Valuetainment - February 14, 2026


“Steve Jobs Came To Learn” - Ritz Carlton Founder REVEALS What Apple Studied About Customer Service


Episode Stats

Length

8 minutes

Words per Minute

161.88011

Word Count

1,334

Sentence Count

156

Hate Speech Sentences

2


Summary


Transcript

00:00:00.000 You won the Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award twice, 92 and 99.
00:00:07.000 No other company has ever done this before.
00:00:09.180 So what is the significance of that?
00:00:11.380 Because that's straight up from the White House, right?
00:00:13.000 That's straight from the D.C.
00:00:14.080 What is the significance of that?
00:00:16.380 Well, it's a fantastic thing that the government did more intensely.
00:00:23.020 It happened during the 80s when the Japanese became major competitors to us.
00:00:29.160 They were taking over, they're buying everything and controlling and product and cars and everything.
00:00:37.320 No, we didn't make no more TVs when the Commerce Department said we have to study how to be more competitive with the Japanese.
00:00:47.320 Studied the number one companies in the world, studied the companies that were sustained leaders in their product for many years, why and so on.
00:00:54.660 Found commonalities and created a criteria.
00:00:59.160 And afterwards, we have to find out who in America comes close to that so we can make it an example for other companies.
00:01:09.820 Got it.
00:01:10.020 So when you studied and done apply, if you win the Baltic, you are obligated to open your company up for other companies to come in and learn for a year free.
00:01:22.440 What a concept.
00:01:23.580 Yeah.
00:01:24.180 For a year for free?
00:01:25.580 Yeah.
00:01:26.160 We had every Monday 20, 30 companies there to learn.
00:01:29.920 We created a learning center.
00:01:32.620 No, I figured out how to make money on it.
00:01:34.520 No.
00:01:35.380 So we started at 7 o'clock Monday mornings, so they had to check out on Sunday, check in on Sunday.
00:01:41.920 So they still got to book the room.
00:01:44.680 That's great.
00:01:45.480 So the companies would come and learn.
00:01:46.940 Come and learn from us.
00:01:47.780 If I'm not mistaken.
00:01:48.320 Including Job, Steve Job, before they went into retail.
00:01:54.940 I was about to just say Apple.
00:01:56.360 So Steve Jobs came to you.
00:01:57.760 Yeah.
00:01:58.160 Yeah.
00:01:58.960 Including for retail.
00:02:01.900 Including Disney was there many times.
00:02:05.840 And so on.
00:02:07.000 People are coming in and learning.
00:02:09.040 How do we work the processes, the measurements, the process, the improvements, and so on.
00:02:15.440 And we were pretty good at us.
00:02:18.540 I said our channel manager was kind of best at the improvement, the elimination of process permanently.
00:02:23.820 I tell one story in the book, if you read it.
00:02:28.480 Winston, excellence.
00:02:30.000 In room service, room service.
00:02:31.520 Where we had for six years a complaint.
00:02:34.840 I was the channel manager of the first one, obviously.
00:02:37.440 There was no other hotel.
00:02:40.100 During my time, the complaint room service, I managed it like a normal manager.
00:02:45.320 I said, read my lips, fix it.
00:02:48.660 Doesn't work that way.
00:02:49.680 You have to find out their process.
00:02:51.460 I learned very carefully from the Baltic office how to do that.
00:02:57.320 I had my first Baltic meeting.
00:03:00.340 Somebody said that we were the best hotel company in the world.
00:03:03.720 And I had a lot of complaints.
00:03:05.520 When somebody said, well, of course, I understand.
00:03:08.900 They asked me, best hotel company.
00:03:12.280 I said, maybe we're the best of a lousy lot, but we're not very good.
00:03:16.680 And he said, you should look into the Baltic criteria.
00:03:19.560 Went to Washington.
00:03:21.980 Had a meeting with the head.
00:03:23.400 He explained me the criteria for half an hour.
00:03:26.920 I didn't understand a word he said.
00:03:28.820 Literally.
00:03:29.260 And he said, do you have time for lunch?
00:03:32.760 I had lunch with him.
00:03:34.220 Years later, he asked me, when I became an expert in the issue, do you know why I invite you for lunch?
00:03:41.340 I said, why?
00:03:42.040 He said, you didn't understand the word I said.
00:03:44.700 He knew it.
00:03:45.980 He knew.
00:03:46.660 Why didn't you understand what he said?
00:03:49.760 Fishbowl analysis, parata charts, and things like that.
00:03:52.180 I don't know what they started.
00:03:53.880 I see.
00:03:54.160 I got you.
00:03:54.820 So he knew.
00:03:55.700 Yeah.
00:03:56.120 And he said, let's go further.
00:03:56.880 You have to understand, I left the school when I was 14 years old.
00:04:00.360 That's right.
00:04:01.840 I didn't go to business school.
