The Leland Michigan Chamber of Commerce received this letter. We wanted to share it with you!
On Tuesday, September 8, my wife and I spent the day on the water with our boat from your great harbor.
Upon returning to Leland from South Manitou Island that afternoon and getting our boat back on its trailer we discussed the idea of spending the night in your town vs. driving back to Suttons Bay or Traverse City. Without any cell service available I decided to head to a few of the nearby shops and ask advice for accommodations.
I've often attempted this in other tourist areas only to end up the recipient of poor results and bruised feelings from indifferent, at best, shop employees. I wandered into Roxane's Jewelry Shop and met Roxane.
I asked her a simple question: please recommend a hotel that I could spend the night with my wife, dog and boat on it's trailer in the parking lot. She proceeded to go above and beyond any normal expectations. She made a couple of phone calls about room availability and pet policies. She called the marina to see if we could leave our boat parked there overnight.
I began to feel bad and said I was sorry asked her to not bother, I didn't wish to be a problem over something she would not profit from. She stated it was no problem and continued on. Roxane referred us to the Falling Waters Lodge where we were able to spend the night with our dog and were able to park our boat in their parking lot for the night.
I was thoroughly impressed with the selfless attitude displayed by Roxane. I apologized to her that I didn't need any jewelry for my wife at that time, she stated that didn't matter. The fact is she was willing to spend a few minutes to help a potential visitor. If I had come across a less helpful representative of Leland it's very likely that we would not have stayed there and spent money at the Falling Waters, The Cheese Shop, Carlson's Fish, The Bluebird Cafe, and The Cheese Shop for Breakfast the next morning. We left town Wednesday morning driving home and talking about what had happened and how out of the ordinary it was in this era.
Kudos to Roxane for such great service to a confused tourist in need of information. Leland should be thrilled to have her representing their community.
Regards,
Steve and Mary
One Comment
We spent a glorious two weeks in and around Leland this past summer (my future sis-in-law's family has had a lakefront home near Leland for years), and I spent a LOT of time at Roxane's (Sis knew ALL the good places to shop!).
I was just now surfing the web to see if she had a website, when I noticed "Kudos to Roxane" and knew it HAD to be her. She was one of the most gracious, helpful, fun shop owners we met up there. That she would help a visitor, even knowing they were not going to buy anything, is not surprising at all! We stopped in Leland at the ice cream store near her shop almost daily, and, even though I did purchase several things in her shop, most days we just stopped to say hello. She always greeted us warmly, and by name. If we were looking for any other type of merchandise, or services, or whatever, she was always happy to help.
I am already saving money for our next trip to Leland. The whole area is full of wonderful scenery, beautiful shops, and by far the most friendly people of any "tourist town" I've ever been to. Leland should indeed be thrilled to have her, and so many others, representing your community. Good old-fashioned customer service is alive and well in Leland and you should be very proud!!
Peg & Merritt Hadley
Des Moines, Iowa