The Ritz-Carlton "Gold Standards" - TQM

The Ritz-Carlton "Gold Standards"

THE RITZ-CARLTON CREDO
The Ritz-Carlton is a place where the genuine care and comfort of our guests is our highest mission. We pledge to provide the best service and facilities for our guests who will always enjoy a warm, relaxed yet refined ambience. The Ritz-Carlton experience enlivens the senses, instills well-being, and fulfills even the unexpressed wishes and needs of our guests.

THE RITZ-CARLTON MOTTO
"We are Ladies and Gentlemen serving Ladies and Gentlemen." Practice teamwork and "lateral service" (i.e., employee-to-employee contact) to create a positive work environment.

THREE STEPS OF SERVICE

1. A warm and sincere greeting. Use the guest's name, if and when possible.
2. Anticipation and compliance with guest needs.
3. Fond farewell. Give guests a warm good-bye and use their names, if and when possible.

THE RITZ-CARLTON "BASICS"

1. The Credo will be known, owned, and energized by all employees.
2. The three steps of service shall be practiced by all employees.
3. All employees will successfully complete Training Certification to ensure they understand how to perform to The Ritz-Carlton standards in their position.
4. Each employee will understand their work area and hotel goals as established in each strategic plan.
5. All employees will know the needs of their internal and external customers (guests and fellow employees) so that we may deliver the products and services they expect. Use guest preference pads to record specific needs.
6. Each employee will continuously identify defects ("Mr. BIV": Mistakes, Rework, Breakdowns, Inefficiencies, and Variations) throughout the hotel.
7. Any employee who receives a customer complaint "owns" the complaint.
8. Instant guest pacification will be ensured by all. React quickly to correct the problem immediately. You then follow-up with a telephone call within 20 minutes to verify that the problem has been resolved to the customer's satisfaction. Do everything you possibly can never to lose a guest.
9. Guest-incident action forms are used to record and communicate every incident of guest dissatisfaction. Every employee is empowered to resolve the problem and to prevent a repeat occurrence.
10. Uncompromising levels of cleanliness are the responsibility of every employee.
11. "Smile. We are on stage." Always maintain positive eye contact. Use the proper vocabulary with our guests. (Use words like: "good morning," "certainly," "I'll be happy to," and "my pleasure.")
12. Be an ambassador of your hotel in and outside of the work place. Always talk positively. No negative comments.
13. Escort guests rather than pointing out directions to another area of the hotel.
14. Be knowledgeable of hotel information (hours of operation, etc.) to answer guests' inquiries. Always recommend the hotel's retail and food and beverage outlets prior to facilities outside the hotel.
15. Use proper telephone etiquette. Answer within three rings and with a "smile." When necessary, ask the caller, "May I place you on hold." Do not screen calls. Eliminate call transfers when possible.
16. Uniforms are to be immaculate; wear proper and safe footwear (clean and polished), and your correct name tag. Take pride and care in your personal appearance (adhering to all grooming standards).
17. Be certain of your role during emergency situations and be aware of fire and life-safety response processes.
18. Notify your supervisor immediately of hazards or injuries and of equipment or assistance that you need. Practice energy conservation and proper maintenance and repair of hotel property and equipment.
19. Protecting the assets of a Ritz-Carlton Hotel is the responsibility of every employee.

Five tenets of TQM
While the following five principles are not the only tenets of Total Quality Management, by concentrating on these principles, employees will realize that TQM is not just another "program" that will almost certainly vanish. The key is that TQM is an integrated system of techniques and training.
(1) Commit to Quality. Making quality a number-one priority requires an organizational culture to support it, and only top leadership can foster a TQM culture. Thus, the first step toward TQM must involve active support and direction from top-level managers, especially the CEO.
(2) Focus on Customer Satisfaction. Customers are concerned about quality and, in fact, define it for the organization. Successful TQM companies are acutely aware of the market. They know what their customers really want and invariably meet and exceed their expectations.
(3) Assess Organizational Culture. A select group of top managers and employees from different parts of the company should examine the organization, with a focus on its culture, and assess the fit between that culture and TQM's principles. This assessment, which may take several months to complete, will help management build on strengths, identify weaknesses, and set priorities.
(4) Empower Employees and Teams. Although TQM is led from the top, the real work occurs "bottom-up." Empowering employees and teams requires training them to use their authority effectively. It may also require redesigning some jobs to facilitate a team approach and modifying policies and practices that support rewards for results and other cultural elements that empower employees.
(5) Measure Quality Efforts. The ability to gauge your efforts toward superior employee performance, streamlined decision-making, supplier responsiveness, and improved customer satisfaction is endemic to the TQM process. Information gathering and analysis techniques should help identify causes of work-process problems and be well-designed, timely, and straightforward. In the end, TQM is based mostly on rational thinking and problem solving, not on sophisticated statistics and other measurement techniques.