Evan Z.
Yelp
I wanted to share my recent experience at the Southwest Bistro restaurant at the Hyatt Regency Gainey Ranch in Scottsdale, Arizona.
My wife and I had a few expiring points with Hyatt and we decided to use them for a nice dinner for two. Because of the recent resurgence of the Covid virus, our dining activities have been limited to outdoor dining only. However, the December weather in Arizona has been very cold with an amazing amount of rain, making outdoor dining near impossible.
I called the Hyatt Regency Gainey Ranch in Scottsdale and spoke with "Dominic" at the
front desk. He explained that we could use our points at any of the hotel's restaurants and simply order our food "to go." He added that not everyone in the restaurants would know how to process this type of order so I should ask for a manager.
I then called the Southwest Bistro restaurant (SWB) and asked to speak to a manager. "Francis" took my call and said she was the manager "on duty." She took our order, which was a Strip Loin steak, a Free Range chicken, a Chopped Salad, and a Crème brûlée for desert, all "to go." When I then told her I was going to use points for the meal, she said it was very easy to do - and she wasn't kidding! In fact, she then asked me what time we wanted our food to be ready, and she even called me when our order was ready while we were in our way to the hotel.
The food was excellent, cooked perfectly, and may have been one of the best looking and tasting "take out" dinners we've had in a very long time.
Most importantly, it was obvious to us that "Francis" wasn't your ordinary manager: She wanted to be sure our experience at SWB and Hyatt was perfect in every way.
In my business life as a retailer, I believe that wanting to satisfy customers can't be trained, but instead, is a "behavior" that is unalterable. As a consequence, our stores performed extremely well in spite of incredibly tough competition, mainly, I believe, because we hired men and women who put customers on a pedestal. One thing is for certain - hotel and restaurant customers have so many options, the main differentiator will always come down to their ability to servicing the customer.
"Francis" would be the kind of person I would have immediately hired. In fact, if I didn't have a job for her, I'd hire her and create one.
The most important "take away" here is that "Francis" genuinely loves Hyatt and her teammates, loves her job, and absolutely loves talking to her good customers. To say that "Francis" is the perfect ambassador for SWB at Hyatt would be an understatement. She literally beams
"customer urgency," a talent that was rare enough before the Pandemic, and is now practically extinct.
But to my point, if I were her supervisor or mentor, I'd position her in the most highly visible job possible. With "Francis" at the helm, why would a customer dine anywhere else? When this Pandemic and the weather become more manageable we plan to dine in person at SWB and we'll be sure to say hello to "Francis!"