Daily Dose of Sultnpapper 09/20/18 > Now even my hotel is trying to get me…snacking healthy.
I'm set in my ways...
In case you folks haven’t noticed in the last year, and some of you may not have as I have just joined #steemitbloggers, but I am pretty set in my ways and I use people and services I am comfortable with. This also goes for the hotels I stay at when I am on the road. I have one chain of hotels that I use and of the chain I have certain locations in each city or along my route of travel that I am comfortable with.
Decisions based on...
These decisions are based on a number of things when it comes to hotels. Location obviously is an important one and the chain I use has a number of locations that are quite convenient for me in the larger cities I cover like Austin, San Antonio, Corpus and the Rio Grande Valley. So for the last eleven years I have pretty much stayed at the same locations repeatedly numerous times.
First name basis...
Most of the locations I either know the general manager on a first name basis if they have been in that position for at least a year or so and the same goes for most of the people who work the front desk for check in. There are a couple places where I even know the food service people who are in charge of preparing the breakfast foods.
Biscuits and gravy...
One location like that has a woman who does breakfast named Rosa and she makes the best biscuits and gravy in my opinion and I have told her so on plenty of occasions. Her biscuits and gravy isn’t an everyday item on her menu she prepares so for years it was hit and miss whether or not I would have biscuits and gravy on the next morning after I checked in.
On a lucky streak...
Most weeks my stay at that hotel would be one or two nights. So usually I would get biscuits and gravy at least one of those days. Then it got where it seemed that each time I stayed there I was always getting the biscuits and gravy even when I was there for only one night. I guess I was on a lucky streak but come to find out that wasn’t the case.
The girls who work...
The girls who work the check in desk knew how much I liked the biscuits and gravy so that when they would see my reservation they made sure that Rosa knew I would be down for breakfast in the morning and so Rosa made sure that biscuits and gravy were on that days selection.
The extra mile...
That is some damn good customer service and they worked as team to make sure I am taken care of each time I stay there. I am nobody special but they make feel like I am. And I am sure I am not the only one they make feel special because I see a lot of other familiar faces of guests and vehicles in the parking lot. They know their customer’s and go the extra mile to make sure every stay is a good one.
Free upgrades and...
Being that I use the same chain I am a member of their rewards program so that means I get free upgrades and a drink and snack when I check in. Last night when I checked in I got the familiar black bag and I knew in my mind exactly what was in there, a bottle of Ozarka Spring water and an Otis Spunkmeyer large chocolate chip cookie. It has been since they have been giving out these bags at check in since I achieved Elite status several years ago.
Did I mention...
Did I mention that this chain recently merged with another big chain of hotels? I didn’t think I did, well they did. So now my points are good for free rooms at both brands of hotels. That sounds pretty good, double the selection and possibly some hotels in cities where my brand might not be. Well, I would gladly give up that double selection in a heartbeat.
Otis was missing...
It seems that the other brand is the major force in the merger, and that means changes are in the works. I found out just what one of those changes are a little earlier before I started writing this. It seems that even as tasty as the Otis Spunkmeyer cookie is the management of the major force partner doesn’t like that chocolate chip cookies aren’t what would be considered a “healthy snack”.
I will give them...
There a plenty of times that I never eat the snack or drink the water and I will give them away when I see some homeless person on the corner panhandling for money. When I do decide though that I want a late night snack I damn sure prefer Otis Spunkmeyer cookies I can tell you that, so I was pretty disappointed to say the least.
I really don't...
A bad rap...
I eat food for taste; Otis Spunkmeyer cookies taste great and are filling for a late night snack. I haven’t been back to the location were Rosa works since the merger but I can tell you that biscuits and gravy get a bad rap when it comes to “healthy”; if I can’t get biscuits and gravy any longer at that location I might just be searching for a new supplier of rooms to sleep in when I am on the road.
So in the morning...
So in the morning there is going to be a homeless person in San Antonio who is going to get a healthy snack and a bottle of water. Should I feel bad for having given them some Otis Spunkmeyer cookies in the past?
I hope that homeless person reads the label, “May contain occasional nut shell pieces.”
Healthy?
Until next time,
@sultnpapper
Photos are the property of @sultnpapper
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God I hate when that happens. I mean really. I am a repeat customer for a reason (or reasons) and I feel betrayed when things change around me.
