Share "wow stories." Every day, employees of every department in every Ritz-Carlton hotel around the world gather for a 15-minute staff meeting where they share "wow stories." These are true stories of employee heroics that go above and beyond conventional customer service expectations. In one, a hotel chef in Bali found special eggs and milk for a guest with food allergies in a small grocery store in another country and had them flown to the hotel. In another, a hotel's laundry service failed to remove a stain on a guest's suit before the guest left. The hotel manager flew to the guest's house and personally delivered a reimbursement check for the cost of the suit.
Telling stories in these pep talks accomplishes two goals. It reinforces a customer service skill the hotel is trying to encourage. Most important, it gives an employee "local fame." Employees want to be recognized in front of their peers. Giving them public recognition is a powerful motivator.