Dateline: Tuesday July 14, 2009 at 10:19 from Kuala Lumpur Malaysia

The Ritz-Carlton Experience: It ’s all in the Implementation

There are some books that you have to read more than once. The New Gold Standard by Joseph Michelli is definitely one of these. This book gives an inside look into how the Ritz-Carlton has built and maintains its global, top-drawer, brand status. While browsing through the pearls in the book a second time, I decided to go one step further by taking my own inside look – into The Ritz-Carlton, Kuala Lumpur. By the time I left, I was convinced that what was written in the book was for real.

My appointment with the GM of The Ritz-Carlton, Steve Cokkinias was set for 3pm. I arrived at the lobby of the hotel and was given a friendly greeting by four or five Ladies and Gentlemen. (If you are employed by the hotel, you are referred to as “Ladies and Gentlemen.”) Good start. Nice welcome. I told the Gentleman at reception that I was early and would wait in the reception. He soon came over, called me by name and suggested that I wait in the comfortable lobby lounge. Okay, two out of two. I have had two moments of truth with Ritz-Carlton Ladies and Gentlemen, and both of them were winners – they focused on me and made me feel good.

As I was preparing for my interview in the lounge, another of the Ladies and Gentlemen, Hadryl, came to my table. I wanted to get a quick insight into the hotel from an employee before the interview started. I asked him what it was like to work at the hotel. Hadryl then enthusiastically told me how good it was to work at The Ritz-Carlton. He explained that working at the hotel had been good for his personal development. The line-up process (be patient, I will tell you what this is shortly!) is motivational for employees. Reflecting on his words, one of the key building blocks to engaging your customers through the brand experience is to engage your employees to deliver the brand experience. So far, so good. three out of three.

Steve Cokkinias is a tall, affable American. He has been living in Kuala Lumpur for six years. Having learnt to speak Bahasa Malaysia, he does not have any intention of leaving in the near future! But what struck me most about Steve was that he personifies everything that you read about The Ritz-Carlton. He is passionate about the brand. He is passionate about his people – his Ladies and Gentlemen. And he is passionate about delivering the unique Ritz-Carlton brand experience to the hotel’s guests. “I see my role as being a socket that people can plug into when they need a boost,” he said with an enthusiasm that I can see is virally contagious!

I told Steve that I was interested in the pieces of the jigsaw puzzle that produced the world class Ritz-Carlton customer experience. He told me that there are no secrets. Many companies visit to find out what Ritz-Carlton does to create the Ritz-Carlton “Mystique” – the emotional engagement of customers, the creation of memories that will last for years. “We have our Credo, our Motto and our Values. Many try to copy our Credo Card. But it is all in the implementation,” he said. There was no smugness about this statement. It was simply a fact. Implementation is where the battle of business is being fought and won. Statistics show that 70 to 90 percent of companies are less than satisfied with the quality of their implementation. It seems that The Ritz-Carlton is one of the minority that has cracked the implementation code.

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