David Pogue writes about technology for The New York Times and is good at identifying how information systems frequently are misused and underused. This comment on how one hotel makes checking-in easier and travel more comfortable gets a "hear, hear!" from me.
"Check-In Done Right The other day, I checked into a hotel for a TV shoot (the Omni in San Diego). I was astonished when the check-in desk attendant said: “Good evening, Mr. Pogue. Here’s your key. Have a great stay.” Do you see what happened there!? There was no tappy-tapping on the keyboard for five minutes. No “May I have your credit card for incidentals?” No speech about the spa hours. No disappearing into the back room for a while. No interrogation of any kind. They just had my key already waiting, and just handed it over."
link: Check-In Done Right - Pogue’s Posts Blog - NYTimes.com Read the full column, it isn't long.
How often have I wondered the same thing? Make a reservation to rent a car, even at the agency where I have a frequent-renter account and my driver's license, credit card, etc. information is on file, and there still is usually five minutes of "tappy-tappy". They have known for days that I am coming. Presumably, as a regular customer, I am reliable and likely to appear on-time for my reservation. Why then, have they not determined what vehicle I am to be driving and why isn't the contract ready? Why do I stand at the desk for 5-10 minutes while the agent practices keyboarding and stares at a screen pondering what car I will be driving away in?
It's a new year (the last one of the decade, for my readers who are punctilious about these things); maybe a few more service providers will learn from the example of the San Diego Omni, in 2010, and make use of the technology they already have in place. It would make life just a little bit more pleasant.