00:04:03.440 No college, no business school.
00:04:04.900 But later, when I was here, I took the courses in Cornell and so on.
00:04:08.700 Didn't you later on get a PhD or doctorate from some school?
00:04:11.220 Yeah, yeah.
00:04:11.440 Honorary doctorate?
00:04:12.240 Yeah, honorary.
00:04:12.820 Which school was it that gave it to you?
00:04:14.180 I'm sorry.
00:04:17.780 I said it right now.
00:04:18.500 When you ask me names, I always put me in the word Johnson and Wales.
00:04:24.000 Okay.
00:04:24.380 Got it.
00:04:24.900 Very cool.
00:04:25.560 Yeah.
00:04:25.800 Very cool.
00:04:26.340 So Steve Jobs, what did he ask you?
00:04:29.200 What kind of questions was he asking you?
00:04:30.660 I wasn't involved in teaching him at the time.
00:04:32.800 I was out in Asia at the time.
00:04:35.600 But he came in to ask, how do we treat customers?
00:04:38.420 What do you think make us successful?
00:04:40.620 How do we make them successful?
00:04:41.760 By saying hello.
00:04:42.740 And he picked up.
00:04:45.280 I know what he picked up.
00:04:47.760 First contact.
00:04:49.500 We teach.
00:04:50.820 And that's what he got it.
00:04:53.540 Most people don't get it even, what we teach.
00:04:57.060 The behavioral analysts tell you, you make a decision about somebody when you come with
00:05:02.600 10 feet.
00:05:03.220 So how do I make sure you make a good decision?
00:05:07.960 But wait a minute.
00:05:08.780 They make a decision about you.
00:05:09.980 So how make sure that decision is a good one?
00:05:14.340 That's why when you go into the contest, they have somebody staying there right away.
00:05:18.740 Well-dressed.
00:05:19.740 So say, welcome.
00:05:20.600 Can I help?
00:05:21.120 What is the problem?
00:05:21.780 And they take you.
00:05:22.440 And we had learned that from the behavioral analysts.
00:05:26.740 I worked with the behavioral analysts at the University of Colorado and Frankfurt.
00:05:30.440 They said, the decision is made about you the moment when we make contact.
00:05:35.380 That's why we taught you have, when somebody comes within 10 feet, no matter what you do,
00:05:39.560 you look them in the eye and say, welcome.
00:05:40.620 So don't say hi.
00:05:42.340 When you say hi, we are equal.
00:05:44.140 But if I say, welcome, and look you in the eye, I'm saying I respect you.
00:05:53.080 But at the same time, Sam, you can trust me.
00:05:55.960 I'm professional.
00:05:57.320 So we make sure that I hired kids from Center City.
00:06:01.640 I've never seen anything elegant in their life.
00:06:05.020 So now we put them in a great outfit.
00:06:07.500 We teach them not to use certain words, don't say ever hi, don't say okay, say my pleasure, and so on.
00:06:16.380 And three weeks later, this kid meets potentially with the Chairman of the Board of Bank of England, and it works.
00:06:24.240 And it works.
00:06:25.500 That's what he saw.
00:06:27.160 And that's how he created the retail.
00:06:29.300 And be impressed by the look of it.
00:06:32.300 Have this positive in mind.
00:06:34.600 We look, by the way, it's very important for people to know.
00:06:37.500 Businesses and all.
00:06:38.600 We looked at 400,000 comment cards.
00:06:41.060 Beginning, we had comment cards.
00:06:43.360 Chetty Power analyzed them for us.
00:06:45.860 Whenever the first...
00:06:46.960 400,000 comment cards?
00:06:48.320 Yeah.
00:06:48.580 What does that mean?
00:06:49.820 Guests that commented in the room.
00:06:51.160 Oh, comment cards.
00:06:52.020 Got it.
00:06:52.320 400,000 comment cards.
00:06:53.520 Yeah.
00:06:53.820 Got it.
00:06:54.560 They're not scientifically that important.
00:06:57.400 They call in are much more scientific, by the way.
00:07:00.640 But anyway, when I heard them, I worked with Chetty Power.
00:07:04.520 Dave Power was a friend.
00:07:06.320 They talked and analyzed them.
00:07:08.520 And they came back and said, 100%, without exception, 100%, when the first contact was excellent, never did the complaint follow.
00:07:19.040 Positive subconscious.
00:07:21.060 Whenever there was one negative in either reservation, doorman, or front desk, always did complaints follow.
00:07:28.480 Wow.
00:07:29.600 I mean, wow.
00:07:30.920 So I have to make sure that I'm in first contact.
00:07:33.000 That's why when you walked in the red sky, in first contact, that's why you saw huge flowers.
00:07:37.280 First thing you saw, everything positive in your subconscious, so you feel positive about the rest.
00:07:42.220 Success is built on how you think.
00:07:46.360 Influence is built on how you show up.
00:07:50.860 Every detail matters.
00:07:53.680 Because presence speaks before you do.
00:07:57.720 This is more than style.
00:08:02.000 The future looks bright.
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