The "Importance" of a Bucket List

The following is a repost of a "note" that I posted on Facebook in 2008. I am reposting here so I actually can read it in the future. Not that Facebook will disappear before Blogspot, but yeah. It probably will....


A friend recently asked me what's on my bucket list. I am familiar with the term, and the movie. I watched it on a recent flight to somewhere. I have no idea where and when as they all tend to run together. I thought about this for a while and could not answer the question with anything as grandiose as climbing Mt Everest (I'd die before I reached the top) or seeing the ancient pyramids.

The "travel here" and "see this" thing is just not something I tend to put extreme importance on. In the past two years I've been fortunate to travel to some pretty cool places and see some pretty cool things. If five years ago you would have told me I'd be standing in the Forbidden City, or on top of Barcelona Cathedral I would have assumed you were experiencing better living through chemistry. But then five years ago I also had a burning desire to travel to Hawaii. Today, not so much.

Understand that I do enjoy traveling. Especially to countries, cities, etc. I have not previously visited. Being a photography buff, I also enjoy shooting photos of my travels. Someday I really want to visit Israel and check out the Holy Land sites. I would also love to take my family and experience Europe from the Renaissance era. And don’t get me wrong. I would not pass up an opportunity to play golf in Maui or catamaran around Oahu. But today I realize that the best memories I have of the places I have visited revolve around the people I have met.

In June I traveled to Russia where I met my good friend and colleague, Ilya Solovev. Ilya took me on a tour of Moscow, including the Kremlin and Red Square. We saw what I consider some amazing sights, and I got some great photos on that trip. But it was the friendship with Ilya that formed during that trip that I value the most. Similarly, in Japan I was fortunate to visit ground zero in Nagasaki and try some sushi that consisted of an animal I cannot put in print lest I risk alienating my animal-loving youngest daughter. Hiroaki (Hiro) Hara was an amazing host during that visit. He kept me calm as I experienced my first earthquake on the top floor of the hotel. I consider Hiro a good friend, and look forward to seeing him again soon. The same goes for Hanbin and Teng in Shanghai, Kwan and SooJung in Seoul, Joanne and Arlene in Manila, and Rainer, Jens, and Juan David in Europe. This is very clear to me now. I could theoretically travel anywhere, and see anything, but to me it is the people that define the experience.

So back to the bucket list. From the film I think I can more easily relate to the "softer" items. Things like:

- Witness something truly majestic
- Help a complete stranger for a common good
- Laugh till I cry
- Kiss the most beautiful girl in the world

These are types of things I want to do before I die. (I have already done the last one. When I convinced her to marry me I knew I was destined for a life in sales.) I tend to favor things like "see a smile in the eyes of a child that once held hopelessness and despair." I'd put that on my list, but I have no idea where to start on making it a reality. I'll keep working on it.

So that being said, here is the beginning of my bucket list (in no particular order):

1. Build a house for Habitat for Humanity.
2. Surprise someone in need with a meaningful, anonymous contribution.
3. Serve a meal at a homeless shelter.
4. See my children develop a passion for life that exceeds mine.
5. Make a difference in someone's life. I mean truly make a difference. So much so that I likely will never know about it.

I'm sorry! (Sorry Hilton, I'm tired of your apologies)

To: Hilton Customer Care

From: Terry Tingle

Acct: XXXXXXX95               

Re: Very, very poor experience at Hilton property

I love writing notes to my preferred travel partners about great experiences. I rarely write about poor experiences, primarily because no one is perfect, and everyone eventually misses. But in this case, I feel that there are too many failures that should not go unchecked.

I traveled to Columbia, MO on Thursday February 14^th, 2013 with reservations for 2 rooms at the Hilton Garden Inn. I also had 2 rooms reserved for the February 15^th which I was hoping to release, but since I could not get a room with a king and a sofa sleeper (or a double), I had no choice but to take one of those rooms for one night. It’s been my experience that Hilton properties go above and beyond to take care of Gold members with respect to room requests, and I was hoping that I could get that service. WOW, was I ever wrong!

