Recent attempts to gain better guest acceptance of the service product being presented have

yielded reports that the root problem noted by guests usually centered on the employee failing
to perform adequately. Appearing at the top of most lists were the guests’ concerns about
employee attitudes. More detailed studies, however, have indicated that a clear 85 percent of all
guest and service quality problems were the result of systems, policies, and procedures that
were either outdated, inappropriate, or restrictive, and consequently did not take care of the
guest. Only 15 percent of quality problems were associated directly with the employee’s failure
to perform properly in the employee’s relationship with the guest.

Basically, in our industry, employees have been overmanaged and underled. Other studies
addressed the issue of quality assurance in hotel operations. Such was the case of the American
Hotel and Motel Association’s sponsored study conducted at the Sheraton Scottsdale in
Scottsdale, Arizona. 28 This study was primarily concerned with problem solving in areas where
guest comments indicated a quality problem in rendering service to the guest.

Theory Z technique was applied at the Sheraton

Too often in the past, when talking to the guest, the only response available to the employee
was, ‘‘You will have to talk to the manager. By placing the guest’s problem in front of those
employees who had the greatest knowledge about how to solve a problem , quality standards
would be raised. Having been involved in creating the new and better-quality standard, the
employees would be more inclined to personally commit themselves to meeting the new
standards.

Further recognition of the results obtained with Theory

In addition, associates are being empowered to do whatever is necessary to resolve problems for
the guest, rather than to refer problems to management.

Empowerment as a program does not mean the employee simply takes power, but rather is
granted power by the supervisor after being properly trained to meet written standards that
have been prepared by the associates and have been accepted by management. Should an
employee make a mistake through empowerment, he or she may be counseled or retrained.

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