AVALON
* | November 13, 2014
The Good Life:
Avalon places service on pedestal Visitors should feel like VIPs at a resort By HATCHER HURD hatcher@appenmediagroup.com ALPHARETTA, Ga. – Avalon is the $600 million must-see shoppers’ paradise in Alpharetta, but North American Properties Managing Partner Mark Toro says one of the five senses is not nearly enough. Avalon should also be felt, touched, smelled, heard and tasted. In short, Avalon must be experienced because Avalon is like no other place, Toro said. Toro added that the experience must be “effortless, meaningful and memorable.” To that end, North American Properties has spared no expense to ensure each guest who visits the property has that memorable experience. So it should come as no surprise that the most important person on the Avalon property is Wayne Rigsby, manger of guest experience at Avalon. Rigsby and his expertly trained staff are committed to making sure every guest who visits the property understands just what the Avalon Experience is. Rigsby was lured away from Florida’s Golden Oak Club at Walt Disney World, Disney’s only luxury residential community, where he managed multiple facets of the guest experience. His staff at Avalon have all graduated from the RitzCarlton Leadership Center. What the Cordon Bleu is to cooking, Ritz-Carlton is to hospitality and service. Visitors can expect resortlevel services from every member of the staff, Rigsby said. So when and where does this service start? “From the moment they set foot on the property,” Rigsby said. “Our hospitality program is 5 Star-plus from start to finish. It is all about the visitors’ experience from the time they set foot here. “That begins with a clean parking deck and friendly parking staff who will greet you,” he said. “They immediately create the experience of warmth and community.” Visitors will soon discover they can find anything they need at the Concierge Clubhouse at the center of Avalon’s crossroads. Drive up and a valet will greet you – valet parking is only $7 – and the open-air Concierge Clubhouse can quickly guide you to where you want to go or explain any number of activities planned for that day or that week.
These may include chef cooking lessons, wine tastings, a concert on the green or specials offered by shops or any of the chef-driven restaurants on the property. “We can take care of your needs from transportation, reservations, event planning – we can handle 50 people or 1,500,” Rigsby said. “Fifty is not uncommon.” And of course, there are around 13 hand-selected restaurants from which to choose. If you want to shop for a while, they can arrange for you to leave your packages with them and go to your reserved table at your favorite restaurant, where your favorite beverage will be on the table. Anywhere you go, music is playing. The smells of the season are incorporated. For instance, this fall you will find hanging pine cones scented with cinnamon. Next to the Concierge Clubhouse is an outdoor fireplace to warm guests and comfy chairs where they can enjoy one another’s company. “It should be like home,” he said. Also, there is an energy about the place in the way everyone moves to be attentive. The grounds are kept spotless. Everyone is always smiling. “Daniel Easton, who is our Director of Marketing at Avalon’s sister property, Atlantic Station, has a way of putting it,” Rigsby said. Everything should be ‘Crisp. Clean. Creased.’” For those who want more personalized service, there is Club Avalon’s Black Card. That is where Cayley Mullen, assistant manager of guest experience, steps in. For an annual fee and with the permission of the guests, cardholders are recognized as soon as they are on the property. “We use a microchip in the card for RFID – radio frequency identification.” Mullen said. “A computer recognizes the individual chip, and the valet will greet you by name. If you have notified us of your itinerary, we will have everything prepared for your arrival. And of course, valet parking is complimentary.” If it is your anniversary that may mean flowers for your wife when she steps out of the car. If the children are visiting Santa, he will know them by name and know what they want for Christmas. Reservations are no problem either. “We want people to come to us and feel like they have come home,” Mullen said. “Any special occasion, we want to
HATCHER HURD/Staff
Guests can expect 5-Star hospitality at Avalon. Manager of Guest Experience Wayne Rigsby and Assistant Manager of Guest Experience Cayley Mullen devote all of their time to ensure each visitor has a unique and memorable experience when they visit Avalon. know about it. The RFID will register it. Our guests will leave feeling good because we will have established a personal relationship.” They do a good job of collecting data from visitors to help them customize and improve their service to the individual – like noting when a favorite retailer or restaurant has something special on. It is what Rigsby and Mullen call “Surprise and Delight.” There is special seating for cardholders at concerts and even special times to reserve ice skating at Avalon’s signature fountain. Cardholders are entitled to receive the Avalon Insider, which tells about special events and the priority seating that comes with them and notifies members about afterhours shopping previews. “We will know their favorite restaurant and when cardholder specials are being offered,” she said. Membership is not a discount card, but is a way to enhance the Avalon Experience, Mullen said. Ultimately, Rigsby wants visitors to come away “amazed.” “We want to exceed expectations. I want to make sure we create the most remarkable and incredible memories for each guest,” he said. “It’s all about hospitality and service. And that extends to
HATCHER HURD/STAFF
A six passenager electric cart provides above and beyond service to customers. everyone – valet, housekeeper and security. We all create that experience.” But you do not have to be a Black Card member to be treated in a special way. Rigsby said true service is not a job, but a state of mind. On the second day, Rigsby was driving up to the Concierge Clubhouse in Avalon’s sixpassenger electric cart and saw a man, his wife and three children looking a little tired and forlorn.
He pulled over and asked if he could help. “Where’s the parking lot?” asked the exasperated father. “No problem, I’ll take you to your car,” Rigsby replied. He explained that hospitality is all about how you listen. “He asked where the parking lot was,” Rigsby said. “But I gave him the answer he wanted.” For more information on how to become an Avalon Insider and register for a Black Card, go to clubavalon. com.