Hotel staff takes boy's lost tiger on epic adventure
SHELDON, Iowa - There are plenty of stories in the news and on social media about bad customer service, and consumers getting the short end of the stick.
This isn't one of them.
Jane Molas and her family recently traveled to Sheldon, Iowa, for a family reunion and checked in to the Holiday Inn Express there. When it came to return to Minnesota the crew packed up their belongings and hightailed it, unknowingly leaving behind something very important.
Not a credit card, a wallet, or piece of jewelry, but a stuffed tiger owned by Molas' two-year-old son, Netza. The boy apparently has a major fascination with the striped creatures, and was obviously quite distraught about his pal, who he calls "Baby Tigee," being gone.
About a week later a package arrived in the mail from Sheldon, containing not only the little stuffed animal but a note and some pictures chronicling the tiger's adventures around the hotel after being inadvertently left behind.
The photos show the little tiger playing in one of the hotel dryers, eating pancakes, drinking coffee, and ringing the bell at the front desk. They are accompanied by a note that reads:
"Hello from the Holiday Inn Express and Suites, Sheldon, Iowa! We loved having your tiger friend stay with us! The little riger really enjoyed having pancakes at night. It also loved fresh hot coffee. Your little tiger was a big help at the front desk and a big help with laundry, but now it is time for your tiger friend to go back home. It really misses you and wants to play with you again. We hope you have enjoyed your stay with us as much as your little tiger did. We hope you come back to visit again soon. Have a great day!"
"It was such an awesome way to return a favorite toy to a little child," Molas wrote in an email to KARE 11. "My four year old and two year old loved looking at the pictures and talking about what the tiger had done during his 'vacation.' Just wanted to share what just a little kind-heartedness can do!"
KARE 11's Heidi Wigdahl spoke with the manager of the Holiday Inn Express in Sheldon, Brianna Kroontje, who said the effort was something any good business would do.
"Just kind of going above and beyond what your job duty is. I have a son of my own and I know if I left a stuffed animal and a hotel were to do that, I would think that was really cool for him to have that," said Kroontje via skype. "I think the children's imagination is awesome if they think that the stuffed animal is doing everything, I think that's pretty cool."
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