The Ritz-Carlton Approach to Customer Service: How Can You Apply Those Principles to Your Business?
Ritz-Carlton is a brand known for their exceptionally high standards for guest service. And for many, that would be expected based on the costs of their hotel rooms. When you compare their experience to the rates they charge, it may seem surprising that they are not more expensive than they are. Some of the most legendary customer service stories you can find originate with Ritz-Carlton. That is not an accident. Ritz prides itself on sharing those stories with their teams, not only to celebrate those that deliver the experience, but to encourage others to do the same. This is culture enablement at it finest.
A family that was staying in Ritz-Carlton, Bali, was carrying specialized eggs and milk for their son who suffered from food allergy. Unfortunately, upon reaching the hotel, the eggs had broken, and the milk was spoilt. I am sure you can imagine the state of the family, it is natural to feel dismayed in such a situation. Well, guess what Ritz-Carlton did to make it all right? The Manager and the dining staff searched the whole town for the specific kind of egg and milk. Regrettably, they couldn’t find those items anywhere. But that did not stop Ritz-Carlton staff from doing everything it takes to deliver customer happiness. The hotel’s Executive Chef knew where they could find them: in Singapore, approximately 1680 kms away! The Chef contacted his mother-in-law (wait a minute, she is not even a part of the company!) and requested her to fly down with the eggs and milk. She had no obligation to agree to it, but she did, just to put a wide smile on the family’s face. 1
These are the types of stories that legends are built on. This is only one quick example of the numerous stories that you can find on, what seems like unbelievable service that Ritz-Carlton has delivered. Perhaps the most famous is the story of Joshie the giraffe. I have linked it, so you can read for yourself, but it set the stage for showing what the Ritz-Carlton staff is empowered, encouraged, and clearly able to do. And this came from the hotel’s Loss Prevention staff. Especially in retail, this is not a group that is usually associated with WOW customer service moments. (No offense to LP and AP partners.)
Stories are an excellent way to empower a culture meant to serve others. The telling and re-telling of examples where employees exemplify the expectations of a service environment reinforces that the behaviors are encouraged and recognized. In fact, you can find other stories about Ritz-Carlton on the web that are similar to the Joshie giraffe example. It is clear that having stuffed friends left behind by kids is a common occurrence at the hotels, and the staff take delight in showing how much fun those stuffed loved ones had while ‘extending their vacation’. It would be easy enough to just find the stuffed animal, put it in a box, and send it back to the family. Everyone would be happy with that outcome. Taking that extra step to make it special requires the desire to create an experience. That is what the entire staff at Ritz is encouraged and supported to do. (I’ll come back to that last piece shortly.)
Another interesting element of Ritz-Carlton’s approach is that they don’t keep it a secret. On their website you can not only find the History of Ritz-Carlton, but all of their service components as well.
Ritz-Carlton builds their service Gold Standards around these five things:
Motto — The Motto “We are ladies and gentlemen serving ladies and gentlemen” is at the core of their Gold Standards. It immediately sets the tone for how they treat their team and the guests. Equal playing field, built on dignity and respect. Ladies and gentlemen conveys a clear message from the start.
Credo — the company pledges to “provide the finest personal service and facilities for its guests who will always enjoy a warm, relaxed, yet refined ambiance.” The hotels associates know this means expressed and unexpressed needs of their guests. They are encouraged to anticipate what people may not have already realized they will want or need.
Twelve Service Values — The twelve service values begin to outline what supports the other components of serving guests during their stay. These are commitments that the staff make, with each of these starting with ‘I’, immediately connecting to the individual.
Three Steps of Service
A warm and sincere greeting.
Use the guest’s name. Anticipation and fulfillment of each guest’s needs.
Fond farewell. Give a warm goodbye and use the guest’s name.
This keeps it simple for the team as a foundation for everything they do.
Employee Promise
The company considers employees as its most significant asset. “At The Ritz-Carlton, our Ladies and Gentlemen are the most important resource in our service commitment to our guests,” the Employee Promise indicates, “By applying the principles of trust, honesty, respect, integrity and commitment, we nurture and maximize talent to the benefit of each individual and the company.”
Note that this is not a promise Ritz-Carlton is asking of their team, rather this is a promise to them. This makes all the other items possible. That commitment to the team in each hotel allows this promise to carry forward to the guests as well, and makes the Gold Standards possible and real.
Another rather famous element of the Ritz-Carlton service pledge is the fact that they give their team the autonomy to spend up to $2,000 per incident, per guest on resolving or satisfying a customer issue without additional approval. That is real empowerment. And, I know your first thought is, ‘I cannot afford to give my team that level of authority, I am not the Ritz-Carlton.” And, that is true for most retail businesses. The point is less about the specific dollar figure, and more about the autonomy it creates for front-line employees to feel like they can do what they need to do to resolve a customer issue. Ritz will tell you that dollar figure is rarely used or exceeded. The example above of returning the stuffed giraffe cost very little, just some time on the team’s part and the shipping cost back to the family. Even the story at the top of the article likely didn’t hit the $2,000 mark and that included a family member traveling across part of Asia. The outcomes of both, while vastly different, is a lasting impression and customer loyalty that extends well beyond a single hotel stay.
There are simple things that any retail business can do to create a similar culture around service. Reinforcing and clarifying the ability to serve customers is first and foremost.
Clear Expectations
Does everyone know what is expected in serving guests in your business? Do they have a service mindset from the start? Ritz-Carlton does this very well with their motto, credo, service values, steps of service, and promise. These can be easily replicated for your business.
Share Stories
Find the examples of people doing what you want in serving guests. Share those stories widely. It is a great form of recognition, but also reinforces it is okay to go above and beyond what most people might think they can do.
Encourage More
Help the team see where they can make those service moments come to life and encourage them in doing more. Anyone can create customer delight.
Speaking of creating customer delight…
Six Points of Customer Delight
Creates a WOW reaction
It's spontaneous or unexpected
Has a personal touch
Makes the customer feel valued
It’s genuine
Becomes a ‘talking point’
Most of these will cost very little in terms of dollars. These all stem from a team member wanting to serve the customer and a company actively supporting it.
Active Support
Empowerment is not to be taken lightly. Imagine what would happen if a Ritz employee did spend the $2,000 to solve a customer issue, and they received a ‘hand-slap’ that challenged whether it could have been done for less. Suddenly, that is the story that is making the rounds and people no longer feel like they can really use that option. Companies need to be fully committed to serving the guest at those high levels. Again, not everyone needs a $2,000 threshold. It may not be a specific number at all, but be clear on what team members can do, on their own, and then be ready to fully support that on the backside. This can be the single biggest way to positively shift the service mindset your team works in.
All the pieces that Ritz-Carlton utilizes to set the stage for their service delivery can be replicated for other businesses in a way that will work for them. You don’t have to be the Ritz to provide legendary service. But thinking like them and building a foundation with an empowered culture will unlock the ability to serve guests like they do. And that will make a difference for any business, regardless of the demographics you serve or the industry you’re in.
How can you take your service to legendary levels?
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Photo by Egor Lyfar on Unsplash
From: Amazingly SHOCKING Customer Experience Story: Ritz-Carlton does it Again! CustomerThink.com
https://customerthink.com/amazingly-shocking-customer-experience-story-ritz-carlton-does-it-again/ ↩