DoubleTree (a Hilton brand) uses an innovative and effective mechanism for monitoring and improving its customer service at its properties: the CARE committee.

DoubleTree describes the CARE Committee as follows:

The CARE Committee – The Heart of Our Hotels. The CARE Culture at DoubleTree by Hilton is a commitment to total service quality that equates to a passionate brand personality. At DoubleTree by Hilton, each hotel brings that personality to life through an active CARE Committee made up of team members from all departments and levels of the hotel. Their role is to monitor their hotel’s overall business performance and constantly seek ways to improve it. Sub-committees within the CARE Committee perform specific functions to maintain high quality standards, ensure outstanding guest service, demonstrate positive team relations and contribute to the local community. The rewards of these actions transcend beyond an exceptional guest experience – it creates a business environment that becomes a desirable place to work, a great place to stay and a positive place to invest in a successful hospitality career.”

DoubleTree’s CARE Committee helps reinforce its culture of service on numerous levels:

1. It gives a comprehensive view of the organization’s service across job functions and departments. A user experience cannot be Hero-Class when part of the experience is not up to snuff, when the entirety of the experience, the 360 degree view as my friends at the customer experience consultancy 360Connext would call it, is not understood and supported.
2. The CARE Committee helps bring engagement and accountability to the entire organization. Every department has a say in the customer experience, and every department has a responsibility to maintain and improve it.
3. The CARE Committees are accountable. Each property’s performance is measured through a “Brand Promise Scorecard,” so the teams and CARE Committees at each hotel not only see how they are doing but how they compare to other similar properties in the DoubleTree family.

DoubleTree’s CARE Committee is a brilliant way to engage an entire organization in maintaining and improving the customer experience and creating a culture of Hero-Class^TM Customer Service.

How can you use the principles of the CARE Committee in your organization? How can you collect feedback from all areas of the customer experience? How can you engage all levels and departments in constantly improving the customer experience?

Creating a formal structure for team input can give leadership views on the customer experience it could not get otherwise and can engage the whole of the organization in a culture dedicated to creating great customer experiences.

Who’s on your “CARE Committee”?

___

PS. A hat tip to DoubleTree for having one of the most well-written “values” pages I’ve encountered. (link no longer active)