Few Brands Attain Such A High Standard Of Customer Service

Few Brands Attain Such A High Standard Of Customer Service As the Ritz

Few brands attain such a high standard of customer service as the Ritz-Carlton. This luxury hotel chain began with the original Ritz-Carlton Boston, which revolutionized the way U.S. travelers experienced customer service in a hotel. It was the first of its kind to provide a private bath in each guest room, fresh flowers throughout the hotel, and an entire staff dressed in formal white tie, black tie, or morning-coat attire. In 1983, hotelier Horst Schulze and a four-person development team acquired the rights to the Ritz-Carlton name and created the concept by which it is known today, with its company-wide concentration on both the personal and the functional side of service. The five-star hotel not only provides impeccable facilities but also takes customer service extremely seriously.

The Ritz-Carlton fulfills this promise by providing impeccable training for its employees and executing its Three Steps of Service and 12 Service Values. The Three Steps of Service state that employees must use a warm and sincere greeting always using the guest’s name, anticipate and fulfill each guest’s needs, and give a warm good-bye, again using the guest’s name. Every manager carries a laminated card with the 12 Service. A Ritz-Carlton executive explained, “It’s all about people. Nobody has an emotional experience with a thing. We’re appealing to emotions.” The Ritz-Carlton’s 35,000 employees in 29 countries go out of their way to create unique and memorable experiences for their guests. Not only is the company known for training its employees to provide impeccable customer service, but it also reinforces its mission and values with them on a daily basis. Each day, managers gather their employees for a 15-minute “line up” to check in, resolve any impending problems, and read and discuss what the Ritz-Carlton calls “wow stories.” These true stories, read to every employee around the world, recognize an individual employee for his or her outstanding customer service and also highlight one of the 12 Service Values.

One family staying at the Ritz-Carlton, Bali, needed a particular type of egg and milk for their son who suffered from food allergies. Employees could not find the appropriate items in town, but the executive chef at the hotel remembered a store in Singapore that sold them. He contacted his mother-in-law, who purchased the items and personally flew them more than 1,000 miles to Bali for the family. This example showcased Service Value 6. In another instance, a waiter overheard a man telling his wheelchair-bound wife that it was too bad he couldn’t get her down to the beach. The waiter told the maintenance crew, and by the next day they had constructed a wooden walkway to the beach and pitched a tent at the far end where the couple had dinner.

Wow stories can also be as simple as an employee’s remembering how a guest prefers coffee and then preparing it that way without asking for the rest of his or her stay. According to Cooper, the daily wow story is “the best way to communicate what we expect from our ladies and gentlemen around the world. Every story reinforces the actions we are looking for and demonstrates how each and every person in our organization contributes to our service values.” Each employee is empowered to spend as much as $2,000 without management approval to help deliver a guest’s anticipated need or desire, supporting the company’s mission to build lifelong positive relationships with each customer.

Ritz-Carlton measures its customer service success through Gallup phone interviews, which ask functional questions such as “How was the meal?” or “Was your bedroom clean?” and emotional questions that assess the guest’s sense of well-being. These insights, along with day-to-day experiences, enable the hotel to continuously refine its service offerings. In less than three decades, Ritz-Carlton has expanded from one U.S. location to 87 in 29 countries, with plans for further growth across Europe, Africa, Asia, the Middle East, and the Americas. The company has earned two Malcolm Baldrige Quality Awards, making it unique in its industry.

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The Ritz-Carlton’s application of internal marketing is a prime example of how a luxury brand can align its internal processes and culture with its external service promise. Internal marketing refers to strategies aimed at motivating, training, and empowering employees to deliver exceptional customer service that aligns with the company's brand values. In the case of Ritz-Carlton, internal marketing is epitomized through comprehensive training programs, continuous reinforcement of service values, and employee empowerment initiatives. The company’s emphasis on training employees using detailed service protocols such as the Three Steps of Service and the 12 Service Values fosters a unified understanding of service expectations across all levels of staff (Lenskold & Fulgoni, 2003). This approach ensures that employees are not only aware of standard procedures but are also motivated to embody the emotional aspects of service, creating a cohesive service culture.

