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The angled architecture of Four Seasons Hotel Madrid .
We can divide the amazingness of the situation into three parts :
➊ Most obviously , probably : A standard for how a guestroom door should sound when closed . Four Seasons actually has a standard for how they like the door to close . They don ’ t like it to close with a bang , and they don ’ t like it to close with a whimper : they want a definitive yet subtle ’ click .’
➋ Less obvious , and at least as extraordinary : A reporting
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Micah Solomon , Micah Solomon & Assoc .
standard . Someone from housekeeping , whose “ job this isn ’ t ” thinks it is her job and has all of her awareness attuned to those details .
➌ Likely even less obvious : A scheduling / customer-noninterruption standard . The hotel doesn ’ t schedule repairs at the hotel ’ s convenience . In fact , they do it in the absolute least convenient way for them as an organization , but the only way that provides true service — on the schedule of the guest . They did not call my friend and say “ When do you think you ’ ll be leaving your room so we can do some maintenance ?” They didn ’ t wait until the room was turning over anyway . They found a way to take care of the issue during his stay , so he would have the benefit of the clicking door , and yet , in a way , that should not have affected him in any way at all — despite the fact that this required an elaborate choreography of the housekeeper noticing he was gone and slipping engineering into the mix at exactly the right moment .
This is a pretty remarkable set of standards . Maybe it strikes you as being a “ we have
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all the money in the world and we can waste it how we like because we ’ re Four Seasons .” However , it all comes down to recognizing the value of consistent , intentional and emotionally resonant interactions with guests .
Let ’ s bring these elements down to your own business .
➊ Auditory awareness : The door closing sound standards . Other businesses think their job is simply to deliver their product or their service . It ’ s not . It ’ s the entire experience : what the customer hears , feels , tastes and even ( for better or worse ) smells . If you don ’ t look at / hear / feel / smell your business the way a customer does , you ’ re failing your customer — and , ultimately , your bottom line . ( In the case of the door sound , it is a functional sound that creates an emotion of wellbeing . The click means something to your guest ; it means security , the ability to know without even looking back that the door has securely closed .)
➋ Cross-functional , purpose-driven behavior by your employees ( the reporting standard ): If you focus your employees only on their functional function , you are not only doing a disservice to your customers , you ’ re doing it in a way that is mystifying to them and in a way that wastes the human potential of the employee you are paying good money to employ . A housekeeper can do so much more than vacuum ; they can also be a force for safety , security and more . And this is
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true of every employee in your organization — whom you will keep much happier and retain much longer by involving in more tasks .
➌ The scheduling / discretion standard : What schedule are you following in your business ? The schedule of the customer or the schedule that suits fffyou and inconveniences the customer ? I was at a restaurant once where every time they filled the water glasses , they asked if we wanted the water glass filled , interrupting us countless times in the evening . And don ’ t even get me started on the Artie Bucco Syndrome , which I named based on the haplessly gregarious chef on “ The Sopranos ”. He would come along and tell you about the fresh mozzarella ’ s port of origin at the very moment you were proposing marriage to your girlfriend . While he is an extreme example , the number of times waiters have interrupted me in mid-burger-bite to ask me how my burger is are nearly infinite .
What Four Seasons has built in the course of getting the click right on your door is something you can do too . What is the state of your guest service systems ? Are they in need of a tuneup ? Odds are they do and can provide more SOI ( Smiles On Investment ) than they currently do .
This piece pulls from the author ’ s book , “ The Heart of Hospitality : Great Hotel and Restaurant Leaders Share Their Secrets ,” available for purchase at Amazon .
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October 2023 hotelsmag . com 33 |