Creating a Customer Service Culture with Micah Solomon

In this episode, Susan is joined by Micah Solomon, a world-renowned consultant and trainer in customer service, consumer trends, and company culture. He is the author of IGNORE YOUR CUSTOMERS (AND THEY’LL GO AWAY): The Simple Playbook for Delivering the Ultimate Customer Service Experience (2020).

“Company culture” is a buzz-phrase that has risen to prominence in recent years. Micah, however, believes the term is misunderstood by many boardroom individuals to mean little more than ping-pong tables and bean bag chairs. With this in mind, Micah prefers to speak of a different kind of “company culture”, and that is “customer service culture”. This is comprised of two primary elements: 1) the way your company treats its customers, and 2) the way the company treats the people (i.e. employees, vendors, and contractors) whose job it is to take care of those customers.

 

Unfortunately, a lot of companies miss the mark on what it means to have a stellar customer service culture. Oftentimes, a company may have the wrong style of customer service. That is, customers today, by and large, want a more “informal” style; or an “eye-level” or “peer-on-peer” style of service. It means looking beyond the outdated paradigm of customer service, defined by a certain level of rigidity and formality. For example, nowadays it may be okay for employees to sport tattoos and colored hair, simply because their customers sport the same. In short, today’s customer thrives on relatability.

 

Much more important than customer service style, on the other hand, is hiring the right people. Micah refers to “the cliff of dissatisfaction”: The longer it takes for employees to respond to customer inquiries, the higher the customer’s level of dissatisfaction.

 

“The hallmark of great customer service organizations is that they have a default of ‘yes’.” Micah gives a personal example of this in the form of his salesperson at Nordstrom named Joanne Hassiss. When the manufacturer of his favorite short-sleeve shirt went out of business, Joanne, instead of turning Micah away, told him to give her a day. By the next day, Joanne had found a solution: shirts almost identical to Micah’s favorite, found not on Nordstrom’s website, but on a competitor’s website. Joanne got to “yes” by giving up a sale from her own company. Micah may no longer be a source of revenue for that particular style of shirt, but he is sure to be back at Nordstrom simply because Joanne Hassiss made an impact by saying “yes”. But if you absolutely must decline, adds Micah, “Never say ‘no’ to a guest without providing one or two reasonable alternatives.”

 

 “Customer service,” says Micah, “is today’s marketing.” Traditional advertising in today’s society can only be either doubly good or doubly bad depending on the experience a customer has had with the company in question.

Links:

Micah’s website: https://micahsolomon.com/

Micah’s book: https://ignoreyourcustomers.com/

 

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Crisis Management Strategist Melissa Agnes

Understanding what it takes to be crisis-ready is essential for any organization, but in the hospitality industry, we are especially vulnerable to crisis and must proactively train our teams to be prepared for any and all foreseeable events.

In this episode, Susan is joined by crisis management strategist Melissa Agnes. A published author and highly sought-after consultant, Melissa has worked with a wide variety of organizations, among them NATO and Hilton. Her book, Crisis Ready: Building an Invincible Brand in an Uncertain World (2018) is a higher-education staple.

 

A crisis-ready organization, according to Melissa, is one that is “cultural”. The traditional crisis management plan is typically theoretical and “sits on a shelf somewhere”. Since any crisis happens quickly, being dependent on a “stagnant plan” does a disservice to the organization. The best culture is one that prioritizes people and understands its stakeholders well. This includes three key points that must be intrinsically understood by everyone in the team: 1) They can identify a risk in real-time; 2) They can determine whether the risk is a true crisis or a minor issue; 3) They know precisely what to do to deal with the risk, coming out with “increased trust and credibility built into your brand.” Such a culture, when properly nurtured, builds brand invincibility that can weather any storm in today’s uncertain world.

 

The first step to achieving this is to do an audit of the mindset of your team’s current culture to evaluate the lens through which they currently look and respond to risks. Every adjustment you make in this department will ultimately impact your customer service and competitive edge.

