Serving to win is mostly a matter of knowing why
Petite dejeuner (breakfast) is served in grand style at Le Grand Inter-Continental Hotel in Paris.
I call over the maitre d', a young good-looking man, slim and perfectly dressed. He walks fast as he approaches, and waits to speak until being spoken to. "Is French your native language," I inquire. "No, I'm Dutch," says Marcel Van Rooijen with a smile.
"How many languages do you speak?" I ask. "Just four at the moment," he tries to say modestly.
"What makes the service here so good?" I ask. "We want to serve. It's a personal commitment," Marcel says. "If you don't want to be of service, you don't belong in this business."
"The first guy I worked for in Holland had a 4-year-old son," Marcel says. "The son taught me what his dad taught him. The word 'cannot' does not exist. There is only a solution. To me, problems don't exist. I only see a challenge and a solution. I go for a smile on the customer's face."
I see Marcel's eyes dart around the room, looking to see that all was well. I tell him to let me know if he needs to go. "Actually today is my day off," he replies. "But I looked at the schedule and saw the occupancy of the hotel was greater than the staff could support, so decided to come in to work." Great decision. A self-enhancing decision. "You seem much brighter than the average maitre d'," I challenge.
"Actually this is a temporary job," Marcel says. "I have been selected for the (Inter-Continental) corporate management training program. In 10 years, if I study hard and work all the jobs in the hotel, I will be qualified to be a general manager," he says with an eye of fire. "I want to make it in eight." Any bets?
"I was working at The Hague (the Netherlands) and the general manager of my hotel told me to write and ask to be selected for a special management program. I was invited. I passed a series of aptitude tests, and was one of five selected from among 1,500 ... so here I am. I must get to the five-language level, so I hope to be transferred to Madrid in two years.
"I was sent here to learn French," he says in perfect English. "At this moment I am not thinking in French, but I will be in about 60 days. In Paris, I am 'in' the French language. Immersion is the best way to learn.
"My real responsibility is the way I serve today," Marcel says. "You see, the way I serve the people today will determine if anyone will be there to check in when I become a general manager." Very, very cool.
Marcel keeps jumping up to serve guests in between our words, as though it was part of an internal instinct. Not knee-jerk, rather an involuntary (responsible) response. I ask Marcel to tell me his philosophy of service.
"Absolutely no problem" is my spoken credo, Marcel says. "To a customer those words sound like music." (NOTE: Every time I asked him if he was able to do something or get something he used those words to me.)
"Personally I think a customer can feel the difference between one hotel and another. Guests are paying for an experience, the whole enchilada," he says with a smile. "From the moment they arrive until the moment they leave, they are entitled to the best service we can offer. Not forced, not fake. Real service. Knowing needs and responding in a way that the guest will love."
"Rational, exceptional service-oriented people who want to grow and succeed must learn why they serve," he continued. "The white hats know why, and the black hats only know how. I was educated to understand why, not just trained to understand how. Knowing why one serves ensures consistent, superior service." (About now I'm wanting to put this guy in my suitcase and bring him back to America to do seminars with me.)
O.K., I get it. Now I begin to watch Marcel's every move as he leaves us. He floats between the front of the room (where new guests show up at regular and frequent intervals) and the tables where people are seated. Marcel is in constant motion.
A guest approaches Marcel and begins to yell at him. "There are no plates for eating and the fish platter is empty," the guest grunts. He kicks the dirt and returns to his table where he is seated with his wife, and they begin to grunt in harmony.
Unruffled Marcel disappears behind the kitchen doors. Plates begin to appear in stacks. Marcel personally brings one filled with fish over to the table of grunters. He serves it and begins to talk with the people. In about a minute, Mr. Grunt begins to smile. In another minute Grunt laughs. Marcel slips away to serve another. Marcel wins.
I called him over to discuss the incident. "Yes, when I get a smile from an angry guest, that's my report card." Marcel says. "Today I got an A."
I interviewed Marcel because I wanted to capture the essence of his desire to serve. I wanted to know what drove his attitude to recover in the face of "ugly" people in a way where both the server and the customer win.
"I feel happy doing what I'm doing," Marcel says. "Some are happy playing sports, I'm happy to serve."
The difference that sets Marcel apart from others who serve? Obvious. Others know how. Marcel knows why. Which way do you know?
Jeffrey Gitomer is the author of "The Sales Bible," and "Customer Satisfaction is Worthless, Customer Loyalty is Priceless." President of North Carolina-based Buy Gitomer, he gives seminars, runs annual sales meetings, and conducts training programs on selling and customer service. He can be e-mailed at salesman@gitomer.com
