Hi,

In follow-up to my previous post, I am reminded of what Mr. Selfridge (founder of famous department store in London, at the turn of the century, yes last century and still in business today) once said: The Customer is Always Right! Or, what one of the most famous hoteliers in the world Cesar Ritz once said: The Customer is King!  No wonder he was known as the King of Hoteliers and the Hotelier of Kings!

I am reminded of one story, where Cesar Ritz, at the beginning of his career, was in the midst of planning and executing a grand soiree for lots of dignitaries in his establishment.  A few short hours before the event, they lost all heat and being in the middle of winter, the room got awfully cold awfully fast!  What to do? In those days they did not have the comfort of email or phones for that matter, the event could not be cancelled.

So Cesar Ritz, had the staff build bonfires outside and placed lots of bricks in them to heat them up. Then, shortly before the event was to start, he had those heated bricks placed underneath all the tables in the venue. Furthermore, the first course being served that night was a Bouillabaisse…so he instructed the chefs to make it extra spicy.

So what happened?  The event was a huge success and no one was the wiser that there was no heat in the room!  Go figure!  Talk about perception becoming reality!

No wonder he became the King of Hoteliers and the Hotelier of Kings!

Like I say: there are two things you can do, either you do it or you don’t!

At Your Service,
Aurelian A.