Yesterday, my son left school early complaining of itchiness and blurred vision in his right eye. I immediately suspected conjunctivitis (commonly known as “pink eye”) since his mother had just recovered days earlier from the highly contagious infection.

I phoned our health care provider, Kaiser Permanente, before noon to inquire about setting an appointment for our primary care physician (or another doctor) to see my son that afternoon at our local clinic in order to diagnose his illness and prescribe a remedy. The Kaiser representative I spoke with said that for suspected cases of pink eye (being that it’s highly contagious), “a nurse will phone you to conduct triage over the phone.”

My initial reaction was that Kaiser’s process made a lot of sense. With something as common and observable as pink eye, it was prudent to allocate treatment over the phone and, with a physician’s consent, prescribe antibiotic eye drops to eliminate the infection.

About an hour later, I received a call from the nurse who asked a series of questions about the condition of my son’s right eye:

Does it itch? Yes.
Is it swollen? Yes.
Is it pink? Yes.
Is there discharge? Yes.
Etc.

During our conversation, I happened to mention that my son had removed his contact lenses and was now wearing his eyeglass frames. To my surprise, the nurse said, “If he wears contacts, then he’ll need to see someone at the Kaiser eye care facility in Highlands Ranch.”

I said, “The Highlands Ranch facility is 35 minutes away. His primary care physician is less than 10 minutes from my house. Why can’t we go there instead?”

The nurse reiterated that I must take him to a Kaiser eye care facility because he wears contact lenses. So I asked her, “If Coleton wore eyeglass frames rather than contact lenses, would we still have to drive all the way to Highlands Ranch for him to receive treatment?”

Sensing my irritation, she repeated Kaiser’s policy of referring patients wearing contact lenses to one of its eye care facilities to diagnose conjunctivitis. She then offered the next available appointment time of 4:15pm. (For those readers who are unfamiliar with Denver, the only thing worse than a 45-mile round-trip commute from SE Aurora to Highlands Ranch, is doing so during weekday rush hour.) I accepted the appointment time, hung up, and then left immediately with my son for the OnPoint Urgent Care facility located about three miles from my house.

There, after a 5-minute wait in a very comfortable, non-clinical “waiting room” (see photo above) and after a brief examination, (for the cost of a $25 co-pay) the physician assistant diagnosed that Coleton had indeed contracted pink eye and prescribed Ofloxacin antibiotic eye drops. Prescription in hand, we stopped by our local Walgreens pharmacy on the way home, paid $11.24 for the medication (perhaps $1.24 more than Kaiser would have charged under our medical plan), and began treating Coleton’s infection by 3:15pm.

At that point, I phoned Kaiser and canceled our 4:15pm appointment in Highlands Ranch.

When I looked at the receipts, I saw that only 48 minutes had elapsed between the time I paid the copay at OnPoint Urgent Care and the time I paid for the prescription at Walgreens. That’s less than the drive time from the Highlands Ranch Kaiser eye care facility to my house in SE Aurora in rush hour traffic.

My wife and I have been with Kaiser since relocating to Colorado in 1998. In that time, we’ve had four children and our healthcare costs have quadrupled. Although we have a choice to change providers during annual enrollment each year, we continue to choose Kaiser Permanente. We like our primary care physician, his support staff, and the employees we come in contact with at the pharmacy.

What we don’t appreciate is an absurd policy that requires an ophthalmologist (who’s located 22 miles away and is not available until 4:15pm) to diagnose an eye infection that a physician assistant (who’s located 3 miles away and is available right now) can diagnose after a 2-minute exam.

Health Maintenance Organizations (HMOs) like Kaiser Permanente are often criticized for their bureaucracy, escalating fees, and mediocre patient service—which is often demonstrated by their insensitivity to the needs and realities of patients. As a result, nimble urgent care centers like OnPoint Urgent Care are carving out a niche by providing better patient service (more comfort, convenience, and responsiveness) than HMOs like Kaiser Permanente.

Don’t settle for ordinary. Choose extraordinary. (It’s always a choice.) Pre-order Delight Your Customers: 7 Simple Ways to Raise Your Customer Service from Ordinary to Extraordinary by Steve Curtin (AMACOM Books, June 11, 2013)

Whereas job knowledge provides a common broad perspective about a company’s products and services, unique knowledge offers an exclusive “insider’s” perspective.

