My wonderful client this week invited me to Lake Placid, NY for a celebration of a great healthcare team. I’ll share about that experience in a future post. First, this very cool experience:

When I pulled into town late on Tuesday night, I got my first glimpse of an Olympic ski jump. It gave me chills and when I found out I could take an elevator ride to the top and stand on the spot where the athletes launch off the ramp, I was giddy with excitement. I LOVE doing things for the first time.

You better believe I made a video out of this incredible experience. And, I discovered a customer service gem along the way. Check out the video.

The customer service lesson happened the next day. The event was held at The Mirror Lake Inn, an amazing resort on the banks of the lake for which it is named. Owned by the Weibrecht family, they boast of the accomplishments of their son Andrew, who is a two time Olympic medalist in downhill skiing.

Behind the front desk, his medals are on display and selfies with them are encouraged. Their website even has an invitation to email Andrew directly, alluding to the fact that he will respond personally. I’m thinking, yeah right…. So, I write him and as I assumed would happen I received an automated response saying he is likely traveling. I felt smug at being right in my assumption that they’re promoting something to make it feel friendly and authentic, but that the reality isn’t genuine at all.

But not so fast.

A few hours later I received another email. And it was directly from Andrew! He responded personally to all my comments, proof that it was a human creating a connection and not a robot on autopilot. I stand corrected! This is a great customer service action that cost them nothing but left a big impression. The service at the Inn was fantastic from beginning to end. I highly recommend if you are ever in the Lake Placid area that you put this stop on your itinerary. They won’t disappoint.