Hospitality Maldives Issue 19

I m p r e s s u m Published by Beyond Hospitality Pvt. Ltd. H. Always Happy House, L2 Asrafee Magu 20034 Male’ Republic of Maldives www.beyondhospitality.com Managing Editor David Kotthoff editor@hospitality-maldives.com

Design & Layout Beyond Media Design Pvt Ltd. www.beyondmediadesign.com Print Novelty Printers & Publishers Pvt. Ltd.

Dear friends and colleagues, Welcome to the 19th edition of Hospitality Maldives.

editor’s note

Advertising Hassan Hisham ads@hospitality-maldives.com

It’s now about two years ago that a couple of people including myself got together with the idea of forming a non-profit association to promote the culinary profession throughout

Maldives. It was decided that the main aims of the association should be to foster friendship among culinary professionals in the country, to encourage Maldivians to choose a

Contributors Anantara Maldives Bert Van Walbeek Chris Longstreet Daydots Doug Kennedy Dr. Rick Johnson Hamister Group Huvafen Fushi Jerry Bader Kelley Robertson Lee Simon Leonard Buchholz Neil Salerno Roberta Nedry Ron Kaufman Shangri-La Hotels & Resorts Schihab A. Adam www.ehotelier.com

culinary career path, to advocate the development of a national culinary team and to be a

major influence in improving food supply, occupational performance and sanitation stan-

dards. After a couple of meetings and discussions however, the idea unfortunately died down with most of the involved individuals moving on to new jobs or new countries.

With the annual low season setting in, I think it’s the right time to pick up the thought once more and try to turn it into reality this time round. A formal constitution for the ‘Maldives

Chefs Association’ has already been written and observatory status has been granted by

WACS (World Association of Chef’s Societies), so all it takes is a handful of dedicated and committed people to spend a bit of their time and make it happen.

If you’re interested in becoming part of what would be the first professional industry association of its kind in Maldives, please send me an email to editor@hospitality-maldives.

com and I will get back to you with more information. You don’t necessarily have to be a Cover Photo: The Beach House Collection Pvt. Ltd. Elegantly combining style without compromising comfort, this 693sqm Grand Beach Pavilion is one of the largest and most private villas one will find on any resort island in the Maldives and can accommodate up to six adults. Boasting two swimming pools, a private Spa Treatment Pavilion and the latest in technology, this is the ultimate vacation home for the discerning traveller.

For job opportunities with The Beach House at Manafaru Maldives contact jobs.maldives@beachhousecollection.com Disclaimer No parts of this magazine or its content (photographs, articles or parts thereof, design, layout) may be reproduced without the consent of the respective owner. Beyond Hospitality Pvt. Ltd. or any of its associates cannot be held responsible for the misuse of the information and intellectual property provided in this magazine. Opinions expressed in this magazine are those of the writers and not necessarily endorsed by the publisher.

Chef to get involved, every helping hand and/or brain will be of great assistance.

As always I am looking forward to your feedback on this latest issue of our magazine and hope you enjoy the contents of the same. Happy reading!

Yours in hospitality,

David Kotthoff

Last Words 68

Service Excellence 66

Don’t Mix Your Food 65

Brand Personality 60

Integrity, Growth and Connecting With Customers 54

Speaking of Hotel Rooms 52

Customer and co-worker 48

I Want to Speak to a Supervisor - Part2 44

The Trust Factor 38

32 When is Negotiating Not Negotiating

28 Hospitality Bites

26 Budgeting for Hotel Internet Marketing

24 50 things I have learned about leadership

20 Foodservice Design

18 Human Resoures - The Domino Effect

14 Don’t Waste My Time

10 Building Loyalty in Your Employees

06 Recommended steps to providing world-class service

03 Editor’s Note

CONTENTS

Recommended Steps to

Providing World Class Service Let’s face it. The bridge between you and your customer is your employees.

Your employees are in the trenches, creating success, communicating with your customers and building relationship equity. They are your point men and women. Make no mistake; they are the ones that create world class service. They can and will create competitive advantage by being world class service providers.

Easier Said than Done Of course it’s easy to write about world class service and preach about that being the mantra of success and growth. But how do you really create a team that can become world class service providers? The answer, simply put, is to first figure out exactly what you have to start with. Are they right for their position? Who are the best at what they do and how do you create more of them?

A common opinion often published is that only 20% of your employees are effectively using their personal talent and skill in their respective positions. They are happy in their

job and willingly release their discretionary energy when they see the need to excel to meet the demands of the job itself. They themselves believe in providing world class service. But it takes a team to accomplish that objective as a company.

So, why aren’t all employees like that? That’s a complex question that has yet to be answered effectively. At least it has never been answered to my satisfaction. Maybe we would be better served by focusing on how to create that same attitude; that same level of competence and that same skill set in all of our employees.

The First Step ---- Assess the talent that lies within Before you go off the deep end and figure the answer is to fire 80% of your employees and hire new, consider what it would take to develop that 80% and make them more effective. To do that you have to know what you have to work with. I mentioned in one of my earlier articles that utilizing the “Winslow System” was one of the most effective ways to really figure out if your employees are in

the right position and just what jobs they are really suited for. You can e-mail me at rick@ ceostrategist.com for more information on this assessment tool or just click on the link at the bottom of this article.

The Second Step --- Consider reassignments Once you have a better understanding of what your employees are best suited for you can do some rearranging to better utilize individual talents. This is not an easy task and it will take some soul searching decision making. Additionally, an assessment should eliminate hiding places and you will recognize that there are certain employees that you may need to throw off the bus.

The Third Step – Identify your most precious assets Once you identified those employees that are truly your most precious asset you must act accordingly.

Listen carefully, if you don’t treat your employees like your most important asset ---

Then they certainly will not act nor will they perform like your most important asset. And that means you are missing the greatest opportunity in the world to leverage talent and create world class service and competitive advantage. Make no mistake, it is your employees that create core competencies and core competencies create world class service.

The Fourth Step --- Start at the beginning Start at the beginning, always is on the lookout for your next employee. Develop a profile of your ideal candidate - attitude, communication, skill, drive and experience. Examine your hiring practice. The first thirty days of employment are critical. Create a buddy sponsor and pay the buddy $X to guide the new employee the first month. Let the new employee choose his buddy after two weeks.

Can you imagine the cooperation and help the new person will get that first week. Make sure you have a legitimate documented employee orientation program. Sign up for “The Howl” newsletter and get The Lead Wolf Hiring and Interview Guide as a free download @ www.ceostrategist.com .

The Fifth Step --- Identify training needs.

Identify training needs throughout the organization. Create a training matrix. Allocate funds. Develop an intern program for candidates that show exceptional promise. Create mentoring programs. Train your managers on coaching and mentoring. Don’t forget education. Reimburse tuition; create specific educational curriculums for specific management level and service employees. Create a company university program.

nity with their direct reports. Record it on a 4 x 6 card. This will make annual performance reviews meaningful because you now have data for the entire year, twelve mini reviews.

I can provide a sample of this card via email or you can download it if you are a Howl subscriber.

employees, specifically on matters that affect their lives, is like playing with fire. This kind of action breeds resentment, distrust and paranoia.

The Seventh Step --- Create a culture of fairness

Statistics and surveys prove that the majority of employees that leave their employers do not leave due to pay. Employees want to be treated like people. They want respect and trust. Employees will not start respecting their leaders until their leaders start respecting them. They will not start trusting their leaders until their leaders start trusting them.

Ask yourself how you would want your managers to treat your son or your daughter if they worked for them?

Fairness---- Employees want fairness in all their dealings. This starts with fair pay.

Is it your goal as a company to pay at or above market? This includes base pay, benefits, recognition and other non monetary rewards. Fair and consistent treatment is a must. Award and recognize with extra paid days off in conjunction with a weekend. Buy the book 1001 ways to make it fun to come to work or check out Schaefer Recognition @ www.vocationalshrink.com .

The Eight Step --- Hold them accountable Accountability ---- Employees want to be held accountable. They want to be empowered. They want to contribute. Make sure they understand what their job really entails.

What are their responsibilities? Job descriptions, if you have them, are often vague or incomplete. Give them the tools and provide the resources necessary for them to reach a standard of excellence.

The Ninth Step --- Communicate effectively

The Sixth Step --- Encourage coaching and mentoring

Communication is the first spark in leadership. It will hold the company together. Nothing else is so crucial to survival and solidarity.

It is especially important that the message is consistent throughout the management team. No single factor plays a more precious role in building and preserving trust amongst the employees than communication. It is a make or break issue.

Burn the annual appraisal forms. They are worthless. Create an obligation for all managers to spend a minimum of thirty minutes a month discussing performance and opportu-

Miscommunication, rumors and garbled messages cause conflict and distrust. Don’t settle for second-rate communication, it’s too critical to success. Avoiding informing all

The Tenth and Most Important Step --Trust and Respect

It’s not impossible Creating world class service is not impossible if employee development is a priority.

Every employee wants to feel that they have a voice and can be heard. They want to know that management knows they exist and what their contribution is. They want the satisfaction of doing a good job. They want to prove their talent to achieve the desired results. If they are challenged, they will become selfmotivated. Recognition and praise raises selfesteem. Positive feedback and ample communication allow employees gratification and a newfound confidence in the organization.

Organizations in the 21st century that provide world class service have characteristics that often create a large and incredibly complex set of independent relationships between highly diverse groups of people.

They recognize the value of their employees.

Organizations experiencing problems with staffing and retention may find it extremely valuable to perform assessments not only on potential new hires but on all their existing employees as well.

If you are currently not providing the level of service that meets your expectations, consider following the ten steps listed in this article

Rick Johnson, expert speaker, wholesale distribution’s “Leadership Strategist”, founder of CEO Strategist, LLC a firm that helps clients create and maintain competitive advantage. Need a speaker for your next event, E-mail rick@ceostrategist.com. Don’t forget to check out the Lead Wolf Series that can help you put more profit into your business. www.ceostrategist.com

Thought

For many of the employees in your organization, you may be the only direct, faceto-face contact with management. It is not surprising that attitudes, behavior, and responses toward an organization in many cases are dependent on you and how employees or “internal customers” perceive you. Balancing your responsibilities of representing management to the employees and employees to management becomes an important part of everyone’s job in this industry.

Loyalty Is a “Two-Way Street” Loyalty on your part begins with your loyalty to your superiors and to the organization. You represent the company you work for – whether you are the owner or one of the management team members. It is your job to represent the organization in a positive and productive manner. You have been entrusted with a responsibility. Your superiors will not stand over you to see what you do or do not do in a particular situation or whether you stand by the company when needed. Your loyalty is expected.

For example, one of your employees makes an unfair comment about “the way they do things around here” indicating that management is not doing things right in their

Building Loyalty in Your Employees

eyes. If you dismiss or ignore the comment when you should correct the employee’s impression, you are showing a lack of loyalty that will be sensed by those who work for you.

Your next responsibility is loyalty to those you supervise and work for you. If they feel that you’re loyal to them, they’ll be loyal to you. This leadership quality is important to a supervisor. When your employees make statements like, “Sure, we don’t have to work so hard today and probably get away with it. But, we’d make (insert your name) look bad, and you know how fair (insert your name) has been with us,” you’ve built the kind of loyalty that prevents trouble from developing behind your back.

Loyal employees, like loyal customers, are an incredible asset to your business. Building loyalty, however, takes effort. It begins with a commitment to common values, development opportunities, and quality work relationships. It means treating employees like partners and ensuring integrity in work and in life. It means creating an environment of corporate openness, ethical and honest business practices, and frequent, truthful communication. Loyalty appreciates the unique gifts of each member of your team and actively creates opportunities for learning, growth, and development in the workplace.

Loyalty Must be EARNED! To earn the loyalty of those you work with, you must be loyal to them. Here are some of the ways you can prove that you deserve their allegiance: •

Support your workers in a controversy. If an employee gets into a controversy with another department as a result of trying to do a better job, support them when possible. Maybe they weren’t tactful or perhaps they stepped on some toes in the process. If their intentions were good, they deserve your support. Even though you back them up, help them stay out of trouble in the future by explaining the need for controlling their assertiveness so that next time it isn’t viewed as offensive.

Try to get them to channel their enthusiasm into productive areas.

•

Spread the good word. Let upper management and co-workers know who is doing a first-class job or who is really improving. It doesn’t hurt to exaggerate a little either. It will stimulate the workers to stay or become as good as you say they are. Your verbal recognition of a job well done will indicate your support of your employees and when they hear that you have spoke highly of them in other circles, loyalty continues to be built.

before you make a decision.

•

Provide opportunities and recommend employees for promotion. One of the best ways for you to show your loyalty to your employees is to establish a firm promotion from within policy as far as is practical for your organization. You can develop extra enthusiasm and team spirit among your employees by being willing to recommend good workers for desirable openings in other sections. By letting management and fellow supervisors know about people who are deserving of promotion, you will be helping everyone in the process. Don’t let the fact that you might lose a good employee stand in your way. If you’ve done your job, there are many good workers available who can replace those who are promoted.

It’s a good idea to determine just what your employees consider a promotion. Many times, employees consider any change in their status as a promotion, especially if they like the change. Employee drive and ambition differs, of course, and may range from being assigned to a job that is particularly desirable to being upgraded into the ranks of supervision. Because of differences in goals, you have to make each recommendation in relation to the individual employee.

Loyalty appreciates the unique gifts of each member of your team and actively creates opportunities for learning, growth, and development in the workplace.

Employee loyalty is a two-way street Actions speak louder than words. The best way to ruin your reputation, your discipline, and your department’s efficiency is to keep telling your workers you are willing to go to bat for them “all the way to the top” and then when times get tough, you do not support them.

