Phil Baxter has a big heart hanging on the wall of his modest office at the Four Points Sheraton at LAX, the airport hotel he’s managed for several years.
The heart that’s hanging on Baxter’s office wall isn’t exactly a Valentine, but it is an expression of tremendous appreciation for the big heart Baxter brings with him to work each day.
Far from perfectly shaped and with some coloring outside the lines, the posted heart was hand drawn by a grateful five year old and sent to Baxter by an even more grateful parent.
The young artist had been an overnight guest at Baxter’s hotel, staying on the seventh floor with his business traveler parents. He’d been awakened from a nap when mom and dad were ready to rush off to the airport to catch a plane heading for faraway Australia.
Heathrow Chauffeur
In the boy’s groggy state and his parents’ rush to get to catch their plane, the child’s beloved teddy bear had been left behind on top of the desk in the hotel room -- in the very place it had been carefully stationed so that it would be visible and not forgotten.
Of course, by the time the little boy and his parents realized the teddy bear was missing, they were airborne. And he was crying hysterically.
That bear had traveled around the world with the little boy since he was a wee three years old. Teddy was his constant companion and best buddy while he was on the road, a security blanket of sorts, a stuffed and cuddly creature that comforted him while he accompanied his frequently flying entrepreneurial parents from country to country, city to city on their almost non-stop business rounds.
By age five, this little boy had already learned that frequent work-related travel can be a lonely business -- even if you’re in the company of your doting parents. The fact is that the boy’s real life friends were back at home, forming closer ties to each other while he was moving from place to place with his parents. But the teddy bear, a birthday gift from one of those real life friends, helped a lot. Until the bear was gone.
Back at the hotel, the seventh floor housekeeper discovered the forgotten teddy bear sitting on the desk. Although the bear was a bit raggedy from cuddling, she figured out that it had probably been unintentionally left behind -- and not meant to be thrown away.
She transported the stuffed creature to the lost and found, where it was entered into a log that specified where and when it had been found.
Heathrow Transfers
Of course, as soon as the little boy and his parents landed, Baxter received a call from them pleading for him to do an all out search to find the boy’s teddy bear. No problem for Baxter. Within minutes he was able to tell the parents that the boy’s bear was safe and sound, and would be delivered to them in the fastest way possible.
Asking for the next several stops on the parents’ itinerary, Baxter was able to calculate where to send the bear by express delivery. The bear was packed up and shipped of that very day. And several days later Baxter got the hand-drawn heart delivered by express mail in return.
“This sort of thing happens quite often. We have to step up to meet all sorts of unusual and difficult situations,” Baxter tells me when I ask to meet him because I want to thank him for the exceptional consideration and kindness the hotel staff had extended to me my car had mechanical problems while I was staying at his hotel -- the Four Points Sheraton at LAX -- during a recent visit to Los Angeles.
I was astonished when two staff members stepped up to introduce me to their personal auto mechanics -- who would be reliable and honest, and not take advantage of a stranger in distress. One staff member drove me to Pep Boys so I could purchase something might take care of the problem, and another staffer picked me up from Pep Boys and drove me back to the hotel.
I have to say that I probably travel as frequently as that five year old million miler who forget his teddy bear at the hotel, and I know that this level of guest service is rare -- even in five star hotels famous for exceptional guest services.
Baxter, who sets and carefully monitors the hotel’s guest service standards, is genuinely pleased that I am so enthusiastic about his hotel’s staff. He tells me how much it means to him and to hotel staffers to receive positive feedback from guests.
Gatwick Taxis
“It makes our work more meaningful,” he says. “The hotel staff is like family. Many of them have worked here for years and take pride in doing as much as we can to make guests feel at home and feel cared for -- even if they’re staying here for one night and we may never see them again.”
Baxter shows me a stack of letters he’s received from guests complimenting and thanking staff members. He says he makes sure all of the comments are relayed to the hotel workers who’ve earned them.
The correspondence that he’s most touched by and proudest of is an emotional letter he received last year from a gentleman expressing profound gratitude to the staff for saving his wife’s life.
She was having chest pains, and he called the hotel concierge for assistance. Within seconds, hotel security was at the room door to assist. The ambulance called by the concierge was there within minutes to transport her to the hospital.
“She was having a severe heart attack,” says Baxter. “Her husband believes that if we hadn‘t responded so quickly to his call for help, he would have lost her. That’s really making a difference in someone’s life. Obviously we would prefer not to have such crucial incidents occur, but it is good to know that we can respond effectively when they do.“
Of course, saving a life is much more important than returning a teddy bear or fixing a car. But, the fact is that Baxter and his staff at Four Points Sheraton at LAX have accomplished all three.
