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By Oliver Yorke
Today, most of the "hardware" in Five-star hotels is
very similar in quality and performance. The guest rooms and suites
are regularly refurbished to reflect both modern and traditional
styles and to emulate the "personality" of the hotel.
The latest plasma TV screens are installed and speedy internet installations
ensured. The basket of fruit awaits and a complimentary shoe-cleaning
service is available. The hotel restaurants offer superlative and
varied (French, Asian, Italian, Japanese) culinary adventures, the
hotel lobbies are bedecked with stunning floral displays, calming
music and comfortable seats to enjoy morning coffee, afternoon tea
and exotic sundowners with business partners and friends.
So, where and how can a hotel differentiate itself?
Only in its software, its people, its service, in finding new and
innovative ways to spoil their customers beyond every expectation;
to make outstanding service the norm, not the exception and to appreciate
that the customer's perception of excellence of service may vary
with nationality, culture, sophistication and whether they are visiting
the hotel on business or for a holiday resort experience.
So, I decided to explore some answers to these questions with the
hotel chain that has in July of this year received the absolute
top ranking in the luxury hotel segment from prestigious J.D. Power
and Associates 2004 Hotel Guest Satisfaction Index Study, FOUR SEASONS
HOTELS & RESORTS
I met with the Regional Vice President and General Manager of Four
Seasons Hotels in Thailand, Didier Picquot to receive his insight
on how this credo is achieved in Thailand. He confirmed the belief,
firmly held throughout the group that now has 63 hotels in 29 countries
that "Four Seasons invented luxury for the modern traveller"
and that the credo is embodied in everything from custom-made beds
to soothing spas and the provision of a 24 hour "home from
home" where nothing, not the slightest request, will go unattended
and where he, personally and constantly, is made aware of the smallest
"glitch" affecting the normal smooth running and customer
satisfaction within the hotel.
His secret, proudly shared, is that the reason why guests return
time after time and the continuing high regard in which the group
is held comes mainly from one factor; the excellence of the people
employed in the hotel, - people who share a singular focus on guest
satisfaction and who are inspired to give a great service.
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"How are they so inspired?"
I ask
"They are continually encouraged to look for innovations, to
use their own initiative, to constantly find ways to 'wow' our guests."
Replied Mr Picquot
"But what else?" I
ask, I've heard much the same before, from other General Managers
of superb Five Star hotels, all striving for the same results,
"What really differentiates, Mr. Picquot?"
"Call me Didier. Constant training, constant training and then
some more training", he replied confidently and immediately.
He should know, he has 30 years of hotel experience ranging from
the Hilton in Hong Kong, to Taipei, to the Singapore Hyatt, to the
Hyatt Regency in Montreal, to the celebrated Hotel Plaza de la Chaudiere
in Ottawa, to the Four Seasons in Montreal, the Hotel Ritz in Paris,
the Shangri-La in Hong Kong, where he served the group as Vice President,
Operations for The Hong Kong and Shanghai Hotels, Limited, then
back to the Four Seasons as General Manager of The Pierre in New
York prior to returning to Asia as Vice President for Four Seasons
in Thailand. - So maybe he knows a thing or two about what differentiates
excellent from good, what inspires people to provide outstanding
service and how, when and where to make it happen by innovative
and trusting leadership.
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"We consistently emphasize training, "Didier goes on,
"What we've done particularly well is to consistently stress
how important it is to use the same training processes throughout
the group so that our excellence of service can be constantly maintained"
"Where do you get your training managers
from and what qualities and qualifications do you seek?"
I asked him.
"Our Training Managers have become a recognised positive impact
in the management style of our hotels; some hotels may look at training
as a necessary tool, we at Four Seasons look upon it as an intrinsic
component of successful management"
"Do you have any hiring strategies
that dovetail with your training activities?"
"Most certainly", replied Didier, "Every potential
employee goes through a series of interviews involving supervisors
and managers at different levels, including the General Manager.
Our emphasis is to hire people based on their positive attitude,
their character, personality and behaviour and the extent to which
this fits closely to the Four Season's culture. Even if an applicant
obviously possesses superior skills and knowledge relevant to the
job, if they do not have the positive attitudinal requirements,
they will not be successful in securing the job."
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Didier Picquot is a calm confident man, sophisticated in dress
and manner, respectful to his staff as he walks briskly through
the hotel, eyes on everything, picking up nuances of behaviour,
reading body language, a ready smile available, an aura of authority
easily yet kindly conveyed. A man to inspire his staff with professionalism
and quality. Perhaps that's what it all comes down to. The right
leader for the staff to follow, to emulate. We all take our lead
from our boss; we strive to be as like him and his standards as
we possibly can be. If you enter a hotel and notice a bell-boy lounging
in the corner, a waiter with dirty shoes, a receptionist with hair
out of place, a uniform that has not seen an iron that morning,
- then you know you need only point to one place, - you know, without
a doubt, that as the GM comes from his office you will see shabbiness,
poor body language, eyes that meet no-one, eyes that are looking
for faults rather than for the employee who is doing the right thing,
a tight unsmiling face, hair out of place and you will watch as
his staff turn from him so they will not have to catch his gaze,
watch him passing by.
Not in Four Seasons Hotel Bangkok!
