My family and I recently returned from a four-night stay at the Crystal Peak Lodge in Breckenridge, CO. The only feature of the resort that was more impressive than its pristine condition and luxury amenities was its location alongside the ski lifts at the base of Peak 7.

Yesterday I received an email from the lodge with a link to a web-based customer satisfaction survey. As I was completing it, two things stood out: Lodge management was particularly interested in whether or not guests felt pampered and treated as important.

Identifying these attributes as priorities did not surprise me considering the lodge’s condominium units were priced in the millions. (Disclaimer: I was renting.)

While I love the term “pampered” as it applies to customer service, there’s another word for ‘pamper’ that I prefer: cosset. (I like this word because it’s so unique. When is the last time you read or heard this word?) Too often, employees fail to pamper or cosset when doing so would make a positive lasting impression on the customer.

Whether employees are handling eggs or bread while bagging groceries, folding and placing garments in a shopping bag, or placing a passenger’s luggage on a conveyer belt during his airport check-in, they have opportunities to do so in a way that conveys to customers that they care about their groceries, garments, and possessions, and will handle them as if they were their own.

The second term, “important,” is often misunderstood.

Sometimes at my seminars, participants will push back on the notion of treating certain customers (e.g., United Mileage Plus 1K flyers, Marriott Rewards elite guests, AMEX Platinum Card holders, etc.) differently—as more important than other customers—because of their status.

The point I make when responding to these participants is that “importance” does not refer to one’s importance as a person. It refers to her importance as a customer and the value she brings to the business through personal spending, loyalty, and referrals.

So, the Crystal Peak Lodge was interested in my assessment of whether or not I felt pampered and treated as important.

Over the course of a four-night stay, there were only a couple of things that hit my customer service radar. In both cases, I didn’t say anything at the time. Like most customers, I generally just observe without making a fuss.

Interestingly, both of the issues I noted involved missed opportunities by the staff to pamper (or cosset) and reinforce the guest’s importance as a customer.

The first issue occurred during an encounter with three front desk employees. The lodge offers private movie theaters for guests and I had reserved one for my family to watch the new Narnia movie. Although each theatre has access to a kitchen containing a microwave to prepare popcorn (brilliant!), there was nothing to put the popcorn in (a missed opportunity).

When I inquired about containers for the popcorn at the front desk, I was told to “check upstairs” (presumably, the restaurant may have something…). Seriously? Is this response supposed to make me feel “pampered” or “important” —as three employees remain comfortably seated behind the desk?

The second issue occurred when I called the front desk from my unit to ask about trash and recycling disposal. (Since I was renting the unit directly from the owner, there was no daily housekeeping service provided.) Rather than offering to send a housekeeping employee to my unit to retrieve the bags, the employee gave me directions from the $1.8M unit in which I was staying to the trash room in the parking garage. I found that odd…

Again, is this response supposed to make me feel “pampered” or “important”? I certainly didn’t feel that way as I hauled two bags of waste from my fifth floor unit down to the trash room in the parking garage.

In reflecting on my experience at Crystal Peak Lodge, while its management may prioritize having guests feel pampered and important, ultimately this will happen or not happen based on the actions of employees. This reinforces a core truth in the debate over who’s ultimately responsible for poor customer service, management or frontline employees: Regardless of a company’s service culture or standards, excellence (e.g., making a customer feel pampered or important) results from employee choice.

That choice may be to dispatch a housekeeper to collect the waste from a guest’s condominium unit or to get up from your comfortable chair, invite the guest to rejoin his family in the theater, and go in search of popcorn containers.

It’s pretty simple when you think about it.

What’s your opinion about where the responsibility to deliver exceptional customer service lies—with management or frontline employees?

I welcome all questions, comments, bouquets, and brickbats.

Earlier this month, I stopped by Hooters for lunch. During my hour-long visit, my table was “touched” by three separate Hooters Girls (my server, Felicia, and two others: Lillie and Kassity) and the manager, Ben.

I don’t always do so well remembering names but they made it easy for me. Two of the servers signed a napkin at my table and all four employees were wearing name tags that were clearly visible. That’s not always the case in many establishments.

All that attention not only made me feel valued as a customer, it also made an impression on me. Instead of feeling like just another restaurant “cover,” I felt as though this dining experience had been personalized—like the napkin—just for me. The staff expressed genuine interest in me, the guest. It was unexpected and I was pleasantly surprised.

Providing and using names is necessary to establish rapport. And establishing rapport is necessary to build trust. And building trust is necessary to gain customer loyalty. And customer loyalty—and the future spending and referrals that come with it—is necessary for business success.

So, what’s in a name? Business success.

In today’s mail I received a marketing letter from a Denver-based accounting firm eager to expand its clientele. I’d say that I have received a letter from this firm every 2 or 3 months for the past four years and usually toss them in the trash unopened. Convicted by this waste, I called the firm this afternoon and politely asked to be removed from its database.

The irony is that four years ago, after receiving one of the first marketing letters from this firm, I called one of the CPAs listed to determine whether or not my situation was a fit for his accounting firm. When I phoned, the call was answered by a pleasant receptionist and went something like this (I’ve chosen to use fictitious names but the story is absolutely true):

Receptionist: “Good afternoon. Thank you for calling XYZ Accounting Solutions. How may I help you?”

(So far, so good.)

Me: “Hello. I’m calling to speak with one of your CPAs, Tim Smith. Is he available?”

Receptionist: “I’m sorry but the partners don’t accept phone calls without an appointment. Would you like to schedule an appointment with Mr. Smith through me at this time?”

(Wrong answer.)

Me: “No thank you.”

Later that week, I connected with a CPA at a competing firm (who accepts phone calls without an appointment). He and I discussed my accounting situation, determined that we were a good fit, and he’s been doing my personal and business accounting ever since.

My situation isn’t terribly complex. Even so, between quarterly and annual returns, he’s billing me over $1,000 each year. If you’re keeping track, that’s around $4,000 in accounting fees that the original firm forfeited based on its handling of my original phone inquiry. And that’s just me!

I know, I know…conventional time management theory suggests that busy executives should have their calls screened in order to increase their personal productivity…yadda, yadda, yadda… But it comes down to this: “Whose time is more important, yours or your customer’s?”

If you answered “Mine” (as in your time) then I would submit that you probably don’t have many customers and, if you do, you either work for a government entity, utility company, or some other monopoly. If you answered “My customer’s” (as in your customer’s time) and currently take your own calls, then you’re way ahead of the game and likely see the results in your own business.

If, however, you answered “My customer’s” (as in your customer’s time) and your calls are currently being screened, then you have a choice to make. Choose wisely. The stakes may be much higher than you think.