•

Give extra chances. Sometimes, it pays to overlook mistakes that do not affect productivity, particularly those resulting from personality traits. Self-righteous attitudes on your part can do more damage than the mistake the employee made. Obviously, you can’t carry this policy so far that you are condoning every mistake or bit of odd behavior. However, it is wise to take a look at all the factors in a situation

•

Show that you care! In your efforts to build loyalty to the company and yourself, you must assume some responsibilities for what happens to your employees. Showing that you care about whether they are progressing in their jobs, that you fell a personal involvement in what they are doing, will create a bond of responsibilities between you

•

•

and your workers. Instead of criticizing employees work and blaming them for poor performance, involve yourself. Try this approach: “I think that you and I, working together, can improve on this.

Let’s see what we can do.”

in most cases there’s room for improvement.

And with improvement in self-control comes improvement in supervisory effectiveness.

To Build Loyalty in Your Employees …

Learn from your employees. Another big factor in winning cooperation is your willingness to learn from your employees. Even though you do know a great deal about the work in your department, you may not have all the information that could be helpful in increasing efficiency.

1.

When people come to you with an idea or suggestion, listen carefully and with a positive attitude that it might work. This way, you’ll encourage employees to think for themselves and prove that you’re working with and not against them.

To build loyalty in your employees means:

2.

3.

4.

5.

The Importance of Self Control 6.

The manner in which you conduct yourself and control your emotions has a great influence on your effectiveness as a supervisor.

This works both ways: in your relationship to those who report to you and in your relationship to those you report to.

For example, the amount of influence you can exert on behalf of your employees, particularly regarding such matters as getting raises or promotions, depends a great deal on the amount of respect that upper management has for your judgment. If you have handled your emotions well and are viewed as a supervisor who can be trusted, your superiors will respond and demonstrate a value in your opinions and ideas. From management’s viewpoint, people who cannot control or supervise themselves can’t be entrusted with the task of supervising others.

From the employees’ standpoint, supervisors who fly into rages and tantrums, become panicky under stress, get into heated arguments, or display jealousy have no business in supervisory roles. Instead of a loyal group of dedicated workers, they wind up with a bunch of completely indifferent people because they fail to respect you as a leader and supervisor of the team.

Self-control is a relative thing. Some people fly off the handle fairly easily, while others remain calm in nearly all situations. However,

Letting employees know that you stand up for management by taking a positive attitude toward company policy.

Showing, by your actions, that you mean it when you say you’ll back up them up in a controversy.

Recommending good workers for promotion with-in and outside your own department – even when it means losing a good employee.

Not confusing “backing up your workers” with softness toward discipline and efficiency. Crack down when necessary.

Providing opportunities within your own department. Avoid going outside when you have qualified people ready for advancement.

Exercising self-control in all your dealings with employees and management.

The solution to many supervisory problems lies in the way supervisory are able to balance the dual responsibility of representing management to workers and workers to management. This means our actions must be conducted fairly and equally. With the company looking to you to assure top performance and employees expecting you to carry their banner as well, your job has the qualities of a tightrope act. These tips will help you get the job done.

Actions speak louder than words. The best way to ruin your reputation, your discipline, and your department’s efficiency is to keep telling your workers you are willing to go to bat for them “all the way to the top” and then when times get tough, you do not support them.

Chris Longstreet, CHA, is the President & CEO of the Society for Hospitality Management – the leader in providing value and service to professionals in the hospitality industry. For more information on the Society visit our website at www.hospitalitysociety.org or contact us at 616 457-3646.

Don’t

Waste My Time!

Many participants in my programs ask how to deal with people who appear to be seeking information and nothing more. In many environments these individual’s are called time wasters. Time wasters come in every shape and form but they usually possess a few consistent characteristics – they ask a continuing stream of questions, take up loads of our time, and seldom end up buying anything.

What is particularly interesting about these situations is that many time wasters don’t set out to be that way. It is usually our fault that this happens because we don’t control the sales process. And in many cases, we become the time waster.

Most sales professionals know they are supposed to ask questions to learn about their customer’s needs but I have learned that the majority of sales people tend to be more comfortable responding to questions rather than asking them. Here is a simple fact…the person who asks the questions is the one in control of the sales process.

I have conducted hundreds of sales training workshops in the last ten years and I consistently have people tell me they know the importance of asking questions. As the discussion continues I usually discover that they do in fact ask questions – after they encounter objections or resistance from the buyer or customer. But that means it’s too late. Now it

will appear that you are trying to justify your product, service, price, etc.

Sales people hear this, but it seldom sinks in.

Here is a personal example.

After reading one of my weekly sales tips a sales person emailed me (for the second or third time) and said he had been focusing on his needs rather than mine in his previous correspondence. He presented a couple of good points so I agreed to a telephone conversation. When we connected he immediately launched into a ten-minute monologue about his company and its services. At this point it still wasn’t clear what he wanted from me so I asked. He went on to say that he

Time wasters come in every shape and form but they usually possess a few consistent characteristics – they ask a continuing stream of questions, take up loads of our time, and seldom end up buying anything. have learned that our companies were not compatible.

In another situation, I listened to a sales person pitch his product by reading PowerPoint slides. His slides discussed his company, their financial backing, their products, their clients, blah, blah, blah. Not once did he ask me what I wanted in a solution. Instead, he kept his attention focused on his agenda, once again, wasting my time by talking about something that had no relevance to my situation or business.

wanted me to endorse his product to my clients and newsletter subscribers. I then stated that my target market is mostly specialty retailers and asked how his product would help them. His reply, “Oh, it won’t.”

He had now just wasted almost 15 minutes of my time – valuable time that could have been used to work on one of the many projects on my desk. As a sales person, he had just become a time waster. If he had asked one simple question in his email he could have saved us both time because he would

Professional selling means helping someone make an educated buying decision. That means you need to determine how your product or service fits into their situation. I was once asked by an advertising sales rep what to do if the prospect’s publication targeted a different demographic that the advertisers.

My answer was simple, “Move on.”

In some cases, your product or service may not be needed by your prospect or may not fit into their plans. This means you move on to the next prospect. Don’t waste their time and yours trying to reconfigure everything hoping something will work out.

Virtually everyone I know is pressed for time.

Respect that fact. Save your customers time by asking a few well-thought out questions BEFORE you suggest a product or service.

That way you won’t become a time waster.

But, how do you control a customer who is a time waster? There are a couple of ways…

First, ask a few high-quality questions early in the sales process to determine exactly what your customer is looking for and what their buying criteria are. One of these questions should be something that identifies the timeframe that your customer is working with.

The second thing you can do, particularly if the other person has indicated that they aren’t making a buying decision in the near future, is to direct them to your website or offer other printed materials for them to review.

Third, ask them to make a buying decision.

This approach is effective because the time waster will become uncomfortable and will often end the sales discussion himself.

The fourth strategy is to drop them like a hot potato. Don’t waste your time trying to close them. Be pleasant, firm and direct. Tell them that you must take care of other customers and move on.

You only have a certain number of hours of prime selling time in any given day. Don’t waste your time selling to people who have no intention of ever buying. And, avoid wasting the time of your customers.

Kelley Robertson, President of the Robertson Training Group, works with businesses to help them increase theirsales and motivate their employees. He is also the author of “Stop, Ask & Listen – Proven Sales Techniques to Turn Browsers Into Buyers.” Receive a FREE copy of “100 Ways to Increase Your Sales” by subscribing to his free sales and motivational newsletter available at www.kelleyrobertson.com. Contact him at 905-633-7750 or Kelley@RobertsonTrainingGroup.com

Human Resources,

The Domino Effect Evil Erik doesn’t understand the world anymore.

Here he is, making the owner happy with food, wine and cigars but the staff hates him and is leaving one after the other ..........

The problem is Evil Erik doesn’t know the famous Chinese fable about Po Lo. Po Lo was proud of his knowledge of the management of horses. He used the bridle and the whip with such devastating effectiveness to tame them, that when he was finished half of the horses were dead.

We have many examples of Po Lo’s in the hospitality industry, priding themselves on managing people. They are the believers, like Evil Erik, primarily in the righteousness of their own skills. Many employees, too dependent on the salary and/or too passive to resist, submit and half succumb because they are so cowed by the slavery of their superiors.

And that’s why Human Resources Management and, even more importantly, HR Development will become the most important discipline in the hospitality industry.

No more F&B - , Rooms Division - or Financial - Directors as EAM, RM or Hotel Manager, in 5 years the HR Director will be next in line to the GM !!!

But the many Evil Eriks ( and Po Lo-s ) that are still operating in this, otherwise, so wonderful industry are convinced that all the present HR challenges relate to their competitors stealing their staff, the employees getting “spoiled” and the work culture changing from “ their days “ .........

But before going any further with this article please note, as always, that any resemblance of the various persons described in this article with any existing person is purely coincidental and unintentional and bears no relationship to any living, ethical person working in the hospitality industry !

So Evil Erik keeps terrorizing the staff and has found e-mail the perfect tool to do so, he loves emailing to the employees with a CC here, a BCC there to MD, GM and/or AC De-motivational and counter-productive ( and grammatically poor ) E-mails are flying through the organization, from one desktop

to the next, located in the same office, like Look at this email as a notice i will give you 2 month to look for a new job! This decision is coming after a few incident i have discover since i am back ! and To be honest with you, your friends are regarded as mentally ill .... and I want to give you my advice at the moment is that, for you to put yourself on the market and move on in life.

What poor Erik will never comprehend is that the fish stinks from the head and not from the tail and that Human Resources Management is like playing domino.

A domino is a small tile that represents the roll of two dice. The tile, commonly called a bone, is rectangular with a line down the center.

The collection of shuffled tiles is called the bone-yard and if the pieces do not fit, you will lose as only the open ends are eligible for play !The most important HR “ domino bones “ are :

• • • • • • • • • •

Conduct job analysis not “ how it’s done since 20 years “ Planning labor needs not “ less for low season “ Selecting job candidates not “ She/he looks nice …. “ Orienting and training new employees not “ Look at your colleagues “ Managing wages and salaries not “ 5 % more than the last job “ Providing incentives and benefits not “ why, they get service charge ? “ Appraising performance not “ brings me a coffee all the time “ Communicating not “ talks to guests occasionally “ Training and development not “ fire and beauty training done “ Building employee commitment not “ will never leave …. “

Resources Management” were scored as least important : • • • • •

Increasing HR influence in top management 5.7 Confirming HR as strategic planning partner 5.7 Enhancing HR’s role as brand builder 5.3 Changing of HR from rules-based to consultative 5.3 Employing 3 generations in the same workforce 4.3

This simple survey amplifies Evil Erik’s opinion that “ if they don’t function, I fire them “ and clearly shows that hoteliers have to pay more attention to employment relationships in the form of Sustainable Human Resources.

Good employers should :

Such a domino game is a serious step by step process and Evil Eric’s simple “ hiring and firing “ approach shows the typical un-professional approach one can expect from some of the elder management generations, the “cooks and waiters “ that call themselves GM today, but never had a management orientated education or training.

Believe that people are central to the organization’s success Be strong and effective in executing people issues Focus on retaining instead of replacing through career path planning Make business decisions and approach challenges with their people in mind

If a person at the top is the most important, ask a person at the bottom to walk away And that is what Atrocious Angela, presently on holiday after 6 hard months of ‘handling “ Erik, should keep in mind in order to get rid of customer remarks on the various blogs, like :

In a recent ( un-scientific ) survey of a travel orientated association that comprises of senior executives of all travel industries 20 HR challenges were established and the executives were asked to score them from 10 ( most important ) to 1 ( least important )

Design service processes with the people delivering the service in mind. To do so hotel owners and senior executives must :

The European Manager should take an example of the Thai staff’s friendliness, he didn’t manage to greet us once, although he saw us regularly during our week’s stay.

The results were fascinating and show a real old fashioned approach to Human Resources, the challenges scored as most important were

• •

Preserving service excellence through performance management 8.7 Transpiring employee relations: participation and empowerment 8.4 Retaining talent through building capabilities 8.3 Intensifying training and development 8.1 Perfecting recruitment and selection 8.1 As one can clearly see, these priorities represent the typical challenges of the traditional “Personnel Management “, while the real challenges of contemporary “ Human

•

Loyalty appreciates the unique gifts of each member of your team and actively creates opportunities for learning, growth, and development in the workplace.

• • •

• •

•

Have HR report directly to the most senior executive Recognize HR as part of strategic business planning Build talent instead of buying talent Develop , and then instill, company values Become a little bit less result- and more people-orientated

So after the rise of CEOs, COOs, CFOs and CIOs in the hospitality industry, where are the first CPOs ( Chief People Officers ) ?

And Evil Erik, he still believes in the old rule: “ don’t train your staff, otherwise they leave “ and he keeps forgetting that it is the frontline that brings success at the bottom-line. With his limited insight he will never consider this wisdom :

Last but not least, a domino game ends either when a player plays all his tiles, or when a game is blocked since there are no more “open ends “ When the winner plays his last bone, tradition requires her/him to say “domino” and the other players are said to have been “ dominoed “. Is your HR Department winning the “ people-contest “or is it “ dominoed “ too ?

PS : My thanks go to the daughter of a former Sheraton colleague that used the description “ Domino Effect “ in her Master Thesis and to her father for sharing this with me !

Bert “Bow-Thai” van Walbeek has been an Hotelier for 45 years and Marketer of Tourism for 35 years, a Motivator for 20 years, a Master of Disaster for 15 and a Lecturer for 15 years. He is the Founder and the Managing Director of The Winning Edge, ( www.twe-winningedge.com ) a boutique consulting company, offering marketing audit, sales and service training and consultancy services mainly to the Hospitality & Tourism industries. He is a regular speaker at Hospitality Conferences and at Hotel Companies Senior Executive Meetings both in Asia and in Europe and can be reached at bert@twe-winningedge.com

Foodservice Design Set Up Your Servers For Super Service

overall layout, these potential ‘danger zones’ are reduced or completely eliminated.