By offering privileged, insider information to customers, you are sharing unique knowledge. Examples include: ways to avoid long lines at Disney World, routes to circumvent construction delays on I-25, how to nab theater tickets for half-price, a nearby jogging trail offering spectacular views, or the independent Italian restaurant preferred by locals.

Eldon Larson, owner of Wine Experience Café in Aurora, Colorado, offers insider information that demystifies the wine ordering experience, enabling servers to confidently offer wine suggestions to their guests.

According to Larson,

“It’s not uncommon for servers who are new to fine dining to have limited experience with wine and to be intimidated by the many varietals and guidelines for offering food and wine pairing suggestions. Being that the varietals’ origins are in France, I use a map of the country to introduce less-experienced staff to the regions that produce these wines. From there, I make connections to other countries that produce wine using similar grapes. And by offering tastes of varietals from different countries, servers can note these distinctions in their tasting notes.”

He then goes on to propose a map-based system to support less-experienced staff in assisting their guests with wine selections while providing unique knowledge about wine varietals. Regardless of whether you are the waiter taking the order or the guest placing it, you can benefit from Larson’s approach:

“We always start with white wines and move to red wines. Beginning with the Loire Valley region that produces Sauvignon Blanc then moving to the Alsace region that produces Riesling and Pinot Gris. From there, we progress to the Burgundy region and explore Chardonnay and Pinot Noir. Next is the Bordeaux region where servers-in-training are exposed to Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Cabernet Franc, and Malbec, before concluding with Rhone Valley Grenache and Syrah grapes.

Since guests are interested in wines from all over the world, it’s important to expand from the map of France to include different countries. We do this by associating the French varietals with wines produced elsewhere. For instance, Sauvignon Blanc (originating in the Loire Valley region) is also produced in the United States and New Zealand. And Chardonnay (originating in the Burgundy region) is also made in the United States, Australia, and South Africa.”

Throughout their exposure to the wines, trainees are encouraged to put into words what they are nosing and tasting. This will help them to articulate to restaurant guests the difference between a dry French Riesling and a sweet German Riesling or an airy French Pinot Noir and a darker, richer Oregon Pinot Noir.

Once servers are comfortable with the French origins of the varietals, have knowledge of other countries producing wine using similar grapes, and can articulate their nosing and tasting sensations with varietals from different parts of the world, Larson expands servers’ wine knowledge by introducing basic food and wine pairings and terroir, a French term that translates to earth, or soil. Servers’ knowledge of terroir enables them to recognize subtle distinctions between wines of the same varietal based on the soil, climate, and weather that produced the grapes used to make the wine. This adds another layer of unique knowledge to their arsenals.

Although Larson’s formal wine training takes about 90 days for servers to complete, by using a simple map of France depicting each of its wine regions, from the start they are equipped to make informed wine recommendations that aid in getting wine on the table. And sharing the map-based system with restaurant guests as a “peek behind the curtain” is much more memorable than parroting the tired mnemonic, “red wine with red meat, white wine with fish and chicken.”

While customers appreciate nice employees, they value knowledgeable employees. And the more unique knowledge employees possess, the more value they add to the customer experience.

Bon appétit!

Illustration: Aaron McKissen

Last week, my family and I visited my wife’s 90-year old grandfather in a rural Nebraska assisted living facility. Everett is remarkably lucid for a man his age. We spent time together in the receiving room and ate lunch outside in the garden before returning to his modestly furnished room.

While my children were sharing the pictures they’d made especially for him, I was drawn into Everett’s past while examining posted photographs of family and friends throughout the years. I imagined the country’s circumstances at the time of the photos: Roosevelt’s fireside chats, World War II, Vietnam, Watergate, the oil crisis… And then I realized that I remembered the long lines for gasoline during the oil crisis in the early 1970s and imagined where I lived and what I was doing in 1973 at the same time Everett was captured in a pose with his wife, Betty, now deceased.

About that time, my wife called for us to return to the reception area for a family picture. Julie and the kids went ahead as Everett, with his walker, and I trailed them down the hall. That gave us a moment alone and I asked him, “Everett, how are you doing—how are you really doing?”

He said, “You know, I drove by this place for years and I always knew I would end up here. Most of the residents sleep quite a bit. After dinner, most of them go right to bed and there’s no one to talk to. It’s lonely.”

