by Crystal Bustamante

Created on: May 05, 2009

"We see our customers as invited guests to a party, and we are the hosts. It's our job every day to make every important aspect of the customer experience a little bit better" (Bezos). Although this statement was made by Jeff Bezos, founder of Amazon.com, it exemplifies the philosophy behind Ritz-Carlton's world class customer service.

With only 72 locations in 24 countries, the Ritz-Carlton is the only hotel company to be "twice honored with the Malcolm Bridge National Quality Award" (Ritz-Carlton, 2008). They have also been awarded with every major award that is given to the hospitality industry, including: the AAA Five-Diamond Award, the Mobil Five-Star and Mobil Four-Star Awards, Travel & Leisure's Top 500 Hotels in the World Award, and Forbes' Sure to Impress Travel Destinations (Ritz-Carlton, 2008); along with an array of other awards and recognitions.

In addition to the prestigious awards that the Ritz has received, customers staying at Ritz-Carlton hotels lavish praise on the Ritz for its customer service. Here are a few things that guests are saying: "the staff far exceeded our expectations, seeing to our every need, and it seemed that the entire staff had immediately learned our names within minutes of arrival;" "the Ritz always goes above and beyond the call of duty when we are in house;" "...everybody who worked at the Ritz (from the bellman to the cocktail waitress) were cordial, helpful, and wore smiles as if they really enjoyed their jobs;" and "from the time I checked in, I was impressed with the service" (TripAdvisor.com, 2008).

So, how does a luxury hotel achieve such great customer service? It begins with the hotel's motto: "We are ladies and gentlemen serving ladies and gentlemen" (Ritz-Carlton, 2008). This motto exemplifies the anticipatory service that the Ritz-Carlton believes in, and also, sets a tone of respectful, quality service by all employees of the Ritz-Carlton. However, it does not stop there. The focus of Ritz-Carlton's customer service "basics" is "to provide the highest level of customer engagement' by meeting customer desire for: one-of-a-kind experiences, fast access to knowledge and wisdom, convenience and respect for their time, utility and total lack of hassles, and wow' stories that they can tell their friends" (Gould, 2007).

The Ritz-Carlton believes that in order to provide such exceptional customer service, one must begin with the hiring process. In order to do this, applicants for employment at the Ritz are subject

• 1
• 2
• 3
• Next Page >>