Hilton Hotels Guest Assistance

Company: Hilton Hotels Guest Assistance, Memphis, TN
Company Division/Group: Hilton Hotels Corporation
Company Description: Hilton Hotels vision statement is, "To consistently provide superior global value to our hotels, company and team members through knowledgeable and collaborative support, innovative solutions, and commitment to profitability maximization in all distribution channels with responsiveness, speed and accuracy of deliverables."
Nomination Category: Customer Service Team Categories
Nomination Sub Category: Customer Service Complaints Team of the Year

Nomination Title: Hilton Hotel's Guest Assistance Team

1. Tell the story about what this nominated team achieved since the beginning of July last year (up to 500 words). Focus on specific accomplishments, and relate these accomplishments to past performance or industry norms. Be sure to mention obstacles overcome, innovations or discoveries made, and outcomes:

The Hilton Hotels Corporation Guest Assistance team embodies Customer Service.
They are the "complaint" team for guests who stay at any of our 3000 hotels
worldwide, serving hundreds of thousands of guests and hotel employees.

This very lean staff of 57 always manages to exceed the par. Their volume
continues to increase, cost per contact decreases and service scores rise.
Their contact volume rose from 553,392 in 2007 to 600,500 in 2008. Cost-per-
contact decreased from $6.29 in 2007 to $6.00 in 2008. And, service scores
continue to dramatically rise:
• 2006 - 57%
• 2007 - 62%
• 2008 - 64% (November scores reached 68%!)

The team is never satisfied with the status quo and is recertified with
special training annually to maintain the highest level of service for our
guests. To improve service they changed a key process and now contact hotels
while the guest is on the phone to resolve issues more quickly.

They are a key contact for guests and hotels during unusual situations like
natural disasters, system errors, and hotel issues. In June 2008 a hotel was
double booked for the Masters in 2009. Guest Assistance helped relocate guests
that needed to be and maintained their loyalty. In August of 2008 a hotel was
flooded when their water pipes burst. They managed to relocate all guests
quickly and maintain their loyalty. In September 2008, due to Hurricane Ike a
hotel had to be closed down entirely. Guest Assistance again came to the
rescue and canceled all the reservations, relocated the guests as needed, and
supported the hotel.

Guest Assistance is involved in many community service events:
• Operation Feed which supported local food bank.
• Ronald McDonald Big Scoop fund raiser.
• Boys and Girls Club Kids Day Carnival.
• Metropolitan Inter-Faith Association - meals on wheels and other
services.
• Light the Night walk for the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society.
• Habitat for Humanity.

Their passion for customer service shines brightest in their employee loyalty
scores. In 2005 loyalty was 67%. Through improved communication and team
projects the scores rose to 94% in 2007. (2008 scores not available.) For a
team who spends most of their day listening to and solving issues this
demonstrates what a unique group they are.

There commitment was especially evident during October's Customer Service
Week. Each day the team created celebrations around service. This quote
summarizes their passion:

"I have truly enjoyed each of you this week. Let's keep our own flames lit
and help to ensure that our teammates don't get burned out. Offer an
encouraging word to someone everyday. You never know when someone might
return the favor. We owe it to ourselves to support and encourage each
other. Let's hold on to the spirit of TOGETHERNESS and One Team One Goal.
Together we can "fill the earth with the light and warmth of hospitality."

Your proud team member,
Loretta"

Hilton Hotels Corporation is proud to nominate this incredible team for all
they do for our guests and hotel teams!

2. List hyperlinks to any online news stories, press releases, or other documents that support the claims made in the section above. IMPORTANT: Begin each link with http://, and enclose each link in square brackets; for example, [http://www.youraddress.com]:

Correspondence From Stacy Shearouse the Leader of Guest Assistance to a Guest:

Dear Mr. Boyden:

Your e-mail to Chris Nassetta has been forwarded to me, as I am the person
responsible for Guest Assistance with Hilton Hotels Corporation. Thank you
for taking the time out of your day to further discuss your stay at the Hilton
Knoxville. Please accept my sincerest apologies for the problems that you
encountered at the hotel and the lack of satisfactory follow up. I am very
sorry for the confusion with the reservation and for the frustration you and
your wife experienced when the level of service received was not what you have
come to expect from Hilton. I assure you that this incident does not
represent the service norm for this hotel or the Hilton Family, and we will
make every effort to ensure that it is not repeated.

Here at Guest Assistance, our goal is fair and expedient resolution of guest
concerns, and it's our obligation to note every concern in a timely manner.
I apologize for the lapse in communication that has caused you such
disappointment. As we discussed, I have requested that the entire charge be
credited to your card for the problems encountered. Additionally, in an
effort to restore your confidence in us, I am sending a "Be My Guest" card,
inviting you to enjoy a complimentary night's stay at a Hilton in the U.S.
Mr. Boyden, you and your wife are valued guests of the Hilton Family. We
realize that every guest has a choice when traveling and appreciate you
making Hilton your hotels of choice. We look forward to serving your future
travel needs.

