I travel way too much. My kids tease me that the only people that send me personalized Christmas cards are hotel staff. So over the years I’ve developed a pretty keen sense of the good, the bad, and the ugly of the travel, hospitality, and restaurant businesses. In addition, I spent nearly eight years as the director of a spectacular conference center in Colorado that honed my understanding of the details of the hospitality business.

A first step to knowing your customers is knowing their names

One key to outstanding customer relations is to know your customer. And a first step to knowing your customers is knowing their names. People want to be recognized, known, and cared for personally. Recently I’ve had the opportunity to reflect on two outstanding examples.

The first example is Eric, a front desk staff, at the Newport Beach Marriott Bayview. Now I know that all the staff receive the same training, but Eric has a gift of hospitality. He was the first to remember my name and whenever I come into the lobby, he instantly recognizes me with a smile and greets me by name. He’s even alert to how I’m doing. Arriving late one night after a tiring flight, Eric welcomed me and then said, “You look really tired. Can I send up a bottle of wine or beer to your room?” Just that gesture perked me up.

Thanks, Eric, for your alert hospitality.

The second example is Josh, who I and my wife, Patricia, met this past weekend in Portland, Oregon at the Marriott Downtown Waterfront. Marriott Hotels on most of their properties have a concierge lounge for those of us who rack up a lot of nights. These are self-service setups with a concierge usually sitting at the entrance looking like they don’t have much to do, friendly, but passive.

Patricia and I had just entered the concierge lounge for the complementary breakfast when the concierge, Josh, walked up and warmly introduced himself to us with a firm handshake. He immediately asked us for our names.

Over the next 45 minutes, he came by our table, cleared dishes, offered to bring water and coffee, and carried on conversation with us, always referring to our names. He made sure that as we left we had water and snacks for the day. It was a delightful time, and despite the fact that the lounge was fairly busy, he kept it all very relaxed and personal.

I noticed that he asked everyone their names, and as others entered who obviously had been there the day before, he welcomed them all by name. Patricia told him, “Josh, you have the gift; the gift of hospitality.” To which he replied with a big grin, “I love what I do!” We were seeing hospitality flow from the heart.Over the past ten years, I’ve been to countless concierge lounges, but this was a first to be known as a customer in this way.

Thanks, Josh. We’ll remember you!

Businesses can set themselves apart by knowing their customers — not in a robotic, database driven sort of way, but in a personal “I know who you are” sort of way. Customers are looking for businesses they trust, and trust is partly formed by the feeling that these folks know me and are looking out for me.

To know a name is to care for people as God would. The Scriptures are replete with examples of God calling people by their names. He knows each person individually. He’s even given names to each of the stars. And in the world to come, the Scriptures indicate that He will give each of us a special name known only to Him and to us. And when we hear that name we will know who is calling, and that it’s the voice of someone who cares.

Do you know who your customers are?