Most people expect to receive great service at four diamond hotels. But that's not good enough for Loews. The New-York based hotel chain, which has properties in 16 cities across the United States and Canada, tries to "wow" every one of its guests with high-quality accommodations, impressive surroundings, personalized service, and thoughtful amenities for a luxurious experience.
A key element of Loews' success is the extensive training it provides its employees. Annually, it spent more than 50,000 hours training its employees. Whether they work at the front desk, as housekeepers, accountants, or marketing managers, they learn about the big-picture goals of the company and how the quality of service differentiates one company from another in the hotel business. "The key is to train all departments of your organization to be customer centric," says Jon Tisch, the company's chairman.
"Thinking about customers can't be left to marketing and sales alone. Manufacturing, R&D, strategy, management, all have to be focused on the needs and desires of the customer."
Customer-facing employees at Loews undergo classroom training, including role-playing and simulations to learn how to deal with customers. "Living
Loews," a two-day training program, teaches employees not only the finer points of etiquette but how to really sell the Loews experience-even when things go wrong. "Part of this training deals with how to handle pressure, which is something employees in any industry are bound to face. We're all human, so mistakes can happen," Tisch explains. "But when they do, we train our coworkers to impress our guests with an extraordinary recovery that we hope they'll remember even more."
1. How do Loews's training programs relate to the company's business strategy?
2. Why does the company encourage its employees to focus on the customers' needs versus other metrics?