My Week as a room service waiter at the ritz.

- 2-day orientation and shadowing veteran room service waiter – now he is going to take lead
for delivering dinner
- Try to match mood of guests is what steve said
- He messed up and steve had to take care of everything and they talked in the hafway. He
forgot what he had to do In nervousness

- Senior executives will learn looking at these operation themselves in close rane and also
being part of the operation by getting into employees shoes
- Why chose ritz – reputation for customer service, and because it taked training seriously.
There learning institute offer employee training seminars. There were no restrictions to get
trained. (enjoyed luck in depudemen k
- 2 things – got to know from orientation what ritz imbibes in employess and challenges that
employee faces in delivering service.
- RITZ – location – so they have positioned themselves an hipper sort of place. This is
approach for differentiation and risks alienating guests who enjoy old world elegance of
hotel that is closed due to renovation. Challenge - New hotel location not good.
- All this made essential that hotel delivers on its service. Learning – what managers should
do, life lessons

Day 1 – Putting the ritz in ritzy

- Men are wearing suits. Tim – director of training – down to earth – said they were chosen
for some qualities in them (prospect of serving others, upbeat and ambitious)
- First presentation on rich tradition of ritz (custojmer is never wrong) – how ritz started and
grew 0 1927 – boston hotel survived and it helped set them standards.
- Ritz-carlton founded in 1983 by William – bought boston hotel. 1998 – Marriott acquired the
business which manages 40 hotels but does not own them some other pwns them
- 3 steps process of service by horst – german based – credo, motto, 20 basics that employees
carried.
- The hotel had slipped on rankings of premiur hotel. How to maintain high standrads in face
of growth???- answer according to tim – bringing to life the gold standards
- CREDO states that mission is – genuine care and comfort of guests, guests will get warm,
relaxed and refined ambiance, stuffiness, refinement and relaxed warmth
- General manager – to make money - kaise – to make guests fell good so they come back.
Take a while or cost more but don’t say no. they want experience.

Day 2 – talking the talk – using right sort of language with guests

- Uniform , mock lineup, talk to managers, review gold standards and discuss in every 20 days.
- Credo – goal – fulfill even what is unexpressed needs
- CLASS system – customer loyalty anticipation satisfaction system – tracks the preferences
and cpompalints of everyone who statys at ritz. Employees are the data gathers for this
database.
- Employees can bend rules if needed and are given 2000 dollars to spend on solving
customers complain
- Most important – empathize with customer and wont happen again
 - Handled incidents are filled by filling QIA – quality incident action – to prevent similar
problems. Also empowering employees is a sign of respect.
- Motto – we are ladies and gentleman serving ladies and genetleman . employees help each
other out

DAY 3 – Learning the ropes

- Steve background and takes job seriously

- Steve gave endless instructions – excessive
- Steve was expert as can be seen. There is a promised delivery time of 30 mins
- Elegant, comfortable – while going down steve said – you are on guests turf
- Mutual help between employees

Day 4 – HITTING SOME wrinkles

- Several tasks together as others were busy

- Wrinkled tablecloth problem
- Hotels operational kinks and human beings don’t prform by the book
- Did the tasks

Day 5 – taking the lead

- Shows around main restaurant

- Contemparoroy look and feel for differentiation of hotel
- Take the lead on orders
- When business is good – room service waiters can earn a lot
- You have to try to think as guest would. As th order got late.

Day 6 – Going solo

- Steve proves to be good leader giving opportunity again

- He is improving and learning but making small mistakes though taking responsibilities
- Finds faulty areas too – like wine numbers for half and full bottle but he did not do it lol

Day 21 – Reflecting on the experience

- New employee job certification test

- New guest preferences, updated version of company principals – 7 factors, this supplements
the 20 gold standards
- Motivational examples of two employees
- Boston again leads on customer satisfaction
Learnings:
- Great customer service should be based on dynamic principles rather than rigid formula
- Winning hearts and minds of employees
- Managers must give freedom to employees and exercise it
- How you hire the right people – candidate assessment – 1991 – reduced annual turnover
rate
- Wellbeing of guests is key to providing superior customer service
- Achieve empathy
- Leave egos at door and adopt mindset of people they are serving, experience employees as
customers and make all these things part of their credo.