Another important rule of thumb in designing for effective service requires the designer to study the service sequence. The steps of service should be identified and used as a guide for the front-of-house planning and design effort. Common activities for servers include order entry, food pick-up, food delivery, beverage service, bussing (in some cases), and drop-off at ware washing. Consolidating the areas associated with these functions will help reduce the distance of travel. All necessary support equipment, ranging from coffee brewers to refrigeration, must be grouped together wherever possible. Reducing the distance of travel promotes efficient service and frees up time for the server to spend in support of their guests. The ability for a server to move easily between these functions, in any order, will result in better service.

When you get right down to the basics of any design effort for a foodservice establishment, the same objective exists with each and every project: design an efficient and effective system to prepare and deliver food and beverage to the guest. That’s it. Nothing too fancy. But it is much easier said than done.

In previous columns, I have focused heavily on design techniques within the back-ofhouse. But design techniques in the front-ofhouse, specifically those related to service, are equally dependent on both design and execution. Unfortunately, many overlook the importance of design as part of the service equation, and attribute the service performance almost exclusively to operational execution. In this column, we will take a look at some front-of-house design techniques that can help promote quality service. To clarify, I want to focus on the functional aspect of the

front-of-house, not the aesthetics. Although good design cannot ensure good service, bad design will almost always result in bad service.

Designing for Service: The Basics One of the primary rules in designing an efficient front-of-house is to make sure that the service staff meets the kitchen team (cooks, dish washers, etc.) where ever necessary, but they never cross paths. Any conflicting flow patterns, where the movement of backof-house and front-of-house staff overlap, are disasters waiting to happen. Accidents, employee injury, breakage, slower service, and lower morale are all potential outcomes.

Design should start with the general flow patterns of both food and product. When travel patterns are used as the basis of the

Positioning Your POS System(s) While the points listed above are what I consider to be the basics of designing for efficient service, there are other design techniques that, when implemented, can further enhance the service system. First, let’s look at the point of sale (POS) location(s). When a POS system is located near the food pickup area, it requires servers to walk by the food pick-up window on a regular basis. This promotes more frequent food delivery, as a manager or expediter will ask servers to run food in the window whether it is for their tables or not. This scenario encourages a team environment, with servers learning to look out for one another.

Another school of thought is that the POS terminals should be located remotely, closer

to the dining room. When this occurs, the servers can enter orders and ‘fire’ their next courses quickly. It tends to promote better management of the dining experience, and often provides the server a greater level of control. There is, of course, the possibility of combining these two theories and locating POS systems in both locations - near the food pick-up window and in the dining rooms, depending on the number of POS systems required.

Though they have been on the market for several years now, wireless POS entry devices (often a modified PDA) are becoming more attractive with better durability, greater capabilities, and lower costs. When a wireless POS entry system is installed, each server is provided with a wireless device that they can use to manage their orders - enter, fire, and in some cases close out checks and accept credit cards. I will be honest. I did not fully understand the impact of these wireless systems until l experienced them myself, first hand. What they really do is ensure a well timed dining experience. Let me share with you an example of what I mean.

guest is completely unaware. Overall service quality is improved. Though there are other attractive features of these wireless devices, their impact on the pace of service seems to be the most impressive.

Transparent Service Transparency is typically the goal of food and beverage service. Think about it. If the guest has everything that they need, then they really won’t have to engage their server during the course of a meal except perhaps to answer the obligatory ‘how is everything?’ question. From a design perspective, there are some techniques that we can use to assist with this transparency. Consider service stations in the dining room. When located and configured properly, the server can keep an eye out on their patrons without appearing to hover. Also, the type of equipment located in these service stations can impact the guest’s experience. Is there a coffee brewer, or just a warmer for coffee brewed elsewhere in the restaurant? What are the sight and sound impacts that this equipment will have on the dining environment?

tably exposing the customer to banter by the service staff that is often inappropriate. At best this is intrusive and distracting. At worst this is extremely offensive and off-putting to the guest. To combat this scenario, I strive to create a physical separation between the guest and service area. In some cases, I am even able to tie the bar pick-up area to a service station. This has been a successful tactic, especially in country clubs, where members will want to linger at the bar. A service bar and pick-up window can be located on the back of the bar to completely separate the service function from the guest’s experience.

Any of these simple techniques can greatly improve the quality of service in your foodservice establishment. If quality service is expected, then the front-of-house must be designed to support each step in the service sequence. Take a few minutes to analyze your facility and see if you are set up for great service.

If quality service is expected, then the front-of-house must be designed to support each step in the service sequence. Take a few minutes to analyze your facility and see if you are set up for great service.

Assume for a moment that a server has two 4-top tables, both of which are full. The first table is in the midst of enjoying their appetizers while the second is just beginning to place their order. The server, however, stumbles upon an indecisive patron who can’t seem to make up his mind. Our server, who does not want to be rude, is forced to remain engaged with the guest while he makes up his mind when an offer to return in a few minutes is rejected. At the very same time, our server notices that her other table is now finishing their appetizers and will soon be ready for their entrées. She needs to fire the next course, but can’t break free. With a normal POS station, the server would remain at the mercy of our indecisive guest. When a wireless POS entry system is implemented, however, the server is able to multi-task. She can fire the next round of entrées for her second table without ever breaking a connection with the indecisive patron at the first table.

The service steps are seamless, and the

In the dining room, the seating configuration will create the aisles and passages used by the servers to travel throughout the restaurant. These aisles are an incredibly important component of the service function. When I design a seating layout, I always work to ensure that there are two ways in or out of any part of the dining room, whenever possible.

This prevents traffic jams and allows the servers to move more freely through the dining room. It also helps with service transparency, as servers are better able to maneuver around guests that may be in the way.

Finally, there is a technique that I use to design service bar stations that again is based in this idea of transparency. Remote, dedicated service bars are great, but require space and labor that many operations simply cannot afford. As a result, many bar service stations are physically connected to a main bar.

In most cases, however, the pick-up station is directly adjacent to customer seating, inevi-

Lee Simon is an award winning foodservice designer with The General Group. Lee is also the author of The Restaurant Dream, a new book offering an inside look at restaurant development from concept to reality. As a practicing designer, Lee uses his operational experience on a daily basis to assist his clients with the planning of new and renovated foodservice facilities. His past projects, located domestically and internationally, include all types of foodservice operations. For questions or information, log on to www.thegeneralgroup.com or e-mail info@thegeneralgroup.com

50 Things

I Have Learned About

Leadership

Here are 50 things I have learned about being a Leader.

1.

I would rather be respected than liked.

2.

Getting a Thankless and Difficult task accomplished is easier when you are respected.

3.

Try getting someone who “likes” you to shovel manure sometime to understand the difference.

4.

Sometimes “No” is the right answer.

5.

Great Leaders know when to ask for help.

6.

Find someone you admire as a great Leader and study them. Read their biography. (Ask me sometime about the response I get when I ask “Whom do you admire as a Leader in your lives?” in my seminars.)

7.

The only real “Revelation” there is in Leadership is that it is harder than you think and more rewarding than you can imagine.

8.

Leaders think their way through things.

tion, planning and self development. It’s how they became Leaders.

9.

Leaders get other people to think their way through things.

23. Leaders believe change is constant and inevitable.

10. No two Leaders will think exactly alike, yet history has shown us again and again that they achieve similar results.

That’s why we study them.

24. Leaders are the instrument of this change in any organization.

11. Leaders will find a challenge to keep their teams sharp.

12. Leaders have developed a sense or instinct that causes them to find and take the best course of action when faced with uncertainty.

25. Leaders practice the “Green Grass” theory and leave any organization in better shape than when they 1st arrived.

Leaders who practice the “Scorched Earth” theory are not Leaders for very long.

26. Leaders identify other potential Leaders in an organization and help them grow.

13. Every Leader will face fear and uncertainty in their teams. See #11 and #12 to overcome this.

27. Leaders understand the words “firm, steadfast and loyal” because they exemplify them.

14. Really Great Leaders anticipate uncertainty in others and plan for it.

28. Leaders understand the word “Will.”

It’s the “power of making a reasoned choice” and “Determination.”

15. Leaders so “Believe” in their teams that they commit them to actions that seem impossible to outsiders yet are reasonable to their teams.

29. Leaders also understand the word “Shall.” It’s used “to indicate future time” or a “preferred future state.”

16. Leaders understand all 3 of Newton’s Laws and how they apply to human behavior, A. People in motion tend to stay in motion. B. People will maintain velocity in a direction until an external force is applied causing a change in direction or a change in velocity. C. For every action there is an opposite and equal reaction.

30. Leaders encourage others to make and use the “power of a reasoned choice.”

17. Leaders with a vision are inspirational.

33. Leaders find answers in places others do not look.

18. A compelling vision is better than a description. It is the difference between the Gettysburg Address and a cereal commercial.

19. A Leaders call to action is prefaced with an explanation of reason and an appeal to emotion.

20. Leaders without a vision become workers.

21. Leaders know him/herself before knowing others.

22. Leaders spend time every day in reflec-

31. Leaders focus on “Shall” rather than “Can’t.”

32. Leaders also know what we “Can’t” do and instead focus on what we are doing.

39. Leaders keep those in pursuit of the challenge focused by being practical and simple.

40. Leaders understand “Because I said so” does not work.

41. Even during the darkest of times the Leader is focused on the “light.”

42. Leaders understand that bad times eventually pass and good people endure those times.

43. Leaders have “Resolve” in times when others will not.

44. Leaders do not surrender to circumstances; rather they find ways to change the circumstances to fit their situation.

45. Leaders visit the “back of the pack” to show them where the front is.

46. Leaders know that everything does not always work out as intended. It’s part of failing forward.

47. Leaders stand when others sit.

48. Leaders are expected to have a better vocabulary and nicer wardrobe, although neither is necessary to be a great Leader.

49. Leaders understand humor and use it when needed.

50. Great Leaders are Great because they decide to be.

It’s up to you to decide who you are and what you want to become.

34. Leaders back up their answers by taking action.

35. Leaders see “Victory” where others see failure.

36. Leaders assume “Positive Intent” and practice it.

37. Leaders name the fear and then decide how to challenge it.

38. Leaders name the challenge and give voice to the Victory.

Leonard Buchholz is a Certified Trainer, Speaker and Author. Seminars include subjects like Customer Service, Management and Communications. Known for “High Touch” seminars, participants gain takeaways that include immediate goals and long term learning. Leonard is also a dynamic Keynote speaker that can launch your event with enthusiasm and charisma. Reach him at leonard@bizprotraining.com or call 760-529-5635.

Budgeting for hotel internet marketing...

No surveys, just plain talk

How much should a hotel invest to develop a strong internet presence?

I wish I had a dollar for every time I’ve been asked how much hotels should spend to develop a successful presence on the Internet.

I guess this is one of those questions that would get many different answers from many different people, but I will attempt to present a common-sense approach to the Internet budgeting conundrum.

I’ve read a recent article which produced a survey as a budgeting guide for hotel Internet marketing in 2008. I think it’s good to know what others are doing and focusing on, but most of the numbers, that the survey offered, have little relevance to the average hotel. As an example, the article suggested that 33% of their respondent hotels budgeted $100,000 to $500,000 for Internet marketing in 2007; this obviously includes franchise spending versus individual hotels, it appears somewhat unrealistic for the average hotel.

Internet marketing starts with an optimized proprietary web site followed by a wellconceived SEO, web marketing, and link

strategy program. Internet marketing is not rocket science; hotels need a site which is easily found through generic search and one which contains the right content to generate reservations.

Make no mistake; the Internet is still the best value in hotel marketing. Dollar for dollar, nothing you can do to promote your hotel can equal the resulting benefits from having a significant presence on the Internet. Most hotels have a web site, but too many of them are ineffective in today’s web marketplace; mediocre is no longer good enough.

The question of how much a hotel should invest in Internet marketing is largely an individual hotel assessment, however, every hotel, small or large, franchise or independent, should have a strong presence on the Internet. The best part is, unlike other areas of marketing expenditures, Internet marketing results are completely measurable and transparent; and therefore, this is spending which can easily be justified to owners and managers.

The amount of money which any hotel can

invest in Internet marketing is limited by its total marketing budget; so, how much should be devoted to the Internet. I have always been an advocate of proportional spending in hotel marketing. If your goal for Internet generated sales is 30% of total sales, it is certainly reasonable to devote 30% of your marketing budget to achieve that goal.

The challenge is that not enough hoteliers know how much business their site is generating or how much business their site should produce. Franchised hotels have an edge, in this regard, since most franchises produce a periodic report of Internet production, which can then be compared against their spending for Internet marketing.

Independent hotels can gauge production through reports from their online reservation booking engine. Their advantage is that booking engine reports provide much more detailed information than that which is forthcoming through the franchises. The combination of web site analytics reports, to evaluate visitors to your web site, and booking engine reports, which measure reservations made, gives hoteliers the opportunity to assess the effectiveness of their web site.

The actual dollar amount which should be devoted to Internet marketing will vary greatly depending on the characteristics of the hotel, its market environment, total dollars available, and other factors. As one hotel owner mentioned to me recently, “I don’t have a pre-determined Internet budget, but I am willing to invest whatever is necessary to get my share of Internet reservations”. This is sound thinking.

tive web site. The cost to develop a web site is largely a matter of the time it takes to research, prepare, and create it. There are a number of search and sales elements which are necessary to make it a functional hotel web site. Many people think it’s simply a matter of creating a unique design, but there is a lot more involved. Here are just some of the necessary steps: •

Invest too little and your results could be below acceptable levels as well. Short-cuts, such as using a web site design template or employing a site designer with no hotel marketing experience or a proven site development record can also be too costly in terms of booking results.

