Online Booking is Here at Crane Creek Inn!!!

We know that many travelers just want to research and then book a room, without having to call or e-mail the Innkeepers. So after many (many) months of struggling with whether or not to allow our Friends & Guests to book a room with us online, we decided to take the leap and have teamed up with Webervations to accommodate y'all!

Our biggest worry was our "Adult Only" policy and how to ensure that a potential Guest doesn't book rooms for themselves and their children and then have to deny them. We'll just have to see how it goes (our hope is that we don't have any issues)!

 For those of you who like to speak to the Innkeeper we still do that too! Just log onto www.cranecreekinn.com and click on RATES/AVAILABILITY and see if we have a room for you!

Bambi and I are committed to provide the ultimate in customer service and online booking is just another way we can provide this for our Guests.

A & B.

Summer Heat is OVER!!!

Yay! The humidity has broken and we have had 2 glorious days of mid-seventies and sunshine. For the next 6 months the weather here in Melbourne will be glorious. The pool temp is dropping though so we'll start the heater going (I can't get in the pool unless it's at least 84 degrees).

So for all of you in "The Great White North", feel free to come on down to the Crane Creek Inn in Melbourne, FL when you get sick of the cold and snow. The sun is warm, The Hibiscus & Bougainvillea are blooming, the chocolate chip cookies are fresh and my homemade blueberry buttermilk pancakes are still WORLD FAMOUS!

Happy Travels.

The Good, the Bad and the UGLY of this Past Weekend

Here at the Crane Creek Inn we pride ourselves on outstanding service to our Guests. So every once in awhile here I will post my experiences at other service oriented establishments. Here are a few...

I visited a few local bars this weekend and had some really good service and some really BAD service. First the BAD & UGLY...

I used to love going to Matt's Casbah in downtown Melbourne (since I am within walking distance), but since they got this new bartender it is too painful. I don't know her name, but she usually works the early afternoon shift. I've been there 2 times recently. The first time I sat at the bar and waited about 10 minutes before she even noticed me. I then waited 5 more minutes before she asked me if I wanted anything. Never smiled...never said hello...just a sour look on her face and a bad attitude.

I went back this past Saturday afternoon and again sat at the bar for 5 minutes - and I never even saw a bartender! As I was exiting the patio I saw this same bartender walk out from inside (where she seems to spend a lot of her time). She needs to go into a new line of work. Preferably in a little cubicle somewhere she need not deal with the public! The night bartenders at Matt's are always good, but they need to give this afternoon tender a new attitude or the boot.

Now the GOOD...
Went to Squidlips and sat on the back deck where the Tiki bar is. Amanda was my server and she is really great! Always there (smiling & happy) before my drink was empty. The John Quinliven jam session was a blast. A lot of good musicians and good variety of music - check it out on Thursdays.

Went to Earl's Hideaway yesterday to listen to some live blues (Earl's always has live band on Sunday afternoon - awesome!). The 2 bartenders out at the Tiki bar are AWESOME! This place is packed and they never miss a customer waiting or a drink order.

That's it for now - gotta go recover from my hangover!
Andy

Melbourne Room Facelift

Just finished putting a fresh coat of paint in the Melbourne room here at Crane Creek B&B. We really liked the old color so we found one similar to it and also sanded and painted the trim. I was looking at the bathroom in this room and did not realize until I was painting the bedroom that the walls in the bath are really gagged up (weird paint discolorations). So I decided to paint the bath as well.

My decorator (Bambi) is in Toronto this weekend so I think I'm going to make an executive decision and choose a tropical orange color for the bath walls. I'm also thinking of replacing the tub/shower enclosure with just a walk-in shower (no one uses the tub in this room), but not sure if I have the time before Guests check in.

Anyways - just wanted to update y'all on more improvements here at the Inn.
Happy & Safe travels,
Andy

Shut up & listen!!

I think listening has become a lost art in our society today. People just can't wait till you're done with your sentence to get THEIR point in, so they interupt in the middle of your sentence. Man, I just want to slap these people (interupters) - It's supposed to be a conversation, not a diatribe.

Next time you're out with friends (or talking with anyone) take a moment to see how many times you are interupted by the one you are talking with. See how many of them actually let you finish your thought before they just have to interupt to wow you with their views. You'll be amazed.

We also need to take a look at our own listening skills - you may be one these interupters! But I have found that the only change we can make is to ourselves. And believe me I have tried to change some of these interupters and it never works. They have the attention span of a gnat.

It's time to shut up and listen - we may actually learn something.

My first Blog post!!

Well, this is my first attempt at blogging and here you will find updates about our B&B and events in Melbourne, FL.as well as my feelings on BAD (and good) service at bars, restaurants and with contractors.

I just don't understand the mentality of someone who works in the service industry and has a bad attitude at work. Okay - maybe you're having a bad day, but suck it up and do your job with a smile and pay attention to the people who are paying you (your customers).

Being the co-owner of a Bed & Breakfast with my beautiful wife Bambi, my tolerance threshold for bad service is VERY low. We pride ourselves on exception service at the Inn and unfortunately not a lot of service oriented places feel the same. I go out a lot to bars and restaurants and have used many contractors in my remodeling of the B&B, and I have experienced WAY too many crappy bartenders, servers and especially contractors.