The image is from https://www.facebook.com/Coffee-and-bread-482581855580485/.

My last job required me to travel to Germany several times a year. Every time I went there, I stayed in the same simple and clean business hotel. Next to the lobby counter, there was a small table with lemon ice water and disposable cups, which customers could enjoy free of charge. Sometimes in the morning, they would also serve coffee, milk, and freshly baked croissants to guests who were running late for work.

These free offerings were directly in conflict with the interests of the hotel restaurant. In other words, if customers had free drinks, they were less likely to purchase beverages in the hotel’s cafe. Likewise, if free croissants would eventually become available, one might choose to skip breakfast altogether.

I once asked the hotel manager what they were thinking by engaging in such practices. He smiled and told me that he had studied hotel management in England. During one class, the teacher invited the general manager of the Ritz-Carlton Hotel to give a lecture. The general manager said to the students: “In a good hotel, the staff will fulfill your verbal requests. However, in an excellent hotel, you don’t even need to state your request. In this instance, the restaurant management works to increase customer loyalty rather than profit. Therefore, the shrewdest business practice is to be kind to your patrons.”

After the hotel manager finished talking about the philosophy of the Ritz-Carlton Hotel, he smiled and said to me: “Our restaurant has never lost much revenue due to the free coffee and bread. However, because of this free service, our guests are more tolerant of our shortcomings. They are willing to believe that our issues are due to our inability to be perfect, rather than because we don’t care.”

I was quite relieved to hear that their generosity did not hurt them financially.

Kindness is not a synonym for weakness or fear. On the contrary, it is a symbol of how we are willing to do our best to make others feel welcome, despite our shortcomings. If we show such consideration to others, they will return the favor.

The above is the translated article from a Chinese post on https://www.facebook.com/ufarm.tw/posts/3201863409844007/.

《厚道~不是糊塗，而是一種品格！》

我的上一份工作是個需要我瘋狂出差的工作，那時每年要去好幾次德國。每次去德國，我都會住同一家簡單乾淨的商務飯店，飯店大廳櫃檯的旁邊，有個小桌子擺放著檸檬冰水和一次性杯子，供顧客們免費使用。有時候早上，還會看到它們給晚起又趕著上班的客人提供的咖啡牛奶和新鮮出爐的牛角麵包。

這些免費供應，都是和飯店的餐廳直接有利益沖突的，換句話說，喝了免費的檸檬冰水咖啡，可能就會少買或不買飯店大廳咖啡廳的飲料；吃了免費提供的牛角麵包，可能就乾脆選擇不包早餐。

有一次我跟櫃台的經理聊天，想知道它們的想法是什麼。他笑著跟我說，他在英國念旅館管理，有一堂課，老師請The Ritz-Carlton Hotel 的總經理來講課，這位總經理對他們說：「如果你走進一家好的酒店，提出一個要求，你就會被滿足。如果你走進一家極好的酒店，你甚至不需要提出要求。因為，真正飯店經營的精明，不是利潤，而是客戶的忠誠度。經商，貌似靠的是精明，其實，精明的極致，是厚道。」

後來每次我入住，我都覺得我那趟旅程，特別安心。

那天他說完了The Ritz-Carlton Hotel 哲學後，微笑地對我說：「我們從來沒有因為擺放了咖啡麵包，而讓我們的餐廳受到多大的損失，我們卻因為這樣，讓我們的客人包容了我們不足的地方，他們願意相信我們做不好的地方，絕不是因為我們不上心。

還有什麼比這個更讓我們鬆一口氣的呢？

厚道，不是因為退縮示弱，是因為我們強大到，願意成全。

原文来自https://www.facebook.com/ufarm.tw/posts/3201863409844007/