Every time I think of this subject, I think of the story my friend David Brudney offers about the man who is frustrated with a loud creak in his stairs. He calls in a carpenter to fix it; the carpenter examines the stairs, promptly hammers in a nail, eliminating the creaky noise. He hands a bill to the man for $65. The man says “all you did was put a nail in the stairs”. He then looks at the bill and it says: Adding a nail to the stairs.........$2.00 Knowing where to put the nail...$63.00

Dollar for dollar, nothing you can do to promote your hotel can equal the resulting benefits from having a significant presence on the Internet.

Knowing how and why consumers search for and choose a hotel, how the search process works on the net, what content is needed on the site in order to have the site found and what is needed to drive visitors to make a reservation; this is all more important than simply knowing how to design an attractive web site.

As I have said so many times before, a hotel web site is not merely an online brochure of your hotel. It needs to be an interactive sales piece designed to be easily found through generic search; and, once found, it must be designed to produce reservations.

It is simply not enough to have an attrac-

•

•

•

•

•

• •

• •

Perform research to find and exploit the most popular search key words and phrases Perform a comprehensive online competition analysis to shape the site’s overall substance and design.

Compose body text (Content) which incorporates those key words in a hierarchy format to facilitate search.

Incorporate good quality, high resolution, and optimized images into the overall site design to focus attention on site content.

Design a functional site navigation scheme to facilitate easy viewing of site pages and favorable acceptance by search engines.

Develop site sales content which contains the necessary hotel sales essentials, such as location, facilities, and attractions.

Craft a design which is totally compatible with search engine guidelines.

Develop a “white hat” link strategy to popularize the site and produce a higher page ranking.

Build local & regional search listings to dominate local competition.

Monitor site traffic results to evaluate the sites effectiveness.

Once a site is properly developed and published, then and only then, is it ready for search engine optimization and other site marketing techniques necessary to dominate your competition. Any efforts to search optimize or market a poorly developed site is a waste of time and effort.

Making Difficult Choices Most other forms of hotel marketing have a very limited shelf-life. Printed brochures, print advertising, and even broadcast advertising have very short life spans. Yet, the effective life of a well designed web site is five years or more.

Before the Internet, hotels budgeted and spent huge sums to promote their hotels, with no guaranty of results and, even worse, no practical way to measure results. Web site

“I don’t have a predetermined Internet budget, but I am willing to invest whatever is necessary to get my share of Internet reservations”. This is sound thinking. analytics provides detailed data which smart hoteliers use to track, modify, and measure the results of every Internet dollar invested.

Never before have we had that ability. Just a few years ago, it was difficult to find a web site design company that had any hotel marketing experience. Today, it seems that there are so many more designers laying claim to that experience. Choosing the right company to design, optimize, and market your hotel’s web site is critical to its ultimate success. Every day I hear from hoteliers, from all over the world, who have had attractive sites designed, but are getting terrible booking results.

The first thing one has to do is to stop judging a web site by how nice it looks. The way your site looks is not nearly as important as the way it functions in search and sales. A well-designed site can function well and be attractive, but function is by far the most important.

There are too many so-called hotel web site design companies who know all the Internet buzz-words, but have no clue how to design and market a site for search and sales. Don’t be fooled by the size of the design company bidding to design or re-design your web site; large or small, do they develop functional hotel sites and marketing programs for an affordable price.

When creating your Internet marketing budget, my advice is don’t let yourself be influenced by surveys, tables, and graphs; your Internet marketing program should be decidedly exclusive to your hotel, or group of hotels; their individual markets, funds available, and your goals for Internet sales. Choose a marketing partner with the knowledge of how hotel Internet marketing can work for your hotel.

Neil Salerno, CHME, CHA, Hotel Marketing Coach, www.hotelmarketingcoach.com, NeilS@hotelmarketingcoach.com

Hospitality Bites On 1st June 2008, the holistic health company COMO Shambhala will open its first consultancy spa at Kandooma in the Maldives.

Kandooma, under management of Hotel Properties Limited, is a natural match for COMO Shambhala, offering a fresh, informal and friendly Maldivian experience to its guests. The resort comprises 160 villas and several spectacular high-domed buildings containing the reception and restaurant complexes. Watersports and spa facilities are at the heart of the resort’s activity offering. In line with COMO Shambhala’s philosophy of holistic wellness, the spa at Kandooma has been conceptualised as a place of rejuvenation in an unspoilt environment.

Zitahli Resorts & Spa is proud to announce the opening of two 5 star deluxe resorts located in the idyllic Maldives.

Zitahli Resorts & Spa Dholhiyadhoo is a stunning new resort for the Maldives which delivers 5 star deluxe services within a tropical paradise. The property is a 50 minute scenic flight from the capital, Male. Guests will reveal at the choice of 100 luxury villa and suites all with private plunge pools. Each villa boasts contemporary, yet distinctly Maldivian design, ranging in size from 2,370 sq. feet to an impressive 5,565 sq. feet. Facilities include state of the art in room entertainment systems including LCD TV, DVD and wireless internet access for those guests who prefer to relax indoors. Guests are also provided with a personal wine cellar to enjoy from their own accommodations.

Four Seasons Hotels and Resorts last week opened the doors of its first property on the Indian subcontinent: Four Seasons Hotel Mumbai.

The Hotel’s 33-storey gleaming glass tower enlivens the skyline of the city’s emerging Worli district and serves as an iconic reference to the spirit of ‘new’ India. “It’s a real privilege to be planting the Four Seasons flag in India,” said Armando Kraenzlin, General Manager. “Mumbai is a world metropolis and the Hotel is located in an exciting part

of town. It sets new standards in the city for hospitality and service and we look forward to introducing international guests to what modern India has to offer.” The Hotel’s 202 rooms offer the most spacious guest accommodation in Mumbai, showcasing views of the city skyline, Mahalaxmi Racecourse or the Arabian Sea through floor to ceiling windows.

Hard Rock Hotels Bali and Pattaya websites record 60% growth.

HPL Hotels & Resorts today announced that the websites of its two Hard Rock Hotels in Bali, Indonesia and Pattaya, Thailand, have collectively reflected more than 60% increase in room nights booked online for the full year 2007, as compared to 2006. First quarter 2008 versus first quarter 2007 has already recorded a growth of 32%. Total bookings on both websites currently represent about 78% of the two Hard Rock Hotels’ overall online bookings, making this channel an important online distribution for the properties. According to Ms Karen Chan, Marketing Communications Manager for HPL Hotels & Resorts which manages Hard Rock Hotels Bali and Pattaya, this impressive figure was achieved as a result of an intense e-commerce strategy that is tied in with aggressive Internet marketing activities.

Jumeirah Living, part of Jumeirah Group, has cut the ribbon to the World Trade Centre Residence. Located in the heart of Dubai, the very first Jumeirah Living property is set to welcome residents and guests in August this year.

From business travellers exploring the fast paced Dubai market for a month or on a regular basis, to newly-arrived “Expat” families getting ready to settle into a new home or those who want the epitome of refined living all year round, residents of the Jumeirah Living managed World Trade Centre Residence will benefit from this luxurious inner city home.

One&Only Resorts recently announced an exclusive partnership with iconic shoe designer Christian Louboutin to create a limited edition of his elegant espadrilles exclusively for the resort group.

This is Louboutin’s first ever resort collaboration. “My initial visit to One&Only Reethi Rah in the Maldives inspired me to create a collection just for One&Only and my recent second stay is where I designed my latest collection. Not only was it truly a privilege for me to stay at such a spectacular resort, it was also an ideal location to be creative with the exotic beauty of the island and the genuine pampering of the staff. I hope my collections for One&Only captured the true essence of these resorts and will remind the wearer of an unforgettable journey,” commented Christian Louboutin.

Per Aquum Resorts ● Spas ● Residences is pleased to announce the appointment of Rajeev Chatterjee as group director of finance.

Within this role Rajeev will work closely with the managing directors of all divisions to ensure the continued financial success of the company. He will be responsible for setting targets for the individual properties and also devising the feasibility studies of new projects and setting pre-opening budgets in line with the management contracts. He will liaise with key stakeholders and owners to ensure targets are not only met but also exceeded, creating unprecedented returns from the iconic vision of Per Aquum through shrewd fiscal control.

Hard Rock Cafe in Dubai runs dry.

Dubai’s Hard Rock Cafe has run out of beer, and cannot buy any more. The popular haunt is getting by selling cocktails (many of which are non-alcoholic), spirits, and soft drinks.

The beer taps are now permanently shut off, and the last of the wine has been sold. The Hard Rock Cafe, a landmark in Dubai since it was completed in December 1997, has fallen victim to the country’s liquor laws, and a classic real estate squeeze. Despite a lease until 2010, the Hard Rock Cafe trades off the liquor license of the adjacent Palm Hotel. The only establishments in the UAE authorised to serve alcoholic drinks are the accommodation hotels. The Hard Rock is unique in that it is not a hotel, but because it has been owned by the same owner as the Palm Hotel, it has had access to the Palm license. Source: Malaysia Sun MTDC subleases Herathera Island Resort.

Maldives Tourism Development Corporation (MTDC) has subleased Herathera Island Resort to Mr. Abdulla Jabir of Yacht Tours Maldives. The sublease agreement was signed today at the Head Office of MTDC. Yacht Tours Maldives will take over operation and management of the resort from 1st June 2008 for 20 years. The 546-bed resort was officially opened in January this year, and has been in operation since then. MTDC first opened for international tender for the sublease of the resort in January this year, but annulled the bidding process due to change of circumstances and conditions relating to Herathera Island Resort. MTDC opened the resort for sublease second time in April this year. Out of four bidders, Yacht Tours Maldives proposed the highest rent based on NPV. They proposed USD18196 per bed per year for 20 years.

Raffles Hotel won’t be sold after all The Business Times (BT) yesterday reported that a consortium led by former Credit Suisse banker Mark Pawley, which had inked an in-principle deal to buy the hotel earlier this month, was ‘very disappointed’ with the outcome. Its spokesman confirmed that the

deal was off. ‘This would have involved an assured distinct identity for Raffles Hotel as a flagship for Singapore in the international hospitality industry and a rejuvenation of the hotel,’ the paper quoted her as saying. Citing confidentiality clauses, she declined to give reasons why the deal soured. But she denied that there was any issue with the source of the funding, which is believed to be a family trust linked to a European family.

If the deal had gone through, the 121-yearold historic hotel and its adjoining shopping arcade would have changed hands for the second time in three years. The agreed price was reportedly about $650 million - more than triple the $200 million paid by its American and Middle Eastern owners in 2005. This was seen as a reflection of the strong boost in demand for hotel space in Singapore in recent years, with the country’s fast-growing visitor arrivals.

Mr Pawley is the chief executive of Singaporebased Oxley Capital Group, a private investment house focusing on real estate and private equity. While he was head of the Asian real estate, gaming and lodging business at Credit Suisse Investment Banking in Asia, he was involved with the $1.7 billion sale of the entire Raffles Holdings’ hotel portfolio - including Raffles Hotel in Singapore - to United States-based private equity firm Colony Capital in 2005. Colony later merged that portfolio with Fairmont Hotels & Resorts’ assets to create Fairmont Raffles Hotels International (FRHI). Colony reportedly holds about a 40 per cent stake in FRHI, while Saudi Prince Alwaleed bin Talal’s Kingdom Hotels International owns the rest.

On May 8, FRHI announced that it had reached an in-principle agreement to sell off Raffles Hotel. But as with its past real estate transactions, any hotels sold would continue to be part of the company’s hotel collection. FRHI’s hotel management arm, Raffles Hotels & Resorts, also secured a long-term management contract to manage the hotel, reportedly for 40 years.

Market watchers told BT that most existing hotel groups would think twice about buying a hotel with a long-term management contract from the seller. They speculated that this clause might have scuppered the deal.

We have moved...

H. Always Happy House, L2 Asrafee Magu 20034 Male’ Republic of Maldives Phone: (960) 3344 657 Fax: (960) 3344 658

GROUP OF COMPANIES

When is Negotiating Not Negotiating?

4 Tips to Improve Success in all Negotiations

When you left home for work this morning, did you feel ready to face the day knowing that you were going to have a number of successful negotiations? Chances are, the word “negotiation” never entered your head.

Perhaps it should have!

• • • •

We often think of negotiation as a formal process conducted behind closed doors by high powered executives, politicians or world leaders. Yet everyday all of us negotiate. You may have to agree with colleagues on the content of a report or presentation; with a customer over a disputed invoice; with a supplier on the terms for goods or services; or with your partner on what to have for dinner tonight! All of these things are negotiations.

Our problem is that we don’t recognise them as negotiations, nor ourselves as negotiators. As a result, we enter these discussions less prepared than we could be. The result?

Sometimes a less-than-successful outcome!

To help make all our daily negotiations more successful (for both you and the other party), you need to:

State your case clearly and appropriately Organise your facts Control the timing and pace of your discussion Properly assess both yours and the other parties needs

How do you carry out these four points successfully? First, you need an understanding of some of the key principles of successful negotiation. Try this quiz to test your knowledge of negotiating by answering “True/ False” to each question.

• • • • •

Should you ask for twice the amount you need?

Is your aim to prevent the other party from saying “No” Will a small concession relieve the pressure?

A “Win/Win” result is always possible.

Is admitting to an error or omission a sign of weakness?

The following answers will provide some useful tips for your negotiating situations.

• Should you ask for twice the amount you need? False. You will have to back down and will lose an important opportunity to influence the other party. Research clearly indicates that negotiators who make large concessions end up worse off. The secret of successful negotiating is to first identify your needs, then work out a range of options that will satisfy those needs. Start the negotiation by asking for the options that best meet your needs.

