I’m heading to a conference in Tampa next week and made the hotel reservations at the Saddlebrook Resort for myself and a colleague online yesterday, using the link directly to the hotel’s website as provided on the conference website.  I quickly and easily booked the rooms and continued my day.  This morning I received a voicemail message from someone in reservations at the resort, wondering if I was attending a conference there and, if so, they had a reduced rate for me.  I must’ve written the woman’s number down wrong because when I tried to call back, I couldn’t get through.  So I pulled up the resort’s website and dialed the 800 number.  The receptionist listened to why I was calling and told me she’d put me through to the reservations department.  But before she did so, she said “Safe travels down here next week.  Where are you coming from, by the way?”  I replied “Wisconsin” and the woman said, “Great, we’re looking forward to hosting you next week”.  Nice touch!  The reservations woman was also extremely pleasant and reduced the room ate for me.  They could’ve easily let my reservation stand as-is and not bothered to reach out to inquire about the conference attendance. But they did and THAT is great customer service.