Ritz Carlton Essay

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CASE APPLICATION: MAKING YOU SAY WOW THE RITZ-CARLTON When you hear the name The Ritz-Carlton Hotels, what words come to mind? Luxurious? Elegant? Formal? Way beyond my budget? Three words that the company hopes come to mind are exemplary customer service. Ritz-Carlton is committed to treating its guests like royalty. It has one of the most distinctive corporate cultures in the hotel industry and employees are referred to as “OUR LADIES AND GENTLEMEN.” Its motto is printed on a card that employees carry with them: “WE ARE LADIES AND GENTLEMEN SERVING LADIES AND GENTLEMEN.” And these ladies and gentlemen of the Ritz have been trained in very precise standards and specifications for treating customers. These standards were established more than a century ago by founders Caesar Ritz and August Escoffier. Ritz employees are continually schooled in company lore and company values. Every day a 15 minute “lineup” sessions at each hotel property, managers reinforce company values and review service techniques. And these values are the basis for all employee training and rewards. Nothing is left to chance when it comes to provide exemplary customer service. People looking for a job at Ritz are tested both for cultural fit and for qualities associated with a deep passion to serve. A company executive says, “THE SMILE HAS TO COME NATURALLY.” Although staff members are expected to be warm and caring, their behavior towards guests had been extremely detailed and scripted. That is why a new customer service philosophy implemented in mid – 2006 was so much different from what the Ritz had been doing. The company’s new approach is almost the opposite from what the company had been doing: DO NOT TELL EMPLOYEES HOW TO MAKE GUESTS HAPPY. Now they are expected to think and find out themselves. According to Diana Oreck, Vice President, “WE MOVED AWAY FROM THAT HEAVILY

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