In honor of Good Friday, I thought I would comment on a good service experience I had the last time I went to Vegas.  After a long day of taking in the sites, sounds and odds, we decided to graze at a buffet and unwind.  The pick that night was the Rio’s international buffet (as in not the seafood buffet since I am not a big fan of creatures from the water – which is why I generally do not observe the in disguise fisherman lobby no meat obligations of my religion).  All in all, the main course food was pretty good, but the pleasant surprise came as I went for my dessert.  Arriving at the dessert area I noticed there was a counter with a rather unique form of ice cream that I believe was Italian, but it was not the Spumoni type that I have had before.  All of the choices in flavors caused me to hesitate a bit as I contemplated the perfect dessert.  Actually, I was so focused on the selection, I completely overlooked the fact that there was an individual in a chef hat manning the counter.  He was apparently a good read of people as well since he immediately asked me if he could answer any questions I might have or possibly offer some suggestions on tasty combinations. 

For the next 5 minutes he answered all of my dumb questions on what it was, how it was made, and interesting tidbits related to it.  He then provided a couple combinations of flavors that was his favorite and some others that some of his customers recommended.  All of this with what appeared to be a genuine interest in my happiness – I was stunned.  I thanked the man, eagerly took the little cup containing my tasty creation and headed back to my seat in happy anticipation.  Delicious!  While I cooled the tummy, I kept an eye on the dessert counter.  Sure enough, he was treating everyone that came up to him in the same manner, joking with them, commenting on something that might be unique to an individual (nice hat, unique purse, striking tie, how’s the casinos treating you).  In almost every case, the customer carried on a short conversation with a smile on their face.   On my way out, I actually looked for a tip jar out of curiousity but found none.  This man clearly enjoyed his job and had great personal skills – a rarity in todays service industry.

I left the Rio buffet with a smile and an experience that set a new standard for service in my book.  Probably more amazing is I had completely forgotten at the moment the complete lack of service we encountered when we arrived at the buffet.  Apparently the Rio (or should I refer to them as Harrah’s) is too cheap to invest in a personal experience at the order counter – instead of simply hiring one or two inviduals to man the credit cards and handling any questions, they installed a bunch of cold and uncaring computers so you can do all the busy work to actually pay them.   Numerous people in line were confused (generally the older crowd) and some even left in disgust. 

So on Good Friday, I give you an example of Good Service (minus the self-check in 8^)