Every consultant, columnist, motivational speaker, etc., will preach the value of customer service ad nauseum. Here’s my two cents: Service is inherent in your brand and should have nothing to do with what you sell or for how much you sell it.

Story time, boys and girls. A couple months ago I was in Texas for a few days of R&R. (Well, not really, but at least it wasn’t a business trip.) I stayed at two hotels: a Marriott in Houston and a Rosewood property in Dallas. Both brands pride themselves on strong service, although it is a hallmark for Rosewood, among the best of any hotel chain.

The Rosewood property lived up to expectations. When my girlfriend and I did not want to wait 40 minutes for room service to deliver our pitchers of margaritas to the pool, the concierge brought them up personally in 10. When our kids, none older than 11, wanted to go downstairs for breakfast while the adults struggled to rebound from said margaritas, the hotel staff treated them as they would any guest in the hotel. I could go on.

The Marriott experience was also memorable, albeit in a negative way. Being a Gold Preferred member and having the room guaranteed and pre-charged to my credit card did not guarantee my girlfriend the privilege to check in before my arrival even though her name was listed as the primary guest on the reservation. She was, however, allowed to wait in the lobby for two hours until I arrived around midnight. The next morning, I discovered a shower that could only emit hot water, which rendered it useless given how I am not fond of being scalded.

At check out, the agent’s response to my first issue, was, “Well, I didn’t come on until midnight, so I don’t know what happened. But I do know they have to swipe a valid credit card for the room to be released.” As for issue number two, she did not offer much in the way of sympathy but did offer $50 in compensation. When told that was not acceptable, she went into negotiation mode and asked what I wanted. I said, “Take off half the bill.” She just looked at me and said, “OK.” She would have done more, but it was up to me to ask. She wasn’t looking to make me feel good.

Now here’s the kicker: I paid $265 at the Marriott (before my adjustment) and $225 at the Rosewood property, and that included breakfast and valet parking. So for $40 less I received a whole lot more. Better yet, they gave me a lasting impression that will have me returning both to that location and other properties when the opportunity presents itself.

The bottom line is this: 1. Treat every customer the same, whether she is buying an olefin carpet or Karastan rug, and 2. Offer better service than the competition, even if he is more high end. Remember, service is a function of who you are and not what you sell or how much you sell it for.