December 2012

After checking-in, the first thing he always did upon reaching the room, was to look under the bed. Often there were a lot of hidden treasures or sometimes surprises to be found there. There was some daylight coming in to his guestroom from a small window but not enough to make out if something was on the floor besides lots of dust balls. He pulled the bedside table lamp down to the floor and could just make out two small gift wrapped boxes. The problem was to reach them. He got up on his feet, went to the closet and took out a removable hanger. That did the trick. Both boxes had a Gucci label on them and were covered with dust. Obviously the chamber maid did not vacuum frequently under the beds. One box contained a Gucci silk tie and the other a Gucci leather wallet. He tossed both boxes into his bag to take home with him.

 Jean-Jacques was in his mystery shopper’s mode on this trip and would remain so for the next three weeks; inspecting, incognito, nine first-class hotels in total, three per week. This time he was under contract to the Tourist Office of Zürich and would report his findings to them directly. This week he would stay one night at the Central Plaza, the St. Gotthard and the ‘Schweizerhof’. Next week it would be the Savoy Baur en Ville, the Dolder Grand and the Baur au Lac. The third week, he would visit the Storchen, the Eden au Lac and the Bellerive. These nine hotels were considered as some of the best in Switzerland and were highly competitive in the City of Zürich. All of the nine hotels were targeting the same specific markets; the business executive, the high-end tourist and corporate groups. The local tourist office would be contacted by the traveler to obtain information before booking his/her room. Rates started at Fr.300.- and went as high as Fr.600.- for a single room per night. Hence it was very important that the hotel lived up to its promises and met the consumers’ needs by exceeding the expected standards of service. This depended on how much the owners were prepared to re-invest in the upkeep of the hotel and not let it run down.

It was not bad work if you could get it. Jean-Jacques had the advantage of being a retired international hotel manager who knew the ropes. He and his wife, Heidi just moved back to Switzerland from the States and had bought a flat in Murten/Morat on the lake of the same name. They were having difficulties living on such limited pensions in very expensive Switzerland. The extra money came in very handy when he and his wife went to visit their grandchildren living in Galway, Ireland and Copenhagen, Denmark.

In the case of the hotel he was presently inspecting, it evidently had a problem with housekeeping and maintenance. The guest room he was assigned was too small, poorly furnished and had no view except of the exterior wall of the wing across the way. He went down to dinner in the hotel’s restaurant and had lobster as his main course, which was excellent. The service was impeccable and the staff was both friendly and welcoming. On the way back to his room he took the opportunity to have a good look at the hotel’s public space along with the hotel’s function rooms of which none were in use. The corridor of the floor on which his room was located was very dark. Before getting into bed he would spend an hour or so writing up his report. He would just have to add his comments tomorrow about breakfast, which he would order from room service. Anyhow he would not be able to award more than 7 points out of 10 to this hotel. The guest was not getting his money’s worth. As to the two Gucci boxes, he decided to leave them on the desk in the room when he checked-out with a note as to where he had found them. It was the honest thing to do!