The New Gold Standard

July 15, 2008
Not many business books focus intently on a single company, but Michelli ("The Starbucks Experience: 5 Principles for Turning Ordinary into Extraordinary") has done it again with a book about the Ritz-Carlton Hotel Company. This is at first glance a book about luxury. Many books describe a trend toward luxury worldwide; for instance, Michael Silverstein and Neil Fiske's "Trading Up: The New American Luxury" considers how Americans in particular relish small luxury treats, such as handbags, drinks, or weekend getaways. Michelli's new book is unquestionably tapping into the same trend. Yet a company that has survived for over a century must be about more than trends. This book describes those timeless elements that the company has institutionalized to allow it to grow and maintain the superb service for which it is known; service is in fact the core issue. It's not simply, in the case of the Ritz, about timeless buildings with tasteful appointments. As Michelli points out, it's embodied by the mantra "gentlemen and ladies serving gentlemen and ladies." This work would be useful for libraries with collections on hospitality and customer service, as well as large business school collections or corporate libraries. It is not appropriate for smaller general-circulation libraries.Stephen E. Turner, Turner Assoc., Abington, PA

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