 

The next step is to map out your stakeholders. Create a consolidated list of the important relationships in your organization. It is these people who matter when a crisis or a viral issue strikes. They need to “trust that the brand will continue to do right by them” in any situation; so it helps to understand these stakeholders and anticipate any questions that may come up during the one to two-hour timeline that an incident plays out. To determine who these key people are, it helps to start with the question: “What are all of the ways that the [organization] exists and thrives?”

 

The “leaders” of the organization (arguably every single team member) must learn how to communicate with emotional intelligence in order to minimize friction when an incident comes up. This will help those individuals, tasked with owning the process, to be fully informed and act quickly.

 

Melissa’s mantra is: “People above process and bottom-line, always.” When in any sort of doubt, by simply focusing on doing what is right by your people, you are already headed in the right direction. When you put people first, profit naturally follows.

Links:

Melissa’s website: https://melissaagnes.com/

Melissa’s book: Crisis Ready: Building an Invincible Brand in an Uncertain World

 

Thanks for tuning in!

There are a lot of podcasts you could be tuning into today, and I am grateful you chose mine. If you enjoyed today’s show, please share it by using the social media buttons you see at the side of this page.

As a place of public accommodation, hotels have many legal obligations, as well as rights, when it comes to serving the public.

We all have those burning questions about what our roles and rights are in the multitude of challenging and unique situations we face each day as hoteliers. As our guest on this episode says and as we all know, “people are normal until they check into a hotel.”

Knowing what’s legal and where our limits are can often seem to be one of those gray areas. But, legal rights for hoteliers and our guests are always worth that second look. When it comes to getting sound legal advice, you want to be careful to get your information from a trusted source.  In this episode, you will hear from one such resource.

 

Hospitality law specialist, Stephen Barth joins me in this episode to discuss some of today’s most relevant legal concerns for hoteliers. Barth helps make the gray a little more black and white by sharing the top concerns for hoteliers as well as practical ways to implement legal best practices.

 

Barth is an attorney who has specialized in hospitality industry law over his 27-year-career. Author of Hospitality Law, he is currently a professor at Hilton College at the University of Houston and helped found hospitalitylawyer.com – which he bills as the “match.com of hospitality law” because it helps match those in the industry with the lawyer or legal resource that’s right for them.

 

Legal responsibilities for hoteliers have come into the spotlight more recently with cases like that of Erin Andrews, the television personality who reached a settlement with a Nashville hotel after a secretly recorded nude video of her went viral. Barth, who testified as an expert in legal proceeds for Andrews’ case, says guest privacy is just one of the big issues facing innkeepers today. Others we cover in this episode include:

* Data privacy

* 3rd party (sexual) harassment

* Medical marijuana accommodation

* Right to refuse service

 

How do we tackle those issues while balancing guest satisfaction with legal responsibilities? We dive into that here with practical advice and actionable ideas based on best practices.

 

Questions like, should hoteliers be going into all rooms at least once a day despite the “Do Not Disturb” sign present on the door?

 

How do I craft a policy solid enough to protect my hotel from legal ramifications if I want to refuse service to a guest?

 

Barth says there are four circumstances where we have the right to refuse service:

* When the guest can’t pay

* The guest appears to be drunk or a danger to themselves or others

* If the hotel is full (and you want to make sure it actually is)

* The guest has a communicable disease

 

A common misconception is that hotels are places of public accommodation so we are limited on what we can refuse. Barth talks about how, if you have solid policies to back you up, you will always have ground to stand on for refusal in the above cases.

 

We also cover why your “do not rent to these people” list might be a “don’t.” Barth warns that we have to be careful that those on our list are, “justified by something other than their membership in a protected class of people.” As long as there’s a solid understanding of civil rights laws at the federal and state level, discrimination won’t be an issue. Hear full details when you listen above.

