Marriott addresses quality service by taking care of its employees

For J. Willard Marriott, success once meant selling lots of root beer in his single unit The Hot Shoppe in Washington, D. C.. But the Marriott Corporation he founded now relies heavily on 230,000 employees to meet the needs of guests at more than 745 hotels, resorts, motels and extended stay inns.

At the heart of this $8.7 billion company's success is his exquisitely simple credo: "If you take care of your employees, your employees will take care of our customers, and profits will take care of themselves."

The recent recession that caused Marriott to suffer through some of the toughest times in its 56-year history was a good test of the company's commitment to customer service. And yet, it was during this period that new service programs were launched and executives reaffirmed the importance of service and the key role their staff plays in delivering that service.

Marriott communicates the importance of customer service in two ways: first it rewards employees who demonstrate a commitment to this corporate goal by making it a key component for career advancement, and second, employees are empowered" to make decisions that will have a favorable result on customers. For a waiter it may mean granting a free meal to a customer without having to check with a supervisor. For a front desk clerk it may mean adjusting a bill without having to consult with a senior manager.

"Today, every company worth its salt will tell you they are committed to customer service, but it is a matter of degree, intensity, and the time they are willing to devote to it. That is why there are companies like Marriott and Wal-Mart that stand out," says Roger Connor, vice president of communications.

Having communicated to its employees that absolute necessity of responding to the needs of its customers, Marriott then uses several different approaches to gather feedback from customers so that it can match service programs to the needs of its guests.

"We send out one million direct mail questionnaires every year to our customers, which tell us how we are doing, and we also have in-room comment cards," says Larry Murphy, vice present for service delivery.

Among other things, customer feedback is used to measure each individual hotel on a "Guest Satisfaction Index." Highest rated hotels are around 94% and the lowest is around 84%.

Not surprisingly, this constant flow of information to Marriott headquarters from its customers has helped identify opportunities for improving service. For example, the Five Key Drivers" program used research to identify the five most critical components of a guest's stay: cleanliness, breakfast, value, the check-in process and friendliness of staff.

Marriott then followed up those survey results with specific programs geared to improving its performance. "We have designed a piece of research to determine what friendliness means from a customer's perspective and we are designing new training materials to convey that," said Murphy. "And in cleanliness, we ave designed a cleanliness certification class, which is an ongoing course for those providing housekeeping services."

Another survey that dealt with customer priorities when checking in produced some results that surprised Marriott executives. While this executives had formerly viewed the process of checking in as the event taking place at the front desk, guests said the process began with the telephone call to make a reservation and continued through to the first minutes in the room when everything was found to be clean and in working order.

This realization prompted Marriott to create the "First 10 Program," a reference to the first 10 minutes in the hotel. "We have redesigned our cheek-in process over the past several months. We broadened our definition of what's involved in cheek-in and we spent 12 months in 14 test hotels working out problems that had to be solved. The first 10 Program has enabled us to build on the leadership Marriott already had for its ease of check in," said Murphy.

He said the lessons Marriott has learned can also apply to the retail industry. "The most important thing any of us can do in the service industry is to interact with the customer, to listen and ask questions about what is important to the customer and then respond to those needs," says Murphy.

And then there are the internal changes needed to deliver those key services once they have been identified by customers. "In many industries, even our own, we talk about service but then we don't build in the support systems. You have to have these for the associates who stand with the customer. They have to have the freedom to make decisions that help the customer. That means eliminating policies that will prevent an associate from delivering good customer service," said Murphy.

"Sam Walton, in his keys to success, listed the importance of listening to everyone in your company and then exceeding your customers expectations. We can all learn from that, in both retailing and the hospitality industry," he adds.

This wisdom from "Mr. Sam" was particularly useful when Marriott launched new concepts in its mid-priced Courtyard By Marriott and its economy properties, Fairfield Inn by Marriott. Company executives say the Wal-Mart concept of providing good value to customers, along with good customer service showed that the consumers who found both in a retail chain--or a hospitality chain--would reward it by returning again and again.

COPYRIGHT 1993 Reproduced with permission of the copyright holder. Further reproduction or distribution is prohibited without permission.
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