How cool is this?

An earlier post of mine described my trip home from Albuquerque, NM, and the perplexing visit I had to the AmericInn in Sayre, OK late one night.

In the post, I mentioned a woman behind the counter poking at a computer in a futile attempt to get it to work while she attempted to book a room for a guest. (As you all know, computers "simplify" the lives and work of millions of people across this great country every day. This poor lady was no exception...)

A short time later, a representative of AmericInn apparently came across my post (while searching for "AmericInn" on the web, I assume), and read it.

Here's the cool part: This guy went to the trouble of finding my home address (since he didn't have my e-mail address), and he wrote and mailed me a letter apologizing for the inconvenience. In the letter, he mentioned that he has arranged for additional training for personnel at the location in question for the new property management software they had installed (this is apparently what the lady behind the desk was struggling with), so the event I described wouldn't happen again.

Wow... That's cool.

I think that, as a rule, the general idea of "customer service" in this country is spiralling down toward a hole at the bottom of a toilet the size of a Wal-Mart SuperCenter (ooops... Did I say that?). I'm thinking that AmericInn is an exception to that rule. Apparently, not all companies have forgotten that being nice to customers (and even late-night mental cases too impatient to stick around long enough to become customers) is a good thing. It put me in a good mood getting that letter. What a cool place!

I'll say this much: The next time I travel (which will most likely be with the wife n' kids), I will make a point of staying at an AmericInn if at all possible. As I mentioned in the previous post, the place was pretty nice: There was a fireplace in the lobby, and a big couch. There was a pool too. The kids would love it. I should've stayed there!