Volume XXIII, Number 40 (Issue 1149) October 6, 2025
Service With a Smile…
… on your face and in your voice. Sandy and I just returned from a trip to Chicago. For a change of pace, we opted to take Amtrak round trip from our home in San Antonio. In the past we have taken short, day trips on the train, but never an excursion of a length that required spending a night on the train. But from San Antonio to Chicago is thirty-one hours as the result of seventeen stops from here to there including about a dozen or so whistle stops and the rest being of slightly longer duration. Due to the total amount of time we would be spending on the train, we booked a bedroom in a sleeper car complete with all of the amenities that mode of travel/fare includes.
For those who have not traveled by train, or if it has been a while since you last rode the rails, it is an interesting way to get from point A to point B – or in our case, from point A to point Q. For example, due to the era when many rail lines were laid, they tend to mirror the US Highway system rather than Eisenhower interstates. As a result, you see different parts of the country including the train stations and downtowns of some small cities and towns. And, because Amtrak tends to rely on rails meant for freight trains rather than passenger traffic, stretches of the roadbeds can make for some bouncing and swaying whereas Amtrak-owned rails usually offer a smoother ride. Another element of train travel is many of the passenger cars, while clean, are far from new, i.e., they have seen better days. The food menu is limited and there are no substitutions when it comes to the entries and sides. Lastly, a significant part of the experience revolves around the crews which have been leaned out. But these shortcomings aside, traveling by Amtrak is an experience worth your time if you have the time.
As for Chicago, we had an awesome time. Of special note we visited The Art Institute of Chicago (which was featuring a special exhibit of Gustave Caillebotte’s works), Cloud Gate (aka “the Bean”) in Millennium Park, shops
and restaurants along and just off the Magnificent Mile, the Driehaus Museum, the St. James and Holy Name Cathedrals, and an Architecture Boat Tour. We walked everywhere we went (other than the boat tour and to and from Union Station) and felt completely safe throughout the visit. Two other items worthy of note were the beautiful landscaping and inviting parks that met our eyes everywhere we turned.
In nearly every instance the servers, docents, and individuals who took care of us in one way or another were pleasant to extra-friendly and helpful. It was service with a smile on their face and in their voice. But there were a few exceptions where our requests – even our presence – seemed to be an imposition. That sour attitude was never more noticeable than among the Amtrak staff on the way to Chicago – though there were two notable exceptions – and from a couple of the desk staff at our hotel. The lack of warm smiles and recognition from the Amtrak crew on the trip to Chicago was made all the more noticeable and disappointing given the positive and helpful attitudes of the train crew on the return trip. One other thing I noticed was that nearly all of the strangers I passed on the street during my morning walks did not acknowledge, let alone return a nod or smile. But I should have been prepared for those less than friendly responses given my past experiences in large cities.
One would like to give those workers with poor attitudes the benefit of the doubt. Perhaps they were having a terrible day. But when you have multiple interactions across a span of time and where some/most of their teammates consistently practiced service with a smile, encountering individuals who do not make an effort to make you feel welcome or appreciated causes you to question an organization’s culture, the level and nature of management and staff engagement, their hiring and training processes, and the customer service standards that are instilled.
I offer this glimpse into our recent travels to reinforce what most already know: how one treats others can either win fans or drive them into the welcoming arms of a competitor. That choice between door one and door two can turn on something as simple and inexpensive as a smile.
Soli Deo Gloria
“A happy heart makes the face cheerful, but heartache crushes the spirit. The discerning heart seeks knowledge, but the mouth of a fool feeds on folly. All the days of the oppressed are wretched, but the cheerful heart has a continual feast.” Proverbs 15:13-15
J. Keith Hughey
Mobile: (210) 260-0955
E-mail: keith@jkeithhughey.com
Website: www.jkeithhughey.com
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