Teachable Moment: Cleanliness

SCENARIO

If you can’t master the basics, such as cleanliness in your workplace, how are your customers supposed to trust you to deliver excellence at a higher level?

A hotel guest, Mr. Smith, approaches the front desk ready to check in. Mr. Smith has a pleasant check-in experience; the agent is friendly, uses his name and provides keys to the room, which is ready on time. Although the experience was great, Mr. Smith couldn’t help but notice the messiness of the desk behind the countertop. Oh, wasn’t there some debris on the front drive too? Heading up to his room with another member of the front desk team escorting him, he wonders what the condition of the room will be like.

TAKEAWAYS

• You and your colleagues can provide the best service, but if you cannot get the basics right, such as cleanliness, then you will have a tough time building customer loyalty.
• It’s important to remember that your workstation may be more visible than you think. If you are customer-facing, like a front desk agent, you must absolutely be cognizant of this. This certainly applies to your clothes as well, and depending on your job, could apply to your car, or some other space or article that comes in contact with your customer.
• At The Ritz-Carlton, we remind ourselves that cleanliness is essential to boosting our customer engagement in our Gold Standards. This is not limited to cleanliness for the sake of appearances, but also for safety and quality of service. Debris on the floor, stairway or anywhere else can pose a threat to your employees, your most valuable resource. Also, if you fail to keep your space neat, you are compromising your ability to work efficiently as clutter takes over the area. 

Explore the Foundations of our Brand to learn more about how we model excellence every day with our Ladies and Gentlemen.

• customer experience