What about evicting a guest? That can be a sticky situation. Barth talks about how a solid registration agreement is all you need to send them packing – prov...

Cleaning guest rooms with the door 0pen or closed?

Hotel housekeeping can be a dangerous job.

 

A harmless ask. A simple delivery. General cleaning. Restocking rooms. Greeting guests in the hallway. These are all duties performed by hotel housekeeping staff every day in millions of hotels across the world. Tasks that seem routine and relatively safe. But the fact is staff puts up with a lot and often their safety can be at risk.

 

Take the example of the well-known Dominique Strauss-Kahn allegations from 2011. Strauss-Kahn, the former head of the International Monetary Fund and once-front-runner for French President, was arrested and later settled for sexual assault charges leveled against him for brutally sexually assaulting a housekeeper that was cleaning his room while he was present. Read more here. This was the case that encouraged many New York City hotels, and eventually others in major cities across the U.S., to provide their housekeeping staff with panic buttons.

 

Another example comes from the Sunshine State where a Holiday Inn Express housekeeper in Collier County, Florida, was sexually assaulted at gunpoint after a guest entered the room she was cleaning and claimed she didn’t make the bed well enough. He then demanded she “treat him well” or he would kill her. Read more here.

 

Yet another recent example where a millionaire in a Washington, D.C., hotel harassed a maid who was making his bed by grabbing her buttocks and making lewd comments about her. A situation many hotel workers say is all too common. Read more here.

 

And it’s not limited to those simply cleaning the rooms. Any staff making deliveries might be at risk too. That was the case in the story of a New York City hotel employee that was asked to bring tissues to a guest. Upon making the delivery, the door was shut behind her and she was asked for her phone number. She gave a fake number and explained she wasn’t interested which gave her enough time to unlock the door and leave but not before becoming extremely uncomfortable.

 

How do you keep your hotel employees safe?

 

The list goes on and on. And unfortunately, many of these occurrences aren’t even reported due to workers being afraid they won’t be taken seriously or fear of upsetting the guests or damaging the hotel’s reputation.

They say there are three sides to every story and the truth is somewhere in the middle. But for this episode, there’s no gray area – when it comes to cleaning with doors open or closed, the answer is an open and shut door case. Keeping your hotel employees safe when they clean rooms is a paramount concern in today’s climate. And in an industry where the “customer is always right” we have to be vigilant to make sure the customer is happy, but also that housekeeper safety is at the forefront of our minds.

In this episode, I’ll cover what I feel is the best approach to the door open or shut debate based on my 30 years of hospitality experience and countless feedback from hotel managers and employees.

Topics include:

* Keeping housekeeping staff safe with closed-door cleaning

* Keeping guest belongings safe

Deirdre McGlone from Harvey’s Point Discusses the Importance of Service Culture.

Have you ever wondered what is in the secret sauce of an award winning hotel? How do they manage to win awards year after year? Is it their picturesque location? Is it their finely appointed guest rooms? Or, is it the genuine hospitality that exudes from their staff? Yes. The answer is yes to all the above. But only one of those elements has the power to negate the other two. And, it is the one element that hotel leadership has 100% control over.

Award-winning hotelier Deirdre McGlone from the acclaimed Harvey’s Point in Donegal Town Ireland shares their recipe for success in episode #35 of the Hospitality Academy podcast.

 

 

Deirdre and the rest of her family and staff at Harvey’s Point exemplify Irish Hospitality at its best. “It always is about the people” she comments as she reflects upon what sets apart the good from the great.

In the hospitality industry, service is king. For hotels and other hospitality providers, making an emotional connection with your guests is important. You find that many reviews and comments focus on the service that they received during their stay. While location and amenities certainly play into the success of a hotel, service is what guests will remember the most about their stay.

This is a great thing, as the level of service you provide is completely in your control. Creating a positive service culture sets your hotel apart from the competition.

