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Reaching the Gold Standard in Service

May 5th, 2012 | Add a Comment

ShareEveryone talks about not being able to find good help that will make it past the 90 day probationary period. In spite of the unemployment numbers, some service oriented businesses cannot find good help.  Yet others seem to have few problems attracting and keeping excellent staff members who deliver outstanding service and commitment to customers. What are the secrets of success for those companies who don’t seem burdened with high employee turnover?  Let’s take a lesson or two from the master in setting the Gold Standard in the hospitality industry; The Ritz Carlton! At the Ritz they have a simply menu for developing people; selection, listening and celebrating. Here’s how this proven philosophy can be transferred to your cleaning business. Selection:  Possibly the most important aspect of the entire journey to reaching the … Read entire article »

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Service at Sea! Business Lessons Learned Part IV

ShareMore about service at sea.  Wow is all I can say about the level of service we experienced in the dining rooms and aboard the ship. From the maintenance workers scrubbing the deck floors, to the dining room servers, to the crew who saw to our every need, service is the name of the game aboard a cruise ship.  How do they exude the feeling 24/7.  Simple: They BELIEVE it and they LIVE it. Service to these folks is not a 7 letter word to which they give lip service.  They live it every moment.  From the smiling faces to the greetings, to the eye contact..there is NO social media to take the place of personal … Read entire article »

Housekeeping Training at Sea! Who’s in charge here?

ShareImagine my shock and dismay when I checked out the cabin on board the cruise ship only to find the shower filled with mold, visible dust on most surfaces and a hair pin on the floor! And that was just the beginning.  With more to come and a stomach for none of it I called housekeeping.  Here I was, their worst nightmare about to do the white glove test. Now accommodating as the housekeeping staff was and quick to respond to requests I might add, I should not have had to make those calls.  This tells me a lot about the training,  supervision and quality control of the housekeeping department.  This is the weak link in the on board operation.  … Read entire article »

Service At Sea! Business Lessons Part II

ShareSo lets talk about Service and making customers feel important.  Have you ever noticed how when you visit the world’s most reknown theme parks, you are addressed as “guests”?  Not customers, but guests.  Think back to all the places you have visited and been called a “guest” and you can conger up feelings of welcome (in most cases).  By definition is guest is a patron,  the recipitant of hospitatility or one who pays for hospitality. Would we think differently  about our clients or customers if we believed they were guests in our business?  Maybe so.  Rather than thinking of them as purchasers of a service that we provide, how about if our mind set included thinking of them as a guest we … Read entire article »

What I Learned About Business From a Week at Sea

ShareAfter a week at sea aboard the Disney Cruise Line, I can tell you that it was a wonderful experience and done with all the magic that is Disney.  From the breezy check in to the quick and easy disembarkation, Disney has developed systems that enable the crew to move thousands of people though the process with relatively little pain. The folks at Disney know exactly who their target and secondary markets are and that’s the first business lesson for every business owner.  Without that knowledge, you are thowing spaghetti against the wall to see what sticks.   On board, there were morning, noon and nightime supervised activities for children of every age.  Now this  magical company … Read entire article »

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