We're Back!

We can’t believe it has been three months since our last posting. We have been very busy with keynote presentations and working on our fourth book. Just this week, we sent the manuscript to McGraw-Hill! (more about the book in upcoming blogs).

We would like to address a comment a reader had made regarding the Four Seasons Hotels and Resorts staffing policy. The reader indicated that they had “massive layoffs” due to this economy. It is true that the Four Seasons delayed or cancelled several construction projects resulting in layoffs. Our sources at the Four Seasons tell us that there have been additional layoffs for certain positions, but that they have not compromised their commitment to “staff to an extraordinary level of service.” The point is that in troubled economic times, layoffs are often unavoidable. In too many organizations, however, the first reaction is to cut frontline workers and compromise service levels rather than evaluating positions that do not have a direct customer interface.