The path to perfection in serving the luxury market.

Service training within the service profession, while many profess to provide it, is generally a "hire the smile," "follow your co-worker" process sprinkled with some cheerleading along the way. With hospitality now being caught within the vice grips of Wall Street's need for profits, service training has generally been considered a "luxury." However, if the private club manager wants to genuinely exceed the expectations of the demanding baby boomer market, real service management training is now essential.

How was the myth "you cannot teach service" originally created? Maybe this perception came from the idea of "you must be born to serve," "it's a special gift," or "it's a look and an aptitude." Those in hospitality have pondered this question for decades. Service is not typically taught in main line hospitality educational curriculums, nor do most of us in service have time to contemplate how to position the success of service in our busy, crisis-mode positions. So what is the answer?

Starkey International Institute was established over 25 years ago with the sole mission of teaching professionals how to position themselves as service experts. We have learned a great deal about "The Relationship of Service" over the years and what the key elements of service really are.

Service is defined as "the act of meeting a specific expectation." When that special experience of service occurs, everyone knows it. There is an endorphin kind of feeling felt by both the giver and the receiver that is unmistakable and unforgettable. The basis for any service relationship is that there must be both a giver and a receiver in play. Club managers jokingly tell us that if we could bottle the essence of this service experience, they could retire as very wealthy persons.

At Starkey, we believe that we are able to bottle this essence through our service management training. We have taken years to develop our service curriculums, offering a wide range of training at the Starkey Institute and on location, from the basics in food service, to developing a service style specific to a particular club, to the very unique and amazing process of customizing an overall service management plan for luxury clubs.

Starkey's recipe for this remarkable service experience to take place is:

For the Provider--

* Relationships must be genuine.

* Technical skills must be superior.

* Must have the authority to master moments.

* Must be self-motivated.

* Must be following their bliss. For the Receiver--

* Must be open to receive.

* Must know what they want.

* Be able to communicate what they want in understandable terms.

* Must want what is being offered.

Having presented these above ingredients that are essential to service, how can service be positioned to be successful every day? Starkey International has patented a unique service management model especially designed to identify service expectations, teach them, and then organize their delivery. It is a sophisticated process that took over 15 years to develop and fine tune. This process has a unique language for communicating service at more sophisticated levels. It further has a transformational element to it that is completely new to service and service training. We teach not only the technical skills and etiquette of service, but also treat each service provider as an individual, helping them discover why they are in service, and specifically what real technical skills they bring to the service table.

Starkey began by placing management personnel within private homes, and then opened our training division as we found our candidates just did not have enough knowledge and expertise to serve the large numbers of diverse expectations. We needed to develop this process educationally to teach our professionals how to meet the luxury market's growing expectations. Today's luxury market is developing so rapidly that most professionals have found themselves in the position of not having the knowledge base to be successful. This new world of service has an expectation of service professionals to know service styles, etiquettes, and foods from the West Coast to Manhattan, from Europe to the Middle East, and everywhere in between.

Starkey teaches that "The highest level of service that can take place anywhere, takes place within the private home." As private clubs are seen as extensions of one's home, this is a tall order for club managers and their staff. Starkey receives fact-finding calls from the hospitality market daily, to include high level destination boutique hotels, Las Vegas style butler-staffed clubs, and retirement communities offering support concierge services. All are seeking information about our service training, what it can accomplish, and what to expect from an ROI perspective.

One such recent request was from a Las Vegas hotel opening up a butler-staffed private club whose service must be duplicated in different locations around the world. They further requested that the butlers be engaged in a training program that had levels of service expertise that presented both technical and psychological implications. Bravo to them! They are getting it! Service is the product that keeps their clientele coming back again and again, spending time and money in their club. Another such request comes from a client who has purchased an island in the South Pacific. He is building a 7,000-square-foot villa and spa that will serve only four guests on the island at a time. Starkey is positioning this luxury level of service by both recruiting and training staff to serve these four guests! What does service on a private island look like with a price tag of $250,000 per week?

Service as an Expertise is the new and essential goal of all hospitality. The way to reach this goal is through sophisticated education of hospitality service providers in both front-line and management. Service must become the essential product above food and entertainment. Few leaders and mentors in hospitality demand an expertise in service. Club managers who get the difference between "hiring the smile" and "service as an art form" with trained service professionals will emerge as those who bottle the essence of service.

For more information, visit Starkey International online at www.starkwintl.com or call 800-888-4904.

SAMPLING OF STARKEY EDUCATIONAL CURRICULUMS

Service Management Model System

Service Vision

* Lifestyle Goals and the Luxury Market.

* Family Tree.

* Favorites and Preferences.

* Identifying Service Standards.

* Technical Skills Qualifier.

* Day-in-the-Life Planner.

* Service Matrix.

* Guest Histories.

* Service Management Software.

Personal Statement Exercise

* Choosing Service.

* Values and Ethics.

* Family Background.

* Technical Skills Assessment.

* Personal Profile and Service as a Career.

Etiquette and Personal Graces

* First Impressions.

* The Art of Communication.

* Unique Service Styles.

* International Protocol and Diversity.

* Privacy and Professional Boundaries.

* The Relationship of Service.

* The Business of Etiquette, Deportment, and Courtesy.

Technical Skills

* Housekeeping Management, Zoning, and Task Sheets.

* Housekeeping Techniques, Details, and Product Knowledge.

* Bed Making and Detailing the Master Suite.

* Environmental Awareness, Allergies.

* Clothing Valet, Leather, and Shoe Polishing.

* Unpacking and Packing for Travel.

* Concierge Services.

* Etiquette and Entertaining.

* Table Setting, Table Service, and the Ballet of Service.

* Sommelier and Wine Cellar Management.

* Liquor and Bar Set-Up.

* Pairing of Food and Wine.

* Flower Arranging.

* Safety and Protection Awareness.

by Mary Louise Starkey

Starkey International