed to hold it to the valve.  

Now, the power failure had nothing to do with Embassy Suites’ quality.  In fact, I give them points for how well things were going in spite of it.  The necessities were well taken care of.  The building code apparently works well when followed and they followed it. 

HOWEVER, the same cannot be said of room maintenance.

A bolt 3/4″ long does not come completely out all at once.  It loosens gradually, and if Housekeeping is using water to clean the tub, well, one might expect a loose knob should have been discovered by, well, anyone but a guest.

The nonfunctional living room television was just another item evidencing the fact that guests are the ones in charge of checking functionality of room accouterments.  I suppose we are also to verify the microwave, refrigerator, air conditioning, telephone, alarm clock, and light fixtures are operational upon entry, also?

I’m used to 1-way bulbs in 3-way fixtures, unplugged fixtures because Housekeeping didn’t plug them back in after vacuuming, dirty microwaves, ballpoint pens that have no ink, air conditioning filters clogged with dust; alarm clocks set to the wrong time zone, dripping faucets, and leaky toilets.  In most places I encounter no more than two of those shortcomings at once, and when I’m paying dirt cheap rates at a non-chain establishment I figure it goes with the territory.  However, when a noted chain charging higher rates makes me responsible for room inspection and upkeep, I figure they owe me part of the pay going to Housekeeping and Maintenance personnel. 

On the way to breakfast I dropped off the knob and bolt at the front desk, along with a note about the living room television.  I didn’t stay for any conversation — neither necessary nor desired.  But if they had the knob in hand at least they couldn’t put another guest in that room until someone did something productive.  I know if I were a supervisor or manager I’d have had a thorough inspection of rooms on the 7th floor that day.  Two fairly major items in one room spell trouble with whoever is responsible for that area and a good look at other rooms in the area would be high on my list and attention to detail would be my target.

Breakfast at that location is held in the Ruth’s Chris restaurant, otherwise closed at that early hour. 

I couldn’t help but notice that at our table, and at several others, a definite lack of attention to detail.  Detail though it may be, and not a major item, nevertheless it showed a certain attitude similar to that of whoever is responsible for our room.  There was only one thing on the table and it was wrong.

In the center of the table was a wire holder for several bottles (ketchup, hot sauce, etc.).  Each of the bottles was askew, laying on its side as far as space allowed.  The hot sauce, being a small bottle, was almost horizontal.

No big thing, to be sure, but that just isn’t the standard of either Embassy Suites or Ruth’s Chris.  BUT, it is the standard of at least one of their employees.  Somebody/something doesn’t fit and it is again a guest who is the discoverer.

Shortly afterward, on our way out to the Georgia Aquarium, we took our bag to Valet and asked that they put it in the car so we could come back and make a quick exit at the end of the day as we would be headed directly to the airport.

There were three valet employees at the stand and we were cheerfully engaged when I was still several paces away from the stand.  Looking good, folks.  As one of them looked at my receipt and read the code aloud, I jokingly (but only somewhat, internally) asked if that was a guarantee the bag would get into the correct car, he replied that it would be a good idea to double check and he headed to the back to get the key. 

When he returned he showed me the key for verification.  Good move.  He’s sure and the guest is confident.  That’s a win-win and it took only seconds to accomplish.  THAT is the kind of guest contact I appreciate and the same level of performance was there when we came back to get the car late in the afternoon.  It was a pleasure to tip them both.  Hell, it was a pleasure just to do business with them.

Embassy Suites - Centennial Park?  Front desk OK, Security and Valet, way up there, Housekeeping & Maintenance, well, not so good.  Management?  Well, they need to get out where the action is a lot more.   

When we got home late that night there was a message on the answering machine.  It was from a manager at Embassy Suites asking me to call back and talk with them so they “could make it up to me.”

That was nice, but they have nothing to make up for.  Though I’m critical of services offered, my expectations of what I’m owed are different.  For instance, I don’t feel an airline is obligated to feed me unless it’s a transcontinental or intercontinental flight.  Get me and my bag to where we agreed upon, at or very near the time we agreed upon, and I’m satisfied.  Similarly, at the hotel I got a decent room, had a good night’s rest, and a breakfast the following morning.

But if they DID need to make something up to me, shouldn’t it be their job to contact me, even if it took a couple of calls?  No, I won’t be returning that message call.

Te return flight was similar to the hotel stay,but the Georgia Aquarium was absolutely the opposite end of the spectrum.  Unbelievably so.  In the early days of development, the key word was “Wow!”  The intent was for every future guest to say “Wow!” when they saw the place.

I said a lot of “Wow!” in that place, beginning with the wonderful entry exhibit.  And I remember that on two occasions, I thought of another word, the same on each turn of the corner.  It was “Magnificent!”

I love going to a zoo or an aquarium.  NOTHING comes close to the Georgia Aquarium.  Our day there, and yes, you can easily spend a day there, was well worth everything else that happened on the trip.

More on that part later…