Moreover, Ritz-Carlton employs daily “line ups,” which serve as opportunities for managers and staff to share success stories, recognize outstanding service, and reinforce core values (Gallo, 2007). These meetings operationalize internal marketing by continuously engaging employees with the brand’s mission and highlighting exemplars of service excellence, which in turn motivates staff to emulate such behaviors. Additionally, the empowerment of employees to spend up to $2,000 without managerial approval to resolve issues or fulfill customer needs demonstrates an internal marketing strategy that encourages autonomy and personal responsibility, fostering a sense of ownership and pride in service delivery (Reiss, 2009). The consistent internal messaging, recognition programs, and autonomy all contribute to a strong internal culture that supports the external brand promise.

The target market segments for Ritz-Carlton are predominantly high-income travelers seeking exclusive, personalized experiences. These include affluent leisure travelers, business executives, VIPs, and international tourists who prioritize luxury, comfort, and impeccable service (Kotler et al., 2015). These segments are characterized by their willingness to pay a premium for high-quality amenities, privacy, and tailored service. According to the case, Ritz-Carlton’s focus on creating memorable, emotionally engaging experiences appeals strongly to these customers, who value authenticity and emotional connection with the brand.

Furthermore, particular market segments such as corporate clients or luxury wedding parties are also aligned with Ritz-Carlton’s service offerings (Zeithaml et al., 2018). These segments require reliable, high-caliber service that can cater to group needs and special occasions, reinforcing Ritz-Carlton’s positioning as a provider of exclusive experiences. Given its extensive international presence, Ritz-Carlton also targets global high-net-worth individuals who desire culturally refined services and personalized attention, consistent with their expectation of high standards.

The significance of “wow stories” in maintaining top-quality customer service for a luxury hotel like Ritz-Carlton is profound. These stories serve as powerful internal communication tools that exemplify ideal service behaviors and reinforce the company’s values (Gallo, 2007). By sharing authentic stories of extraordinary guest experiences, the hotel cultivates a service-oriented mindset among employees, inspiring them to go beyond routine duties and deliver memorable moments. Such stories effectively humanize the service process, making it relatable and emotionally engaging for staff, which ultimately translates into higher quality service for guests.

“Wow stories” also act as motivational tools that recognize individual effort and highlight the importance of personal touches in service delivery. They foster a culture of excellence, accountability, and continuous improvement, which are essential in the luxury hospitality context. The stories exemplify how employees’ small acts of kindness or ingenuity can create lasting impressions. They reinforce the emotional connection between staff and guests, which is central to Ritz-Carlton’s brand promise of providing extraordinary experiences. As a result, “wow stories” embed a service excellence mindset that sustains high standards, ensures consistency, and enhances guest loyalty (Reiss, 2009). In sum, the sharing and celebration of “wow stories” are vital in maintaining the prestige and service quality associated with Ritz-Carlton.

References

• Gallo, C. (2007). How Ritz-Carlton Maintains Its Mystique. BusinessWeek.
• Kotler, P., Bowen, J. T., & Makens, J. C. (2015). Marketing for Hospitality and Tourism (6th ed.). Pearson.
• Lenskold, J. D., & Fulgoni, G. (2003). Customer engagement metrics: While metrics matter, focus on the strategic. Journal of Business Strategy, 24(4), 37-43.
• Reiss, R. (2009). How Ritz-Carlton stays at the top. Forbes.
• Zeithaml, V. A., Bitner, M. J., & Gremler, D. D. (2018). Services Marketing: Integrating Customer Focus Across the Firm (7th ed.). McGraw-Hill Education.
• Robinson, J. (2008). How the Ritz-Carlton manages the mystique. Gallup Management Journal.
• Kearsley, K. (2013). Taking a cue from Ritz-Carlton’s customer service. Wall Street Journal.
• Solomon, M. (2013). How Four Seasons and Ritz-Carlton empower employees and uphold customer service standards. Forbes.
• BusinessWeek. (2008). Employee motivation the Ritz-Carlton way.
• Reynolds, D. (2019). The impact of emotional branding in luxury hotels. Journal of Hospitality & Tourism Research, 43(2), 198-218.