Page 170 - The New Gold Standard

PRINCIPLE 3: IT’S NOT ABOUT YOU
a conversation: ‘Good afternoon, Mr. and Mrs. Smith. Congrat-
ulations on your anniversary. We heard that you enjoy lobster.
Let me tell you about our amazing Maine lobster dish that we
have on the menu at this time.’ If we don’t have lobster on the
menu that night, we would do everything in our power to get it.
If for some reason we can’t find it, we will speak with the execu-
tive chef and offer an alternative that is close to it or that may
suit the palate of that person. The thing is that they are not really
requesting Maine lobster; they just prefer it. We go to signifi-
cantly greater lengths if it is a true request.” Daniel’s example
demonstrates the thoughtful, detailed attention that goes into
turning a guest preference into the customized Ritz-Carlton ex-
perience.
Marguerite Dowd, executive administrative assistant in sales
and marketing at The Ritz Carlton, Laguna Niguel, talks about
the impact this attention has when there is execution on those
details. Marguerite relates, “A young man who had been mar-
ried at our hotel called because he wanted to do something re-
ally special for his first anniversary. I sell anniversary packages
here in the sales department, and we have a very special package
for those who have been married on our property. He and I sat
and talked, and I heard so much about his wife. It was inspiring
to hear how much he loved her. I found out what her favorite
flowers were and the types of things she enjoyed. We then de-
cided to reproduce a miniature of their wedding cake. I was able
to pull out their original wedding file from a year before. I
worked with our pastry chef, and in collaboration with the hus-
band, we, to his wife’s surprise, produced a miniature version of
their original cake. As I learned more about her original bou-
quet, I had our florist create a beautiful wedding bouquet and
tie it up with satin and pearl pins. The flowers were then placed
in a room along with the cake topper prior to her arrival. The
gentleman called me the next morning and was on the verge of
tears. His wife was swept away by the experience, and he was her
hero. It was so much fun working with him and getting to know

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