After our family picture, while Julie and the kids were saying their goodbyes, I approached the main reception desk and asked for a business card so that I would have the mailing address handy when we returned home. That way, we could mail Everett copies of the photos as well as more drawings from the kids.

Upon hearing my request, the receptionist looked surprised and said, “I’m not sure where they keep those. Can you wait here a minute?”

She disappeared into the office of an administrator across the hall and returned a moment later with a business card.

Sensing a missed opportunity, I suggested that she prominently display the business cards—even drawing attention to them with a sign inviting visitors to “Please take a card. We all love to get mail!”

I realize that it’s easy enough to Google the name of the residence to obtain the mailing address—assuming you remember its name. (“I know it had the word ‘garden’ in its name… Or was it ‘terrace?’”) Even so, it’s much easier to follow through on your commitment to write and mail pictures when you have a physical reminder (the business card) that’s right in front of you.

The receptionist politely thanked me for my suggestion (I get that a lot…) and returned to her work.

As I said farewell to Everett, I told him that we’d be sure to write and mail pictures. He smiled and nodded. I couldn’t help but wonder how many times he and other residents heard similar promises from family and friends that went unfulfilled after they departed the sleepy facility and rejoined their busy lives.

How about you? Is there anyone you can think of, lonely or not, who would love to hear from you or your children out of the blue? If necessary, make the effort to locate their address and be intentional about reminding them that you care.

Over Memorial Day weekend, I brought my son to a two-day basketball camp in Lakewood, CO. The first day, we stopped by an independent coffee shop (flanked to the north and south by Starbucks) where I ordered a double espresso in a ceramic cup for dine-in.

Cooper and I then took seats among the open tables. A few minutes later I heard the barista call out, “Double espresso!”

When I looked up, I saw my espresso order sitting on the far end of the bar. I got up, walked the 20 feet or so to the end of the bar, and retrieved my order. There, I noticed the barista talking with two other employees behind the counter and thought about the opportunity she missed to “go the extra mile” and deliver the order to my table. (For the record, there were three employees and five customers total in the coffee shop, with no customers in line waiting to be served.)

A few weeks ago I posted this blog containing three unique words that pertain to exceptional customer service. One of the words was cosset, which means to pamper or treat with excessive indulgence. I think of cosseting as a higher form of expressing genuine interest in a customer. It’s the subtle difference between handing customers’ purchases over the counter and walking around the counter to hand them directly to the customer, as do Nordstrom employees. It’s really nothing more than an extra step—a gesture of appreciation and respect. And it doesn’t go unnoticed.

The barista who fulfilled my order missed an opportunity to cosset her guest and, in so doing, make a positive lasting impression. Cynical employees might say, “C’mon, you’re perfectly capable of getting up and walking 20 feet to get your own espresso.” And they’re right—as my actions demonstrated.

Similarly, a guest in your home is capable of fetching her own cup of coffee but my hunch is that most of you will insist on serving her. And if you don’t, over time, I suspect you’ll have fewer guests in your home.

It’s no different at the local coffee shop. Over time, it too will have fewer guests to serve—starting with me. (We chose not to return on the second day of the camp, as there were plenty of other options nearby.)

Illustration: Aaron McKissen

This post is the eighth in a series that will identify 10 different customer service advantages that have emerged from my analysis of customer satisfaction data. Maybe you have capitalized on one or more of these advantages in your own business? The eighth advantage is to consider service a verb.

Have you ever heard someone in a committed relationship say that he or she no longer loves the other person? When questioned, he might say, “I’ve tried. Really I have. But the love just isn’t there.”

It’s no wonder the love isn’t there—because love (the noun) is a result of love (the verb). In the absence of demonstrating love for another person, there’s only a relationship—an association, an existence together. Heck, I have that type of relationship with my mailman.

In a committed relationship, it’s insufficient to view love as a noun—a mercurial feeling that vacillates between satisfied and unsatisfied.

Love must be demonstrated. Love requires action. Love is a verb.

It’s the same with customer service. Too many service providers view service as a noun—a role, function or department. As a result, customer service is objectified and lifeless.

Last year, I met a friend for lunch who oversees the training of 4,500 call center employees for a Fortune 100 company. He mentioned that call center employees are required to express empathy during phone calls pertaining to warranty or other repairs. He said that if an employee simply repeats the customer’s problem back to her, then that would satisfy the requirement to express empathy during a call audit.

