Page 221 - The New Gold Standard

Turn Wow into Action
Carlton, Simon Cooper is quick to caution, “Wow stories are
but one tool for communicating with staff. Ultimately, this tool
has to be understood in the context of the objective it achieves—
namely, helping leadership identify and communicate desired
guest outcomes. In order for Wow stories to be maximally suc-
cessful, they can’t stand alone. They must be supported by open
communication from leadership to staff and staff to leadership.
They must be part of a constant dialogue about service, quality,
values, and excellence.” Leaders like Simon understand that ef-
fective communication occurs when managers define the out-
comes they want their staff to achieve, catch their staff as they
achieve them, strategically communicate examples of those suc-
cesses, and encourage staff to spot and share examples as well.

STRIKING GOLD

D Do the corporate stories you share reflect both over-the-top
and routine Wow moments?

D Have you created an environment in which all employees
can exchange positive service stories?
D How do you capture and share stories of collaboration and
teamwork?

C Everyone Is Your Customer D

Ritz-Carlton leadership celebrates service excellence on the part
of their Ladies and Gentlemen even when those efforts are di-
rected toward people who are not part of the identified customer
base. For example, a selected Wow story praised the efforts of
Ajith De Silva from the engineering department of The Ritz-
Carlton, Dubai, who was driving the hotel pickup truck to the
beach carrying materials for the Ramadan tent. On his way
back, he noticed a van stuck in the sand. Ajith stopped the hotel

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