Back up in San Francisco tomorrow until the 19th, I believe. I’ve stayed at this SFO Airport Hotel on a number of occasions in the past, and have yet to be disappointed with the service, rooms or the general care the staff shows the customers. And when you’re travelling for much of your life, getting treated well is always something that one appreciates.

If I’ve learned anything over the years it’s that what you put out there usually tends to come back to you many times over. Not trying to get all “woo woo” or but my experiences of almost 15 years on the sales road bear this out to be true.

When I first started out with this company and was really inexperienced at the process of traveling, I figured it was all about the customer being right. Now I realize that this is definitely not the case. In fact, my first trip to this area was about 13.5 years ago, and I can still remember it like yesterday.

Obviously much younger, I didn’t appreciate the hard work and effort that service folk have to exert in order to make a travelers experience exemplary. And to be sure, many of the folks employed to make travel great just do enough to get by.

After landing at SFO I grabbed a taxi to the hotel (back when I spent way too much money on transportation. Now I take the shuttle or share a van to help stretch my per diem further.) Well, it seemed that one of my bags had not gotten removed from the taxi’s trunk at the hotel. Of course this was the bag with my suits, dress shirts, etc. And it wasn’t until I was into my room that I discovered the error.

As you might imagine, I was livid. I called the front desk and demanded they find my bag. The manager was actually quite the professional and let me know he’d check things out. The bellman was interviewed about the incident. He was ready to take a polygraph to indicate there was no garment bag in the trunk of my cab.

Next the taxi company was phoned and through a series of radio transmissions, it was determined that no cabs having dropped off at my hotel contained any forgotten or lost bags. As you might have felt, I was ready to blow my stack. Fortunately, I held off.

Within an hour or so of the incident, the airlines had delivered my “lost” bag to the hotel, which had subsequently discretely placed it inside my room. Apparently, in my rushing and haste, I’d simply forgotten to retrieve it from the carousel!

You cannot imagine how long it took me to wipe the egg from my face! But that one lesson taught me several things about my job: don’t rush if you don’t have to; pay attention to all of your belongings; and don’t take things out on those that are doing their best to provide you with great service.

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1. The Slanted Door in San Francisco
2. Finding the Best Business Hotel Can Be Challenging

In the past I’ve mentioned how great it is to fly into San Francisco airport and stay at the SFO Airport Hotel. And this trip to the City is definitely no exception.

People don’t realize just how much business and industry there is on that side of town. Sure the big Wall Street type of businesses are located downtown San Francisco, but there are a lot of small to medium sized businesses thriving over in the South San Francisco / San Bruno side of things.

Just because I use accommodations near the airport doesn’t mean I have to only stay near where I am sleeping for the night. When I travel I first and foremost make sure I’m taking care of business. Literally.

But when I know that attending meetings is taken care of, when new sales calls will be handled in the course of my day’s travel, then I work hard at figuring out what I’m going to do to play.

And to eat. I’ve mentioned it time and again hereabouts that I very much enjoy trying new cuisine and that my business travel life is all about seeking new experiences in the world of food.

Definitely would not consider myself a gourmand. Don’t even think of myself as a foodie. But I do enjoy a well prepared meal and all that comes with the experience. On the flight up from L.A. I read in one of the magazines from the seat pouch about an amazing Vietnamese restaurant called the Slanted Door:

The Slanted Door is a modern Vietnamese restaurant that showcases the abundance of produce as well as ecologically farmed meat, game and poultry found at farms around the San Francisco Bay Area.

Having only tried this style of food once many years ago, I was ready to learn more about it. The added value of this food being so focused on sustainability and local food production enticed me that much more.

I’ll report back just how great (or not ) my time at the Slanted Door ended up being. Have a great one!

