“Just
as treasures are uncovered from the earth, so virtues appear from good deeds."
~ Buddha
William clung to an umbrella large
enough to shelter both he and Mamie from the cold, dingy rain that dribbled
past gas-lit street lights. Needing a room
for the night, the elderly couple ducked into a small hotel which stood boldly
at the corner of Broad and Walnut in Philadelphia.
They approached a friendly desk clerk with unexpected warmth. His name tag read ‘Georg.’ We’d like a room please,” the husband
requested, trying poorly to hide his travel weariness.
“I’m terribly sorry,” the well-mannered clerk began. “All our rooms are taken. There are several conventions in town.”
The hope in William’s eyes faded with disappointment.
Sensing their desperation, Georg continued. “But I can’t send a sweet couple like you back
out in the pitiless rain. Would you consider
sleeping in my room? It’s not luxurious,
but it’s safe, warm and comfortable.”
Mamie declined shyly, but the clerk insisted. “Don’t worry about me; I’ll be fine,” Georg
told them. So the aging couple spent the
night in his room.
As he paid his bill the next morning, William told Georg,
“You’re an exceptional man. Finding
people who are both courteous and helpful is rare these days. You’re just the kind of person who should
manage the best hotel in America. Maybe
someday I’ll build one for you.”
They both chuckled.
A few years passed.
Georg still supervised the Philly hotel when he received a handwritten letter
from old William, recalling their ‘rescue’ on that stormy night. Enclosed he found a round-trip ticket to New
York, asking Georg to visit them.
In early 1893, they met Georg in NYC at the corner of 5th
Avenue and 33rd Street. He
pointed to a magnificent palace of reddish stone with towers that reached to
the sky. “That,” William declared, “is
the hotel I’d like you to manage.”
That old man’s name was William Waldorf Astor, and his Waldorf
Astoria hotel set the global standard for exquisite dining, lavish
accommodations, and sacrificial service for over a century. The 13-story hotel, complete with electricity
throughout and private bathrooms, were just two from a long list of Waldorf
firsts. Its first manager was Georg
Boldt.
Someone who goes out of their way to help you makes all the
difference in the world.
It’s the difference between getting a grumpy, inattentive
waitress and a friendly, skilled server who allows a special order to fit your
tastes.
It’s the difference between plowing through automated customer
service menus and being instantly connected to a pleasant person who goes out
of their way to help.
It’s the difference between a teacher who grudgingly tolerates
your questions and one who goes the extra mile to help you master the concepts.