In other words, if a customer calls in and says, “My washing machine stopped working” then all the employee would have to say is, “I’m sorry to hear that your washing machine stopped working” in order to receive full credit for expressing empathy.

My friend was not satisfied with this protocol and is working to change it. He proposed that genuine empathy might look more like a call center employee detecting a crying baby in the background and saying, “I hear a crying baby in the background. Would you like me to look into the availability of a service appointment for tomorrow and call you back in a few minutes?”

Service must be demonstrated. Service requires action. Service is a verb.

Going through the motions, whether in a committed relationship or with a customer, will result in a routine, predictable, and lifeless association. This opens the door for a competitor…

Do not view service as a noun. Do not see “serving customers” as performing a role or function—whether or not it involves a script, checklist or a requirement to “express empathy.”

Service, like love, is a verb. As such, it requires action and effort. It must be demonstrated.

When done well—consistently, with genuine care and concern—you will make a lasting positive impression and ensure that your “customer” will only have eyes for you.

What are some ways that you actively demonstrate service to your customers?

When I received my first management position with Marriott in 1992, I worked for a general manager named Mark Conklin. Although Mark (as he preferred to be called) oversaw more than two hundred employees, each employee received a hand-written card from him in the mail to honor the anniversary of their birth.

And he didn’t merely scrawl his signature beneath a pre-printed generic “Happy Birthday!” message. He took the time to write a full paragraph that highlighted a recent contribution the employee had made to the hotel, thanked them for their commitment to excellence, and wished them a Happy Birthday!

It would have been easier for Mark to distribute the cards through interoffice mail so that employees received their cards at work but he chose to mail the cards to employees’ homes. He reasoned that the cards would be opened in front of family members and that employees could take pride in sharing the positive comments about their valuable contributions at work.

Although this was 20 years ago, I still have the handwritten notes I received from Mark on my birthday. I keep them with the memorabilia I collected during my 20 years with the company. That’s how much they meant to me.

On December 13, 2011, J.W. Marriott, Jr. announced that he was stepping down as chief executive officer of Marriott International. Arne Sorenson, chief operating officer, has long been viewed as Mr. Marriott’s successor and will assume the CEO role in March. He will be only the third CEO in the company’s 85-year history and the first from outside the Marriott family.

The stability of having Mr. Marriott in the CEO role for nearly 40 years has provided Wall Street analysts with a level of confidence—even during some tumultuous economic cycles. His presence has also assured the company’s quarter million employees that they would be treated fairly and with respect. Customers even took comfort in knowing that there was a real “Mr. Marriott” standing behind the Marriott brand.

All this will change in March when Mr. Sorenson assumes the CEO role. There will likely be a bit more scrutiny by Wall Street. Employees may become more skeptical of corporate initiatives, and customers may begin to question the company’s longstanding commitment to maintaining the high standards of product and service quality championed by the founder’s son.

Last month, when the announcement was made, I was in the process of sending holiday cards and decided to send Mr. Sorenson a card with a brief note congratulating him on his promotion. Let me be clear: I don’t know Arne Sorenson personally. In fact, I’ve never even met him. My only connection to him is that I used to work for Marriott. And I certainly never expected to hear back from him.

To my surprise, the soon-to-be CEO of a $25 billion company took the time to send me the handwritten note below thanking me for my card:

After reading Mr. Sorenson’s note, I was reminded of the birthday cards I received from Mark Conklin 20 years ago—and was reassured that Marriott is in very good hands.

What are some other actions performed by leaders that have made a lasting positive impression on you?

The statistician W. Edwards Deming once said, “In God we trust; all others must bring data.”

When I begin a project, the first thing I do is gather data to assess the current state of service quality. I do so by interviewing stakeholders such as managers, hourly employees, and, when possible, actual customers.

I also pour through customer feedback on review websites like TripAdvisor, Priceline, and Yelp. And, when available, review proprietary data such as customer satisfaction survey results, customer verbatims, and mystery shop reports.

The purpose of this analysis is to gather data that will objectively point to advantages that are contributing to customer satisfaction as well as obstacles that are hindering satisfaction.