• Is your aim to prevent the other party from saying “No”? False. In fact getting a “No” from the other party can be very useful because it gives you the opportunity to ask “Can you give me your reasons?”. This leads to uncovering the other party’s real needs and some options that will satisfy them – options which you can probably supply.

• Will a small concession relieve the pressure? False: If you make a small

•

concession, chances are you are negotiating over options rather than needs.

Additionally, the other party may think you are weakening and put more pressure on. Far better to state or restate your needs and then explore as many options as possible to satisfy them. As part of this discussion, you may come back to the offer that was just rejected, or you may find some even better options. Either way you have gained a lot more information and not weakened your position.

A “Win/Win” result is always possible.

False: It’s desirable, but not always possible. Sometimes, even the best of negotiators have to “agree to disagree”.

The way to improve your ratio of “Win/ Wins” is to focus very clearly on your own real needs (not positions) and the needs of the other party. Searching for many different options to satisfy both party’s needs generates more “Win/ Win” situations.

•

• •

•

Is admitting to an error or omission a sign of weakness?

False: Research shows that disclosing such information demonstrates honesty. In psychological terms, it breeds what is called “reciprocity” - if you do something for me, then I’ll do something for you. People are far more likely to be honest with you when you are honest with them. Pulling the wool over someone’s eyes may give you a short term result at the expense of a long term relationship.

Four tips to help you negotiate successfully If you want a better deal, ask for one.

You’ll never know unless you ask! Remember, make sure it will satisfy your needs – do not get locked into bargaining over positions.

Argue to learn, not to win. To meet your own needs you need to learn as much as possible about the other party and their needs. The more you learn,

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•

the better chance you have of getting a good deal.

Make proposals regularly during the negotiation - proposals move the negotiation forward. Use proposals such as “If you will provide . . . . then I might consider . . . .” The other party’s response to these proposals will give you a lot of information to work with.

Ask for, and give as much information as possible. For example, questions such as “Can you explain your reasons for . . . . ?’, “What are your priorities? and “What else is there that you think I should know?” are excellent ways of gathering the information you need.

Successful negotiating!

Since 1996 Doug has been a regular contributor to the lodging industry’s number one rated publication, www.hotelmotel.com , where he has been a regular monthly columnist since 2001. Visit www.kennedytrainingnetwork.com for details or e-mail him at: doug@kennedytrainingnetwork.com

Sunny Chuang Appointed Food And Beverage Operations Manager And Island Sommelier at Huvafen Fushi

Currently holding the position of Food & Beverage Operations Manager and Island Sommelier at award winning Huvafen Fushi in the Maldives, Sunny Chuang is an enthusiastic and passionate individual from Australia. ‘A serious oenophile’ as quoted by Leo Schofield for Australian Gourmet Traveller, Sunny started his career as a waiter, a baker in France, a Restaurant Manager and finally as a Sommelier where he found his passion in wine!

Its no wonder with his diverse knowledge backed with over 20 years of experience in the industry has been sought after by some of the top names in hospitality.

Sunny has worked with some of the most recognized establishments in Australia, from the Ritz-Carlton Sydney, Bel Mondo Sydney to Finders in Adelaide. All names to be reckoned with carrying wine lists outdoing each other.

The Maldives is now second home to Sunny.

After eight years with the Hilton Maldives Resort and Spa, Sunny was practically ‘hunted down’ and it took little convincing really into working for Huvafen Fushi. An award winning property managed by Australian company Per Aquum Resorts • Spas • Residences, Huvafen Fushi is one of the leading resorts in the Maldives recently awarded by Harper’s Bazaar Travel Guide (UK) - Best Beach Resort in the World 2008, Best Resort for Service Indian Ocean 2007 in Conde Nast Traveller Gold List and was on both the US and UK Conde Nast Traveller Hot Lists when opened in 2005.

Sunny has introduced the restaurants and bars to a whole new level of appreciating wine implementing new initiatives and concepts resulting in overall revenue increase and most importantly guest satisfaction and team members’ motivation.

Sunny’s contagious enthusiastic personality and vast knowledge in the industry ensures the team is constantly updated on all the latest news around the globe. His training programs are known to be not only informative but thoroughly enjoyable. It gives one a chance to interact and express themselves which then allows them to converse with

guests confidently with various topics on food and wine. His team has also showed tremendous improvement in overall service and product knowledge.

Some of the initiatives that Sunny has implemented at Huvafen Fushi would be the extraordinary wine program. Huvafen Fushi prides itself in its underground wine cellar, Vinum. Located 8 meters below the island, cellaring over 6,000 bottles of the world’s finest wines, with over 700 references from both the Old and New World, we can say, Sunny has found himself here! The temperature is electronically regulated to create the perfect environment and the bottles are showcased in floor to ceiling wine racks, creating a welcoming atmosphere at the round table, seating up to 12 guests with a diameter of 3.5 meters.

Sunny’s Black Book contains the names some of us could only dream off, his ‘friends’ include Hervé Berland, CEO of Château Mouton Rothschild, Château Latour’s Frederic Engerer, David Powell from Torbreck wines and Sanjay Menon from Sonali Wines who is also one of Decanter Magazine’s World Wine Awards judge.

Sunny makes usual trips handpicking vintages for the cellar and Huvafen Fushi’s selection is an evolving concept, currently representing most of the wine producing countries of the world. Australia, France, Italy, New Zealand, Austria, Germany, Spain, Portugal, USA, Hungary, South Africa, Argentina and Chile are all showcased. Despite an already great list, Sunny is continuously looking and personally traveling to vineyards looking for new vintages and new regions, seeking to represent new and more wines in order to bring an ever growing global experience.

The wines stocked are some of the best in the world and range from US$35 a bottle up to US$36,000. Currently standing at a total of USD1.4 million, Huvafen Fushi’s wine collection is the largest in the Indian Ocean.

In Vinum, Sunny introduced Cellar Door with the launch of the Wine Flight program where a flight of four Riedel ‘O’ glasses line a hand made wooden stand and through this program, guests try wine that range from the same grape variety and same vintage, however different vineyards. Presided over

by Sunny, he goes through each wine and explains its origin, palate, body, bouquet and texture. There are many combinations of mixing them up that can be created and a very healthy debate between Sunny and guests sometimes ensue. Vinum was recently listed in the 2008 Robb Report’s International Guide - Our 100 Favourite Restaurants which is its inaugural list of best restaurants voted by some the worlds most famous vintners’.

New passion to food, wine and service culture begins at Huvafen Fushi

Another must have at Vinum is the weekly dinner. Here, in the middle of the island, destination dining is taken to the highest level and whether you are a wine expert or a first time novice, Sunny conjures up a personally designed menu with Executive Chef, Joseph Nagy marrying fine wines with exceptional dishes that will lead you on a sensory journey around the world. Experts will be able to test their knowledge against the master, while novices will discover the interesting side to wines, their history, tastes and preferences.

Sunny has successfully completed the advance examination with the Wine & Spirit Education Trust WSET UK, the foremost international body in the field of wines and spirits education. He is now a certified trainer and is currently pursuing his WSET Diploma program which is their top qualification. He hasn’t stopped there, Sunny is also pursuing the prestigious ‘Master Sommelier’ course with the Court of Master Sommeliers UK. It is a recommendation only based certification and Sunny has successfully passed its first

and second stage exams. Once completed, the letters ‘MS’ after one’s name is the ultimate professional credential anyone can attain worldwide.

Sunny says, ‘Wine is like art, one man’s mint is another man’s poison’, which literally means there is no two ways of appreciating wine, one either appreciates it or doesn’t.

A Universal Enterprise, Per Aquum Resorts • Spas • Residences is a specialist luxury resort, spa and residence management company that offers a different kind of company ethos: one that is passionate, visionary, imaginative and naturally modern. Each property embodies regional tradition and combines luxurious fittings and furnishings in a culturally sensitive way. No two properties are alike. Literally translated, Per Aquum means ‘through water’, and the vision of the company is to develop and manage properties in desirable locations using naturally modern, ecologically responsible design. Per Aquum currently manages properties in Maldives, Sri Lanka, Dubai, Seychelles, the Caribbean and Morocco and is looking at additional locations in the Indian Ocean region, Indonesia, Thailand, Malaysia and the Middle East.

For any further information, please contact: Ms. Angeline Leo, Huvafen Fushi, Public Relations & Events Manager, Email: angeline@huvafenfushi.com, Website: www.huvafenfushi.com

The

Trust factor

Trust is an important issue when it comes to selling. It doesn’t matter what you sell or to whom. It makes no difference if you sell business-to-consumer, B2B, or in a retail setting. Trust is the foundation of virtually every sale.

Did you ever buy anything from someone you didn’t trust? In all likelihood, probably not.

1. Do WHAT you say you will do, WHEN you say you will do it.

Trust is an important issue when it comes to selling. It doesn’t matter what you sell or to whom. It makes no difference if you sell business-to-consumer, B2B, or in a retail setting. Trust is the foundation of virtually every sale.

Many sales people forget this basic fundamental. If you make a promise to a client, keep it. If you say you will do something, make sure you follow through. This more than anything else will demonstrate that you are trustworthy and someone they can count on. And in business, that goes a long way.

Yet, it never ceases to amaze me how many sales people will stretch the truth, mislead the customer, misrepresent their company, product, or service, or even deliberately lie in order to capture a sale. While this will certainly work once or twice, most people will seldom fall for this approach again. In the long run, you might win the battle but you will lose the war. So how can you earn a person’s trust? Here are three core concepts that will help you accomplish this.

2. Be on time for your appointments.

Regardless of how long you have worked with a particular customer, make sure you show up on time for your meeting. If, for some unforeseen reason you are going to be late, call. Your clients are busy-show them that you respect their time.

3. Be yourself.

How you behave and interact with your clients and customers should not be “an act.”

These may sound like pretty simple concepts. However, I can guarantee that many of your competitors are NOT executing them on a regular basis. That means you can gain a competitive edge just by following these three concepts. But there’s more to it than that.

Ultimately, everything you do influences the level of trust you develop with your customers and prospects. Let’s look at a few more examples: How you treat clients’ employees, including receptionists and mail-room staff.

Many sales people are rude and treat nonmanagement employees with disdain because they are not involved in the decisionmaking process. However, behaviour like this seldom goes unnoticed. Regardless of whom you interact with, you should treat them with respect and dignity.

The speed with which you respond to clients and prospects. If you delay in answering a prospect’s request or question you lose the

opportunity to gain their trust. I have experienced this in my own business countless times when I have contacted a company for information and they have been slow in responding. In my mind, if you don’t respond quickly BEFORE I am a customer, what will happen once you get my business?

Making outlandish claims about your product or service. Even when they know better, many sales people exaggerate the capabilities of their products. In most cases, their intent is completely harmless. However, if your product or service fails to meet your customer’s expectations, anything you tell them in the future will be questioned and they may perceive you as someone who will say anything to capture a sale.

Pushing unwanted services. While I’m a believer of capitalizing on every sales opportunity, I believe that it is unethical to try and sell a person something that he or she doesn’t need or want. This approach shows your customer that you are concerned only with getting as many sales as possible. While you may end up selling more, in the long run you may harm your reputation.

Listening carefully to your customer. Everyone wants to be heard and one of the easiest ways to earn your customer’s trust is to demonstrate that you listened to them. You can do this through the use of verbal prompters, good eye contact, body language such as nodding, and summarizing what they tell you.

Trust is as important now as it was two or three decades ago. In fact, it may be even more critical given today’s highly-competitive business world. I recall a sales coach once saying, “The only thing you have is your reputation.” It doesn’t matter what you sell or to whom, if you tarnish your reputation, you will not be as successful as you could be. I also remember hearing someone else say, “If you always tell the truth, you never have to remember what you said.”

Lastly, it’s not always what you say. Actions speak louder than words and people will often judge your trust worthiness by what you do and how you do it. What are you doing to create a high level of trust with your customers and prospects?

Check out Rick’s new CD series and workbook “Unlocking the Secrets to Amazing Sales” @ http://www.ceostrategist.com/resources-store/unlocking-the-secretsto-amazing-sales-incredible-profits.html It is a must addition for your sales training initiatives. Order today and get a bonus copy of Rick’s book “Turning Lone Wolves into Lead Wolves ----56 ideas to maximize sales.

Passion Fruit and Raspberry Pearl with Caramel Sauce Schihab A. Adam, Executive Pastry Chef The Beach House at Manafaru Maldives

Crispy meringue:

Method for Crispy meringues:

Caramel Sauce:

40 g Water 128 g Caster sugar 50 g Egg white 125 g White almond powder 125 g Egg white SQ Red food colorant

Heat water and sugar to 118°C/244-245°F. Pour in the 50g of whipped egg whites, foaming. Leave to cool down with the mixer.

Sift almond powdered icing sugar and add the meringue step by step. Mix and add the 40g of liquid egg whites. Mix well. Make big round macaroon shape with piping bag and put aside until it forms a kind of “skin”. Bake at 170°C/338°F for 8 to 10 min.

Pour the sugar into the center of a saucepan.

Carefully pour the water around the sugar, trying not to splash any sugar onto the sides of the pan. Do not stir; gently draw your finger through the center of the sugar to moisten it. Over medium heat, bring to a boil without stirring. Cook until light caramel in color and immediately remove from the heat.

Carefully (it will bubble up and may splash) stir in the cream with a wooden spoon until smooth.

Passion fruit cream: 150 50 20 80 3

g Bairon passion fruit purée g Caster sugar g Liquid glucose g Elle & Vire whipped cream ea. Gelatin leaves

Caramel sauce: 150 g 50 g 100 g

Caster sugar Water Cream

100 g 1 p 50 g

Raspberries Red rose petal Isomalt sugar

Passion fruit cream: Cook passion fruit puree, sugar and glucose slowly. Leave to melt all the ingredients together. Add melted gelatin to the previous hot mixture. Leave to cool down, then mix with whipped cream.

To assemble: Take two big pieces of meringue and place onto round or square plate. Place the two tablespoons of caramel sauce in center, then one piece of meringue, nice and round, topped with cream and fresh raspberries and then a little more cream. Place another round meringue on top, upside down. Garnish with rose petal, fresh raspberry and Isomalt sugar spiral.

Minor International to Acquire a 50% Stake in Elewana Afrika

Minor International Plc (MINT) today announced that it has taken its first step into East Africa with a US$12 million deal with a luxury safari operator. The agreement with the owning company of Elewana Afrika opens up an exciting new horizon in MINT’s mission to offer exceptional luxury experiences to the discerning traveler.

Based in Tanzania, a leading safari destination in Africa, Elewana owns and operates a collection of luxury lodges in total harmony with the exquisite but fragile ecosystems of the African bush. Meaning harmony or understanding in Kiswahili, the name alludes to the balance between all the elements expected in today’s sophisticated market.

Elewana’s properties include: Serengeti Migration Camp located in the Serengeti, a World Heritage site and one of the continent’s largest ecosystems; Tarangire Tree Tops, with its unique tree-house style rooms built on wooden decks around the trunks of enormous baobab and marula trees; and Arusha Coffee Lodge, cradled in the endless acres of Tanzania’s largest coffee plantation.

Under the agreement, MINT will acquire a 50% stake in the group during this strong expansion phase which will see the addition of six new properties to the Elewana portfolio by 2011. These resorts totaling 165 rooms will allow Elewana to offer guests a total immersion in Tanzanian culture that includes safari, beach and city components. Elewana’s principal promoter, Karim S. Wissanji, will retain a 50% stake and remain as Chief Executive Officer of the company.

Elewana’s near-term plan includes the development of a new property near the Ngorongoro Crater, a World Heritage site renowned for its unique game viewing, and three high-end, smaller properties in unique destinations in Tanzania. Elewana’s expansion plans also include a new city hotel in a historic building in Stone Town, Zanzibar. In addition, guests wishing to experience both historic Arabic culture and pristine beaches will be able to do so at the planned luxury beach facility on the private island of Kiweni located in the Zanzibar Archipelago.

For more information on Elewana, please visit www.elewana.com

In the longer term, expansion into Kenya is planned as well as the expansion of the Elewana brand into other ‘experience’ destinations both within and outside of Africa.

William E. Heinecke, CEO of Minor International commented: “MINT is very pleased to be entering this unique, high-end niche market through such an established, luxury brand. Elewana’s strengths include its property locations, its brand reputation and its ability to offer distinctive safari experiences.

Mr Karim Wissanji brings a wealth of wisdom and understanding and our partnership will open up great development opportunities for the Elewana brand.”

Karim S Wissanji, CEO of Elewana Afrika added “We are very excited about the joint venture with MINT, a leader in our industry with a highly respected reputation for excellence and innovation. Our strategic partnership with MINT will allow us to synergise and leverage our collective strengths to offer distinctive, experience driven travel opportunities, within and outside Africa.”

Voluntary Blood Donation Camp at Hulhule Island Hotel

A voluntary blood donation camp was organized at Hulhule Island Hotel in collaboration with the Department of Public Health to support the national campaign.

Apart from continuously upgrading their services and product for the guests, Hulhule Island Hotel has been actively contributing towards the community services. This includes their association with Society for Health Education in organizing events for the Thalassaemia children and working with the Ministry of Higher Education, Employment and Social Security for organizing the annual Alha Eid Celebration at K. Guraidhoo Island for the residents of Home for People with Special Needs.

In continuing with their initiative towards the community services, Hulhule Island Hotel contributed to the National Voluntary Blood Donation Campaign. In collaboration with the Department of Public Health Hulhule Island Hotel organized this full day progarmme with the support of National Thalassaemia Center.

This event started on 5th May 2008 with Department of Public Health thanking Hulhule Island Hotel, a presentation of Voluntary Blood Donation Campaign given by Dr. Muzammil from the National Thalassaemia Center followed by the address of Mr. Utkarsh Faujdar, General Manger of Hulhule Island Hotel. During his speech, Mr. Utkarsh Fau-

jdar stated, “we care for the Thalassaemia children and we wish them to have a safe and healthy life.� This was the reason for the team members of HIH to decide to contribute towards the Blood Donation Campaign voluntarily. Mr. Utkarsh Faujdar also thanked his team members for the wonderful support as more than 25 percent of the team members voluntarily donated for this Blood Donation Campaign. This included team members from different departments and from various hierarchy levels.

I Want to Speak to a Supervisor Part 2

Sometimes it’s not money that counts, but your time and personal attention.

In my regular newsletter, I pointed out how companies should empower and support frontline staff to do what the supervisor ultimately does, without having to check with the supervisor each and every time.

Many readers sent in follow-up questions and suggestions.

Question: ‘If we do give staff more power, how can we measure if it is properly utilized?’

Ron’s reply: You should measure utilization of empowerment only by counting returning customer visits or resulting customer compliments. If your high-value customers come back, make new purchases or praise your service, then your staff empowerment policy is effective.

However, if high-value customers do not praise and come back, or if only low-value customers are happy and returning, then you need to change your staff empowerment formula.

Here’s a hint: Contact some of your high-value customers who did not return. Ask them

why they didn’t come back – and what your staff should have done to earn their repeat visit. Listen carefully. Your former customers will tell you exactly what to do.

repeat purchases and referrals. As long as customers come back, buy more and refer others, your expense is not a liability, it’s a smart investment.

And here’s an added bonus: Just asking ‘nonreturning customers’ what it would take to get them back – very often gets them back!

Sometimes it’s not money that counts, but your time and personal attention.

Ken Orr, a Hotel Manager in New Zealand, wrote: After many long meetings to discuss our customer service levels, we came to a standstill.

Supervisors and managers alike insisted they were doing all they could with the frontline staff we have. Every time the frontliners had an issue, I had to come to the rescue.

Question: ‘How do we know where to set limits so the liability of additional cost are minimized?’

Ron’s reply: To limit your liability, put a simple cap on expenditures allowed without supervisor approval. Be sure to link the financial cap to actual client value. Small clients, small cap.

Big clients with big budgets, larger amounts allowed. Test this over time to get the right mix of flexibility and generosity by tracking your clients’ reactions.

Remember, the ultimate deciding factor is whether good clients return and how much they are worth to your business with their

We knuckled down to find a solution. An ‘empowerment pad’ was our answer. Each frontline staff member now carries one of these pads and when they see or hear of an issue in our hotel they note down the problem, quickly solve it and then pass on the docket for future consultation.

We provided solutions to all the issues we could think of and told the frontliners to seek and destroy all of our remaining customerfrustrating and lack-of-empowerment issues.

The staff are visibly more vibrant and do not fear the situations they get into with our

clients; they are now looking for potential problems and preempting the solutions! Our supervisors are relaxed and they are now encouraging and motivating the staff like never before.

I have read your newsletter to all my staff. Thank you for a perfectly timed lesson in customer service. Our organization is moving upward; it is very exhilarating.

Thanks, again! Ken Orr Ken’s got the right idea – and is enjoying the right results. You can do this with your team, too.

Question: ‘If the frontline staff is not actually our own staff, but belong to an authorized distributor or service center (independent entities), can we apply the same principle?’

Ron’s reply: Yes! I believe the same principle can apply and even become the foundation for stronger collaboration between you and your authorized ‘Service Partners’. When you show trust by allowing distributors and licensees to make real decisions with real dollars for real customers, they will feel your real appreciation and respect.

That can make your company stand out from all the other companies whose products they also distribute, and can also lead to active word-of-mouth recommendations for you. A real winwin.

Key Learning Point Empowerment is intelligent fuel for creating self-motivated staff who will love the customers, love their jobs – and love working with you!

Action Steps Make ‘empowerment’ your topic of the month. Get everyone involved. Give frontline staff all the empowerment you can imagine, and then try giving a little bit more. The risks are low, the learning value is high and the benefits are truly rewarding.

Ron Kaufman is an internationally acclaimed educator and motivator for partnerships and quality customer service. He is author of the bestselling “UP Your Service!” and founder of “UP Your Service College”. Visit http://www.UpYourService.com for more such Customer Service articles, subscribe to his Newsletter, or to buy his bestselling Books, Videos, Audio CDs on Customer Service from his secure Online Store. You can also watch Ron live or listen to him at http://www.RonKaufman.com

Customer and co-worker Involvement in the Hiring Process

Selecting the best candidate for a management position is one of the most difficult challenges faced by senior management and human resources staff.

living residence or hotel. Their inclusion in the process and their insightful input can be critical in making the right choice.

Mark Hamister, our CEO, frequently compares preliminary interviews to a first date: everyone is on their best behavior and neither party learns what the other is really like.

Repetitive interviews involving a number of people can reduce this “first-date mystique” and help us make better judgments.

When a key management position became vacant in one of our adult residences, I decided to employ some unusual interviewing techniques: I reviewed the applications and conducted the first round of interviews with our President, narrowed the candidates down to the top two, and then asked our department managers and two of our residents to conduct the final interview.

Furthermore, we can never put ourselves 100% in the shoes of our customers. Only they know exactly what they demand from the team that delivers services at an assisted

The department managers at the residence in question were all long-term employees

with solid experience in the successful operation of assisted living residences.

Their background and knowledge would enable them to recognize the type of leadership we sought. The occasion also provided an opportunity to give them the recognition and appreciation that they deserved after years of exceptional service.

Both our corporate office and the residence’s existing management team responded enthusiastically to the idea of customer and coworker inclusion and helped to identify two residents who were both qualified and interested in participating: Martha and Charles.

Martha, an active member of our Resident Council, was uniquely qualified by her degree in Education and Theology. She had taught Latin and French for 8 years and had functioned as a pastor’s assistant in a Wesleyan Church, where she was responsible for assisting in daily operations.

Charles had been a division supervisor for Niagara Mohawk for 32 years and at one point had 182 direct reports. He personally participated in the selection and hiring of these employees. Later in his career he was elected to public office and served as a county judge.

After the first round of interviews, we presented the applications and resumes of

our two top candidates to the department managers and interviewing residents. They reviewed and analyzed each candidate’s application and prepared their own questions.

Charles’ most important question was: “why do you want this job?”

He thought that the responses would reveal whether the candidates were going to stay at the residence for a significant period of time and truly invest in our community. Martha, on the other hand, was more concerned about whether the candidate would be approachable and willing to speak with the residents about their concerns. She asked the department managers to ask the questions that she had prepared so that she could bet-

ter observe the candidates’ body language while responding.

Both Charles and Martha were keen to find a candidate who was honest, consistent, family-oriented, and willing to learn new skills.

Our department managers were also looking for the qualities of good leadership: confidence, poise, strong communication skills, honesty, a strong work ethic, and related experience.

Following the interview the department managers and residents thoroughly discussed and rated the candidates strengths and weaknesses. They agreed that one candidate was preoccupied with his own career and

personal gain, while the other seemed eager to become a part of an organization that is committed to corporate service, has strong values, and respects its employees.

By this point I had already formed my opinion of who was the best candidate, based on my previous interviews, a compilation of reference results, and field test results. I took great care not to influence the managers and residents with my choice, which is why I was not present during their interview. However, after careful consideration, we all agreed on the best candidate.

Finally I asked the residents and co-workers if our new manager was living up to their expectations. Both indicated that the candidate was doing well, was very approachable, and had made some positive changes. The impressions that they had formed during the interview had turned out to be correct and there had not been any surprises afterwards.

The experiment was a success.

If you are thinking of involving customers and co-workers in management interviews, here are a few tips:

Mark Hamister, our CEO, frequently compares preliminary interviews to a first date: everyone is on their best behavior and neither party learns what the other is really like. Repetitive interviews involving a number of people can reduce this “first-date mystique” and help us make better judgments.

The inclusion of department managers and residents in the interview process not only reinforced my decision, but it also gave me a new insight into what is really important to our residents and co-workers. They wanted management that was family-oriented, shared their values, displayed strong leadership skills, and would be with them for a long time to come.

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A few weeks after the interview and selection process was completed, I met with the department managers and residents to obtain their impressions and suggestions for improvement of the hiring process. Both were honored to have been included.

•

Martha would have liked a few more days than had been given to review resumes and applications. She also thought that more residents could have participated in order to obtain a broader perspective. Charles was completely satisfied with the process. The department managers were very happy to have been involved: it made them feel that their input and experience mattered.

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Involve long-term co-workers with a proven record and experience.

Select customers with varying strengths, skills, and approaches.

Give interviewers ample time to review applications and form questions beforehand.

Review the questions yourself to avoid repetition and any inappropriate or illegal questions.

Take care not to influence customers and co-workers with your own opinion— but make sure that you have one!

Follow-up: did the selected candidate live up to everyone’s expectations?

What could you do to improve the process and make better selections in the future?

The Hamister Group Mission is to provide top quality assisted living management services, enabling our clients and their investors to achieve superior revenues.

Our 30-year success in the assisted living industry is due to our unwavering determination to exceed our customer’s expectations in every aspect.

Speaking of Hotel Rooms: When You Turn The Lights Off They All Look The Same Let’s face it: the decision to pay today’s hotel rates just to sleep 8 hours in a darkened guestroom isn’t a rational, logical one. Every hotelier knows that our guests’ most fundamental need is four walls and a bed. Well okay, maybe we should add to that list a private bathroom, although speaking from experience there are some very nice B&B’s out there with shared baths that are still quite nice. (The good news is you don’t have to actually share your bath with anyone – it is just an industry term.)

less than 4 of their 12 or so hours in the room actually awake, it’s really hard to argue logically that it is worth $20 - $50 or more dollars per awake-hour.