Warm regards and safe travels,
Stacy S. Shearouse
Director - Guest Assistance
Hilton Hotels Corporation

Stacy,

Thank you so much for your kind gestures. The flowers are beautiful.
Your thoughtfulness has much more than outweighed the negativity from Mr.
Reynolds. I knew that the Hilton brand had people that cared, it just took a
little effort to find them. They can truly take pride in you as an employee.

Thank you again,
Julie

Correspondence from a Guest to Jim Hartigan-SVP Customer Quality and
Performance Support:

Mr. Hartigan,

My husband and I would like to express our gratitude for people like Stacy
Shearouse. Steven has been a Hilton Honors Diamond Member for nearly 10 years
and we almost always receive good service. Recently his account was debited
for a stay over a year ago and when he called to inquire as to why, he
encountered a chain of disappointment when he was promised by a variety of
individuals with Hilton that they would get to the bottom of the matter and
respond to him, which never occurred. We finally determined the validity of
the stay but asked for a concession due to the number of times we had to
contact Hilton regarding the matter. My husband is the Vice President of his
company and a very busy man who cannot afford to spend his time chasing down
people who have promised to call him back. Regrettably, when we called to
asked for a concession, we had a very poor experience with someone claiming to
be a supervisor at the Diamond Desk, and were considering using a different
hotel chain going forward because of it.

Fortunately, our complaint letter reached Stacy's desk. To my surprise, we
received a call from Stacy in less than 24 hours after initiating our
complaint. She researched my husband's history noting he has had close to 400
stays at Hilton Hotels, and I'm sure could tell we have not been problem
customers up to this point. Stacy credited the points back to my husband's
account and offered a sincere apology for our experience, which is more than
we expected. We would have been happy with the 5,000 points credited back by
the Diamond Desk supervisor had we not received such hostile treatment from
that individual.

My husband and I were happily surprised with the promptness of Stacy's reply
and the genuine concern for the problems we encountered. She understands what
it takes to retain customers and restore their faith in your customer
service. Had it not been for her actions, my husband would likely be booking
his future travel elsewhere. Did I mention Stacy also went beyond
expectations by sending me a lovely flower arrangement at our home? Stacy is
truly a class act and a valuable asset to Hilton. Thankfully for your
organization, the service she provided is now the most recent experience we
will remember with Hilton and is certainly in line with your corporate
philosophy: Be hospitable.

Warmest Regards,
Jennifer Converse

Dear Mrs. Converse,

Thank you so much for your lovely letter. It is always a pleasure to hear
about a team member who made a positive impact in the life of our guests. I
am so happy that Stacy was able to take action and redeem both your faith, as
well as your husband's faith in the Hilton Family. She does bring our "be
hospitable" culture to life!

Thank you for your kind words, thank you for your past business - and most of
all thank you for continuing to give us the opportunity to serve you.

Sincerely,
Jim Hartigan

Two Team Member Compliments:

1.) Hello Tammie,

I wanted to thank you for your courteous, professional and helpful assistance.
You really represent/personify the Hilton I have stayed with for more than 20
years.

If possible I would like to have your manager, Mr. Cochran, aware of your
excellent customer care. Would you please forward this to him? Thank you again
for your help, and I am looking forward to hearing from you.

Best regards,
Gus Biddle
Sales and Marketing Manager
Blachford RP Corp.

2.) I would personally like to thank you for the wonderful job that Angela
does for you company. I had an issue with one of your hotels in Houston,
Texas and she went above and beyond in the assistance that she provided to
me in helping to resolve my issue. Your company is blessed by having such a
dedicated person alike her. I thanked her and I would like to thank you for
all her help.
- Martin Estrada

3.)Thank you very much for your help, Mr. Chapman
I appreciate your taking time to call the hotel and then for confirming your
conversation in the email.
It is a great demonstration of timely and good customer service, for which I
value very much.

Thank you again.
Sincerely,
Keith Bronitt

Correspondence from an employee to Stacy Shearouse- Director of Guest
Assistance:

Here you will find an email sent to Stacy by one of her
employees, " Stacy you are a remarkable woman. There's so much good in you I
wish everyone could get some of it. Please don't take this wrong, God has
truly smiled on you and your personality is so warm and heart felt. It's a
blessing just to know you. You've taught me so many good things like how to
look beyond faults and see needs. You have made so many of our children's
dreams possible just for being you and you don't' even know it. Don't ever
change and I am so grateful I know you. I want you to know that I really,
from the bottom of my heart, thank you for all you've done and do for your
employees. Thank You. This has brought tears to my eyes. Thanx."

Wendel C. Woods, Sr.
Guest Assistance Specialist
Hilton Hotels Corporation

3. Provide a brief (up to 100 words) biography about the leader(s) of the nominated team:

The Hilton Guest Assistance team is led by Stacy Shearouse, an 18-year
veteran of customer service. Prior to joining Hilton she worked with Steak
and Ale/Bennigan's and Accor. At Accor she created the Hospitality Consumer
Task Force which is still an active group who shares stats, best practices,
uses other members as sounding boards for new initiatives, and much more.

During Shearouse's nine year tenure at Hilton she has consistently found
creative ways to keep her team engaged and completely focused on creating
guest loyalty. She is their leader, go-to expert and someone everyone counts
on every day.