Caring staff at hotel praised for going the extra mile

One of the guests at the Buckatree Hall Hotel in Wellington, Telford, suffered a fall whilst visiting Ironbridge and could not comfortably travel back to her home in Manchester on a coach.

Wayne Jenson, general manager of hotel, knew the answer and offered for one of his staff, Martin Vickers, to personally chauffeur 85-year-old Shelagh Atherton and her cousin Margaret Baxter, 87, to their front doors.

Before leaving for her home in Manchester, Mrs Atherton said: "I have never come across such amazing customer service in a hotel before and I have stayed in a few in my 80 odd years.

"Everybody has been fabulous. On the short coach trip back from Ironbridge I was in such pain I said I couldn't travel back home on it and we would have to get a taxi which would have been very expensive.

"Martin's offer to drive us back is unbelievable. Every member of staff has been wonderful.

"It is our first time visiting Shropshire and based on such wonderful hospitality and care we will definitely be back."

Mrs Baxter said: "I know people say you should go the extra mile when it comes to customer service but the Buckatree really have."

It comes after staff delivered a wedding cake back to a bride and groom to their home in Southampton after the happy couple realised they would face difficulty in transporting their wedding presents, luggage and wedding cake back on a train as planned.

Mr Jenson also recently took a guest back to his home in Northampton after his wife had suffered a heart attack and was admitted to the Princess Royal Hospital while on a coach trip.

Mr Jenson took the man home to collect his car and get the appropriate clothing so he could come back and visit his wife in hospital.

Mr Jenson said: "This is getting a bit of habit now - from taking a bride and groom to Southampton so their cake survived the journey, to the gentleman who faced a day of excursions before he would have got home while his wife was poorly in hospital, to our latest guest with her bad back - we have done hundreds of miles.

"When people are enjoying their holiday here in Shropshire the last thing we want is for them to leave with a bad memory due to illness or a fall so we always ensure we make it as easy as possible to return home safely.

"A lot of our clientèle are of the older generation visiting on coach trips so people becoming ill or suffering an injury whilst out and about can happen and I feel it is my responsibility as their host to get them home in one piece and with a smile on their face.

"It is imperative that they arrive home wanting to return to Shropshire again."