The staff are happy and hopeful of a word, an eye-catch from Khun
Didier as he "walks his talk" through the hotel, waiting
proudly to be noticed for the extra mile they are constantly going;
waiting to hear of the newest training programmes and ideas that
will make them even more confident to serve and, and here is the
secret, proud of their Manager. Proud to be in their hotel. "Their"
hotel. - Now, that's the key!
"Our training managers all have a solid grounding in operational
skills" we return to our theme as Didier settles back into
his topic, his passion, "They can train with authority and
knowledge gained from practical experience , providing 'real life'
examples, case studies and role plays that also fit with our company
beliefs. Their empathy, communication skills and knowledge of our
business are all exceptional."
Is this one of the major differentiating factors I have been seeking?
We then went on to explore "Glitch Management." - for
the uninitiated, and I am one, Glitch Management is the awareness
and management of malfunctions, faults, anomalies, problems, hitches
and hiccups. So..
"Tell me about your Glitch Management
programme, Didier" I request
"It is one of the pillars of our organisation" he replies.
Now he has my attention
"We have to ensure that every glitch, no matter how minor,
is reported to someone in management that can do something to correct
it"
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"How do you achieve that?"
I ask
"By ensuring that all staff are comfortable with the procedure
and know that there is no retribution when there is a glitch. -
They are confident about their managers and trust them and know
that any repercussions will always be positive."
"And the process?"
"Every morning we review our glitches, we learn from them,
we make case studies of them. We ensure that positive responses
have been returned to guests who have suffered the glitch, so they
can be sure that they have been listened to. They are thanked for
bringing the glitch to our attention for it means that we are now
in a position to provide improved service both to them and to our
future guests. There is nothing too minor for us to review, even
at the highest level of management."
Is this 'Glitch Management' another of the differentiating factors
I am seeking?
"Our culture is one of trust"
"How do you display this?"
I asked
"It is an intrinsic element in our training that we instill
into all employees. They should always feel comfortable in communicating
and sharing with their managers, at every level. Every month representatives
from all departments meet with the General Manager to voice their
ideas, comments and criticisms concerning working policies, practices
and the working environment. Soon they come to understand that the
no retribution policy really is one of the standards we live by."
Absolute trust, - a differentiating factor?
I must say I rather enjoyed staying at Four Seasons (Hotel) Bangkok
and so does EVERY single employee, for, at the end of their extensive,
detailed and warm orientation programme, where they meet the GM
and are advised that no one employee is more important than another,
that all are equal, that everyone is an important member of the
one team, they are all invited to become guests of the hotel for
a weekend. Wow!
Hotel experiences, five-star hotel experiences are a culmination
of little wow's that can, occasionally make up the very big wow,
the one that makes you say, - "Wherever they have a hotel,
that is where I'll stay." One of these little wow's for me
was on the first morning of my stay at the hotel, I exited the lift
on the ground floor. Immediately a beautiful and respectful young
lady with full and confident eye contact greeted me,
"Good morning, sir, are you on your way to breakfast??
"Yes, 'er, I was wondering where…"
"May I show you? Sir?"
She walked me smilingly through the lobby, through the indoor garden,
all life had been suspended save her care for me; she walked me
into the breakfast room, she pulled my chair out for me, she asked
me if I would like orange juice or tea or coffee, she placed the
napkin on my knee, she wished me a wonderful day and a tasty breakfast,
she left my table, spoke to a staff members to inform them of my
presence and to care for me, before she returned to her station
in the lobby to greet the next fortunate guest. For me a moment
suspended in time, a definite "wow".
Always the errant politician, I enquired,
"And what about your corporate citizenship,
where do you stand?"
I might have known he would have an interesting answer. Are there
no angles this man and his corporation do not cover? "We focus
primarily on supporting the cancer research charity in Thailand.
We raise money through our annual Terry Fox run and Golf Tournament
and our annual worldwide culinary extravaganza benefits HRH Princess
Soamsawali's "Save a Child's Life AIDS Project" under
the auspices of the Thai Red Cross . Every single Baht raised stays
in this country to assist its efforts."
"And what of the future, Didier?"
I ask
"Well, as you may know, there are 14 five-star hotels in Bangkok
today with about 5,000 rooms in total, which makes it one of the
most competitive environments in Asia. In the next 4 or 5 years
this number is expected to double with the new 5 stars being located
here in the commercial centre of Bangkok, caring mainly for the
corporate traveller, whilst the leisure traveller spends his time
in the excellent riverside properties. We can only hope that the
demand is going to follow and that the logistics of getting people
to Bangkok and around Bangkok will dramatically improve."
"But that is not the end of the challenge",
I began,
"No," he cut in "We then have to find or develop
many more well-trained people to deliver that high end five-star
service quality experience."
I felt the interview had now come full circle. The Four Seasons
together with their leader in Thailand, Didier Picquot, fully recognise
that to remain as number one in the luxury hotel market means they
have to maintain the trust and confidence of both their discerning
guests and their valuable staff, to sustain their leadership in
guest satisfaction in an intensely competitive industry and to continue
to be acclaimed as the best employer in that industry. They have
been leading the way for the past 40 years, can they continue to
do so? Didier thinks so and, maybe, so do I.
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