The Reds Get It . . . Right

Yesterday my husband and I attended our first Cincinnati Reds baseball game. And why not: it was a beautiful, unusually cool day in Northern Kentucky. The Reds wouldn’t be back home again until mid-July, and we were overdue to celebrate both of our birthdays.

We bought and printed our tickets at home, then headed off to the park. TANK’s Southbank Shuttle makes parking worries disappear: public transportation rocks! If you’ve never been to see it, Cincinnati has a gorgeous new baseball park, appropriately titled the Great American Ball Park. With hotdog, pretzel, and Coke in hands, we settled into our sun-soaked seats.

Man, did it get hot!!

After four innings, we needed shade. We found an open, breezy area on the mezzanine where we could stand and watch the game. Within a few minutes, a gentleman sporting a Reds’ shirt and ball cap approached us and said with a big smile, “This is the coolest place in the whole park!” We agreed, explaining we were taking a breather from the sun. Then he said, “I’ve got some seats over here in the shade, would you like to sit there?” We followed him to the next section down from where we had originally been seated. He produced a towel from his pocket, and polished two seats. He stepped back, smiled again, and said, “I hope you enjoy the game!”

This fellow, Tom T., knows how to treat customers. He gets it . . . right.

Tom stopped by several times to see how we were enjoying the game. He chatted with everyone! Two men seated behind us said that every time they come to a Reds game, they ask specifically for seats in Tom’s section of the stadium.

My husband mentioned that this was our first time to the Great American Ball Park, and Tom handed me a piece of paper and asked me to write down our names. He scooted off and within minutes returned with two certificates, signed by Dusty Baker and two others, to commemorate our first visit to see the Reds. Nice touch.

Cincinnati came from behind in the 8th inning to beat the Phillies, 4-3. We saw 3 homeruns, a stolen base, and a Reds’ victory: a great baseball game in the Great American Ball Park.

Tom waited at the top of the stairs and wished every fan a good rest-of-the-day. I got a sense that Great American Ball Park, in Tom’s eyes, is his Ball Park. And the Ball Park’s customers are his customers.

Don’t you wish everyone had that outlook?

See ya ’round the block,

Nancy