Service philosophies

Through my studies, travels around the world and my work in the service sectors I’ve probably had more time to dwell over service philosophies than most. That doesn’t mean that it doesn’t affect you in your every day. You may not have a name for it, but it’s there.

Service philosophy is defined as “an organization’s attitude towards its customers.” Some of them are well known and you’ll recognize them by a catch phrase like “the customer is always right” by Harry Gordon Selfridge, the founder of Selfridge’s department store in London in 1909 or Radisson’s jacket lapel pin “Yes I can!” others are more hidden in a mission statement somewhere or even worse not spoken at all.

As a matter of fact it’s impossible to NOT have a service philosophy based on that definition. There is always some kind of attitude towards your customer whether it’s written down somewhere, addressed at employee introduction days or just seeping through in everyday interactions. And keep in mind that the written down “company policy” may not be what you’re delivering.

A lot of studies show that companies that score high on customer satisfaction also fare well when employee relations are tested. There is a strong correlation between employee relations and customer relations. Shouldn’t be surprising after all, it’s all about how you interact. However, keep in mind that changing attitudes don’t always guarantee a change in behavior. Frontline staff makes judgment calls constantly based on the resources that they have been provided with. Even if Joe the receptionist understands and agrees with the underlying philosophy of “Making prompt service to the customer is a priority over other work” when the phone is ringing and there is a line at the front desk, he will prioritize based on the resources he has available.

Behavior is determined by attitudes and circumstance. It’s not enough to just deal with one you need to address both.

I am sure your local post office has a conscious service philosophy in place they might even have it on a plaque somewhere. Keeping that in mind when was the last time you left a post office thinking to yourself this was exceptional customer service?

Executive and senior management in the companies that get this right understand that employees must witness the commitment of management to customer service before they are willing to change their own attitudes and only by allocating sufficient resources will employee behaviors change.

One major company has these three statements as part of a mission statement of sorts:

• Focus on the user and all else will follow.
• It's best to do one thing really, really well.
• You can be serious without a suit.

These statements say a lot about how they interact with customers. When I tell you that the company in question is Google (part of the Google “ten things we know to be true”) I guess you can recognize the way they interact with you in those three statements. The second statement certainly sets them apart from the competitor Yahoo. And there we were thinking Google didn’t really have customers in the traditional sense.

Unlike some of my contemporary scholars of service I am not saying that there is one philosophy that will work for everyone. However, it is important to be conscious of what your philosophy is and how it affects the way you work. The choice of service philosophy determines your path to excellent customer service, and if you’re not conscious of what your organization’s philosophy is you will never achieve it.

Here are three different statements and how they determine different paths to excellence;

• “Yes I can” requires lots of empowerment of frontline staff. If they don’t have the power to make things happen then “No they can’t.”
• “The customer is a priority over other work” requires smaller workloads per employee so that they are able to drop everything and assist the customer. Perhaps more staff is needed to deliver excellence.
• “We are proactive where others are reactive,” demands better planning and anticipation of what the customer wants and needs before he knows it himself. Dedicated and systematic data collection enables you to make better decisions. And for this path experienced staff is hard to beat.

All three are valid service philosophies and a commitment from management combined with an allocation of the right resources for your chosen path will enable you to provide your customers with excellent service.

Think for a second about what your organization’s service philosophy is;

• Is it stated or underlying?
• Is management committed to you and to the philosophy?
• Does frontline staff believe in the spoken philosophy of your organization?
• Do you have the right resources to follow your chosen path?
• Are you providing excellent customer service?

Guy Savoy, Paris. A different restaurant review.

After several years of wanting to go…almost begging myself to go I finally found the right time and occasion to visit Guy Savoy’s temple in Paris. As with most varieties of journalism this of course is not entirely true. It was my wife that found the time, as she is the one with the schedule, and the occasion. So unknown to me the plan of Valentines Day in Paris with dinner reservations at Guy Savoy was hatched.

Now a lot of my readers are from the US so I guess a short intro to Guy Savoy is in order. Guy has about 5 restaurants in Paris with the eponymous Guy Savoy being the star in the lineup. It has several times been ranked in the Restaurant Magazine Top 50 Restaurants in the world awards and is awarded three stars by Guide Michelin. He also operates the Guy Savoy restaurant at Caesars Palace in Las Vegas. Although run by his son Frank it is widely expected to be promoted from two to three stars in the next edition of the Guide Michelin for Las Vegas. Born in the mid 1950’s Guy Savoy is the youngest of the modern group of French chefs attributed to the term “Nouvelle Cuisine” others include Paul Bocuse and the Troisgros brothers.

Restaurant Guy Savoy is a true example of what I term a “Chef’s House” restaurants. Some restaurants just have an aura of seriousness over them, an instinctive feel that proper work is done here. It has nothing to do with the décor or the menu, but an underlying sense of pride. These restaurants have a few simple things in common.

1. Real craftsmen cook here, not “artist”
2. An unbelievable respect of ingredients bordering on worship.
3. Nothing is “purpose built.”
4. No large cloakroom or lavish bar at the entrance.

There are several great restaurants that that carry this label in my book, and dinning in them is always a treat. You find them in all price ranges and most styles of cuisine so all that connects them is this intangible quality that gives you a sense of reassurance. Other fine examples of this quality are Gordon Ramsay Royal Hospital Road London, Munkestuen Restaurant Norway, Trio Restaurant Sweden to name but a few.

