By now, most of us have been impacted in some way by Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19). I worked in Boston last week where I met a fellow hotel guest in the elevator. Upon detecting an accent, I asked where he was from. He said, “I work in Hong Kong, but
Earlier this summer, I was relaxing by the pool at a well-known resort in Las Vegas. Because it was 100° in the shade, from the moment I settled into my lounge chair I was on the lookout for a beverage server. Within a few minutes, the server appeared carrying a
Last fall I traveled to Philadelphia to meet up with several colleagues at a downtown hotel. At check-in, I received a room key emblazoned with the image of a specialty cocktail. After pocketing the key, I grabbed my bag, and headed toward the elevators. In the elevator lobby I noticed
Two weeks ago we received a late spring snowstorm that left several inches of snow on our back deck. Because my teenage son was hosting a prom after-party that evening, I approached him at 2:30pm and asked, “Why are you gaming? You have pictures at 5:00 and you’re hosting a
In 1989, Stephen R. Covey’s perennial book, The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People was published. It must have resonated, having sold more than 25 million copies in 40 languages throughout the world. Over the past decade or so, when I’m asked for business book recommendations and suggest this title,
John Wooden, the legendary former UCLA basketball coach, said, “Don’t confuse activity with achievement.” This insightful quote reminds me of the common misunderstanding plaguing service industry employees (management and non-management) everywhere: they confuse activity (executing job function) with excellence (demonstrating job essence). So many managers race to their superiors with
While directing the 1956 epic film The Ten Commandments, Cecil B. DeMille challenged a large group of extras portraying the Israelites to energize their performance, shouting, “Alright now. Give me everything you’ve got people! Don’t be extras. Be a nation!” DeMille’s exhortation of the extras reminds me of the ongoing
Most of us acknowledge the importance of supervisors modeling the behaviors expected from frontline hourly-paid employees. Intuitively, this just makes sense and is reinforced with platitudes such as “Actions speak louder than words” and “Walk the talk!” Even so, this leadership principle and management expectation is often neglected. Consider this
Though business has its own set of complexities, customer service isn’t one of them. Exceptional customer service is simply a choice. Employees develop their own definitions of customer service and decide for themselves how they view customers: as honored guests who contribute to the success of the enterprise or as
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