Putting the (Internal) Customer first

At the check-in counter of the DoubleTree in Spokane two weeks ago, I asked Mike, who would be co-facilitating the corporate retreat we were scheduled to lead the next morning, “Do you know what’s great about DoubleTree hotels?”.

Before he could answer, I said, “It’s the freshly baked chocolate chip cookies you get when you check in!”. Michele, the desk clerk, with mock disappointment and a playful smile said, “Ohhh, I was hoping you’d say it’s our customer service!”

By the next afternoon, we realized that Michele was right. Mike and I aren’t strangers to first-class hotels, yet, after our experience, we both agreed there was something very special about this one. Here’s what happened:

The evening we checked in, we had gone to look over the “Executive Boardroom” that had been reserved by our clients for the retreat. Although it was beautiful and well-appointed, the size and shape of the room and its large oak conference table presented some serious logistical problems for us. It didn’t provide the open space we would need and we knew the quality of the retreat would suffer. We needed to arrange for another room, and it was now 10:30 on a Sunday night.

So, after mentally rehearsing what I was going to say when I would be told there was nothing that could be done at this late hour, I took a deep breath and called down to the front desk. Sure enough, although sympathetic, Michele told me the convention services staff had gone home and she didn’t have the scheduling book for the meeting rooms.

But, then, after only a short of pause, she said, “Here’s what I CAN do. I’ll call LeeAnn, the Convention Services director, at home, and find out if the Evergreen room is available, which is larger and more open.”

I told her I didn’t want to disturb anyone at home, and Michele said, “I know LeeAnn, and not only will she not mind, she’ll be grateful that I called.” A few minutes later, Michele called back to say that it was all arranged, and the new room would be set up for us by 7:30 in the morning.

The next morning, as our clients began filtering into the room, someone commented that it was “too bad we can’t swap these straight chairs for the nice plush chairs that are in the Executive Boardroom.... “ Unfortunately, when I went to check the boardroom, it was already occupied by the hotel management team for a Monday morning meeting.

But, before I even reached our room to tell our clients we were out of luck, Wendy, our DoubleTree contact, had interrupted the meeting and asked if they would be willing to give up their chairs for us!

Already, not far behind me, a train of hotel executives were wheeling their plush chairs down the hall, with big grins on their faces, to exchange with the straight chairs they would take back to continue their meeting. WOW! Now THAT was service!

This experience, and several others that day, convinced me I had to come back to the DoubleTree to learn what made that level of service second-nature to the hotel staff. So, a week later, I drove back up there and spent the afternoon talking with both staff and management.

There were many things I learned on the return visit about what made this DoubleTree special, but there was one thing that stood out from the others. As I listened to them talk about their co-workers, I was repeatedly struck with the respect and appreciation they have for each other.

This respect was in their voices, but also in their actions. They have a “CARE” committee, comprised of non-managerial staff representing all departments, which meets with the general manager once a month to talk about issues of concern to the employees and the hotel. Also, many hotel employees contribute automatically from their paycheck to a common “CARE” fund. These funds are controlled by a three-person committee (again, no managers), and are made available for individual staff members with special or emergency needs.

It was also interesting that they just recently changed one of the hotel’s seven “CARE” values from “The customer comes first” to “The INTERNAL customer comes first”. By “internal customer”, they mean the DoubleTree employee, so this is a value concerning how employees are to treat employees.

Why did they make this change? Does it really make sense?

It does if you take a moment to think about it. What might have happened if Michele hadn’t been comfortable enough with LeeAnn to call her at home at almost 11pm that Sunday night? Or, if Wendy didn’t have a relationship with her superiors that allowed her to interrupt their meeting to ask them to give up their chairs?

The respect, caring, and hospitality that the DoubleTree provides to its customers comes naturally and freely because it’s a habit developed in every working relationship within and without the hotel.

So, next time someone says “The customer comes first”, think of the DoubleTree’s focus on the internal customer. Think of the importance of caring for and nurturing the most important link between the boardroom and the paying customer: the employee.

Originally published by the Lewiston Tribune - Business Times, December 1997, Lewiston, Idaho