Q1 “Service” can be elusive concept. What is the essence of The RitzCarlton experience? What is The Ritz-Carlton selling?
Answer:
Ritz Carlton is basically selling the service as Schulze explained the Ritz Carlton philosophy to the new employees during their first day of orientation: “We are not in the hotel business. The hotel business is about selling rooms, selling food, selling the bar. We do those things incidentally, but our business is service. We charge for service. Our commitment to our customers is excellence in service. Service is our profession. “
“We are Ladies and Gentleman serving Ladies and Gentleman”
This is the motto of Ritz Carlton Company. Having a conversation with anyone who works there, and you will hear this phrase. Their challenge is to remember constantly to lift themselves up to the level at which they have placed their customers! We serve Ladies and Gentleman; let us act like Ladies and Gentleman.
By visiting any of the Ritz Carlton locations around the world and you will sense this treatment. Every day at the Ritz Carlton begins with the “line up.” This process is the beginning of the shift for every employee of the organization, from the CEO on down. The concept is very simple: About ten minutes at the beginning of the day is spent discussing what is going to happen that day as well as discussing one of the basics of the Ritz Carlton model of service. These basics are found on the card described above that each employee considers being a part of his or her uniform and that deals with everything from greeting guests to using their names. This is why you ask any employee within the Ritz Carlton organization how often they talk about customer’s service; the answer is going to be the same: “Every Day.”
The credo of the company consists of three statements:
- The Ritz Carlton hotel is a place where genuine care and comfort of our guests is our highest mission.
- We pledge to provide the finest personal service and facilities for our guests, who will always enjoy a warm, relaxed, yet refined ambience.
- The Ritz Carlton experience enlivens the senses, in still well-being and fulfills even the unexpressed wishes and needs of our guests.
The three steps of service are described as:
3.Bid a fond farewell. Give guests a warm Good-bye and use their names, if and when possible.
- Give a warm and sincere greeting. Use the guests name if and when possible.
- Anticipate and comply with guests needs. The Ritz Carlton “Basics” comprise a definitive list of guidelines that provide clear instructions for employees in dealing with their guests. For example, one of these reads, “Be an ambassador of your hotel in and outside of the workplace.
The respect to the employees is the key factor of success as the Ritz Carlton show to their employees and it is also reflected in their policies, their diversity, and their understanding of the needs of the families that make up their companies. They are indeed extensions of a family with a corporate name.
The selection committee of Malcolm Award in 1987, comprised of 300 experts in quality and business, named the Ritz-Carlton Hotel Company as a recipient twice in 1992 and 1999. No other entrant in the service division has been successful more than once. More recently, J.D. Power and Associates, a global marketing information services firm basing its awards upon survey responses from millions of customers internationally named the Ritz-Carlton Hotel “Highest in Guest Satisfaction Among Luxury Hotel Chains” for 2003. The Ritz-Carlton led “in each measure of guest satisfaction.” For the two preceding years, the Ritz-Carlton had ranked second, competing for the top spot with Four Seasons, Fairmont Hotels and Resorts, and Inter-Continental Hotels. Additionally, the Ritz-Carlton merits fourth place ranking among the “strongest brands in the world,” according to Gerard van Grinsven, Vice President/Area General Manager, and Ritz-Carlton of Dearborn, Michigan. He has contributed significantly to the strength of the brand, leading the Ritz-Carlton Dearborn to become the most improved hotel in the system for 2002, according to monthly customer satisfaction ratings conducted by Gallup.
Today fifty-six hotels, scattered from San Francisco to Seoul, Korea, from Boston to Bali, display the Ritz-Carlton logo. As every guest knows, you move from one RitzCarlton hotel to another without noticing a transition. You encounter no surprises, and certainly no disappointments. The hotel replicates its perfection, regardless of locale, climate, or language.
