The Ritz-Carlton and Superior Service

A long time ago I was lucky enough to work on several corporate programs that took me to The Ritz-Carlton Naples, The Ritz-Carlton Palm Beach, and The Ritz-Carlton Cayman Islands hotels.  Otherwise, I probably would have never been able to stay there, because those places are pretty expensive.  Most of the time, I look for ways to point out how something is not worth it’s enormous cost.  In the case of The Ritz-Carlton, however, I have to say that I believe those hotels are worth every penny.

There’s a reason for that, and it’s called the Ritz-Carlton Legendary Service, or their Gold Standard of Service.  The thing that sets The Ritz-Carlton apart from other luxury hotels is not the spa, the restaurants, the amenities, or the bar.  It’s the amazing service – the fact that you’re treated not only cordially, but like you’re very, very important, even if you’re just there to hand out name tags and stuff promotional gift bags.

My personal experience was extraordinary – for a marketing professional.  Sure, you can develop a relationship with a hotel or a venue, but how often are you going to get treated like a trusted friend, companion, expert, and VIP the first time you speak with your contact?  What are the odds that, at the eleventh hour, the event manager at the hotel will call her personal friend who owns his personal plane to get your box of custom-imprinted lip balm from Miami to Cayman while you’re encouraged, nay FORCED to sit on the beach for a minute, because there’s nothing you can do until that lip balm gets there anyway?  It was an amazing experience.

During more than one of these events I was lucky enough to hear a keynote speaker actually employed by The Ritz-Carlton who speaks to companies about The Ritz-Carlton’s Gold Standard of Service.  It turns out that is part of of The Ritz Carlton Leadership Center, which is committed to sharing the keys to successful employee relations and customer service.

These programs offer classes on The Ritz-Carlton way of doing things so that you can learn things like reinforcing corporate culture, leadership’s role in driving success, and superior service methods.  Here is a sample of their course outline, quoted verbatim:

Learning Objectives

By the end of the session, participants will know and understand:

The Importance of Personal Accountability in Delivering Legendary Service
You Never Have a Second Chance to Make a First Impression
The Benefits of Positive Employees
The Relationship with Your Supervisor is a Two Way Street

Full Day Agenda:

What Customers Want
First Appearances and Grooming
Being a Positive Ambassador
Managing Relationships With Bosses
Office Hierarchy
Personal Action Plans
Impacting the Brand
Appropriate Verbiage
“Wow” Stories
Office Etiquette
Communication
Accountability

For company that has a whole other business track (like five diamond hotels with four star restaurants, acclaimed spas, and luxurious amenities, as well as a robust activities offering) The Ritz-Carlton’s commitment to sharing their above-and-beyond customer service and operational strategies is admirable and, like the company itself, completely extraordinary.

As they would say, it’s their pleasure.

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