Page 89 - Harnessing the Management Secrets of Disney in Your Company

70 The Disney Way

“He’s on his way to a very urgent meeting in Boston,” she said, “and I’m
sure he needs the papers in his briefcase.”
Without hesitation, the doorman asked for the guest’s flight number and
volunteered to take the briefcase to him at the airport before he departed.
With a substitute on duty, the doorman jumped into a cab and raced to the
airport, but he was delayed in traffic and arrived too late.
The doorman again called the secretary, who thanked him for his efforts
while expressing regret over the whole situation. But the doorman told her not
to worry because he had just purchased a ticket on the next shuttle to Boston
and would personally deliver the briefcase to the man at this meeting. Without
asking anyone’s approval, the doorman flew to Boston and saved the day!
In most companies, one of two scenarios would happen next. Either
the doorman would be a hero for solving the guest’s problem, or he would
be fired for failing to gain the appropriate approvals before flying off to
Boston. At the Four Seasons, he was neither a hero nor a scapegoat, because
extraordinary service is all in a day’s work. Every Four Seasons employee is
expected to do whatever it takes to ensure that each guest has a positive and
memorable experience. The environment demands it.
Problem solving is so ingrained, in fact, that Four Seasons employees
have been known to jump into action long before an individual has become
a guest, as we discovered when working with the CEO of a large consulting
firm in Chicago.
In preparation for a major retreat where partners from around the world
would be in attendance, we suggested using a hotel at the airport to conserve
expenses. But the CEO insisted on using the Four Seasons, and he explained
his preference by relating an extraordinary tale about the hotel’s downtown
location.
It seems that the CEO was a board member at a Chicago museum that
enlisted Nancy Reagan as the featured speaker at its fund-raising event. The
CEO was expected to join other board members in the receiving line to greet
the then First Lady. Arriving at the Four Seasons after a hectic day at the
office, he noticed that people entering the grand ballroom were in formal
attire. Not having checked his invitation for several weeks, he had forgotten
that this was a black-tie event.
There he was in his business suit with no time to go home and change.
As he stood in the lobby contemplating what he should do, the concierge,
seeing the look of consternation on his face, approached him and asked, “Is
there anything I can do for you, sir?” After the CEO explained his dilemma,