Whenever I enter a Ritz-Carlton hotel, I know “I’m not in Mediocreville anymore!”  Walking through those doors transports me to a world unparalleled in service, with guest amenities and services consistently beyond my expectations. Unlike the Wizard of Oz, the hotel is everything it purports to be.

I’m not a shill for Ritz-Carlton hotels, but, like other quality professionals, I’m a fan of extraordinary customer service and of organizations that exude professionalism and exceed customers’ expectations, and The Ritz-Carlton is one of those organizations. In the July issue of Consumer Reports , the magazine’s subscribers agree that, “The Ritz-Carlton earns top marks in value, service, upkeep, and making problems go away.”

This two-time Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award winner (1992 and 1999) has set the standard in the hotel industry for unparalleled service. In addition, Training magazine recently ranked it No. 1 for employee-sponsored workforce training and development. Based on those accomplishments, I wanted to discover what was behind the curtain, so to speak. How does this company of 40,000 employees maintain its mystique and what lessons can other companies learn from it?

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