I don't do chains much, fact of the matter is I don't do cities (where chains live) much. I like Mom and Pop sorta locations. I belong to a website that lists rooms under $50 per night all across the US. Once in a while I get organized enough to use that site, but mostly I just add and update.
I found a pure dandy this summer in extreme north west Minnesota. I chased in an hour early or so due to big thunderstorms and what a lucky fellow I am. It wasn't under $50 (we are considering making the benchmark $75) but I stayed in a stand alone unit that was right across the street from a beautiful lake. It was a full block off the highway, the innerwebs was adequate until the Thunderstorm took out power, the shower and the bed were both wonderful. The hotel had a private fishing dock on the lake, and the setting was gorgeous. Right next door to a really wonderful steak house with a perogie place right across the highway.
Anyway, my kind of place and I'll go back. I stop at the Bridge Street Inn in Baker City Oregon at least once per year. They used to have a 'Rosa' that made biscuits and gravy every other day. Sadly, Rosa retired. The house breakfast is still good, but....
So, it's not that I just hate change, but changing just for changing sake kinda rubs me wrong. And let the record show that I am 4 square in favor of Otis Spunkmeyer cookies. I know them to be just damn good,
The only draw back to Otis Spunkmeyer cookies is that they don't keep well locked up in a cab of pickup truck in the hot Texas sun during the day. The chocolate doesn't hold up and melts. That is why if I don't eat it before I check out, I make sure I find someone who could use it pretty early in the day and give it away.
That place you stay at with the fishing dock sounds like a great place to stay at and wet a line in the evening, I keep a rod n reel in my truck for evenings when I am near the coast or near a river, and it just hit me that I need to get another damn fishing license, those expire here in Texas on August 31. I think it is bullshit that they make you have a fishing license, what ever happened to my right too "life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness"? My pursuit of happiness includes fishing, it is my God given right to fish. I'll stop right there.
Oh mr Papper you can be so funny!
But I'm really curious now, what kind of biscuit do they serve with gravy?
Flaky buttermilk biscuits.
Thank you, I was still confused so googled it, we call it scones. And we call cookies biscuits, I could not imagine cookies and gravy ;) Nice of them to go the extra mile!
Well i can see the reason for the confusion now. I couldn't imagine Otis Spunkmeyer chocolate chip cookies with gravy either.
It is nice of them for sure on going the extra mile.
So now you know why I was so confused, I will have to find an American dictionary :)
I upvoted your post.
Best regards,
@Council
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A sign of the times. And what really annoys me about these so-called "healthy" snack bars is that they often contain as much sugar as the "unhealthy" cookies. I could see from your photo that the "healthy" trail mix bar does contain sugar, though I couldn't see the label closely enough to see exactly how much. Cereal bars are usually full of sugar, and it's a joke to call them healthy. If I want to be healthy I make up an actual trail mix of just fruit and nuts, and if I want to have a biscuit, I have an actual biscuit, not some daft hybrid!
And don't get me started on this "carbon offsetting" thing – it's just a scam! The company makes a token payment to a renewable farm in Africa, and then they're allowed to belch out as much pollution as they like!
Biscuits and gravy though. That sounds weird! Though I'm sure some of our Scottish delicacies are equally bizarre :)
Oh my dear; if you have never had hot flaky buttermilk biscuits with thick sausage gravy seasoned with black pepper you have missed out on one of the best breakfast meals.
Not all biscuits and gravy are that great but biscuits and gravy done right are like a gift from the heavens. Rosa is an angel who delivers them done right.
You should be a food writer. I don't eat meat, but that does sound delicious - and I've never even heard of buttermilk biscuits! They sound yummy.
I don't think that would be such a good idea. I eat plain and simple stuff. Plus I don't each vegetables except corn on the cob that is roasted not boiled. So there wouldn't be a whole lot of excitement coming from me on as a food writer. The BBQ review I do does pretty well since most of the places are small out of the way little towns that have their unique little charm or point of interest or history but for me to that more than one time a month and make food interesting would surely be a bust in my opinion.
Buttermilk biscuits are made with buttermilk and they are yummy for sure. Just google buttermilk biscuit recipe and I am sure you will be able to find plenty of them if you want to give them a try.
Oh my! They look YUMMY! And they don't have sugar. I think they're a bit like what we call "scones". I might have to make those. I'm drooling a bit more than usual as I'm doing intermittent fasting, and today is a fast day :(
Well you cant fast forever so get some ingredients and be ready to go when it is your day to eat.
