Page 189 - The New Gold Standard

Wow: The Ultimate Guest Experience
sine driver from Ritz-Carlton radio ahead that you will be arriv-
ing at the property in 15 minutes. Upon entering the hotel, the
valet, front door staff, front desk personnel, and manager-on-
duty all greet you by name, which was possible because they
were monitoring that radio communication.
Some people view this level of attention as intrusive or suffo-
cating. In these cases, staff at Ritz-Carlton take note of the cus-
tomer’s objection and modify the practice. However, most people
are surprised and pleased when a series of individuals they have
never met both know and use their name in a warm greeting. In
essence, communication of a customer’s name among staff (sav-
ing the customer from having to repeat his or her name or other
background information) elevates the service experience of or-
dinary people to the level of that commonly encountered by
well-known celebrities and dignitaries. On a smaller scale, it is
the difference between having your name taken by a restaurant
reservationist but then never being called by your name during
the meal versus the waiter who secures your name from the reser-
vationist and starts your meal by saying, “Mr. and Mrs. Smith,
thank you for dining with us this evening.”
To this end, leadership at Ritz-Carlton emphasizes that
every single individual can do what is necessary to create a Wow
experience in the recognition of a customer. In many situations
at Ritz-Carlton, the Wow literally emerges from the fact that two
or more staff members view the guest’s needs as important
enough to take the initiative to communicate about them. A
guest at The Ritz-Carlton, Cancún, explains, “I had a bad head-
ache, so when the maid came to our room to turn down the bed,
I answered the door and told her that I would just take a bottle
of water because I wasn’t feeling well. Not much later, the con-
cierge called to check on me and wanted to know if I needed
a doctor. There aren’t many businesses where someone like a
maid would talk to another person in order to see if there is any-
thing else that could be done for a customer.” While it may seem

169