Page 220 - The New Gold Standard

PRINCIPLE 4: DELIVER WOW!
presented. A guest at The Ritz-Carlton, Washington, D.C., ex-
perienced this spirit of collaboration when he did not receive the
tickets he expected for air travel for a flight from New York City
to Jordan the following evening. The guest went ahead to The
Ritz-Carlton, New York Central Park, and was dependent on
the staff at the Washington, D.C., hotel and the New York Cen-
tral Park hotel to coordinate efforts to make sure the package
containing his paper tickets was forwarded to New York City in
a way that secured his international travel.
Charles J. Gilbert, front office agent in Washington, D.C.,
took charge of arranging transportation and orchestrating the
delivery of the tickets to New York. After he was in possession
of the package with the tickets, he contacted the concierge to in-
quire about transportation options such as the price of a limo to
New York City, as well as the Acela train. He also contacted the
director of transient sales to inquire about shuttle prices from
Reagan National Airport to New York City. Charles determined
that the fastest, most economical method of travel would be by
plane. Charles narrowly made travel connections with just
enough time to get to the New York Central Park hotel, and he
personally handed the tickets to the guest, as well as a gift from
The Ritz-Carlton, Washington, D.C.
Whether multiple hotels participate in securing and for-
warding lost articles, concierge staff members work together to
make reservations for guests traveling in other Ritz-Carlton
cities, or hotels partner with one another to overcome visa prob-
lems for guests, the collective resources of Ritz-Carlton can be
leveraged for maximum customer benefit. Additionally, leader-
ship captures naturally occurring moments of service excellence
and teamwork to demonstrate that department, hotel, and even
regional boundaries can be transcended when the “genuine care
and comfort” of the guest is truly the first priority of each staff
member.
While Wow stories are a powerful way to capture, acknowl-
edge, and communicate examples of service excellence at Ritz-

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