The gravy part must be the unhealthy part of biscuits and gravy then if there isn't any sugar in those biscuits.
I reckon it's a very healthy dish! Although I'm not a meat-eater, I am a fish-eater so I don't take the moral high ground, and I think gravy is very good for you.
The sausage gravy has a lot of fatty grease that used in making it so that would be my guess on why it might be considered as not being real healthy.
I love the honesty and the way you write. I've only ever had biscuits and gravy once, while I was staying in NY, and they were pretty tasty, so I can understand your annoyance at the possibility of losing them. I hope that they remain firmly on that menu - let me know how it turns out next time you visit that particular hotel!
Well thank you Steve , I appreciate those kind words. Biscuits and gravy are a great part of many a breakfast for folks here in Texas and the south each morning. Even some of the fast food restaurants that serve breakfast recognize that and have them on the menu.
I'll try and remember to let you know, I can assure if those biscuits and gravy get cut from Rosa's breakfast she puts together it will get mentioned for sure. Sometimes it is hard to remember everything that everybody requests follow ups on.
Like just last week it had hit me that somebody had requested a photo of a BBQ cooker that looks like a full life size bull. I promised that I would post a picture of one and it wasn't until a month later I finally remembered to do it. When I mentioned that kind of cooker I didn't have a photo of one but I finally remembered and got it done, the problem was I couldn't remember who had asked for the picture so I hope they got to see it.
you are lovable man, your mind is great. love your article, god bless your work. love your style.
Well thank you so much, it isn't very often I get such lovely compliments as you have extended here. I appreciate those very much.
Nothing like fresh biscuits and gravy when done right. I have had some awful ones over the years and usually in hotel chains. When you get service and they make you feel like a somebody, it makes a difference how you feel about the place you are visiting whether it be for business or pleasure. I had been using the same hotel for a couple of years when I travel in Nicaragua. It was new and people seemed like they were intent on making a difference. The last time I graced their doorstep was two years ago this Christmas. I had booked them as a treat for the whole family to celebrate Christmas together which would have been the first time everyone was together in several years (It happens when children marry and have kids of their own). Well, suffice to say, they had been bought out by another chain and everything that could go wrong did. It was just the worst. I ended up writing to the head office in the US and someone from corporate getting in touch with me months later. They offered to upgrade our rooms on the next visit. Upgrade us to what. We were already supposed to have the best since we were a large group and I was a member of their premium rewards program, they said they had rolled out the red carpet for us. They didn't get another chance...
I am stubborn about some things and when I decide that enough is enough it means for good like the Beaver suing the Alligator, the Beaver will never see me again in their place, not even to use their restrooms.
Customer service is talked by many and practiced by few. The few that actually deliver when I find them I keep them. Like I always tell my customers, "I am going to do what is right for you and your needs, not mine. I want you as a customer for life, not just for this one sale."
I have turned down orders before that were in excess of $40,000 because I had information that plans had changed and a product was being discontinued that the customer had already bough some of and when they flooded he just called me up and said send 20 more units. It wasn't right to take his order knowing what his long range plan was and then tell him a year later that the development that was promised as coming had been scrapped. I helped him select from two other manufacturers and helped him know the "market" price so he could get his best deal.
That was over 20 years ago and his business still buys my products and has spend close to a million dollars buying product from me in those 20 years both when I was in distribution and now was a manufacturers representative.
So I practice what I preach and I look for those same things in businesses that I do business with.
I can't blame you for canning that hotel chain either.
Love the customer service! Rosa is looking out for you, I can't believe they made a point to have that for you....really nice. You know I don't think there there are enough places with customer service going out of their way any more. This is good to hear. Sorry they eliminated the otis cookie...those are pretty tempting with a nice glass of milk, especiallly after a long day. Last time I tried to give something healthy to a homeless person they didn't want it! geeesh! :)
Like I just told Ceci, customer service is talked by many and practiced by few. Those girls at the front desk are wonderful and I am sure it was Myra who led that plan of letting Rosa know now that I think about, because she asked me a couple times when I was checking out if I had my biscuits and gravy. I am pretty certain now Myra is the one who initiated it.
I know it was happening because the GM told me the girls are doing it, he just didn't say who started it.
Thanks for making think of that right now.