Ritz-Carlton hunts 'ladies and gentlemen'

A doorman greets an applicant.

WESTERN BUREAU: IT WAS hard to tell from the smiles of the doormen that this was a job interview. People came in t-shirts and ties, jeans and jackets, by foot, bus and car from the capital city, the western city, country, and small towns in between. But no matter the dress, transportation or point of origin, the thousands of prospective Ritz-Carlton Rose Hall hotel employees who converged on the Montego Bay Cruise Ship Terminal over the weekend were treated the same way ­ like ladies and gentlemen.

This is, however, par for the course for an organisation whose motto is 'we are ladies and gentlemen serving ladies and gentlemen'.

For some of the applicants, it was an unusual experience. The interviews were done at the Montego Freeport area, though the new US$125 million luxury hotel is located on the other side of town.

At the end of the recruitment fair on Monday, approximately 8,000 people had been interviewed said resident manager Roderic Crawford on Wednesday, and 1000 of them will be selected in time for the hotel's mid-August opening date.

"Oh my God! I am still in a dream world! Those people treat people like people! I can't believe it! If I get through I will enjoy working here and even if I don't get a job I will be glad I went through the process," gushed Larnes Small.

Steve Simpson travelled from Negril for the interview and was not disappointed. "Overall it was very good. I am impressed with the whole set-up of everything. There is a girl here by the name of Pat Brown who seems to be everybody's friend. It filters to all the people here," he said.

The Ritz-Carlton Hotel, a 430-room property, is recruiting sufficient staff to maintain a two to one staff to guest ratio. Fifty managers, 30 assistants and supervisors are already in place for the August 18 opening.

Douglas Brooks, general manager, who has been in the Caribbean for five years, explained: "This is what we would do for our hotel guests. It's all about people. We treat these people well. If you treat your people well, the profits will take care of themselves."

Jobs in the engineering, finance, purchasing, rooms, food and beverage, culinary, general administration and golf divisions are available. The hotel is still accepting applications.

The 'guest-like' treatment of the job-hunters began outside the Cruise Terminal, with smiling hotel staff welcoming, checking invitation cards and directing the applicants.

Inside the gates a doorman again welcomes the applicant, who is handed a clipboard with an application form and a pen, and then invited to sit and fill out the form.

Completed forms are then handed in and the applicant goes to a holding area, where a video tape on the hotel is running constantly, and then to a one-on-one interview which is scheduled for 10 minutes. From there, the applicant goes to 'check out' and leaves.

There was nothing run-of-the-mill about the process. The applicant was not instructed to go anywhere - he or she was escorted there. Assistance was available from any staff member at the slightest indication - the general manager or public relations director leaves a reporter's pen in mid-air at any signal for assistance from an applicant.

Despite the large number of persons there was no sense of the impersonal - prospective employees were addressed by name. Left home too early to have tea? Coffee and snacks were available.

And there are smiles everywhere.

One applicant had just a little difficulty with the smiles. "I'm not sure if I did well. Everyone is so pleasant, it was hard to tell," she said.

But Larnes Small gave words to the smiles of the hopeful future employees of the Ritz-Carlton they left the Terminal: "The boss shows that they respect you. That is the sense of what I feel, that the people genuinely respect you. "

- Noel Thompson

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