The WOW Factor (from Abilene Biz)

By Robin Saylor / AbileneBiz contributor

Do you have a Director of Wow in your organization? How about a Wizard of Whatever?

While attending a convention recently in Oklahoma City, I had the good fortune of staying at a hotel that boasted those two employees along with a number of other creatively titled staff members.

My travel companions and I arrived at the Renaissance Convention Center Hotel & Spa to find a lobby packed to the seams with conventioneers waiting to check in.

As we approached the front desk, I glanced at the clerk’s official nametag. I looked again, this time more closely. Instead of “front desk clerk,” it read Director of First Impressions. We commented on the appropriateness of the title as she looked up our reservations in her computer.

When the adjoining rooms we’d requested weren’t available, she quickly introduced us to her boss, the Director of Wow – yes, that was the official title on her nametag – who apologized and gave us vouchers for a free breakfast buffet the next morning. Mind you, we hadn’t complained – the request wasn’t of much importance to us – but the Director of First Impressions anticipated our possible displeasure and took action to forestall disappointment.

In another area of the lobby, the Wizard of Whatever, a.k.a. the concierge, was busy helping guests with their questions, directing them to nearby restaurants and such. Another Director of First Impressions walked up and down the line passing out cups of hot chocolate to the conventioneers, many of whom had been on the road or in an airport for hours and were tired and impatient.

This emphasis on customer service was impressive.

General Manager Jeffrey Oliasami says he came up with the idea of re-titling jobs after reading John DiJulius’ book “What’s the Secret To Providing a World-Class Customer Service Experience”.

“The book says you’ve got to make sure those who work in the customer area understand what their job is. Our primary job is to impress guests, so we took it from there,” Oliasami says.

His employees’ titles come from their individual job descriptions, Oliasami says. “We’re here to make a good first impression. We want to wow our guests. It’s a total shift in mindset.”

Employees who come in direct contact with guests, such as desk clerks, valets and receptionists, are called Directors of First Impressions. The front desk manager is the Director of Wow. The front office manager is called the Chief Experience Officer, or CXO. “He has to make sure the experience of each guest is at 100 percent,” Oliasami says.

The Director of Customer Loyalty ensures guests in the Marriott Rewards program know they are appreciated. The Wizard of Whatever does whatever the guest asks. “If they need tickets to an event, he finds them; if they want to know the best place to eat, he helps them out,” Oliasami says.

The bellman is now an Experience Guide. Even the housekeeping department’s titles have changed. Members of the cleaning staff are Daymakers. The support staffers who deliver towels, sheets and other supplies are the Just Do It team, “because when something needs to be done, they just do it.” Oliasami says.

The new titles have made employees more aware of their impact on customers, Oliasami says. “It’s created a whole new way of looking at customer service. If you get employees to believe what their true job is, they can do it.”

Oliasami, who has worked for the Marriott hotel system for more than 25 years, informally calls himself “the coach,” but has kept his official title because guests still want to speak to a general manager at times.

He came to the Renaissance 18 months ago with the express goal to improve customer service. He implemented the new nomenclature about four months ago, and it is still a work in progress.

“Our employees are involved. They are coming up with titles. It’s created a lot of excitement among the staff,” Oliasami says.

The reaction of guests has been positive as well. “They laugh. Sometimes they say, “Wow, that’s different, but it makes sense,’ ” he says.

Oliasami’s hotel is the only one in the Marriott chain – and as far as he can tell the only one in the nation – using such titles. “The way I look at this new idea is that we are giving every associate with guest contact a title with a promise of guest satisfaction,” he says.

It seems the approach is more than just a promise.

After I arrived home from my stay at the Renaissance, I discovered I’d left a favorite item in the room. I thought it unlikely I’d ever see it again, but called the hotel anyway.

Within 15 minutes, a message was left on my voice mail that my possession was safe. I wasn’t able to answer the phone immediately but saw on caller I.D. that over the next hour, the employee had called twice more. I finally had a chance to return her call. “I’m sorry to keep calling you,” she said, “but I wanted to confirm your address before I got off work tonight so we could ship your package out first thing in the morning.”

I was wowed.