Harvey’s Point opened as a small guest house back in 1989, and since then, has grown in size and popularity. The hotel is the recent recipient of numerous awards including Top Hotel in Ireland five times in a row, according to TripAdvisor. Deirdre attributes her hotel’s success service-minded culture that perpetuates within the staff at Harvey’s Point.

 

Topics discussed in this episode include:

Cultivating a service-minded team

Finding the balance between service and process

Establishing the right first impression

Hiring for attitude and train for skills

Creating standards that the whole team supports

Ensuring a good work-life balance for your team

 

Deirdre started working at Harvey’s Point 27 years ago. Her start at the hotel was a summer position in reception. Her now-husband, Marc, is the brother of Jody, who created Harvey’s Point. At that time, Marc was working as a chef in the hotel, and from there, a romance bloomed. In 1996, Deirdre and Marc purchased the hotel from Jody. Since then, Harvey’s Point has become a shining example of Irish hospitality. Deirdre describes her partnership with husband, Marc who is Swiss, as a marriage made in hotel heaven – “the precision of Swiss hotel-keeping combined with Irish Hospitality.”

I have been to Harvey’s Point personally and found it to be a magical place. The recent awards the hotel has received comes as no surprise. The atmosphere is amazing, the location is spectacular, and above all, the staff and the service they provide is incredible.

During our discussion, Deirdre focuses on the importance of genuine care from her staff. She feels like a guest should be treated as a person, with needs and emotions. Treating guests like room numbers does not provide the welcoming feel that makes for a great experience.

With that in mind, the staff at Harvey’s Point focus on their guests as individuals. The goal is to make them feel welcome and to anticipate their needs providing the best stay possible. As she explains, “it comes down to one thing ultimately, which is our wonderful team. Each of whom are special people who embody the best of Irish Hospitality.”  It’s that natural welcome and friendli...

Celebrate Service Week at IHG with Jon Wakeman

The week of May 22, 2017, marks the 8th year of Celebrate Service week at IHG.  It is a week dedicated to recognizing and celebrating hospitality providers across the globe.

As part of the week-long celebrations at IHG properties, staff will participate in various activities that are planned and coordinated by the hotel management or ownership.

Jon Wakeman joins me in this episode to discuss the origins of this very successful program and to share stories of what hotels have done over the past 8 years to bring Celebrate Service to life.   Jon is currently the Bands and Marketing Education Manager at IHG.  In 2012 Jon joined the project team for Celebrate service and in 2014 he served as the global project lead.

Originating in 2010, Celebrate Service was born out of the collaborative efforts of Lynne Zappone, the former SVP of America’s HR and Global Learning and Mark Carrier, who was the IHG Owners Association president at the time.  They recognized the need to lift morale and boost the spirits of hotel teams as the economic downturn that began in 2008 had taken its toll on hotel staff.  As hotels began operating on tighter budgets, more and more responsibilities were being added to their roles.

Every hotel, restaurant or any other business whose success is a direct result of the quality of service that the frontline team delivers should dedicate time to recognizing those individuals. We often don’t take enough time out to say thank you to the people who work tirelessly to deliver great experiences to the guests. This is a great way of appreciating team members on a week set aside that’s all about them.

Topics discussed in this episode include:

* How Celebrate Service has grown over the years.

* The number of hotels who participate in this global event.

* The types of activities and recognition ideas that have been successful.

* How to ensure every staff member is included.

* The benefits to employee engagement.

* And much more!

Jon is a passionate spokesperson on this topic as you will hear in the episode.  He feels strongly that this week is so special and that as a leader, there’s so much that you can do to help people understand that they really are appreciated. That expression of appreciation can be as grand as you’d like to make it.  But the real gauge is reflected in how true appreciation equals true hospitality.

In an industry where profitability is so closely tied to the guest experience, which is primarily provided by your line-level staff, it just makes good financial sense to recognize and reward your team.  To quote Dale Carnegie:”People work for money but go the extra mile for recognition, praise, and rewards.”  That extra mile is the difference between an average hotel and a great hotel.

