Page 104 - The Apple Experience

consider buying a PC. At The Ritz-Carlton, the quality of the beds,
furniture, or flat screen TVs are all part of the experience, but in a luxury

hotel those things are expected. Once basic luxury standards are met, the

emotional engagement comes through the experience guests have with

employees. Nobody has an emotional experience with an object.

In 2006, The Ritz-Carlton introduced its new service values, guidelines

for employees to follow during guest interactions. Among the values: “I am

empowered to create unique, memorable, and personal experiences for our
guests.” (Service Value 3); “I understand my role in creating The Ritz-
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Carlton mystique.” (Service Value 4); “I own and immediately resolve guest

problems.” (Service Value 6); and “I am involved in the planning of the work

that affects me.” (Service Value 9). I am involved. These three words hold the

key: invite your employees to participate in the creation of the brand, listen to

what they have to say, act on their feedback, and they will walk through walls

for you.

The Ritz-Carlton “Wow” Stories

Every day at the nearly a hundred Ritz-Carlton hotels around the world, in

each department, on every shift, employees are called in for a “lineup,” a staff

meeting. The lineup is a fifteen-minute pep talk where wow stories are

shared with everyone on the team. Wow stories feature The Ritz-Carlton
hotel employees who create unique, memorable, and personal experiences for

guests. A housekeeper who shows up for the evening shift in Shanghai will

hear the same story as a doorman had heard in Hong Kong an hour earlier or

a waiter in New York the next morning. In my book Fire Them Up!, I

included some real wow stories. Here’s one example: