"He had an uncanny way of making himself indispensable to people
who really needed someone indispensable," says Rudy Maxa, a
Washington-based journalist and the former host of public radio's
The Savvy Traveler. "At the same time, he always put a very
personal imprint on his hotels, an imprint that every guest could
feel."
This Tuesday is no different than any other. Bromley spends the
bulk of it prowling the hotel, cleaning barely visible smudges from
glass doors, picking imperceptible dust bunnies off the carpet, and
stopping guests to ask if there's anything wrong. On his way to
inspect the bar, a businessman beckons him over.
"On your menu it says 'thick bacon,'" the man reports. "But when I
ordered it" - he holds his thumb and index finger close together -
"it was barely this thin."
"We can't go around promising thick bacon if it's not," Bromley
says. He jots down a note on his index card. "Thank you very much
for that," he tells the man.
"I want to know about everything," says Bromley. "If you stop
worrying about the details, that's when your standards start to
slip."
GUEST APPEAL
The most common guest requests at the Four Seasons San Francisco?
Here are the top four.
• A great cheeseburger and French fries
• A great martini
• Room service that arrives on time
• Fast check in, fast check out
THE FIVE-STAR TREATMENT
Here are
Stan Bromley's top tips for maximizing your stay at a
high-end hotel.
1. Give people recognition when they give you magical
moments of service. Compliment them to management.
2. Don't be shy. Speak up if you think something's not
right.