Marina Del Rey Marriott

The Challenge - The Marina del Rey Marriott arrival score ranked 43rd out of 46 hotels at the end of 2008.  Local management was not pleased with this mediocre result and they approached us with a challenge to help them improve their ranking.

Our Solution - After a series of meetings with the “front” of the property staff including doormen, valets and bellmen, we devised and implemented new guest hand-off procedures to ensure comprehensive and consistent coverage at the “front” of the property.

The Results - As a result of our program, the Marina del Rey Marriott is currently ranked 8th out of 46 hotels on the arrival score metric.  Plus, the staff is doing a better job of working together and they feel more empowered based on increased feedback from guests and management.

Here is what Doug Smith, Assistant General Manager at the Marina del Rey Marriott, has to say about the drastic improvement:

“The Minuteman Parking team has done a fantastic job focusing on the customer, and dramatically improving our customer satisfaction scores. They have created an arrival experience that exceeds our customer’s expectations.”

Specifically, the Minuteman solution included:

• Upfront meetings - The upfront meetings were moderated by the local Minuteman Parking onsite team and were essential to identifying the root causes of the low arrival score.
• Daily training huddles - The training huddles were used to get the team together to discuss the service initiative for the day.  While these meetings did not take very much time, they serve to set the tone for each day and get the team focused on delivering superior service.
• Toys for kids - During the Summer months when many people are traveling with children, we started handing out small toys to customers with children.   The toys included “Bob the Bear” for children which is a Marina del Rey teddy bear and an arrival gift bag for families which included a Marina del Rey Marriott beach bag with a bucket, shovel and sun screen.  These simple gestures went a long way towards making customers feel good about choosing Marriott as their hotel option, and eased the challenges of families traveling with children.
• Shortened valet shifts - The shortened valet shifts provide Marriott with more available attendants during peak times which serves to minimize wait times for customers arriving and departing the property.  We are providing the same amount of labor, but with more resources for certain peak time periods.
• Tracking - To measure the effectiveness of our training, we started tracking how many different attendants in the front used each customer’s name.
• Vision - Now the entire staff has the same vision how superior customer service should be delivered for the Marina del Rey Marriott, and they are working together to achieve that goal.

Minuteman Parking Manager Ron Machón received a special “Recognition to Service Excellence” award from the Torrance Marriott recently.  Only four associates from each property are recognized each quarter, and Ron was the only vendor recognized for his efforts.

“Exceptional customer service is one of the cornerstones for Minuteman Parking and it is wonderful that one of our employees is recognized for his efforts by one of our customers.  This award is a tribute to the hard work and dedication to customer service that Ron brings to everything he does,” says Minuteman Parking President Chris Fox.

Ron just completed his 1-year anniversary at the Torrance Marriott in May.  However, Ron has been working for Minuteman Parking since 2004 when he started out as a valet at the Marina Del Rey Marriott while attending college.  Ron graduated from Cal State Long Beach in 2007 with a BS degree, majoring in criminal justice and minoring in Human Development.  In his spare time, Ron enjoys riding motorcycles.

Congratulations Ron and keep up the great effort!

Minuteman Manager Ron Machón

When I promote someone to manager at Minuteman Parking, one of the first things I do is hand them a copy of Ken Blanchard’s Simple Truths of Services: Inspired by Johnny the Bagger. This book helps to reinforce the Minuteman Parking Commitments to Excellence.

I like this book because it helps people see that everyone can make a contribution and a difference. And that what may seem to be a small gesture can pay huge dividends. The story is about Johnny who has Down Syndrome and is a bagger at a grocery store. Johnny’s contribution was to come up with a new special saying each night. He would type up the saying and would then put them in customers’ bags the next day. This small gesture ultimately transformed the whole store and inspired other employees to ‘delight’ their customers too.

My challenge to all Minuteman employees is to:

Think about something you can do for your customer to make them feel special - a memory that will make them come back.

If you don’t have time to read the book, at least take the time to watch this 3-minute movie about the story. I am confident that you will be as inspired by the story as I was and continue to be: