What the butler saw

Douglas West

Paul Hemp, a senior editor of the Harvard Business Review, relates his experiences spent as a planted room service waiter at the Ritz-Carlton hotel in Boston.

Best in Brief: What the butler saw

(Harvard Business Review)

Paul HempHarvard Business Review

Paul Hemp, a Senior Editor of the Harvard Business Review, spent a week as a roomservice waiter at the RitzCarlton in Boston to examine the life of someone who has to deliver the goods that managers hope will delight their customers. The idea was to discover what service commitment means to an employee.

The twoday orientation programme had an interactive format, with staff encouraged to participate in discussing such topics as, 'What comes to mind when you think of the Ritz?' and, 'What did your...

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