Freelance writer Gordon Sumner stepped off the elevator at the Gladstone hotel and glanced at his watch. It was $10$:$00$ a$.$m$.$ on a Thursday and he was grateful to have had the chance to sleep in late after his $11$:$30$ p$.$m$.$ arrival the night before. Now the only thing he needed to start the day off right was a hearty breakfast. He headed to the front desk for directions to the hotel restaurant.

$$Good morning,$$ the man behind the desk said. $$How can I help you?$$

$$You have a restaurant here, don$$t you?$$

$$Yes$,$ we do$.$ In fact, it just received a Golden Palate award from our city magazine.$$

$$Well$,$ I don$$t know if I$$d recognize award$-$winning food if I ate it$,$ but I would like a good breakfast,$$ Gordon said.

$$Then we have just the place for you, sir.$$

Gordon got directions from the agent and within two minutes he was sitting at a table in a bright, well$-$decorated restaurant. Looking around, he noticed half$-$a$-$dozen other people lingering over breakfast and coffee at nearby tables. From what he could see, the food did look appetizing.

After several minutes passed without a visit from a server, Gordon finally noticed a server walking across the other side of the room. He caught her attention and asked to see a menu. Ten minutes later, he had to flag her down again. Goodness, he thought, the food must be spectacular if this place can win awards despite such poor service.

$$Can I help you, sir?$$ she said as she approached his table.

$$I$$d like to order breakfast. Could I get a$$

$$I$$m sorry, sir, but we stopped serving breakfast at $9$:$45.$

$$Well$,$ then, I guess an early lunch would be all right. I$$m starving.$$

The waitress bit her lip. $$Actually$,$ we don$$t begin serving lunch until $11$:$15.$ That$$s about another hour from now.$$

It was frustrating to see people still enjoying their meals and to realize he wouldn$$t be able to join them. $$All right,$$ he said without enthusiasm, $$could I get some coffee to go$,$ then? Maybe I$$ll grab a newspaper from the gift shop and just$$

She was shaking her head. $$I$$m sorry, but the register is locked until lunch. We can$$t handle take$-$out orders.$$

$$I see,$$ he said, wondering why the man at the front desk hadn$$t bothered to explain any of this. $$So$,$ tell me: where can a guy get something to eat around here?$$

$$You know, if I were you, I$$d take the walkway over to the mall across the street. They have a pretty good food court. $$Twenty minutes later, Gordon passed through the lobby on his way back from the mall and his fast$-$food meal.The front desk agent called out to him, $$And was your breakfast award$-$winning, sir? $$No$,$ I can$$t say that it was,$$ Gordon replied icily as he walked by$.$ The agent looked stricken. $$Oh$!$ I$$m sorry to hear that. I hope you$$ll give us the chance to serve you again. $$Not likely,$$ Gordon said under his breath as he stepped into the elevator$\mathrm{.}1.$ What actions did the front desk agent take that negatively impacted Mr$.$ Sumner$$s Stay?

$2.$ How should the front desk agent have handled Mr$.$ Sumner$$s enquiry about breakfast?

$3.$ What gaps in service occurred in the restaurant on Mr$.$ Sumner$$s arrival?

$4.$ How should this interaction have taken place in the restaurant?

$5.$ What is guest recovery and how could this situation have been recovered once Mr$.$ Sumner had returned to the hotel and advised the desk agent of his concerns?