Copyright 2013 Jennifer Merin
Airport Cabs
The heart that’s hanging on Baxter’s office wall isn’t exactly a Valentine, but it is an expression of tremendous appreciation for the big heart Baxter brings with him to work each day.
Far from perfectly shaped and with some coloring outside the lines, the posted heart was hand drawn by a grateful five year old and sent to Baxter by an even more grateful parent.
The young artist had been an overnight guest at Baxter’s hotel, staying on the seventh floor with his business traveler parents. He’d been awakened from a nap when mom and dad were ready to rush off to the airport to catch a plane heading for faraway Australia.
Heathrow Chauffeur
In the boy’s groggy state and his parents’ rush to get to catch their plane, the child’s beloved teddy bear had been left behind on top of the desk in the hotel room -- in the very place it had been carefully stationed so that it would be visible and not forgotten.
Of course, by the time the little boy and his parents realized the teddy bear was missing, they were airborne. And he was crying hysterically.
That bear had traveled around the world with the little boy since he was a wee three years old. Teddy was his constant companion and best buddy while he was on the road, a security blanket of sorts, a stuffed and cuddly creature that comforted him while he accompanied his frequently flying entrepreneurial parents from country to country, city to city on their almost non-stop business rounds.
By age five, this little boy had already learned that frequent work-related travel can be a lonely business -- even if you’re in the company of your doting parents. The fact is that the boy’s real life friends were back at home, forming closer ties to each other while he was moving from place to place with his parents. But the teddy bear, a birthday gift from one of those real life friends, helped a lot. Until the bear was gone.
Back at the hotel, the seventh floor housekeeper discovered the forgotten teddy bear sitting on the desk. Although the bear was a bit raggedy from cuddling, she figured out that it had probably been unintentionally left behind -- and not meant to be thrown away.
She transported the stuffed creature to the lost and found, where it was entered into a log that specified where and when it had been found.
Heathrow Transfers
Of course, as soon as the little boy and his parents landed, Baxter received a call from them pleading for him to do an all out search to find the boy’s teddy bear. No problem for Baxter. Within minutes he was able to tell the parents that the boy’s bear was safe and sound, and would be delivered to them in the fastest way possible.
Asking for the next several stops on the parents’ itinerary, Baxter was able to calculate where to send the bear by express delivery. The bear was packed up and shipped of that very day. And several days later Baxter got the hand-drawn heart delivered by express mail in return.
“This sort of thing happens quite often. We have to step up to meet all sorts of unusual and difficult situations,” Baxter tells me when I ask to meet him because I want to thank him for the exceptional consideration and kindness the hotel staff had extended to me my car had mechanical problems while I was staying at his hotel -- the Four Points Sheraton at LAX -- during a recent visit to Los Angeles.
I was astonished when two staff members stepped up to introduce me to their personal auto mechanics -- who would be reliable and honest, and not take advantage of a stranger in distress. One staff member drove me to Pep Boys so I could purchase something might take care of the problem, and another staffer picked me up from Pep Boys and drove me back to the hotel.
I have to say that I probably travel as frequently as that five year old million miler who forget his teddy bear at the hotel, and I know that this level of guest service is rare -- even in five star hotels famous for exceptional guest services.
Baxter, who sets and carefully monitors the hotel’s guest service standards, is genuinely pleased that I am so enthusiastic about his hotel’s staff. He tells me how much it means to him and to hotel staffers to receive positive feedback from guests.
Gatwick Taxis
“It makes our work more meaningful,” he says. “The hotel staff is like family. Many of them have worked here for years and take pride in doing as much as we can to make guests feel at home and feel cared for -- even if they’re staying here for one night and we may never see them again.”
Baxter shows me a stack of letters he’s received from guests complimenting and thanking staff members. He says he makes sure all of the comments are relayed to the hotel workers who’ve earned them.
The correspondence that he’s most touched by and proudest of is an emotional letter he received last year from a gentleman expressing profound gratitude to the staff for saving his wife’s life.
She was having chest pains, and he called the hotel concierge for assistance. Within seconds, hotel security was at the room door to assist. The ambulance called by the concierge was there within minutes to transport her to the hospital.
“She was having a severe heart attack,” says Baxter. “Her husband believes that if we hadn‘t responded so quickly to his call for help, he would have lost her. That’s really making a difference in someone’s life. Obviously we would prefer not to have such crucial incidents occur, but it is good to know that we can respond effectively when they do.“
Of course, saving a life is much more important than returning a teddy bear or fixing a car. But, the fact is that Baxter and his staff at Four Points Sheraton at LAX have accomplished all three.
Copyright 2013 Jennifer Merin
Airport Cabs