Class Acts. Rachel Sherman

American, and Latino, as well as white, though I was told that usually more white people worked at the front desk. The semivisible reservationists and telephone operators were also ethnically diverse. And middle managers in the front office were white, Latino, and Asian American. In other respects, worker demographics were as we would expect from my discussion in chapter 1.

      Front desk workers and concierges were all older than twenty-five, and several of them were over thirty-five (including all but one of the concierges). Most of these workers were married and many had children, which as we will see was a contrast to the Royal Court. Many of them, including all the concierges, at least one bellman, and several front desk workers, were college-educated. Most had previous experience in hotels.¹³

      The hotel created active internal labor markets (possibly especially so, given the tight external labor market). Three of the front desk workers had started in other departments (housekeeping, telephone operator, and sales); these workers were Chinese, Latina, and Asian American, suggesting that the practice of internal promotion contributed to greater diversity at the front desk. Becky, a white concierge, had been promoted from the front desk. In the four months I was there, at least six workers and managers were reassigned to higher posts within the hotel.

      The corporate nature of the enterprise also conferred advantages on workers in terms of career ladders. The existence of other properties worldwide provided potential mobility (and possible places for workers to stay on vacation at reduced rates—a perk of the job). Both Jaya, a front desk worker from the Philippines, and Fred, a bellman from China, had worked for the Luxury Garden hotels in their native countries before immigrating to the United States. The possibility of promotion not only created a clear incentive for workers but also established hierarchies among particular jobs and between managers and workers.¹⁴

      The internal labor market was supported by a specialized division of labor (see appendix B). This specialization was demonstrated, first, in the arrangement of particular units or departments in the hotel. The front office (mainly the front desk) was separate from guest services (the concierge staff, the business center, and the front door), which meant primarily that the guest services workers had their own assistant managers (though both were supervised by the rooms division manager). Reservationists were part of sales,¹⁵ and telephone operators were under the supervision of the controller's office (mostly because their offices were adjoining). Security, laundry, the gift shop, and valet parking were subcontracted to outside companies.

      The division of labor was also codified in a strict delineation of job tasks. Concierge workers and front desk agents did none of the same work; concierges focused on entertainment and guests’ needs outside the hotel, while front desk agents checked guests in and out and executed other administrative tasks. Front desk workers were not trained at the telephone operator station. Business center workers, organizationally separate from the front office, sent out faxes and packages for guests, logged their incoming faxes, and did their Xeroxing. Workers were only minimally cross-trained. High specialization also characterized the back of the house for both semivisible and invisible workers.¹⁶ As we will see, this separation of tasks contrasts with the organization of the Royal Court.

      The spatial organization and aesthetics of work matched this division of labor at the Luxury Garden. Concierges worked next to the front desk agents, but telephone operators were located in the basement, and reservationists were upstairs in the executive offices. Room service had its own office on a floor above the restaurant kitchen. The laundry center and uniforms were in the basement, near workers’ locker rooms, and the housekeeping office was upstairs. Workers wore different uniforms depending on their position: the doormen's gold coat differed from the bellmen's outfit, and the concierges’ sober uniform contrasted with the gold and black apparel of the front desk agents. Reservationists wore suits, and telephone operators wore their own special uniform as well.

      The front office managerial hierarchy was highly differentiated. François, the rooms division manager, supervised Patricia, a front office manager, who in turn oversaw several assistant managers and one supervisor. François never worked at the desk, and Patricia rarely did. Managers’ responsibilities were clearly distinguished from those of line employees, although assistant managers spent some time relieving workers for breaks and shared some of their work, especially on the evening shift. The exception to this rule was at the concierge desk, where the two assistant managers sometimes took on regular concierge tasks, though they spent most of their time in manager meetings or working on special projects.

       “Who We Are”: Building Identity and Accountability

      The second element of hierarchical professionalism at the Luxury Garden was a sophisticated program of standards and training, including the cultivation of a common identity and “culture.” In this effort, management used many common techniques, including encouragement of deep acting and self-transformation, explicit standards and training, and practices of reward. More than transform workers’ selves, however, these techniques served to clarify what workers were expected to do and to let them know that they would be held accountable.

      CORPORATE CULTURE Probably emulating the Ritz-Carlton, Luxury Garden management at the corporate level had developed an elaborate “culture,” including a corporate philosophy, service and operational standards, and a training program. The most salient facet of this culture was a continued effort to establish a communal identity. When I interviewed Sebastian, the general manager, he frequently brought up culture as a feature of identity, calling himself “the carrier of our culture.” He referred to a new standards program as “one of the tools that make us who we are.” Managers referred to employees (and employees were supposed to refer to one another) as colleagues. Postings throughout the hotel about other properties in the chain, company news, and budget numbers attempted to create a feeling of belonging and participation in a common enterprise.

      The company had a “mission statement” and “guiding principles,” which Alice told us in the orientation had been “hammered out” by the general managers of all the properties. In addition to the corporate mission statement, the hotel's local management had come up with its own credo: “Above All Else: Dignity, Excellence, Enchantment.” On several occasions I heard Alice tell the story of how managers at this property had spent months designing and implementing a new program for the hotel; this historical narrative seemed to be an integral part of the culture itself, as it often is in training sessions.¹⁷ As at the Ritz-Carlton, workers were given a card to carry with them that included the credo, the four practices for each term, and the hotel's motto, “Enchanted moments come from living our credo.”

      The initial employee orientation reflected this concern with establishing a common identity and a sense of belonging in a luxury environment.¹⁸ Alice handed out special pins to be worn on each employee's uniform when she talked about “who we are” as a way to introduce the mission statement and guiding principles. Company-made videos emphasized the mission statement, workers’ commitment to service, and the luxurious elements of the Luxury Garden experience. She also emphasized the high status of guests, frequently describing the hotel's clientele as “the top 1 percent.”

      Procedures for recognizing workers and creating community in the hotel were well-developed at the Luxury Garden and linked to these elements of “culture.” The primary recognition program rewarded workers for “enchanted moments” they provided to guests (nominally it also applied to workers enchanting one another, but I never saw an instance of this). When a worker went out of his way to assist a guest, he received twenty-five dollars; his photograph and a description of what he had done were posted in the workers’ area in the basement. Seven or eight of these appeared during my four months at the hotel.¹⁹ Managers posted guest letters of praise in their departments. François, the resident manager, told me in an interview that he tried to recognize workers by name “just like we do to guests” and to compliment them verbally or in writing (using special “five star cards”) for good work. The human resources department conducted an employee satisfaction survey each year and publicized the results around the hotel.

      Managers created community