Let’s start with the most egregious of any error that could be committed by a hotel, that which involves the safety and security of the hotel guests. On Thursday, February 14^th, we had two rooms – 114 and 120. At approximately 4:30 PM a young man entered room 120, and acted surprised (more like he was caught with his hand in the cookie jar) when he found two adults in the room. When he was confronted with how he got in the room, he held up a room key and said he was looking for the pool. Apparently some hotels put swimming pools in guest rooms. Before any other conversation took place, he left the room and disappeared. We notified the front desk of this a short time later. Their response – “sorry.” No real probing how it happened, just sorry. In fact, their response was along the line of they mistakenly gave him a key, and assured us it would not happen again. Since we were working on the presumption that it should NEVER happen, this assurance meant nothing. No other comments. No other offers of apologies. Nothing  really. In hindsight I assume that they wanted to ignore it and/or put it behind them.

The next morning, I caught wind of two rooms checking out early. I asked the guests if they had doubles or kings with sofa sleepers. They had doubles. Awesome for us as that this would solve our problem. I went back to the front desk and asked if we could move. They denied that anyone checked out early, and told us that we would have to likely get the additional room. Talking about feeling gouged! Again , no apologies. No explanations. Nothing other than “show me the money.”

At this point , I was honestly tempted to check out and get rooms at the Hampton Inn in Jefferson City. I let my family talk me out of it. Perhaps my biggest regret in years.

That night I returned to room 249 at approximately 10:30 PM for the evening. After 2 calls to the front desk seeking assistance to quell the noise from the neighboring rooms, I was eventually able to fall asleep at around 2 AM. I woke up to my alarm at 6:30 AM feeling like crap. This was, by far and away, the worst night that I ever had in a hotel and that title now belongs to a Hilton brand. Knowing the pride of Hilton in a good night's sleep, I did not think that this was possible.

Punch drunk from a horrible evening, and anxious to check out, I left room 249 and traveled to 120. Confident that we cleared that room, I went to room 114. After a frantic effort to gather our belongings, I visited the front desk, and made sure that I let them know that not only was I not 100% satisfied with this stay, it was perhaps the worst experience I have ever had in a hotel. Way below Hilton standards. I was told by Jamie that she would check with the manager on  comping one night’s stay, and would definitely "post points" to my HHonors account. One week later and I’ve seen neither, but it gets worse.

After visiting my daughter’s apartment, we started to head out of town when I realized my iPad was not in my briefcase. I checked the tracking program from my iPhone, and the iPad registered as still at the hotel. I called and spoke with Jamie, relayed my problem, and told her I was on the way. Upon arrival, Jamie apologized (these apologies are really getting old) and said it was not there. When I told her that I had evidence to the contrary, she again apologized, and assured me that she would look into it.

Within the hour, my iPad dropped from my tracking program, meaning it was shut off or was disconnected from the network. I called later that evening, and was told it did not show up. I asked to speak with the GM, and they transferred me to his voice mail. I left a message that based on my memory of leaving it 114, and the tracking that it was at the hotel, I was confident that it was definitely at the hotel. I really wanted to speak with him prior to filing a police report.

Six days later and I still have not heard from him. Based on the fact that his staff gave a stranger a key to my room, his staff ignored my request for the room that suited my needs (presumably for an additional night’s room and tax), his staff could not provide with a sound night of sleep, and topped off with a stolen iPad, I guess I can see why he did not want to talk to me. But again, I expect more from a Hilton. (I did eventually hear from Jamie, and she acted surprised that I was expecting a call from the GM. She apologized on his behalf. Really? Another apology?)

I'd love to tell you that this story has a happy ending. The happy ending may be that I discover that Hyatt or Marriott can offer what Hilton does not. Stay tuned....