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1. MNF was Great, Now on to San Francisco
2. Sam Wo’s FTW!
3. Memories Of My First Trip To San Francisco

The flight from Denver to San Francisco is more bumpy than usual. Flight attendant’s have indicated there is a cold front moving towards Colorado and the lower temperatures are causing big blasts of turbulence. Their explanations seem plausible. I wonder, though if they just think of things to tell us so we won’t whine and upset fellow passengers!

Fortunately, I’m able to get some emails caught up. This is one of those times when I wish all of the airlines had WiFi built into the flight (and for something closer to FREE than $12.95 per flight!) But I know that when we do touch down and I’m in range all the work I’m doing will get sent off without a hitch.

I wish I could do the same with these blog posts. I’d read somewhere that you can post to a blog site using an email, but I’m definitely not far enough along with my blogucation to perform that sort of magic. If you know how to make that happen, maybe you could point me in the right direction? It would be kind of cool to touch it once and then forget it.

About halfway now, I’m thinking about the location of the SFO Airport hotel. While it’s very convenient for staying close to the actual terminal and for meetings on this side of SF, it makes it harder to get to enjoy all the great things in the City itself.

Not to complain, however. Transportation exists for getting from the hotel to all my favorite hotspots downtown. But I tend to prefer to walk a lot when in a different city. Being in Arizona doesn’t really lend itself to doing that too much. You can walk in small neighborhood spaces, but nothing like when you’re in NYC or SF.

So, I tend to take a cab, or if there’s a shuttle, I’ll opt for using that to get me to the general area I hope to spend time in. From there, however, I’ll hoof it around taking in the sights, sounds, smells of the place. It’s easier to smile and say hello to passersby. Plus the big dividend is when you stumble upon the elusive hole-in-the-wall place that screams for your attention. Just a quick duck inside and a whole new adventure begins!

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1. Things To Do In Downtown Denver When You’re Dead Tired!

Being able to rent a car and drive out to my Anaheim Convention Center hotel was a nice diversion from my normal travel routine. An average trip segment for me usually sees me driving to PHX (which is smart since I live in the greater Phoenix area ) I have a long term parking place that is great, inexpensive and shuttles me to the airport.

Obviously we all know the trials and tribulations of navigating airport security in our now (mostly) familiar post 9/11 world of airline travel. Once on the plane however, I usually have a few moments to just relax, contemplate the sales efforts just completed, and focus on the next stop of the journey.

It’s usually during these times that I try and share some thoughts about the wonderful and exciting world of business travel. Okay, that last statement might be stretching it a bit. But I do my best to share the good, the bad, and what I’d only be able to consider my little insightful observations.

My time in Anaheim was so busy that I was completely unable to spare even a few moments to share some of those observations. Now, however, after dropping off the car and settling in for the flight to Denver I’ve relaxed and am feeling insightful. A nice airline cocktail can often have that affect. Don’t worry, I’m not going to expense that one!

The other day I spoke about L.A. becoming the set for Blade Runner. Being able to drive from LAX down to Anaheim and back a few days later really just confirmed that they are going to start building straight up before long!

As we cruise towards Denver and I’m finishing up this post I find myself reflecting on the changes that I get to see as I revisit the various metropolitan areas around our country. Usually the changes are subtle. I building gone from here; a new one over there. Roads are widened, but rarely narrowed. A different restaurant in the space that I ate last time I was here. That sort of thing.

So, off to Denver to discover the changes, additions, subtractions. After 5 or so days there, back to the California life with a stop in San Francisco. Sure hope Sam Wo’s is still there!

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1. The Great Thing About Saturday Travel

LOL! I had mentioned how much I was hoping to get to my favorite Chinese, Sam Wo once I had gotten settled in after landing in San Francisco. That link to their site is actually somewhat hilarious because it’s sooo much like the restaurant. There’s really nothing there at the site. But when I was searching for the actual address (to be able to give to the cabbie) I came across this hilarious, short Youtube clip that Conan O’Brien shot about Sam Wo’s.

Check it out!

If you need directions from where you are, this link should help you out, like it did me! Enjoy!

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