For the next 10 weeks on my blog, I’m going to highlight 10 different obstacles that have emerged from the data. Maybe you will have encountered one or more of these obstacles in your own business?

In addition to identifying obstacles, each post will contain one or more ways to mitigate these obstacles—with the goal of improving the experience of your customers.

Like many who read this blog, I am a student of customer service. I’m interested in books on the subject, discussing the topic with others, speaking and writing about it and, of course, critiquing the service I receive as a customer.

One of the questions that’s often discussed and debated in the field is what differentiates an exceptional customer service experience from a mediocre one? And if the experience involves a live service provider, what separates an outstanding provider from a typical one?

If you’ve been reading this blog for any length of time, then you already know my thoughts about job function and job essence. This concept seems to make its way into any of my posts that bemoan the prevailing tendency to receive average customer service.

In this post, I’ll begin with the difference between job function and job essence (exceptional customer service should always start with this discussion) followed by four other distinctions that separate exceptional customer service from the bland and ordinary service that you and I, as customers, typically receive:

1.   Function vs. essence. Most employees do not recognize the difference between their job functions (the duties associated with their job roles) and the essence of their jobs, their highest priority (which, for employees at most companies, is to create a delighted customer). There are several reasons for this. Read about them here.

2.   Mandatory vs. optional. Job functions tend to be transactional. They are also required—employees must perform job functions. This explains why many customer service experiences are described as process-focused and transactional. Delivering exceptional customer is optional. It requires a deliberate choice by the service provider. This explains why you and I, as customers, seldom receive exceptional customer service.

3.   Obligation vs. opportunity. Employees are obligated to perform job functions that are mandatory. They don’t have a choice. It’s what they were hired to do. Just read their job descriptions—it’s all right there. These same employees, however, have an opportunity to display optional job essence: express genuine interest in customers, convey authentic enthusiasm for serving others, provide pleasant surprises, etc. But these opportunities are most often squandered in the name of operational efficiency or some other management priority.

4.   Results vs. relationships. Mandatory job functions that employees are obligated to perform yield results that are measured and scrutinized by management. If employees do receive feedback on their job performance, it generally involves these results. Optional job essence that employees have an opportunity to display, develop relationships with customers that inspire loyalty, repeat purchases, and enthusiastic referrals.

5.   Cost vs. (little or) no cost. Mandatory job functions that employees are obligated to perform in order to achieve certain results require compensation—this is what they’re paid to do. Optional job essence that employees elect to display in order to develop relationships with customers cost (little or) nothing. There’s no added cost for a service provider to smile, offer a sincere and specific compliment, or share unique knowledge.

A typical manager’s routine involves job functions, mandates, obligations, results, and costs. It’s no wonder customer service tends to be transactional and uninspired.

What’s needed is a different approach—one that reinforces job essence, options, opportunities, relationships, and recognizes that it costs no more to smile and greet customers than it does to ignore them.

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

Last week, I worked in Freeport on the island of Grand Bahama for a client in the insurance industry. Over lunch she questioned whether or not the essence of an employee’s job could be captured in his job function.

My reply was that job essence and job function were separate and that there is a very real danger to combining them.

To clarify, the essence of an employee’s job is his overarching purpose—his highest priority. Job essence for employees at most companies is to create promoters—enthusiastic customers who will recommend their products and services, are less price-sensitive, and have higher repurchase rates.

Job function refers to the duties associated with one’s job role. For example, a job function of a receptionist is to greet customers who enter the reception area. Some companies script this greeting to ensure employees’ professionalism and maintain consistency.

Scripting and legislating customer greetings may appear to be an effective way to capture job essence (expressing genuine interest in the customer) in a job function (customer greeting) but that may not always be the case.

When I think of ineffective greetings, two companies come to mind: Papa Murphy’s Take ‘N’ Bake Pizza and Best Buy. Both organizations have taken a behavior that is intended to make customers feel welcome in their stores and, by scripting and mandating the greeting, have marginalized its effect on customers.

Oftentimes when I enter Papa Murphy’s to pick up my pizza, employees hear the door chime and say, “Welcome to Papa Murphy’s” but don’t even bother to look up from behind the counter.

Best Buy “greeters” are, interestingly, positioned with their backs to customers as they enter the store. If they’re not busy inspecting customers’ bags, they may look over their shoulder and say, “Welcome to Best Buy.” It makes me wonder what their real function is—greeting customers or preventing theft?

