Without Reservations How A Family Root Beer Stand Grew Into A Global Hotel Company


J.W. "Bill" Marriott Jr. - 2012
    

100 Tips for Hoteliers: What Every Successful Hotel Professional Needs to Know and Do


Peter J. Venison - 2005
    Despite many requests for a follow-up volume, Venison declined, on the basis that he had nothing new to say. Now he does. Holed up for several weeks in five star hotels while concluding a complicated business deal, Venison realized that the standards offered by the industry still fall short of perfection. As a result, he has put pen to paper to produce this handy catalogue of suggestions to hoteliers, based upon his considerable personal experience as a hotelier and perpetual hotel guest.100 Tips for Hoteliers guides you from the inception of a hotel to its opening and operation, offering practical tips for each stage of the journey. It should prove equally useful to hotel school students as a checklist of what they can expect, and also to practicing hotel managers as a reminder of their responsibilities.Proceeds from the sale of 100 Tips for Hoteliers will be donated to the Duke of Edinburgh Cup charity.

The New Gold Standard: 5 Leadership Principles for Creating a Legendary Customer Experience Courtesy of the Ritz-Carlton Hotel Company


Joseph A. Michelli - 2008
    With ceaseless attention to every luxurious detail, the company has set the bar for creating memorable customer experiences in world-class settings. Now, for the first time, the leadership secrets behind the company's extraordinary success are revealed.The New Gold Standard takes you on an exclusive tour behind the scenes of The Ritz-Carlton Hotel Company. Granted unprecedented access to the company's executives, staff, and its award-winning Leadership Center training facilities, bestselling author Joseph Michelli explored every level of leadership within the organization. He emerged with the key principles leaders at any company can use to provide a customer experience unlike any other, such as:Understanding the ever-evolving needs of customersEmpowering employees by treating them with the utmost respectAnticipating customers' unexpressed needs and concernsDeveloping and conducting an unsurpassed training regimenSharing engaging stories from the company's employees--from the corporate office and hotels around the globe--Michelli describes the innovative methods the company uses to create peerless guest experiences and explains how it constantly hones and improves them.The New Gold Standard weaves practical how-to advice, proven leadership tools, and the wisdom of experts to help you create and embed superior customer-service principles, processes, and practices in your own organization.

Be Our Guest: Perfecting the Art of Customer Service


Walt Disney Company - 2001
    Reprint. 25,000 first printing.

The Service Culture Handbook: A Step-by-Step Guide to Getting Your Employees Obsessed with Customer Service


Jeff Toister - 2017
    They encourage each other, proactively solve problems, and constantly look for ways to go the extra mile. In short, imagine a workplace culture where employees were absolutely obsessed with customer service. The Service Culture Handbook is a step-by-step guide to help you develop a customer-focused culture in your company, department, or location. Whether you’re just beginning your journey, or have been working on culture for years, this handbook will prepare you to take the next step. You’ll receive actionable advice, straightforward exercises, and proven tools you can utilize immediately. Learn the one thing that forms the foundation of every great culture. Discover what customer-focused companies do differently to engage their employees. And explore ways to strategically align every facet of your organization with outstanding service. Creating and sustaining a customer-focused culture is a never-ending journey that takes hard work, dedication, and commitment. The Service Culture Handbook is an indispensable resource to help you and your employees stay headed in the right direction. Praise for The Service Culture Handbook: "The Service Culture Handbook provides the poignant inspiration and practical instruction for the difficult work of transforming a service culture into one that is distinctive, successful, and permanent." —Chip R. Bell, author of Kaleidoscope: Delivering Innovative Service That Sparkles "Though research continues to uncover the astonishing impact of customer-focused cultures on customer loyalty and business results, few organizations know how to get there. Jeff Toister unlocks that mystery through this practical (and fun to read!) guide to developing a culture that really works." —Brad Cleveland, founding partner and former CEO, International Customer Management Institute

First Impressions: Creating Wow Experiences In Your Church


Mark L. Waltz - 2004
    This means church leaders need to create no-fail; practical ways to ensure a visitor's first impression is the best impression. Author Mark Waltz shares the strategies that work in his church--and takes "greeting" to a whole new level.When guests feel valued, they will return. And when they do, they'll have the opportunity to experience Jesus' love. Let visitors know "You matter to God, so you matter to us."Adapt these practical ideas to your church's unique setting, and it won't be long before everyone feels welcome: Learn how to create a church that's welcoming to guests with strategies on:— developing senior leadership— traffic flow— the walk to the door— to shake hands or not?— directional signs or people? Address the philosophy, strategy and implementation of a ministry that welcomes first-time and returning guests. Gain sure-fire, practical ways to make the first impression the best impression.

Setting the Table: The Transforming Power of Hospitality in Business


Danny Meyer - 2006
    Danny Meyer started Union Square Cafe when he was 27, with a good idea and hopeful investors. He is now the co-owner of a restaurant empire. How did he do it? How did he beat the odds in one of the toughest trades around? In this landmark book, Danny shares the lessons he learned developing the dynamic philosophy he calls Enlightened Hospitality. The tenets of that philosophy, which emphasize strong in-house relationships as well as customer satisfaction, are applicable to anyone who works in any business. Whether you are a manager, an executive, or a waiter, Danny’s story and philosophy will help you become more effective and productive, while deepening your understanding and appreciation of a job well done. Setting the Table is landmark a motivational work from one of our era’s most gifted and insightful business leaders.

