Its All up to Us - the Ritz-Carlton Shares Its Winning Formula for Wowing Guests

Show and Tell - The Ritz-Carlton Hotel PART III

By Bill Lampton, Ph.D.

Dec 1, 2003 - 12:13:00 PM

The Ritz-Carlton shares its winning formula for wowing guests

In welcoming 250 participants to the second annual Legendary Service Symposium on October 21, 2003, Vice President and Area General Manager Gerard van Grinsven made this promise to his guests at the Ritz-Carlton Dearborn, near Detroit, Michigan:

"I guarantee I will wow you with great food and great service over the next two days."

A DINER'S DELIGHT

Because I attended, I can confirm that he and his staff kept that promise. Great food? Yes, indeed. Meals and refreshments delighted us. During scheduled breaks from the sessions, delicious food surrounded us, explaining why The Grill won The Detroit Free Press's Best Restaurant citation for 2003. One display featured Chef Ganley's awesome "Strawberry Fields Forever."

THE LEGENDARY SERVICE COMES TO LIFE

As for the service, here is a typical example: Exiting the elevator at 7:55 a.m. on opening day, I encountered a uniformed, smiling, perfectly groomed lady, obviously a Ritz-Carlton employee. I said, "I'm looking for the Symposium. Can you tell me where it's going to be?"

"My pleasure, sir," she answered cheerfully, "just follow me." (At the Ritz-Carlton, an employee wouldn't dare point the way. Instead, the employee becomes the guest's guide.)

Noticing her nametag as we walked, I said: "Thanks, Tina. And I have a problem I need your help with. I'm in room 728, and I've noticed that the drain in the washbasin isn't working properly. Same problem with the bathtub drain. Would you please have those taken care of for me?"

"Certainly, sir," she answered. She didn't write anything down, or ask me to repeat the details. I wondered how reliable her memory might be.

When we arrived at the Symposium's registration desk, I thanked Tina. In our brief conversation, I learned that Tina Robinson had started working at the Dearborn property thirteen years ago, a year after the hotel opened, as a banquet server. Now she carries the title of National Sales Manager, illustrating what Human Resources Manager Laura Gutierrez had told me about opportunities for advancement within the hotel. Ironically, Tina said she had come to the Ritz-Carlton because she knew that upward mobility was likely.

Once I had enjoyed the Continental Breakfast, I headed back to my room, realizing that at 8:13 I had time to call my office before the 8:30 Symposium opening. Ten feet away from my room, I noticed my door was ajar. Certainly I couldn't have forgotten to lock the room, I thought. I was too cautious for that. When I pushed the door open, I faced a plumber who was well along in his work--carrying out the request I had made to Tina less than twenty minutes earlier. He was Dave Jarzemba, and his courteous manner matched the customary graciousness of the Ritz-Carlton family.

The service level Tina and the plumber set continued with every employee I met. When Sara Davis, another National Sales Manager, learned that I was writing an article about the Symposium, she wanted me to meet John Cottrill, Vice President of Product and Brand Management, who had just spoken. "If you have a minute," she offered, "let me take you to him."

"Very thoughtful of you, Sara." After meeting John, I walked back to Sara's table. Then I asked, "What attracted you to the Ritz-Carlton as your employer?"

"That's easy to answer. I liked the Credo." A former event planner with the St. Louis Symphony Orchestra, she had moved to Detroit because of her husband's job transfer. Among her varied responsibilities at the Dearborn, she helps plan weddings.

"Because of my work here, one day I will start my own wedding planning company. I can thank Mr. van Grinsven, because he has given me the confidence to become an entrepreneur."

Mike Totosz met one of my special requests, too. During one of the refreshment breaks, I asked Mike, "Are there any Diet Cokes around here? I'd really like one. Need a midmorning pickup."

"Of course, sir, I will bring you one." He returned quickly with my drink.

Later, Sylvana Griffey, another courteous Banquet Server, provided the same favor.

Yet as grand as the food and service were, registrants had come to the Symposium to learn about the Ritz-Carlton's winning formula for pleasing guests, a formula so powerful that 51% of the hotel's guests are repeat guests. We wanted to understand the service philosophy, and the system that makes it work worldwide--in thirteen countries using sixty-six languages.

STARTING WITH A SIMULATED LINEUP

Bill Kalmar, former Director of Michigan's Quality Council, emceed the Symposium. As a previous member of the Malcolm Baldrige Award committee, he had come to know the Ritz-Carlton quite well.

Kalmar started the Symposium by introducing a simulated Lineup, the system-wide gathering of employees every morning in their departments, to spend five minutes discussing what is happening at the corporate level and another five minutes talking about their hotel--events of the day and week, which important guests were coming in--and reviewing one of the 20 Basics. To make the simulation more realistic, employees carried brooms and other work equipment.

Moving on to the formal presentations, Kalmar introduced Gerard van Grinsven, who had provided dynamic leadership during his first eighteen months as General Manager of the Dearborn.

GENERAL MANAGER WELCOMES THE GROUP

Whimsically, van Grinsven commented on his Netherlands accent: "You may have picked up on my accent already, but please remember. . .I moved here from Atlanta." Also, he suggested that we join his employees in referring to him as "GVG," since his full name doesn't roll off the tongue easily.

Another touch of humor: He is as debonair as his name, so he quipped, "People tell me I look like James Bond. Unfortunately, my wife ("The Liverpool