All jokes aside, the point is that guests’ fundamental needs for clean, safe lodging can be met for far less in your area. Whether at a local YMCA, a guesthouse, an international youth hostel, or at an ultra-economy property in your area, chances are your guests can find a place to sleep for a fraction of the rates your hotel is charging.

Yet when you call most hotel salespeople these days, what you hear most often is a list of facts and features. For example, if you ask salespeople: “Can you tell me a little about the hotel?” the first thing you get is the number of rooms followed by a list of facts.

In other words, from a purely logical perspective, no guest in their right mind would pay the kind of rates mid-scale, upscale, and especially luxury hotels are commanding these days! Especially when you consider that the average guest at most hotels spends

This fact, coupled with the fact that there are literally thousands of upscale and luxury properties out there generating billions in revenues, tells me that guests must be in their minds buying an “experience,” when our industry thinks we are renting them a guestroom.

(Now granted, those planning larger meetings might need this information, but should we not first ask how big their meeting is?

Otherwise, if it is a small meeting we might even be turning them off by sounding like too big of a venue.)

Too many salespeople today start their “30 second commercials” and open proposals and outbound sales e-mails by feature-dumping a list of qualitative facts, as if a guest was going to make a decision logically and intellectually. Yet when we come to terms with the principle that guests are making an emotionally-based buying decision, it’s relatively easy to think of ways to appeal to their emotions.

Here’s some training tips for your next sales meeting: •

“We are a 400 room hotel with two restaurants and one gift shop.” You call the next one, “We are a 292 room hotel with a restaurant and a gift shop.” The next says, “We have over 500 rooms...” and you think to yourself “Oh, perfect! I was looking for a 500 room hotel…” or “No thanks, I needed something in the 100 room range.”

Use Alluring Descriptions and Benefits.

Whereas salespeople had to inform and educate the caller in the past, when most were looking at no more than thumbnail photos in a hotel brochure, today’s callers usually have plenty of information about the features. Many have even taken virtual tours, read user-generated travel reviews; some have

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even seen real pictures from real guests.

What today’s caller’s usually need more than anything is to be allured and enticed by tempting descriptions of what their experience will be like.

Use “Just For You” Benefits. Help the caller “buy it” in their minds; bring them into the descriptions you are offering by using a “just for you” approach. “As our guest you can enjoy...” “You’ll be able to ….” “Your group can all take advantage of….”

Offer Needs-Based Recommendations And Endorsements. Use the caller’s own stated needs, and those you’ve discovered through the use of effective ad-hoc probing questions, to personalize recommendations, suggestions and endorsements.

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Convince Your Own Salespeople Your Rates Are Worth It! Especially today where average rates are tracking upward in most markets, it may be harder than ever to convince your own salespeople its worth it. It doesn’t help that most markets also have a low-ball competitor dragging down RevPAR for all and causing them to be beat-up on price again.

Help salespeople see the value offered by placing calls within your area/region as well as outside of your market to even higherpriced destinations. Remind them of the guests and groups who are willing to pay your rates every day.

tion higher rates in a negative way by saying apologetically “Oh, we only have our $XX rate left at that time.” Instead, show them how to create urgency by saying “Oh good, we still have rooms left for those dates!”

By remembering we are selling to buyers who are making emotional decisions vs. rational ones, and by selling to their emotions vs. their intellect, we can close more inquiries from today’s multi-tasking, over-informed callers who have clicked on one too many links.

Make sure your salespeople never make the common mistake of inadvertently posi-

Since 1996 Doug has been a regular contributor to the lodging industry’s number one rated publication, www.hotelmotel.com , where he has been a regular monthly columnist since 2001. Visit www.kennedytrainingnetwork.com for details or e-mail him at: doug@kennedytrainingnetwork.com

Integrity, Growth, and Connecting with Customers More Lessons from the Early Years of The Hamister Group. In last month’s ‘Never Give Up’ article I recounted a number of important lessons that I learned before age 18. As The Hamister Group’s 30th anniversary continues to approach, I would like to resume the narrative with more anecdotes from my early years as a manager. I hope that these personal illustrations will benefit both my coworkers and colleagues and that they will provide further insight into our company’s philosophy.

In college I learned about integrity. Rochester Institute of Technology (RIT) is a co-op school, which means that sophomore, junior, and senior students alternate each quarter between taking classes and working in co-op

jobs. I didn’t like any of the co-op opportunities that were available as I started my second year, so I proposed a new initiative to the College Board: the creation of shops in the empty tunnels underground campus buildings. We didn’t have enough retail stores for students to purchase reasonably priced supplies and the college had plenty of unused space. I drew up plans for an RIT student coop, which would install and run shops inside the tunnels. RIT accepted my proposal and members of its Administration participated in the Board of Directors. The ‘Tunnel Shops,’ as they were eventually called, were highly successful. They included a record theatre, a sundry shop, a mini-market, and a stereo equipment store. There was also a poster shop with a pure white sand floor and black

lighting that made our products look fabulous. The problem was the cheap posters looked terrible as soon as the students hung them up in their rooms; our excellent presentation was misrepresenting our product.

We realized that the only honest and right thing to do was to refund payment for returned posters and close down the shop. This was my first memorable lesson as a business manager: while companies should present their products in the best light possible, they should not disguise the truth.

In 1977, while I was working as Administrator at a Rochester, NY adult home, I bid to purchase Bramour, a 77-bed Rochester area assisted living facility. The approvers for the purchase were the Fathers of Mercy, a Ro-

man Catholic Church group that still held the property’s first mortgage. My two partners and I drew up a full written proposal. I was assigned the task of delivering it to Father Luigi, the representative of the Fathers of Mercy. I expected that I would drop off the proposal, chat for a few minutes, and leave.

I certainly didn’t expect an interview. Father Luigi welcomed me into his living room, graciously accepted the expensive bottle of Italian wine I had brought him as a gift, put the written proposal aside, and asked me to sit down.

ond adult home. I was still working full-time at another adult home and trying to manage Bramour during evenings and weekends. I finally came to the realization that you can’t grow a company on a part-time basis. If you truly want to run and expand your own business, you’ve got to risk leaving your present job and devote yourself full-time to the new company. After I quit my day job, we acquired 2 Florida skilled nursing facilities in just 2 years. By 1988 we had a total of 12 facilities throughout the east coast.

through the roof. We subsequently required all of our facilities to hire chefs. As a manager, I had a personal re-awakening concerning the importance of direct customer contact. I might have delayed that decision for months or years if I had not been able to directly witness both a deficiency and its correction.

When you are in direct contact with your customers and front-line co-workers, you gain an insight that you never could have had while sitting in a corporate office.

I always encourage my staff to do little things that will make a customer’s day. A small effort can mean the world to people.

We talked for two hours, during which he grilled me on the facility, my intentions, and my financial knowledge. That elderly Italian priest knew more about money markets than I did. At the end of the interview I asked Father Luigi when he would make his decision. He paused and looked at me for several minutes. Then, without having read a word of the proposal, he said, ‘how about now?’

He sealed his approval with a handshake and told me to have my attorney contact his about the paperwork.

In shock, I asked what made him decide so quickly. His responded: ‘This isn’t about the property. This is about whether you are an honest person who knows what he’s doing.’

From Father Luigi I learned to trust my intuition during business deals. Facts were certainly important to this gentleman, but what mattered most to him was his gut instinct and the values of the person with whom he was doing business. I try to remember his example during all major business deals.

With Father Luigi’s approval, my first company was created on June 1, 1977: 8678 Lake Street, Inc. The optimistic foundation of 8678 Lake Street was followed by 3 stagnant years, during which my partners and I managed the facility as best we could, but without any progress toward acquiring a sec-

In 1990, the Administrator of one of our Florida nursing homes was sent to the first Persian Gulf War by the Army Reserve. During the 1980’s I had been so involved in mergers and acquisitions that I had become disconnected from customers and front-line staff.

So I saw the Administrator’s deployment as an opportunity to get out of the office and back into the field.

During the six months I served as Interim Administrator I ate all of my meals in the facility with the residents. They greatly desired an improvement in the mediocre food and, since I was then experiencing it for myself on a full-time basis, I agreed. Amateur cooks have difficulty producing large quantities of food, pay little attention to presentation, lack variety, and do not produce sufficiently tasty meals.

Our company had experimented with the idea of hiring chefs instead of cooks, but we had not yet determined whether we should make it a company-wide policy Engaging chefs would mean a $50,000 payroll increase per location, since sous-chefs would also have to be hired for the head chef’s days off.

We decided to hire a chefs and sous-chefs for that Florida home. The difference was dramatic: previously indifferent meals became outstanding. Customer satisfaction went

During my tenure as Administrator I also learned about the importance of small efforts that brighten our customers’ lives. One evening, after eating dinner with the residents, I didn’t feel like going back to the hotel. I started walking the halls, talking to residents.

I had had many conversations with residents before that, but only for a few minutes-too short a time to really get to know someone.

I got into a long discussion with one lady, who told me that she had been a stage performer in the 40’s in Buffalo. She had acted in 2 plays at Shea’s Buffalo Theatre before getting married and having kids. Since I was on the Shea’s Board at the time, I asked someone to search the archives for any mementoes of those performances. Sure enough, we found an old playbill with the resident’s name on it. I had it framed and presented it to her and her family. She was ecstatic.

It was the only thing she talked about for months afterwards. By making a phone call and spending $10 for a frame, I had made this lady’s year-and mine, too. This is why I always encourage my staff to do little things that will make a customer’s day. A small effort can mean the world to people.

Mark Hamister is the CEO of The Hamister Group, Inc. and The Hamister Hospitality Group, LLC. For more information or to sign up for the free monthly HG newsletter, visit : www.hamistergroup.com. Email comments or questions to Mark at: chairman@hamistergroup.com.

The top five students from Shangri-La Hospitality Course in the Maldives sharing a proud moment with Mr Jens Moesker, General Manager of Shangri-La’s Villingili Resort and Spa and Mr Saud Abdulla, Atoll Chief of Addu Atoll. From left to right: Aminath Faxna, Ali Rafeeu, Fathimath Rishma, Mr Jens Moesker, Mr Saud Abdulla, Ahmed Saeedh and Aishath Rishfa Hussain.

Students From The Shangri-La Hospitality Course In The Maldives Selected For Further Training Shangri-La’s Villingili Resort and Spa, Maldives has selected the top five students from a group of 27 participants sponsored for the three-month Shangri-La Hospitality Certificate Course held at Addu Atoll. The five outstanding participants will go to Malaysia for an additional three-month training programme at Shangri-La’s Tanjung Aru Resort and Spa, Kota Kinabalu and will assume supervisory positions at the resort in Villingili when it opens in the fourth quarter of 2008.

The five students – Ali Rafeeu, Ahmed Saeedh, Aminath Faxna, Aishath Rishfa Hussain and Fathimath Rishma – received their certificates at a presentation ceremony on 29 April 2008, which Mr. Saud Abdulla, the atoll chief of Addu Atoll, attended. All five students are from Addu in the southern Maldives, where the resort is located.

“While all 27 participants showed a tremendous amount of commitment to build a career in hospitality, we singled out these five outstanding students for their leadership potential, how quickly they grasped the philosophy of Shangri-La’s hospitality culture and

their enthusiasm to engage and motivate team members,” said Mr. Jens Moesker, general manager of Shangri-La’s Villingili Resort and Spa, Maldives.

The Shangri-La Hospitality Certificate course was the southern Maldives’ first structured hospitality training course and commenced on 20 January 2008. In addition to basic hospitality training, the course included instruction in front office, housekeeping and food and beverage operations. Certified trainers from the Shangri-La Academy in Beijing, China and other Shangri-La properties conducted the course. The resort will employ all graduates when it opens.

Shangri-La’s Villingili Resort and Spa, Maldives is the first luxury resort in Addu Atoll.

The resort, which is currently under development, will feature 142 villas with views of the ocean or the island’s natural lush vegetation.

The Maldives’ second international airport, Gan International Airport, is an eight-minute boat ride away from the resort and Male International Airport is 70 minutes by air.

Hong Kong-based Shangri-La Hotels and Resorts currently owns and manages 55 hotels under Shangri-La and Traders brands with a rooms inventory of over 28,000. Shangri-La hotels are five-star deluxe properties featuring extensive luxury facilities and services.

Shangri-La hotels are located in Australia, mainland China, Fiji, Hong Kong, India, Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines, Singapore, Sultanate of Oman, Taiwan, Thailand and the United Arab Emirates. The group has over 50 projects under development in Austria, Canada, mainland China, France, India, Japan, Macau, Maldives, Philippines, Qatar, Seychelles, Taiwan, Thailand, United Arab Emirates, United Kingdom and the United States.

PRESS CONTACT: Hussain Naseem General Affairs and Public Relations Manager Shangri-La’s Villingili Resort and Spa Pre-opening office, Maldives Tel: (960) 332 1368 Fax: (960) 332 1722 Email: hussain.naseem@shangri-la.com

For more information or reservations, please contact a travel professional or access the website at www.shangri-la.com. For digitised pictures of the group’s hotels, please go to http://www.shangri-la.com/imagelibrary.

Brand Personality Finding Your Brand’s Emotional Aftertaste

Marketing is difficult because it is unlike any other business discipline. Most of our business day is filled with left-brain tasks that may be complex but are for the most part logical and procedural in nature whereas marketing and branding are right-brain activities governed by that hated enemy of rational business thinking, psychology.

Most businesses advertise; a rather common practice designed to get the word out about your company, product, or service. A lot of companies despair at the thought of advertising as they see little immediate or obvious return on their investment.