Secret Service: Hidden Systems That Deliver Unforgettable Customer Service


John R. DiJulius - 2002
    These organizations reap the benefits of greater customer loyalty, exponentially expanded referral networks, lower employee turnover, and stronger bottom-line results. By quantifying and examining each phase of the ""Customer Experience Cycle,"" Secret Service reveals clever, practical ideas that can be transformed into repeatable best practices in any organization and at every level. Packed with examples applicable to a wide range of industries, this book provides practical, realistic ways to: * Turn customer complaints into positive experiences * Use marketing to go deeper with existing customers * Increase customer and employee retention, and turn bland customer service into truly memorable customer experiences"

Lessons from the Mouse


Dennis Snow - 2008
    Dennis Snow's Lessons From the Mouse provides ten no-nonsense, practical principles that anyone, anywhere can apply. He entertains while he educates with chapters like 'What Time is the 3:00 Parade?' Is Not a Stupid Question. The mouse is very candid here - no Disney pixie dust blinds the reader. Backstage snafus, onstage errors, and occasional chaos emerge in all their drama, humor, or irony. At its heart, though, Lessons From the Mouse presents ten lessons that guide readers in applying excellence in their own organizations, careers, and lives. Whether being used as a tool for increased organizational effectiveness or a pocket guide for the college grad or new entrepreneur, Lessons From the Mouse offers timeless, straightforward advice.

Customer Mania!: It's Never Too Late to Build a Customer-Focused Company


Kenneth H. Blanchard - 2004
    In fact, many experts believe that you build a business from the customer up. With coauthors Jim Ballard and Fred Finch, Blanchard explains why the customer is the right starting place from which to build a successful business. By drawing on examples from the world's largest restaurant company, Yum! -- owner of KFC, Taco Bell, Pizza Hut, Long John Silver's, and A&W Restaurants -- the authors explain how any company, large or small, can develop a unified, people-first, customer-oriented culture. Packed with practical insights, Customer Mania! emphasizes four critical steps:• Set Your Sights on the Right Target. The bottom line grows from taking care of customers and creating a motivating environment for your people. • Treat Customers the Right Way. Determine the kind of experience you want your customers to have as they interact with every part of the company. • Treat Employees the Right Way. Use strategies ranging from smart hiring to training and development to managing performance and creating a recognition culture. • Build the Right Kind of Leadership. You can't do it all yourself, so let your people put their own brains to work and then support them all the way.By relying on these concepts, businesses everywhere can cultivate passionate and engaged team members who contribute to the company's overall success. From CEO to middle manager to the person facing the consumer, Customer Mania! is a vital tool for enhancing their experience -- and their customer's.

The Spirit to Serve: Marriott's Way


J.W. Marriott Jr. - 1997
    W. Marriott, Jr., The Spirit to Serve distills years of hard-earned wisdom and experience into twelve timeless lessons that managers at any level can implement in their own business lives.

The 24-Carrot Manager


Adrian Gostick - 2002
    Providing strategies and solutions for the managers of today, this book offers answers for improving employee commitment and profitability by strategically acknowledging employee effort. How is it done? The deceptively simply answer: with carrots.

Inside the Magic Kingdom


Thomas K. Connellan - 1997
    Through interviews with past and present Disney employees, some of the business secrets and practices of this vastly successful empire are revealed.

The Customer Rules: The 39 Essential Rules for Delivering Sensational Service


Lee Cockerell - 2013
    Lee Cockerell knows that success in business – any business - depends upon winning and keeping customers.In 39 digestible, bite-sized chapters, Lee shares everything he has learned in his 40+ year career in the hospitality industry about creating an environment that keeps customers coming back for more. Here, Lee not only shows why the customer always rules, but also the Rules for serving customers so well they'll never want to do business with anyone but you. For example:Rule #1: Customer Service Is Not a DepartmentRule #3: Great Service Follows the Laws of Gravity Rule #5: Ask Yourself "What Would Mom Do?"Rule #19: Be a Copycat Rule #25. Treat Every Customer like a RegularRule #39: Don’t Try Too HardAs simple as they are profound, these principles have been shown to work in companies as large as Disney and as small as a local coffee shop; from businesses selling cutting-edge technologies like computer tablets to those selling products as timeless as shoes and handbags; at corporations as long-standing as Ford Motors and those as nascent as a brand new start-up.  And they have been proven indispensible at all levels of a company, from managers responsible for hiring and training employees, setting policies and procedures, and shaping the company culture to front line staff who deal directly with clients and customersChock-full of universal advice, applicable online and off, The Customer Rules is the essential handbook for service excellence everywhere.

Zingerman's Guide to Giving Great Service


Ari Weinzweig - 2004
    Zingerman's in Ann Arbor, Michigan, is a beloved deli with some of the most loyal clientele around. It has been praised for its products and service in media outlets far and wide, including the New York Times, Men's Journal, Inc. Magazine, Esquire, Atlantic Monthly, USA Today, and Fast Company. And what started out as a small deli has grown to a flourishing restaurant, catering service, bakery, mail-order operation, creamery, and training business. Booming business and loyal customers are proof enough that the Zingerman's team knows a thing or two about customer service. Now in Zingerman's Guide to Giving Great Service, co-founder Ari Weinzweig shares the unique Zingerman method of treating customers, giving the reader step-by-step instructions on what to teach staff, how to train them, how to implement the training, how to measure their success, and finally, how to reward performance. Some of Zingerman's time-tested principles:Customers who get a great product but poor service won't be as loyal as those who are disappointed with a product but get great service. You'll get more complaints if people believe you care enough to listen to them. And that's a good thing. Employees who are rewarded, respected, and well cared for treat customers the same way.