We checked in to the Lake Lure
Inn. Built in 1927, the antique North Carolina hotel
served as command central for the making of the movie Dirty Dancing. You now can stay
in the Patrick Swayze Suite or the Jennifer Gray Suite. Furnished with exquisite period furniture
with meticulous attention to detail, guests feel elevated and enriched.
We had dinner in their Veranda Restaurant
overlooking the full moonlit lake only a stones through away from our front-row
table. The staff was all locals from the
rural small NC mountain town. They reached
way beyond their plain heritage in a noticeable effort to create a sense of elegance. After seating us at our reserved table, the
maitre de presented our menus, wine list and graciously said, “Hope ya’ll
enjoy”--not a phrase you’d hear at a five-star Boston restaurant. Nevertheless, we felt very special. There was an earnest effort to take the
experience much, much higher than Nettie’s Diner down the street.
Why can’t every service
experience be a Lake Lure Inn moment? The
difference between the Inn and Nettie’s Diner was a deliberate attempt to upgrade
the experience. Someone decided that the
classy hotel setting should have a classy experience. Knowing they could not afford to import a Ritz-Carlton
Hotel trained wait staff, they entrusted their reputation to young people
recruited from the local Burgers and More.
And, it absolutely worked. What
are you doing to add elegance to your customer’s experience?
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