And so I must share these two unexpected service moments I had last week.

The first was at check-in at the Grand Hyatt Jakarta. I had made a last-minute decision to visit and booked my room online direct two hours before I was due to fly. Chose the best available rate, booked and confirmation came via email almost immediately after, with instructions on how to get to hotel.

Got to hotel in over an hour – no easy feat given Jakarta’s traffic which makes me wonder why all the transportation companies are called something Bird (Silver Bird, Blue Bird, Big Bird, Golden Bird) when the last thing you do is fly in this city.

At check-in, I asked if wifi was included. The staff said no but I could buy the US$75 package which would include breakfast, cocktails and internet. Good upselling tactic. I said I only wanted the Internet and why wasn’t it included when this is what customers expect these days? I mentioned Shangri-La, their competitor down the road, which has free wifi no matter what package you buy.

You can tell she’s used to such comments. She nodded and said, “Yes, I understand and we have plans to do that in future.”

“Well, it doesn’t help me now,” I said.

Whereupon she said to me, “Since this is your first stay with us, I will include wifi for you,” and gave me a user name and password.

Took me by surprise. Usually you’d get a sorry and a mumble …

The second encounter was at the Starbucks at Millenia Walk, Singapore. I was running late, time was tight and I didn’t want to waste more time ordering and waiting for my coffee when I needed the time to discuss a project.

The staff came to our table, offering us sample cookies to try.

I asked him if I could order coffee from him and if he could bring it to me. I explained why. He said, “No problem.” Took my order and money and a minute later, my latte arrived.

“This is so not the norm in Singapore,” my friend remarked.

So drum roll please for service staff who use their initiative to please customers.