Important Links, Mentions, and Resources From This Episode

* Connect Jon on LinkedIn

* Share your celebration activities on social media using hashtags: #IHGCelebrateService and #TrueHospitality

* IHG Owners Association

* HR Profile: Lynne Zappone via SHRM

* Mark Carrier with B.F. Saul Hospitality Group

* Connect with me on Twitter!

 

Thank You for Tuning In!

There are a lot of podcasts you could be tuning into today, and I am grateful you chose mine. If you enjoyed today’s show,

Preparing for Hurricane Season  – 2017 Update.

** SPECIAL NOTE:  This information has been updated based on May 25, 2017, predictions from NOAA’s Climate Prediction Center.

Planning and preparing your hotel for hurricane season each year can be a daunting task.  But with a solid plan in place and an early start to your preparations, you will make the task of preparing for the hurricane season much easier.  

This episode addresses some of the critical planning that every hotel that sits along a hurricane threat coastline should be undertaking as we head into this year’s hurricane season.  June 1, marks the official start of the six-month Atlantic hurricane season. The season will last through the end of November.  On average, the bulk of the season ramps up in August, reaches a peak in September, then begins to slow down in October. Of course, individual seasons may not follow this timeline. 

NOTE:  The original podcast was recorded in 2015, however, the information provided remains just as important today.

What you will learn in this episode:

* Steps you should be taking now to prepare.

* Considerations prior to a storm threatening your area.

There is a consensus among agencies that make seasonal hurricane forecasts that the 2017 season will be above normal.  This is due to a weak or non-existent El Nino effect and near -or above-average sea-surface temperatures across the tropical Atlantic Ocean and the Caribbean Sea.

If you’re located in any hurricane-vulnerable city along the coast, preparations should be well underway as the hurricane season approaches. Now is the time to prepare, not when a storm threatens.  You are considered to be at risk of hurricanes if you are located anywhere within 100 miles of the coastline from the Florida Panhandle westward to Brownsville, TX,  or along the eastern Atlantic coastline as far north as Massachusetts and anywhere in the state of Florida.

This year, NOAA – one of the leading forecasting agencies, predicts that 11-17 named storms will form.  5-9 actual hurricanes are predicted with 2-4 of them being Major Hurricanes, which is classified as a category 3-4-5 storm. Regardless of how many storms develop this year, it only takes one to disrupt lives and business.  And, any amount of probability is enough to require thorough planning. 

So what does that planning entail?  Well, for starters, you should have a thorough and well thought out checklist to guide you through your preparations.  That checklist should identify who is responsible for what tasks and when those tasks need to be completed. And, you should have an extensive checklist of supplies on hand.  That supply list should be broken down to include how much of a particular supply you need, when to have it and where you will store the items.  Not all supplies should be purchased too far in advance since the shelf life of the product, and storage space needs to be considered.  Some supplies will need to be purchased as the probability of a storm affecting your area increases.  You should, however, have a plan in place well in advance for what those supplies will be, and where and when you will purchase them in order to reduce the chaos as the storm approaches.  

Another pre-storm preparation needs to include a review of your hotel policies – what policies might you relax during a time of emergency.  For example, what will your hotel cancellation policy be?  And what about your policy on pets  – maybe you don’t accept pets under normal circumstances, but will you during a storm?  What will your staffing policies look like? Who will be required to be on the property?  Will employees be able to bring family members to stay at the hotel?  You’ll also need to determine what your hours of operations will be for your restaurant if you have one, and have a limited menu thought out and available w...

Seasoned hotel professional, Rocco Bova shares career advice for aspiring hoteliers.

Whether you are new to the hospitality industry or have been working in the field for some time, if you want to advance your career, you will want to consider the career advice of someone who has already experienced great success and can share strategies that will help you to get to where you want to go.   

