We arrived at the Four Seasons Hotel in Monaghan town just after 9pm. We’d been on the go since 7am that morning and we’d also had a 12-hour day the day before. We were very tired. Drawing a line from Limerick to Dublin, we were visiting families in the northern part of the country to find the top farming families for the FBD, Irish Farmers Journal Farm Family competition.

A lovely blonde girl looked up from her desk: “Ah hello, I’m so glad you’re here,” she said, grasping the paperwork that she had already prepared for our three rooms.

“You’re very welcome to the Four Seasons, how was your journey?” she enquired, smiling broadly and fully engaged with us.

There and then I started to relax, as this girl detailed all the hotel had to offer and how she was at the other end of the phone for anything we might need. You might think that every hotel offers the same sort of service, but I’m afraid it’s sadly not the case. The way services in the hospitality industry are offered to customers is hugely important.

Body language speaks volumes and you know instantly if you are just a nuisance at the other side of the counter. It makes such a difference to be treated with respect and to feel that you are really welcome. This girl was genuine about her welcome and I could see the Brennan brothers of RTÉ fame being delighted with her.

She didn’t just go through the motions. She was sincere about her business. I asked about the restaurant and she told us to go straight in. I asked about the times for the leisure centre and she said it was open until 10 o’clock and open again at 7am.

“You’ll have to choose between your dinner or a swim. You can’t have both,” she joked. “Maybe leave the swim until the morning, relax now and enjoy your dinner,” she encouraged with enthusiasm.

Ireland has the reputation of being a welcoming country and one person behind a hotel counter, or anywhere in the hospitality industry, can make or break that image for a visitor.

More professionalism

The following morning, I was in the pool at 7am. Again, the lady at that reception desk had a broad smile and a welcome: “Do you need a towel, have you a hat? Hope you enjoy your swim now.”

When I was checking out I enquired about the girl from the evening before. Her name was Bernice. The two behind the desk looked a little worried and full of concern.

“Has everything been ok for you?” the older of the two enquired. When I told her who we were and what we were about and that I’d only had good things to say about Bernice, they were delighted. At the mention of the Irish Farmers Journal, Marie introduced herself and pointing to another gorgeous girl she said: “Would you ever put an ad in the Farmers Journal for Sinead here, a nice 23-year-old farmer with plenty of land.”

Poor Sinead was mortified by Marie, who turned out to be her mother. Again, lovely ladies behind the desk who were living their roles rather than just going through the motions of the job.

The other experience

Another evening, we arrived into a hotel that shall remain nameless. It was 11pm and the lady behind the counter was less than courteous. Apparently, we were late. Her attitude left us with a sour taste. The following morning when I joined my two gentlemen for breakfast, they were less than happy. They had asked for toast three times and were still waiting.

Next thing the burnt toast was plonked down in front of me with the words: “Do ye need anything else?” But the girl had already turned away before we had a chance to reply. These are small things, but they make a huge difference to the quality of the service.

There are two types of visitors: the people on holidays that want to be pampered and those, like us, who are on business with a tight schedule and need prompt and efficient service. People providing services sometimes forget that bad incidents are remembered and talked about.

The aim should be always to leave the customer with a positive experience. Last Christmas, we were out for a meal with friends. We’d had the lot: starter, main course, dessert, wine, teas and coffees, and we were chatting. There was seven of us. Many others were still in the restaurant too. We were enjoying the experience so much we asked for another cup of coffee.

The gentleman informed us that the coffee machine had been turned off. Needless to say, he blew a fine tip and left a bad impression. We still joke about it. The meal had been lovely, but it’s the denial of an extra cup of coffee that we remember.

There’s an art to serving the customer. During my visit to Bloom this year, I dropped by to visit Peter Ward at the Country Choice stand, where the team was getting prepared for the day ahead. Elisa Ward was instructing her nine members of staff who would be making scrumptious steak burgers for the patrons.

“Remember,” she said. “we want each customer to have five conversations before they get the burger into their hands.”

This would happen as one took the order, another fried onions, another cooked the steak and so on. The point is that good service has to be planned and made a priority. When we pay money for services we expect them to be good. Incidentally, the Four Seasons Hotel was also the best value for money of the week. We’re off again next week.