Baltimore - Get In On It

I'm in Baltimore this week for a convention. I haven't been to Baltimore since I was about 8 or 9 years old, and then only to the Aquarium and to see an Oriole's game. The only memory I have of the Aquarium is walking towards it, surrounded by the harbor and the jagged roofline of the building. The only memory I have of the Oriole's game (my first ever professional baseball game) was that I got a new hat, and I could tip it forward onto my face and peer through those tiny little holes in the front. I can remember thinking that was very funny.
I was certainly not paying attention to the service I was receiving while in Baltimore, or the architecture, or the energy or signage or traffic patterns or...
But this time I am. I'm finding Baltimore much nicer and more interesting than I had expected. The Inner Harbor area is such a pleasure to visit - filled with families and kids on field trips, business people walking briskly, friends having lunch together. It's a unique place on the waterfront. I love the paddleboats that look like dragons (dragonboats) that are wading around the harbor so silently. I love the tall ships that are permanently docked there for tours - relics revived for us to visit and pretend we can still be pirates. I love the fact that the stores are inside, so if you want to shop, you have to leave the warm sunshine - and therefore you aren't as tempted to do it. And there are so many places to eat outside.
I have been most impressed with the civility here. As my boss has said, "it's very civilized." Everyone we've encountered has been smiling (yes, actually smiling at us), friendly, eager to help and yet relaxed and comfortable - not stiff. From the Teamsters at the Convention Center loading dock to the guy who took my order at "5 Guys" burgers this afternoon, they have been polite, with real manners. I'm hearing things like "Miss", "Yes Ma'am", "I would be happy to", "You have a nice day", and "Is there anything I can do for you?" The woman that was cleaning the bathroom at the convention today actually asked me, "Did you have enough towels, Ma'am?" as I walked out the door. She wasn't grumpy. She didn't seem angry at the world that she was cleaning a bathroom. It was important enought to her that the bathroom was well stocked that she took the time to ask.
I am not only seeing good service toward myself, but all around. I see it everywhere I go here. Yesterday, I passed a family at a Houlihan's restaurant, dining outside. The mother and father were sitting at a table, the two young kids were wandering nearby, investigating. A large, tall black waiter came out of the restaurant and approached the two kids. The kids stopped in their tracks and looked up at him. Then, he bent down real low to their level, smiled all the way across his face and holding out two bowls of ice cream he said, "Are you two ready for some ice cream?". The smiles spread instantly and the kids ran back to their table to sit down. I passed by them again about 15 minutes later and they were scraping their bowls and licking their lips.
I've only seen one instance of bad service here. There was one guy who received terrible service at the hotel restaurant at breakfast this morning. But everyone else had good service. Poor guy, he just got stuck with the one waitress in Baltimore who isn't happy in her place in the world.
The waiter at dinner tonight went out of his way to write down the name and address of a "dessert only" restaurant in the city when we declared that we were too full for dessert right then.
Last night, when I just wanted a very light snack (not in the mood for a meal) from room service, there wasn't anything on the menu that was light enough. The gentleman on the phone said, "How about some fruit? I could just grab some fruit out of the fridge and run it up to you. I'll do it right now." In about 5 seconds he was at my door. He handed me a banana, an apple and an orange, smiled wide and said, "Enjoy! Let me know if there is anything else we can do for you." Then, without giving me even a split second to ask about a bill, or get him a tip, he waved and was off.
This afternoon, a street vendor asked me if I was looking for anything in particular. When we determined that he didn't really have what I wanted, he struck up a nice conversation: where was I from, was I in Baltimore on business, what kind of convention, did it go through next week, or just the weekend. And you know what? He actually listened to the answers. He had about 20 people around his little cart, but he took the time to humanize it all.
I don't know. I'm just so pleased to see so much of it in one place. It is so rare to get really good service - to see people enjoying what they do - people being kind and respectful and polite - and to see people smiling in their everyday. I think that's the best part - the smiling. Real smiles from strangers, they're so rare these days.