Now I guess you are wondering if the food was any good, and of course it was. All true to the ingredients and wonderful craftsmanship done just right. To quote Chef Tony Vikebø of Munkestuen “With honest craftsmanship and the finest ingredients it is hard to fail.”

Those of us that have been in the trade for a “few” years are all familiar with the “21:00 rounds” when the Chef walks into the dinning room just after all tables have been served their main course and greets all the prominent and returning guests. Well rest assured that no one does it better than Guy Savoy, every night he is there welcoming every table after they have been seated and biding you farewell at the door when you leave, already planning your next visit to Guy Savoy’s temple of Craftsmanship and Warm welcomes.

Michelin, London and great things to come.

Its that time of year again, well I say it is but it isn’t really is it? These Michelin boys seem to have more leaks than the proverbial sieve. This year they have decided to announce their listings for Great Britain & Ireland early due to a potential leak. I seem to recall that being an issue last year as well?

Anyway this year’s listing does provide some movement, possibly a sign of the hard financial times in the year that passed. Some restaurants made adjustments to their menus to better suit their diners’ budgets hoping to keep them around. However, Michelin seem to have a different take on how to deal with the declining market. Indeed I believe this is the first time I have heard one of their executives state that Michelin is concerned with “value for money.” What?! Has the “value for money” monster taken over the mighty Michelin guides? It was supposed to be the definitive list of top restaurants based on an absolute scale, wasn’t it? One star equals one star anywhere in the world, an easy guide for the wary traveler. The guides used to say that one star was worthy of a stop, not best meal under £50. Remind me to write a complete blog on the faults of the “value for money” disaster that seems to getting a grip on society all over.


Inhale…exhale…and relax…

Oh yes the movements on the UK list, some restaurants have take steps in the right direction according to the guide. And the big winner this year is Alain Ducasse at The Dorchester taking that final step onto 3 stars. And don’t get me started on the French chef bias of Michelin. This combined with a less than great year for Gordon Ramsay takes Alain to second place with regards to who has the most combined stars worldwide beaten only by Joel Robuchon. Of course the internal competition between these three has widely been considered to be silly, as they clearly are not cooking at all these restaurants themselves. However, if you consider this as more of a struggle to be the best restaurateur and not the best chef it might make more sense.

Gordon Ramsay at Clariges is one of the less fortunate this year and they are striped of their one star following the departure of Mark Sargeant late last year. Indeed if I do a quick count it seems to me that Gordon may have lost five or more stars this year, with the loss of his LA, New York and Versailles restaurants to other operators. If I have forgotten any please feel free to correct me.

Also the Capital lost both stars following the departure of Eric Charvet and Foliage lost its star after Chris Staines packed up his knives following rumors that Heston Blumenthal was in talks to take over. As some of you may know these were two of my favorite restaurants in London, I can only hope that they will re-emerge as wonderful as they once were. Foliage of course sits in the same room that was once Marco Pierre White’s three star restaurant, and we expect nothing less than greatness from its new occupants. The room will keep its current split and both Heston Blumenthal and my friend Daniel Boulud are confirmed tenants of the two restaurants. Two three star chefs under one roof in the Mandarin Oriental, all designed by Adam Tihany. That will be hard to beat as a destination hotel in London.

Turning the page

At the turn of the year I believe it is customary to summarize it all. You know, what was good, what was bad and to look in to the crystal ball for what the future will hold. So I figured that it might be a good place to start the New Year. And I promise to stay away from lengthy and annoying list that everyone seem to be throwing mercilessly around.

Surprisingly good
This summer I had the good fortune of visiting The Goodstone Inn in Middleburg, VA once again. Although this resort caught us completely off guard the first time we stumbled upon it during a unplanned road trip some years ago, they once again took the essence of hospitality to a level you would expect to find in places of much higher merit. This is a place to watch in the coming years. They have taken the kitchen to a new and exciting level and the sights are still second to none. I can only agree with my beautiful wife’s observation “It is the only place were I completely relax within minutes of arriving.” Well done guys and keep it up!

Worrying
Anyone keeping up with the hospitality industry must have been up nights (at least one night) considering the future of Las Vegas. Ok, I know some of you love to hate the dessert mirage that is Las Vegas, but when all is said and done there is no place like it for volume, diversity and talent. No other place has taken a harder beating in the “finance crisis” and at one point the MGM Mirage group almost tumbled. As they now seem to be pulling through City Center is adding 10.000 rooms to a discounted market and adding 12.000 jobs to go with it. Worse off is the half-cooked Fountainbleau, with carpet and furnishings in all the rooms up to the 30th floor of the 68-floor hotel condo where Algiers once stood. Lenders have pulled out and if it is ever finished it will add almost 4.000 rooms to Sin City.

Will it be worth the wait?
In December of 2007 The Savoy hotel in London closed its doors to undergo an 18 month restoration budgeted to come in at £ 100 million. With innovations like a greeting in the lobby instead of the traditional check-in, I wonder what they will call that. The Beauford room will be converted into a bar with the largest selection of Champagne in London no less. The River Restaurant will spring back into life (is was closed for dinner the last few years prior to the hotel closing) and will offer al fresco-like dining with the windows open to the Thames. Gordon Ramsay’s man Stuart Gilles is still rumored to be heading up the Savoy Grill and ambitions for a Michelin star is also in the grapevine for the River Restaurant. I will be sure to check it all out once they finally get around to opening some time before summer 2010.