My friend David Wenzel, who is inspiring all of us who know him right now, found out just last week that he has a tumor in his brain. He hit his head while at a conference in San Francisco, and was later taken to the hospital, where they discovered the tumor. Had he not hit his head, the tumor would most likely have gone undetected. Dave is a special guy. Everybody who meets him loves him. He’s remarkably creative and has probably been involved in some of your favorite media productions. So it shocked (and a little scared, to tell you the truth) us to hear that such a brilliant young mind had a tumor in it.
One of the reasons we all love Dave is because when a situation becomes tense, Dave becomes calm. He’s a rock. Not that he has to be, because he doesn’t, but he’s just been there for a lot of people, and it’s nice for those of us to know him to be there for him now. Anyway, Dave is now at the Mayo clinic in Minnesota, but I thought you might appreciate the response letter he wrote the hotel he stayed at in San Fran when they contacted him about forgetting to take a survey regarding his stay:
Dear David,
Recently, we sent you an invitation to complete a Guest Satisfaction Survey concerning your stay with us at Sofitel San Francisco Bay, where you checked out on June 07, 2009.
We noticed that you did not have time to complete the survey. We are concerned that you may not have responded because we have somehow failed to live up to your expectations.
At Sofitel, we are committed to providing a superior guest experience to each and every one of our customers. Please take a few minutes to tell us how well we met your expectations.
Thank you again for choosing Sofitel, and I look forward to hearing about your stay with us.
Sincerely,
Christophe Julliard
Vice President Quality and Planning
Accor Business and Leisure Hotels North America
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Dear Christophe,
I apologize for not completing my Guest Satisfaction Survey upon my check-out on June 7, 2009. However, you are indeed correct that I did not respond as I lacked ample time to complete the survey. Around checkout time on the 7th, I hurriedly exited the hotel in an ambulance.
Please do not be concerned that you have somehow failed to live up to my expectations. In fact the opposite is true! You have exceeded them! While I was staying at your hotel, your Cancer Detection System worked like a charm. After years of being completely unaware, your hotel helped me discover a pesky tumor that had been growing in my brain for years. Had I not stayed at your hotel, it is completely possible I never would have made use of this detection tool! (To clarify, by tool I mean the concrete slab in your hotel bar that I smacked me head on). Expectations = Exceeded! In addition, I enjoyed your in-house olive bread and pesto sauce. And that means quite a bit because I typically am not a fan of pesto.
However, I do feel obligated to tell you that in the moments after my grand-mal seizure while being wheeled through your lobby on a stretcher (once again the hurry I mentioned), I did notice that there were some leaves that had blown into the pool. As a VP of Quality and Planning, I imagine this would fall below your standards. I assume when I return to your hotel next time, this matter will be taken care of.
Regards,
David Wenzel
Hotel Guest – Room 607; June 1-7, 2009
DAVE, WE LOVE YOU. PRAYING STILL…(Feel free to leave Dave comments below!)
