Randy Bennett
General Manager

Each quarter everyone at ShuBee is required to read a book and write a report explaining what they took from it, and how those insights can help mold ShuBee into an even better company. This is just one of the many ways we keep things fresh.

Last quarter I read Joseph A. Michelli’s The New Gold Standard. I feel this book is worth sharing to everyone in the service field. The New Gold Standard is an “outside looking in” narrative on the world of the Ritz Carlton.

At ShuBee, we have always taught our clients customer service techniques and I have always told our staff, “If we are going to teach customer service, then we better have the best customer service ever!”

So with this customer service mindset, I figure what better book to read than one about a company who is the best in the world at it. I have always been intrigue by the mystic of the Ritz Carlton; What is it that is so special about this place? What draws people to it? How has it stood the test of time? Why do people rave about their customer service?

In this book, Michelli breaks down the Ritz and gives us the answers to theses questions. The answers are simple – but surprisingly difficult to duplicate. There are five basic principles that the book revolves around:
Understanding the evolving needs of the customer

Empowering Employees
WOW factor
Anticipating the customer’s needs
Relentless training

One of the most impressive things about the Ritz that Michelli talks about is  the process of the how employees are selected to work for their company. After a rigorous selection process (Ritz employees are not “hired” as we traditionally think of it, but rather “selected”) employees are trained, empowered and made to understand that they are a part of something special.

The real key to the Ritz’s success is that what you see externally is exactly what is happening internally. Externally they are a mirror image of themselves through respect and gratitude towards each other and their clients. The Ritz Carlton is an amazing company and this book is a must read for owners and managers interested in matching their business’ internal perception to their external reality.

The Ritz Carlton is known the world over for their outstanding customer service, and it starts from the inside. The New Gold Standard can help you build a road map to a new level of customer service.