the “wow” factor: applying the ritz-carlton customer...
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The “Wow” Factor:
Applying the Ritz-Carlton Customer Service Model to Academic Advising-----------------------------------------------------------
Kelly RoyAcademic Advisor
College of BusinessFlorida Atlantic University
∗ Supportive advising relationships have one of the strongest connections to retention (Tinto, 2004).
∗ When students feel connected to their institutions, they are more likely to be retained (Drake, 2011).
∗ Rendon (1995) suggests 2 critical retention factors:∗ Guidance and advising throughout the transition to college∗ Creating strong relationships with staff or faculty during the first
semester
∗ Institutions should deliver a superior experience and services to the student (Ostrom, Bitner, & Burkhard, 2011).
Role of Advising in Retention
∗ Established 1983∗ Roots can be traced back to early 1900’s
through The Ritz-Carlton, Boston
∗ Five-Star Hotels and Resorts
∗ Embody luxury and high standards
(The Ritz-Carlton Hotel Company, L.L.C., 2015)
The Ritz-Carlton Hotel Company
∗ Award Winning∗ Numerous awards, honors, and recognitions∗ 2 Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Awards
∗ 1992, 1999
(The National Institute of Standards and Technology, 2014)
The Ritz-Carlton Hotel Company
∗The Credo∗Motto∗Three Steps Of Service∗Service Values∗The 6th Diamond∗The Employee Promise
(The Ritz-Carlton Hotel Company, L.L.C., 2015)
The Ritz-Carlton Gold Standards
“The Ritz-Carlton Hotel is a place where the genuine care and comfort of our guests is our highest mission.
We pledge to provide the finest personal service and facilities for our guests who will always enjoy a warm, relaxed, yet refined ambience.
The Ritz-Carlton experience enlivens the senses, instills well-being, and fulfills even the unexpressed wishes and needs of our guests.”
(The Ritz-Carlton Hotel Company, L.L.C., 2015)
The Ritz-Carlton Credo
Expressed Wishes vs
Unexpressed Wishes
Application to Advising
∗Student’s expressed wish: ∗Help me select classes for next term
Advising Example 1
∗ Was the student’s expressed wish met?
∗ Did the student leave happy and satisfied?
∗ Were any extra services provided?
∗ What about the unexpressed wishes?
Advising Example 1
∗Student’s expressed wish: ∗ Help me select classes for next term
Advising Example 2
∗ Was the student’s expressed wish met?
∗ Did the student leave happy and satisfied?
∗ Were any extra services provided or unexpressed wishes met?
Advising Example 2
∗ Unexpressed wishes met:∗ Recommended a grade forgiveness∗ Discussed unsatisfied Foreign Language requirement∗ Discussed future academic and/or career plans∗ Made referrals: Graduate Advising, Internship Coordinator∗ Checked the student’s holds∗ Provide instructions for the competency exam and a flowchart
for course sequencing
Advising Example 2
∗ Course planning, pairing, and sequencing∗ GPA Calculations∗ Grade Forgiveness∗ Complimentary majors, minors, or certificates∗ Graduate School and/or Career Goals∗ Involvement in Student Organizations∗ Referrals & Supplemental Services:
∗ i.e. Tutoring, Career Services, Financial Aid, OSD, Counseling Center etc.∗ Exceptional Circumstances Withdrawal or Late Withdrawal∗ Check the student’s holds∗ Excess Credit Surcharge Discussions∗ Provide necessary course authorizations or overrides∗ At-risk GPA, warning, probation, suspension, dismissal discussions∗ Review missing requirements, such as foreign language or summer hours∗ Others?
Advising Services: Expressed & Unexpressed Wishes
∗ Phone Appointments and Correspondence ∗ Follow up with an email to recap what was discussed.∗ Speak slowly, spell course prefixes and repeat numbers.∗ Return voicemails in a timely manner.∗ Answer your phone when you are free.∗ If the student calls in without an appointment, answer quick
questions if you can. If not, ask the student to make an appointment so you can better review their information.
Phone Advising Services:Expressed & Unexpressed Wishes
∗ Email Correspondence ∗ Use templates to copy and paste common or large amounts of
information quickly. ∗ If you refer a student to another department/office, provide
the contact information. ∗ If a student’s question(s) are too in depth or complicated, ask
them to schedule a full advising appointment, and provide directions on how to do so.
∗ Respond to emails in a timely manner.
Email Advising Services:Expressed & Unexpressed Wishes
∗ Advisors should already be doing all of these things.
∗ We should not be treating students as customers, providing for their every need. We should be teaching students to navigate the system and locate information on their own so they can learn responsibility.
∗ This is not applicable to all different kinds of advising visits.
∗ Others?
Criticisms
∗ Be proactive!
∗ Don’t wait for the student to ask.
∗ What more can you be doing for your students?
Bottom Line
Which are you?
Ordinary Extraordinary
Drake, J. (2011). The Role of Academic Advising in Student Retention and Persistence. About Campus, 16(3), 8–12. doi:10.1002/abc.20062
Ostrom, A. L., Bitner, M. J., & Burkhard, K. A. (2011). Leveraging Service Blueprinting to Rethink Higher Education: When Students Become ‘Valued Customers,’ Everybody Wins. www.americanprogress.org: Center for American Progress. Retrieved from https://www.americanprogress.org/issues/labor/report/2011/10/31/10512/leveraging-service-blueprinting-to-rethink-higher-education/
Rendon, L. (1995, May). Facilitating retention and transfer for the first generation students in community colleges. Paper presented at the New Mexico Institute, Rural Community College Initiative, Espanolo, NM.
The National Institute of Standards and Technology (2014). Baldrige Performance Excellence Program. Retrieved 10 May 2015, from http://patapsco.nist.gov/Award_Recipients/index.cfm
The Ritz-Carlton Hotel Company, L.L.C. (2015). The Ritz-Carlton. Retrieved 13 February 2015, from http://www.ritzcarlton.com/en/Corporate/Default.htm
Tinto, V. (2004). Student Retention and Graduation: Facing the Truth, Living with the Consequences. Occasional Paper 1. Pell Institute for the Study of Opportunity in Higher Education.
References