One stormy night many years ago, an elderly man

and his wife entered the lobby of a small hotel in

Philadelphia. Trying to get out of the rain, the couple

approached the front desk hoping to get some shelter

for the night. “Could you possibly give us a room here?”

the husband asked.

The clerk, a friendly man with a winning smile, looked

at the couple and explained that there were three

conventions in town. “All of our rooms are taken,” the

clerk said. “But I can’t send a nice couple like you out

into the rain at one o’clock in the morning. Would you

perhaps be willing to sleep in my room? It’s not exactly

a suite, but it will be good enough to make you folks

comfortable for the night.”

When the couple declined, the young man pressed on.

“Don’t worry about me. I’ll make out just fine,” the clerk

told them.

So the couple agreed. As he paid his bill the next morning,

the elderly man said to the clerk, “You are the kind of

manager who should be the boss of the best hotel in

the United States. Maybe someday I’ll build one for you.”

The clerk looked at them and smiled. The three of them

had a good laugh. As they drove away, the elderly couple

agreed that the helpful clerk was indeed exceptional, as

finding people who are both friendly and helpful isn’t easy.

Two years passed. The clerk had almost forgotten the

incident when he received a letter from the old man. It

recalled that stormy night and enclosed a round-trip

ticket to New York, asking the young man to pay them

a visit. The old man met him in New York, and led him

to the corner of Fifth Avenue and 34th Street. He then

pointed to a great new building there, a palace of reddish

stone, with turrets and watchtowers thrusting up to the

sky. “That,” said the older man, “is the hotel I have just

built for you to manage.”

“You must be joking,” the young man said.

“I can assure you I am not,” said the older man, a sly

smile playing around his mouth. The older man’s name

was William Waldorf Astor, and the magnificent

structure was the original Waldorf-Astoria Hotel.

The young clerk who became its first manager was

George C. Boldt. This young clerk never foresaw the

turn of events that would lead him to become the

manager of one of the world’s most glamorous hotels.

And the lesson is……….treat everyone with love, grace

and respect, and you cannot fail!

– Author Unknown