Dinner with "41" and Barbara

While much of the news the past two days has focused on the President’s visit to Kennebunkport with Russian leader Putin, many of you are probably unaware of another big event that took place the weekend before in Kennebunkport- my mother’s birthday. So before all the camera crews and news reporters descended upon this bustling summer resort town, my husband I (and our dog, Shea [1]) made a weekend visit to my parents’ house to celebrate her special day. She would get angry at me for revealing her age, but let’s just say it was a milestone of sorts and the number ends in a zero. I wanted it to be a unique and special celebration, although my mother is not one for fanfare and big parties where she is the center of attention, and under no circumstances whatsoever is she the “surprise!” type of person.

After much back and forth, she decided that she simply wanted to go to a quiet little family dinner at her favorite restaurant. Of course my parents know the manager quite well and even I had met her on previous visits. So when I emailed her to say that we wanted to add a few special touches to our dinner reservation she was eager to help. And so during the week leading up to our visit my planning and preparation began. I told the manager that I wanted a nice birthday wish printed on our menus and she said no problem. I inquired if a special dessert could be prepared for our table, and she suggested the perfect one. I called my mom’s favorite florist and had a special arrangement ordered for our table to be delivered the afternoon of our reservation. I even stopped by the restaurant late in the afternoon the night of our reservation to drop off my mother’s present so it would be at her place setting when we arrived. The manager greeted me and showed me the table- our special menus were already laid out, the flower arrangement looked beautiful, and we had the best table in the house. Everything was perfect.

When we arrived for our 7:30pm reservation at 8:05pm, the restaurant was quiet and the staff greeted us pleasantly and welcomed us to our table where the sun was beginning to set on the ocean and the scenery was beautiful. As we sat, we noticed the table of four next to us… sure enough it was George and Barbara dining with another couple. Now, my parents have lived full time in Kennebunkport for the past 10+ years and before that, “summered” here, clearly it wasn’t the first time we’d seen The Bushes (I had actually waited on Barbara and had my picture taken with George when I was working at a nearby hotel, summers during college), so we all just took our seats without any gasps or “oh my god, look who it is!” comments. But it definitely felt special to be sipping champagne and tasting oysters about 4 feet away from a former world leader; not to mention making eye contact with Barbara more than once. Of course as the restaurant began to fill up there were many patrons who approached their table to shake hands and greet the former president and first lady, and the Bushes were friendly to everyone. All the while, I observed the service that was provided to their table, our table, and all the other tables in the restaurant was impeccable. When I had been emailing and planning, and when I stopped in earlier that afternoon, the manager treated me like we were the only special event taking place that evening- or at least that’s how I felt. Little did I know that she was also planning and preparing for the Bushes that evening.

As always, I compared this experience with many of the aspects of service, planning and preparation that go into all of our jobs at Wise Vacations. At Wise, the amount of planning and service that goes into preparing for each reservation often goes unnoticed to most. During the booking process, Jen and Carol [2]make every caller feel like they’re the only person they’ve talked to that day (even if it’s really the 50th call and it’s 4:55pm). Stacy, Lisa, and Sean [2]prepare each property with the same care and attention to detail whether it’s a first time renter, repeat renter, or special guest arriving.

Our visitors are not just our guests; they’re YOUR guests. On your behalf, we strive to make each guest feel like we are here just for them, whether it’s a holiday weekend and we’re booked solid, or whether it’s a slower midweek time frame. Our hope is that our hospitality and care will transfer to each guest and build their loyalty to your home. But at the very least, if they feel well taken care of, they’ll return to Wise and all of our rental owners will ultimately benefit.