As with the Papa Murphy’s example, this greeting has become institutionalized in the stores. It’s mandatory. It’s expected. It’s monotonous. It’s robotic. And it’s ineffective at making customers feel genuinely welcomed.

A sincere greeting is one that expresses genuine interest in the customer and conveys authentic enthusiasm for serving her. Unless it’s over the phone, it certainly includes eye contact, a visible smile, and, in every case, energy in the greeter’s voice.

While it’s efficient to provide greeters with scripts, it may be more effective to ensure that they recognize the essence of their jobs is to create delighted customers—promoters—and then rely on them to convey this in their own words and actions.

What do you think?

Last Wednesday, I learned that a friend of mine was traveling from California to Marriott’s Marco Island Florida Resort & Spa to attend a coaching conference.

Christopher and I both invested the early part of our careers working for Marriott and, knowing that he would not call ahead to request any sort of favors—unbeknownst to him—I called the hotel while he was en route.

When my call was answered, I asked to speak with a front desk manager. The person I reached informed me that all of the managers were busy serving guests and suggested that, as a supervisor, perhaps she could assist me with my request.

I then introduced myself, gave her a little background about my friend Christopher’s Marriott experience, told her of his impending arrival at the hotel, and then asked if she had any flexibility to upgrade him to a room on a higher floor or with a better view.

As our conversation continued, I sensed that I was more interested in the opportunity to recognize Christopher at check-in and provide him with a pleasant surprise than was the supervisor.

She said, “I’ll see what I can do.” I thanked her for her time.

The following day, I emailed Christopher to check on the quality of his arrival experience.

Here’s his response:

“Interesting that you asked. The clerk was young/newer yet was truly committed to ensure that she gave me her all. She was earnest and genuine in wanting me to have a great check-in experience.

She had trouble finding a room for me and wanted to meet my in-the-moment realization that a high floor and view was more important than a King-size bed (which I had requested in my reservation).

Where it fell apart was when she asked for help from her manager because he came over to help in his very “I have role power” kind of way and didn’t look at me/speak to me and it derailed the spirit of service that she created.

She acknowledged the purpose of my stay and asked if she could show me where I needed to start my day with the conference in the morning. She used my name, thanked me and offered assistance should I require it. She did fantastic! Her name was Danielle.”

From this response, I’m not sure my phone call to the supervisor had any effect on the quality of his arrival experience.

The irony here is that hotel companies are always looking for ways to capture “insider” knowledge about guests—their dislikes, preferences, tendencies—and leverage this unique knowledge to pleasantly surprise and delight them throughout their hotel stays.

Seriously, how many phone calls do you think the hotel received last Wednesday that provided the kind of “insider” information about a hotel guest that I shared during my call?

My hunch: One.

Although I could be wrong. Perhaps there were two such calls? Or possibly three? My point is that these types of calls are uncommon. They are exceptions. And exceptions create a unique opportunity to provide exceptional customer service.

Consider the possibilities that were available to this supervisor:

• Pleasantly surprise Christopher with an upgrade to a room on a high floor with an ocean view
• Recognize his Marriott experience at check-in
• Inform a senior manager of his arrival (As large a company as Marriott is, I’ve yet to meet a senior manager with whom I don’t share at least one mutual connection.)
• Deliver a welcome amenity (e.g., crackers, cheese, and/or fruit) to his room accompanied by a hand-signed note

Any of these actions would have achieved the hotel’s objective to delight its guest while providing a memorable arrival experience. And, with the exception of the welcome amenity, there would have been no extra charge to perform these actions. They’re free.

So, if these actions help to achieve the hotel’s customer satisfaction goals and cost little or nothing to provide, why didn’t they occur?

My hunch: Because they’re optional.

And since they’re optional, the supervisor chose not to perform them (and Christopher was denied what could have been a superior arrival experience).

Perhaps she was busy answering phones, checking-in guests, securing valid methods of payment, and issuing room keys. After all, in her defense, these job functions are mandatory.

So that brings us to the conclusion of our story. It’s not a sad story really. I’m sure that Christopher was satisfied with his arrival experience and guest room at the resort. I’m just not convinced that he was in any way delighted by his experience.

And that, Marco Island Florida Resort & Spa, was a missed opportunity to capitalize on some sweet “insider” information.