Finding career success never follows just one pathway and is dependent on your own personal set of circumstances.  With that in mind,  I’ve asked another successful hotelier to share his insights on what it takes to get ahead in this industry.  Rocco Bova joins us in this episode of Hospitality Academy to share career advice on how to move ahead in the hospitality industry, building an exciting and fulfilling career.

Rocco earned his diploma in hospitality management from Westminster College in London as well as a Certificate of Hospitality Management from Cornell University.  He has held various positions at some of the finest hotels in the world and is currently the General Manager at the newly opened Chablé Resort in located in the Yucatan Peninsula in Mexico.    

Topics discussed in this episode include:

* How much emphasis to place on formal vs. informal education.

* Should you consider seeking international experience?

* Managing your personal social media footprint.

* The elements of a CV that will get you noticed.

* The importance of email etiquette.

* How to leverage your social networks.

* And much more

Rocco got his first job in hospitality at the age of thirteen cleaning tables in a pub in his hometown in Italy.  That job lasted only three days.  After breaking too many dishes, the owner decided he could not afford to keep him.  Feeling the sting of rejection, Rocco became determined.  His next job lasted a full month, and the one after that, three months.  Remember, he was just thirteen!

Motivated by a passion to travel the world, Rocco moved to London when he was twenty-one and began work at an Italian restaurant. His hard work and a positive attitude caught the attention of his next employer who offered him a position in a hotel in Egypt.  Seeing the great opportunities that the hotel industry offered, he went back to London to earn his degree at the age of twenty-nine.  The combination of an informal and formal education in the industry opened new opportunities for him to advance into upper management positions.

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From there Rocco made many moves, with different companies. Eventually reaching the general manager position that he has today at the Chablé Resort, part of the Small Luxury Hotels of the World™ portfolio of hotels.   His path to success has included working in some of the finest properties in amazing destinations spanning three continents.  The details of his journey, along with career advice for aspiring hoteliers is shared in this episode.

 

Important Links, Mentions, and Resources From This Episode

* Connect with Rocco on LinkedIn

* Connect with Rocco on Facebook

* Chablé Spa & Resort

* Small Luxury Hotels of the World™

*

Effective Interviewing Techniques with Jody Rogers.

The best candidate for the job takes more than just relying on your gut feelings or instincts.  Effective interviewing techniques are essential to making the right selection in the hiring process.  Your decisions can have long-lasting consequences, both good and bad.  With the right amount of planning, well thought-out questions, and careful consideration, you will have a much higher likelihood of hiring a great fit for your department.  While it may take a little more time and effort, the return on that investment can be huge.

Jody Rogers, a Sr. Training Consultant with IHG joins me in episode #32 to share strategies that will enable you to make the best possible hiring decisions.    Learn what to do to prepare in advance of the interview.  Understand questions that you should and should not ask of a candidate.  And,  find out how to get the most valuable information out of each question you do ask.

Essential Learning Points From This Episode:

* What Interviewing mistakes to avoid.

* What you should do to prepare in advance.

* The importance of accurate job descriptions.

* How to get a candidate to reveal his/her true self, legally!

* Why small talk can get you into legal trouble.

* And so much more!

Jody started her hospitality career as a dishwasher when she was 15 years old.  She didn’t know it at the time, but she was starting what would be a lifelong career in the hospitality industry.   Gaining experience in every department, Jody has worn just about every hat you can imagine throughout her career.  Her first exposure to navigating the interview process came when she took on the role of HR director at a full-service Holiday Inn.  Here she learned what would happen when hiring decisions are made without proper planning and strong interviewing techniques.

After several years in hotel operations, Jody joined the corporate side of the industry as a Brand Service Consultant at IHG where much of her focus was on helping hotels make better hiring decisions. She also had a hand in writing the IHG training program on Behavioural Interviewing.

The information shared in this episode will help any hiring manager make better hiring decisions.  Whether you are new to the process, or a seasoned professional, you will benefit from Jody’s advice.  The hiring decision is just too important to leave up to chance.  Take the time to perfect your techniques and sharpen your hiring skills!

