The Four Seasons Essay

One way they accomplish that is by thinking in a different way than many other companies. One way the Four Seasons is unique is that they start by treating their employees like they wanted their customers to be treated, while at the same time holding them to a high standard. As Mr. Sharp put it, “I didn’t want a complacent ‘good enough’ attitude creeping in.” He made sure his employees aimed for perfection, even if it wasn’t attainable, in the hopes that the customers would notice their great effort to deliver 100% customer satisfaction. Isadore encouraged the frontline employees to exceed their authority and to stick their necks out, and the Four Seasons employees used this trust to turn complaints into new “new service opportunities,” in the hopes that customers would remember the outcome and not the complaint. As he put it, “we either trust them or we don’t. We can’t hedge our bets with penalties.” This “enshrining” of the Golden Rule, treat others as you wish to be treated yourself, was “the most fundamental decision in shaping our future.”

One great example of Mr. Sharp created a great work culture was by “treating employees the way we expect them to treat our customers.” As he put it, “we are only what we do, not what we say we are.” By putting the expendable personal first, he completely changed the prevalent style of management which

When you visit a Four Seasons, you can tell that every internal customers, or employees, genuinely cares about the wellbeing of the company. This starts all the way from the top, and has a ripple effect through the hotel. Isadore made this point clear as he toured his hotels, telling management at every level that “we can’t change employee behavior without changing ours.” This commitment to treating the employee as they deserved to be treated led to the great customer service that the Four Seasons is known