Recognition Idea

As GM I would give my staff members small thank you cards. They were about the size of a business card with a word of encouragement on the front and blank in the middle. G-neil Company carried some of these cards.

I would sit at my desk and write supportive messages inside the cards. Messages like "You are doing a great job. Thanks" or "I am so glad you are on our team." Then I placed the cards inside their envelopes and carry two or three in my pocket. When I would see an employee doing something right I would take out a card and write their name on the envelope. I did this with housekeeping especially, since they are the hardest working department with the least amount of recognition.

The employees thought the card was a planned recognition just for them. They saw their name on the envelope and imagined me selecting the little card just for them and writing the message with them in mind, then searching the property to deliver their card personally. They didn't know I had a pocket full of prepared cards.

It didn't matter, they felt appreciated and that was the point.

Find ways to show appreciation for your staff and they will take care of your guests.

Next Book

My next book is going to be more of a booklet.

Early in the general manager part of my hospitality career I was told about a room inspection program by my boss, the director of operations, Kent White. This program worked extremely well.

Over the years I modified the program to a form that worked best for me. I quickly developed the reputation of having a clean hotel wherever I was managing.

The booklet I am working on is a description of that program.

It is my hope that this inspection program will help more hotels improve their service to the guests.

Stay tuned. This book should be available within the next few weeks.

Horrible Service Story

My very good friend, Eugene, experienced what could be described as one of the worst service attitudes ever. He took his car to the local dealership to arrange for an oil change. He walks into, what was called, the service department only to find an empty room with a counter. Eugene stood at the counter for a few minutes when a mechanic walks in from the shop area behind the counter. The mechanic stopped, looked, then turned to pick up a clipboard from the desk and walked back into the shop. Didn’t say a word or acknowledge that anybody was standing at the counter. A few moments later another man came through the door from the shop area and stood there, looking at Eugene for a few seconds and finally took the three steps to reach the counter. The two looked at each other for an awkward moment and Eugene broke the silence by saying that he wanted to set up an oil change. The other man, wearing the ‘manager’ badge, laughed at him. He actually broke into a laugh. As his laughing subsided he said “today? We are way too busy today.” Then he turned and walked back into the shop area.

This service manager was in dire need for some instruction of what service really is. Not only did he lose a lifetime customer, he also lost the potential business of the twenty people Eugene told about the situation. The dealership lost future car sales from Eugene, the type who buys a new car every two years, and those twenty people with whom he shared the story. Was this so called service manager showing any hospitality at all? No, he wasn’t. Eugene didn’t say he wanted to get the oil change that day; he just wanted to make the arrangements, set up an appointment to get the oil change done. The manager was not cordial; he was not generous in his disposition and treatment of his guest at that particular instance.

We all have a story similar to Eugene’s story. The problem is that we all have a story similar to Eugene’s story. Bad service attitudes are so common we almost expect it every time we walk into a place of business. The guests who walk in our hotels often feel the same way. Since we are in the hospitality industry we need to fully understand what hospitality really is. As hospitality professionals it is important that we project the right hospitality attitude toward all our guests. Hospitality managers have the responsibility to teach the entire hotel staff the importance of a proper hospitality attitude.

Joe Vitale

One of his most powerful talks ever.

Now on Amazon.com

My book is now available on Amazon.com

This is so cool. :)

X-cellent Guest Service on Amazon.com

The Book Is Ready

My book, X-cellent Guest Service, is now available.


This book contains all the information I presented at my X-cellent Guest Service seminars. It covers the information about Generation X as it applies to the hospitality industry and it gives suggestions and advice for improving guest service at your hotel or restaurant.

It even includes my secret three rules for any situation. These three rules will give anybody at your hotel or restaurant the guidelines and power to handle any situation that comes up in a way that will keep a happy customer without causing damage to the business. It was these three rules that helped me take a 30 year old hotel and restaurant from the mid 50% brand ranking to the top 5%, beating out many newly opened hotels of the same brand.

Follow the link below to order a copy of X-cellent Guest Service.
https://www.createspace.com/3331991

Change The Beliefs to Change The Behavior

To effect change, whether it is in business or in life, one of the key elements is to change a behavior. You want your staff to deliver better service to your customers you need to see to it that they behave in a manner that will be appreciated and desired by your current and potential customers. Your staff needs to act the right way, they need to speak the right way, they need to conduct themselves the right way, they need to present themselves the right way. It is all about their behavior when in contact with the customer.

What drives behavior? It is the beliefs a person have in their mind that influences their actions and the things in their world. Everything we see, touch, smell, and hear are all filtered through out brain by our beliefs and result in the actions and behaviors we manifest. Change the beliefs and the behavior will change along with it.

One of the best ways to train or teach is by repetition. Think of any new “thing” you had to learn at some point in your life. Riding a bike, or driving a car, you may have made a few mistakes along the learning process. But, as you found ways to complete the process, without the mistakes, you eventually achieved success. It took practice; it took repeated attempts before you finally did it. Then after doing it more and more it eventually became a habit. You could do it without thinking about all the little details involved, the details that you once made mistakes on when first learning how to do it.

We create our world based on the way we interpret the information coming into our brain. How be believe a thing to be true is how it will be for us. The law of attraction says that what we are mentally, and vibrationally, (consciously or unconsciously) in alignment with is what will manifest in our life. If you want to improve the customer service in your business, then your staff needs to be in alignment with that desire.

Now let’s put these together. Repetition and consistency in training your employees, or in dealing with colleagues is important because you want to change their beliefs. Once the belief system is changed and they are acting, or behaving, in alignment with this new belief, then all the desired goals connected to the new belief will be achieved.

So, consistency in training, or in dealing with employees or colleagues, is important because you want to change their belief systems. Once the belief is changed then all the goals will be achieved by virtue of the law of attraction.