Page 40 - The New Gold Standard

PRINCIPLE 1: DEFINE AND REFINE
The effect of those core cultural elements means that Ritz-
Carlton’s name is both its greatest asset and at times its worst li-
ability. Because Ritz-Carlton sets the bar not just in the hotel
industry but for many service companies, analysts typically
offer copious admiration or harsh criticism when it comes to
the company’s decisions or any changes it undertakes. Vivian
Deuschl, vice president of public relations, shares the feeling of
being under closer scrutiny than many of the company’s com-
petitors: “While other hotel companies would probably get high
marks for an initiative to enhance the service experience, making
it more responsive to the needs of their changing guests, when
we dared to do it, the publicity we received in both the Wall
Street Journal and on ABC Nightline stressed the criticism of
some guests and analysts for the way we had been doing things,
such as responses like ‘certainly, my pleasure.’ The headline in
the Wall Street Journal was ‘Taking Off The Ritz—A Tad’ with
a cartoon of a doorman hovering over a guest, trying to grab his
suitcase. Under the training for our evolved Service Values, we
no longer had doormen automatically assuming guests wanted
their luggage taken.” Sandra Ryder, area director of public rela-
tions at the Atlanta Buckhead and downtown Atlanta proper-
ties, says, “On the upside, virtually everyone in my community
welcomes my call when they hear I am from Ritz-Carlton. On
the downside, even minor breakdowns and problems at a Ritz-
Carlton property can draw enhanced criticism and media atten-
tion.”
While the long-standing success of Ritz-Carlton can cause
it to be viewed through a distorted lens, the greatest risk facing
the company is complacency. President Simon Cooper and Se-
nior Vice President of Sales and Marketing Bruce Himelstein
both acknowledge that the outstanding reputation of Ritz-
Carlton is most vulnerable to leaders and staff who could fail to
be responsive to the needs of a changing customer base, who
avoid taking risks, or who allow the brand to become out of step
with the times. But with such an impressive track record of

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