Anyone who has suffered the consequences of a bad hiring decision can relate to problems that can arise when hiring the wrong person.   Nothing will disrupt your day more than having just one unreliable team member who doesn’t show up for their scheduled shift.  As the manager, you are now forced find other coverage.  Sometimes that means putting extra work on to those responsible team members who did show up for work.   Or,  maybe changing what you had planned to get done that day and have to fill the shift yourself. 

None of those options are exactly ideal and typically lead to even more problems.  Having reliable staff who are all well suited for their jobs and do it well is the dream!  But it doesn’t have to be just a dream.  Making good hiring decisions is the first step towards living that dream.  Without the proper skills and understanding of how to conduct effective interviews, you will have a much harder time finding and hiring the right candidates.  Many managers, through no fault of their own, just don’t know how to do it.  They are often put into the role of hiring manager without ever having been properly trained. 

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If you could gain some hospitality career advice from the former Executive Vice-President of Operations for Walt Disney World Resort, what do you think you’d learn? You’re about to find out on today’s show!

Joining us for episode 31 is Lee Cockerell, a man who worked his way from a banquet waiter at the Hilton in Washington DC to being in charge of everyday operations for Walt Disney World.

Today, having retired from Disney, Lee runs his own business speaking and giving seminars around the world. He also writes best-selling books, including his latest Career Magic. Tune in to hear the wisdom Lee shares on this edition of Hospitality Academy.

Essential Learning Points From This Episode:

* How having the right attitude can shape your success in life.

* The benefits of gaining international experience.

* The #1 thing companies have to do to be great according to Lee.

* What makes for a great mentor?

* The two most important characteristics of a great leader.

* The success habits that contributed to Lee’s career growth.

* And so much more!

How exactly did Lee Cockerell move up from a banquet waiter to some of the top executive roles in the hospitality world? Simple: he did it the old-fashioned way through hard work and dedication.

Lee grew up on a farm in Oklahoma where money was tight and times were hard.  Lee credits much of his work ethic today from the lessons learned in those early years where hard work was a part of everyday life on the farm.  After his mother married and divorced several times, she eventually married a man with money who sent Lee to college, however, he admits he was a pretty bad student! He also gave Lee a 1963 convertible – which Lee much preferred over his college courses.

Eventually, he flunked out and joined the U.S. Army. During his military service, Lee befriended a guy who said he was going to be a chef at the Washington Hilton. After leaving the military, Lee’s friend asked him to go along, and so he did. They picked up Lee’s convertible from his home in Oklahoma and drove out to DC where Lee was promptly hired as a banquet waiter. He took the job seriously and worked hard, doing whatever was asked of him and doing it with a good attitude.

It worked, and Lee advanced into a management program. He stayed with Hilton for eight great years, even working at the Waldorf Astoria at one point. While at the Waldorf he learned the value of having a great mentor.  His mentor, Gene, taught him about food and wine and that there was more to life than “burgers and Budweiser”!

Moving on to Marriott, Lee started out as a restaurant manager and then became VP of Food and Beverage. He opened several hotels for them before being recruited by Disney in 1990 to open Disneyland Paris.

His wife loved the idea of moving to Paris, so they took off and lived there for three years. When his son finished college, he joined them. His son fell in love and married a French woman. He also joined his dad in the hospitality world, and today, some 25 years later, he is the VP of  Disney’s Magic Kingdom in Orlando, Florida.

After their stint in Paris, Lee returned to Orlando where he headed up Disney’s hotel division for two years, before being charged with all of the operations for Disney. Lee held that role for ten years before retiring at the age of 62 and starting his own business as a speaker, author and seminar leader. He’s written four bestselling books, including his latest Career Magic.

When I asked Lee how having international experience impacted his career, he says he became a better person and became much more knowledgeable.