Thankfully, the solution was obvious and we began a program that had the members of the bell staff dining with a personal guest. In that “moment of truth” with their guests, they could recite the canned speech about the various outlets but the real truth was in their eyes and words, they had no credibility. When I spoke with the Head Bellman, he explained that neither he nor any members of his staff were allowed in the outlets and had no firsthand knowledge of menu items or style of service. In fact, they wanted me to fire the Head Bellman immediately and were complaining about that all important first staff interaction which Carlzon was describing. Once when taking over a very large resort with multiple food and beverage outlets, the owners were furious that the bell staff did not effectively recommend the property’s dining options. And he was talking about salaried counter and cabin staff on an airline, not entry level service employees in our industry. He went on to note that these “moments of truth” are the moments that ultimately determine whether a company will succeed or fail.

In his book, Moments of Truth, Scandinavian Airlines CEO Jan Carlzon defined this concept as the numerous 15 seconds daily where customers interact with frontline employees. For a staff member to be remembered as one “who did his job well,” are we as management providing the required tools, hospitality training and support needed to meet that important goal?Īs hoteliers, we operate in an environment where our entry level staff members are the true face of the operation as those who interact with our guests directly. He should sweep streets so well that all the hosts of heaven and earth will pause to say, ‘Here lived a great street sweeper who did his job well.”Īlthough he is clearly speaking to individuals about their work ethic and performance, there is also a message for employers and managers. when he stated, “If a man is called to be a street sweeper, he should sweep streets even as a Michelangelo painted, or Beethoven composed music or Shakespeare wrote poetry. One of my favourite quotes concerning personal performance was by Martin Luther King, Jr.

Unfortunately, the gap between this admirable sentiment and the reality in practice is quite expansive. In the hotel and resort industry, you often read or hear about the importance of staff.

Jan carlzon quotes