Page 83 - The New Gold Standard

Be Relevant
needed in guest interactions, while ultimately entrusting them
to creatively improvise in the context of the guidelines. John
Timmerman, vice president of quality and program manage-
ment, had this perspective: “There is great value in our 20 Ba-
sics because any time you can give employees some conceptual
responses, scenarios, examples, or templates, especially if they’re
not masters of their skill set, it is incredibly helpful to them.
Those tools continue to be helpful until the employees become
calibrated in their positions and they hit a certain level of per-
formance that they can build upon. Our problem was that our 20
Basics were reinforcing rudimentary functioning even as our
Ladies and Gentlemen matured in their development.”
Approximately eight months after Simon Cooper began the
process of discussing the 20 Basics, Ritz-Carlton leadership
crafted a new set of service guidelines, focused on the outcomes
necessary for producing transformational and memorable ser-
vice for guests. On July 3, 2006, Ritz-Carlton officially launched
the 12 Service Values, which were placed in the context of a de-
clarative “I” statement that emphasized the power of each Lady
and Gentleman. (Please see the sidebar “Service Values: I Am
Proud to Be Ritz-Carlton.”)

Service Values:
I Am Proud to Be Ritz-Carlton
1. I build strong relationships and create Ritz-Carlton guests
for life.
2. I am always responsive to the expressed and unexpressed
wishes and needs of our guests.
3. I am empowered to create unique, memorable, and per-
sonal experiences for our guests.
4. I understand my role in achieving the Key Success Factors,
embracing Community Footprints, and creating the Ritz-
Carlton Mystique.

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