136. Anantara Layan Bar Service: Striving to Impress

It was a very pleasant evening - great views, attentive service, in good company of my dear family in Phuket. We arrived at the bar of this stunning property for some aperitifs in celebration of my godson's 17th birthday. The plan was to enjoy a round of sunset drinks before heading for dinner within the hotel compound. 

After ordering our drinks from the smiley waiter, we noticed that the adjacent tables had ordered a special drink with a unique presentation of a glass bird in a cage. (See image below)


As my godson Tristan is a bird lover, I thought I would arrange a small surprise for him. I walked over discreetly to the bar counter behind our table, to ask the staff if it was possible to present the birthday boy's non-alcoholic aperol spritz using the bird-in-cage presentation. I explained that it was his birthday that very day, and that he would be delighted since he is a fan of all birds. 

The waiter, along with the bar man, was willing to accommodate my request. The bar man raised a good point that their standard capacity of aperol spritz served was more than what the glass bird could hold. I thanked him for this consideration and told him it was fine even if we get less of the drink. The waiter then suggested, "I can place the extra drink in a separate glass." I assumed he was referring to the extra aperol spritz so I simply replied, "Sure, thank you very much." 

Moments later, the same waiter approached with all our six drinks. As he placed them down on our table one by one, announcing the drinks, I did not see the bird-cage drink on his tray. The birthday boy received his aperol spritz in the usual stem-glass, which was not what I had expected. Just then, the waiter gave me a knowing nod which I guessed meant that the bird-cage drink would soon arrive. I had wanted it to be presented at that very moment alongside with all our other orders.

About 12 minutes passed by, and we were more than mid-way through our drinks, when he waiter and another colleague came to present the "special drink", breaking into a birthday song for Tristan. The waiter informed that this drink was complimentary, looking most pleased with a warm smile, winking at me before walking away.

Sure, the birthday boy was pleasantly surprised, though I think he would have preferred not to have the birthday song in front of everyone else at this peaceful venue. We were not sure what that drink was or whether it contained alcohol. 

As for the timing of this surprise drink delivery, it could have been served earlier; ideally, together with rest of the drinks. Moments matter, timing matters perhaps even more. In the end, the beverage was half-finished before we had to leave for our dinner. 

Still, we were very appreciative of the service overall. 

Service Bank breakdown: 
  • + 1: overall warm and friendly service
  • + 1: good product knowledge when employee was asked about total number of rooms on property. (He was also able to give the breakdown between the villas and residences)
  • + 3: readiness and willingness to accommodate special request, along with complimentary drink extended
  • - 1:  not informing of content in surprise drink or if it contained alcohol (especially when boy is under legal drinking age)
  • - 2:  guest request was not fully carried out (i.e. request was for the non-alcoholic aperol spritz using the glass bird in cage display, NOT to be served another drink) and delivery timing could have been better. 
Service Bank (Net): +2 


Reflective thoughts: 

Assuming in the above scenario, the employee did exactly as what the guest had requested and served the non-alcoholic aperol spritz in the glass bird in cage. While this IS a surprise to the birthday boy, it is technically just meeting the requestor's expectations. What other ideas can you come up with, to make it a surprise for this guest too? 

(Gentle reminder: It is not just about complimentary stuff. Remember, freebies which the guests do not want or like, amount to a waste in resources and effort.)

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