In some cases this dissatisfaction is based on misplaced expectations and a misunderstanding of what is actually being achieved, while in other cases frustration results from plain old fashion failure. This could be the reason why so many businesses have fallen in love with click-through schemes where you only pay for presumed actual results, however the definition here of results is rather liberal.

It is comforting to many to reduce the mysterious dark-art of marketing to promotional advertising where physical results can be tabulated, measured, analyzed, and scruti-

nized, so that adjustments can be made or more likely blame can be laid.

Unfortunately falling in love with the number of ad impressions and click-through rates misses the point: how long are people staying on your website, how much of your message are they really absorbing, is your message designed to actually be retained in your audience’s memory, and is that message compelling enough to have that audience return when they are ready to act?

differentiates you from your competition?

According to Patrick Renvoise, author of ‘Neuromarketing: Understanding the Buy Buttons in Your Customer’s Brain,’ the decision to purchase your product is ultimately made in what is referred to as the “old brain.”

This old brain just doesn’t give the relatively new, in evolutionary terms, written word much credence, and instead relies heavily on the five senses that generate experiences and memories.

the brand image. Our goal as marketers is to create a positive aftertaste that eventually generates contact with your company and ultimately induces a decision to purchase your goods and services.

But before you shape and craft this brand image you should analyze what the perception of your brand is. Asking direct questions is not the best way to find out what people really think.

Is your message designed to actually be retained in your audience’s memory, and is that message compelling enough to have that audience return when they are ready to act?

Advertising Is About Delivering Your Message Advertising is about delivering your message and if the only message you deliver is that you reduced your price or added a new feature, then all you are really doing is conditioning your audience to wait for sales and buy from whomever is offering the most features at the lowest price.

This understanding of how the brain works helps us craft a marketing message that works. If the written word alone lacks sales power, video and audio must be the way to deliver your advertising, but how do we develop an appropriate, effective message.

Brand Development For the BrandChallenged Business

On the other hand, if your advertising is intended to create a unique identity for your business that appeals to your audience on a higher level of customer satisfaction then it’s time to take a close look at exactly what message you should be delivering. And that message is the essence of the dreaded Bword, branding.

Branding is the position you own in your audience’s collective mind, it is the sum total of all experiences that audience has with all things associated with your company, products, and services. These experiences are filtered through our five senses: sound, sight, touch, smell, and taste, all of which can be delivered through the appropriate and innovative implementation of Web-video.

You’ve heard it before but it bears repeating, all businesses are brands: it is the collective experience your audience has with your company, product, or service. Failure to define, develop, and deliver a differentiating brand experience will result in your audience developing their own opinion of you based on limited experience and faulty information, guaranteeing misplaced expectations and advertising failure.

Never underestimate the effect each of these senses has on the impression you leave with your customers. Not too many people thought how a computer looked was much of an issue in selling computers until Apple changed everyone’s perception of what a computer could and should look like, and so too can you shape the perceptions of your audience by carefully managing and differentiating your brand’s image.

How To Develop Your Brand Message

The experiences clients have with your company leaves an “emotional aftertaste” according to psychologist and author Claude Steiner. It is this lingering aftertaste that forms the mental impression that creates

Exactly how do you escape the bondage of price and feature thinking and free yourself to develop a unique brand presentation that

An interesting, enlightening, and highly inventive way to analysis the current perception of your company, product, or service is to ask employees, customers, or anyone else that comes in contact with your business a series of out-of-the-ordinary questions, not the usual focus group material.

Finding Your Brand’s Emotional Aftertaste The questions below are examples of the kinds of things you can ask your colleagues, associates, and clients, in order to get an idea of what they really think of your brand and if that impression is the one you want to continue to foster, or if you need to go back to the drawing board and create new experiences and better advertising that generates a more positive emotional aftertaste and a more effective brand image.

You can add or make-up your own questions based on the following format: “If your brand were a ‘concept here’, what ‘concept’ would it be? Explain why?” If the word brand stumps your colleagues that’s a sure sign you have a problem, so try substituting the phrase “company, product, or service” for brand.

Make sure the concepts you use are as removed from your normal frame of reference as possible and try to find ones that tap into some kind of emotional aftertaste and see what results you get. You will most likely be very surprised, bemused, and enlightened by the results.

The Emotional Brand Aftertaste Questionnaire

The Web and How To Deliver Your Brand Image

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If your brand were a color, what color would it be? Explain why.

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If your brand were a car, what car would it be? Explain why.

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If your brand were an actor, what actor would it be? Explain why.

The reason our company recommends Webvideo marketing is that it is the best way to deliver your marketing message by utilizing and referencing the five senses that create the experience that forms and embeds the brand in an audience’s collective consciousness.

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If your brand were a city, what city would it be? Explain why.

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If your brand were a flavor, what flavor would it be? Explain why.

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If your brand were a garment, what garment would it be? Explain why.

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If your brand were a movie, what movie would it be? Explain why.

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If your brand were an animal, what animal would it be? Explain why.

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If your brand were a surprise anniversary present, how would your spouse react?

A while back I wrote about a campaign that Kleenex was running called “let it out” which in my opinion was a great example of how to use Web-video to deliver a marketing message.

I recently noticed that Kleenex was porting this campaign over to television with the videos re-edited into a shortened televisionfriendly collage and the result was the entire soul of the campaign was lost.

The abridged television format did not allow enough time to capture the emotionally charged dialogue; in fact if I hadn’t already seen the Web-versions of these videos, I would have entirely missed the point of the commercials. Perhaps it is a good thing that television advertising is out of reach to most small advertisers while professional Web-video is affordable for any viable business.

Most of our business day is filled with left-brain tasks that may be complex but are for the most part logical and procedural in nature whereas marketing and branding are right-brain activities governed by that hated enemy of rational business thinking, psychology.

If your brand were found in a supermarket, what item would it be? Explain why. If your item is normally found in a supermarket substitute a pharmacy, home decorating center or some other non-obvious alternative.

Marketers should take heart that the Web combined with Web-video offers a far more effective venue to deliver a memorable marketing message than television or print, but just any message won’t do. Craft your message around your brand’s emotional aftertaste and you should see results. If Webvideo can turn a commodity like facial tissue into an emotionally charged brand then imagine what it could do for you.

Jerry Bader is Senior Partner at MRPwebmedia, a website design firm that specializes in Web-audio and Web-video. Visit www.mrpwebmedia.com/ads , www.136words.com, and www.sonicpersonality.com . Contact at info@mrpwebmedia.com or telephone (905) 764-1246 Published with permission of : www.bestmanagementarticles.com & http://marketing.bestmanagementarticles.com

Don’t Mix Your Food

Color coding equipment can be a very useful technique to reinforce the need to separate raw and ready-to-eat food There are many opportunities for food to fall victim to cross-contamination as it travels through the different areas of the kitchen.

However, the greatest threat of cross-contamination foods face is in the prep area of the kitchen. Several things can go wrong during the food prep phase.

Not properly washing and sanitizing cutting boards and knives between tasks is an enormous problem. When prep utensils such as these contact raw meat and poultry and then contact ready-to-eat foods, the bacteria from the meat can be easily transferred to the ready-to-eat foods. That is a foodborne illness just waiting to happen.

Another disaster waiting to happen is putting cooked meats back in the container that held them when they were raw. This all-too-common mistake re-contaminates the cooked meat with whatever bacteria may have been present before cooking. An important step in preventing cross-contamination is to provide employees appropriate prevention tools such as color-coded prep and storage equipment.

Using color-coded equipment that is designated for use with speciďŹ c foods is one of the easiest and most effective ways to help combat cross-contamination. Vendors now offer color-coded equipment to use throughout the food preparation cycle including colorcoded knives, cutting boards, tongs, forks and storage boxes. The foodservice industry has established standards for color-coded systems. Use these standards or create your own unique color-coded system. Whatever coding you choose to follow, teach your employees to follow your stan dards, and use easy-to-read posters to reinforce their training. Training your employees to know and use a colorcoded system can help prevent a costly and deadly foodborne illness outbreak.

You can further maximize the use of a colorcoded system by creating zones in the kitchen for the different types of food prepared and assigning a different color to each zone.

For example, if one zone is for preparing produce, then only green cutting boards and knives should be found there. Assign other

colors for each of the different types of raw meat: poultry, beef and seafood. It is also a good idea to provide additional color-coded equipment like colorcoded racks for keeping different coloredknives separate during storage, and color-coded cutting board brushes.

These will encourage employees to properly store and clean prep equipment and will limit the spread of microorganisms.

It takes a concerted effort to keep food safe, and these efforts must extend past those mentioned here. Cross-contamination is a serious threat at every stage in the ow of food through the kitchen, and employees and management should take appropriate actions to make sure food is kept safe from the moment it is received until the moment it is served to the customer.

The rewards of these food safety efforts will be immense. Taking a proactive stance on food safety shields against the perils of a foodborne outbreak. Employees will be less likely to make the mistakes that commonly lead to foodborne illnesses if they are trained properly and given the tools they need.

Service Excellence Toss away unhelpful scripts to improve customer service Think of service as a giant TV screen. The guest or customer is holding the remote co trol, choosing which channels to watch or use. As the customer clicks buttons, sometimes there is static and sometimes there is the most beautiful picture in the world.

Sometimes it takes forever to find the right channel and sometimes there’s no sound.

Sometimes the controls don’t work. Sometimes the lips on the screen move without a sound.

What a service analogy, especially amid today’s economic flux and customer dissatisfaction. What a service opportunity, for those who choose to plug into the big picture and introduce a prime time feature of service excellence.

Clear vision and connectivity are essential to achieving this big picture of excellence. Many organizations set up customer care and service departments, reservation and call centers, and guest service resources, yet they don’t equip those personnel with the service behaviors that support their roles. They may provide minimal training or contract with an outside call center that takes orders instead of providing experience-based responsiveness. In the customer’s mind, these departments may end up better named as the “Customer I-don’t-care department,” or “the Customer Disservice Center.”

Take the customer with questions or challenges with products or services already ordered and purchased. Do your “customer service” personnel have the knowledge and resources they need to answer questions and actually help? Or are they simply ordertakers, dependent on pre-existing scripts

Today’s prime time feature of service excellence depends on empathetic service personnel who guard the gates of service delivery.

Empathy is hard to have when an employee has never seen or participated in any customer’s experience. that provide answers the customer does not need or want? Do they have easy and readily available access to customer history information so they can immediately relate to customer questions? Are they quick to say “no” instead of “I don’t know but let me find out”?

Perhaps they place too much emphasis on efficient and productive calls while sacrificing responsive and solution-oriented customer service essential to the big picture.

Often, it takes the technical or service personnel who actually face and interact LIVE with the customer and who actually solve the problems, to compensate for the department that passed that customer on. They seem better equipped and sensitized to showing empathy, apologizing for any inconvenience, respecting customer time and responding knowledgeably about all facets of the situation. They reduce anxieties by addressing concerns directly and immediately coming up with solutions and answers. Unfortunately, many customers must go through the painful experience of “customer service” to get to them.

Today’s prime time feature of service excellence depends on empathetic service personnel who guard the gates of service delivery.

Empathy is hard to have when an employee has never seen or participated in any customer’sexperience. It appears that many organizations that hire personnel for customer service functions may not actually expose those new employees to what really happens in the customer’s mind. Orientation may include telephone answering techniques and a written script instead of a thorough introduction to the essence of customer service.

Without better connectivity and a panoramic

vision of what the customer is going through and needs, the outcome is usually more time-consuming and costly for the company and less satisfying to the customer.

To better hire, train and manage the individuals who will fulfill these “customer service” roles, consider the following tips: •

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Get an empathy reading before placing anyone in this position. Ask them to share their own anxiety-producing experiences and why they happened and what made them better.

Find out if they can relate their own emotions to what might happen with customers or guests. Consider using predictive or personality testing in recruiting customer service personnel.

Provide real customer experiences if possible. Have them go on a service call as part of their orientation or talk with service personnel about what makes customers happy and sad. A script alone will not cut it.

Ensure that they have the full spectrum of options and possibilities for any customer situation. Develop and demonstrate a complete flow chart of each touch point that could take place in each customer interaction. Analyze how to prevent the negatives and protect the positives.

Empower them to provide answers, not “no,” “maybe” and undefined timeframes. Show them what “guest service” means and provide them with data, customer histories and the knowledge that will recognize a customer who has a track record and has been in touch before.

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Provide them with a vision for the best possible customer service outcomes.

Reinforce an attitude of customer appreciation in each aspect of any customer call from the greeting, to listening, to responding, to a sincere “thank you.” Show them how the littlest inflection and effort can make or break the best and worst situations. When they pass the baton, make sure it doesn’t drop and that the transition is seamless.

Make sure departments are not isolated from each other and understand how they have been cast for each scene.

Tune in to the big picture and make sure allchannels are directed to award-winning performances. Customer applause, and dollars, are worth the effort.

ROBERTA NEDRY is president of Hospitality Excellence, consultants in guest experience management and service excellence training programs. She can be reached at (954) 739-5299 or roberta@hospitalityexcellence.com.

“The most eagerly awaited magazine which is richly textured and well structured. As a Tourism Student, I found it very informative and fruitful....”

Ihuthisham, Student.

“Your publication is excellent. Well done! I enjoyed reading all the articles.

It is very motivating and valuable information especially in the training and service section. I haven’t come across such FREE magazine in Singapore with valuable tips esp. for the budding hoteliers in Maldives.

I believe you are contributing significantly to the Maldivian hospitality community.”

Rahman Jumaat, Principal Training Manager, AAA & Trading Company

LASTWORDS

“I would like to congratulate you on such superb and extremely informative magazine that you and your team are producing for the Maldivian tourism and hospitality industry. Unfortunately I have to admit that, myself I only recently came across your magazine issue 16 and found it extremely interesting with extremely good insight of the industry.”

Anwar Hussain, Director, EoN Resorts.