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Customer Confidential: Untold Stories of Earned GrowthAuthor: Rob Markey, Bain & Company partner and customer experience expert
The Customer Confidential Podcast unlocks a world of unparalleled customer and employee loyalty insights. Host Rob Markey, a Net Promoter System pioneer, uses his deep expertise and empathetic approach to challenge conventional wisdom, peel back layers of typical advice, and expose the real stories of industry transformation. Take a deep dive into discussions on CX, customer journey, customer insights, Net Promoter Score, and more. Every episode is a master class in loyalty. Guests include CMOs, CXOs, and heroes of customer-centric transformation, along with thought leaders who inspire them. Exploring organizational structures, operating models, goals, and metrics, Rob and his guests from companies such as Vanguard, American Express, and more bring to light practical marketing, product, customer experience, and technology strategies for earning customer-focused growth. This podcast is your source for untold stories of customer and employee loyalty. Challenging, insightful, and instructiveall in one place. Earned growth starts here. Language: en Genres: Business, Management Contact email: Get it Feed URL: Get it iTunes ID: Get it |
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Ep. 249: Scott Taber | Why Four Seasons Turned Guests Away
Thursday, 10 July, 2025
Episode 249: When “revenge travel” brought guests roaring back to Four Seasons Hotels, they capped occupancy, turning away guests and revenue. Scott Taber, senior vice president of global hospitality, describes the Four Seasons philosophy: No points, no perks. Just great properties, individual recognition, personal service, and an emphasis on making sure the first five minutes after check-in are spectacular. That belief was put to the test when the world started traveling again and labor gaps persisted at the end of the pandemic. The company had a choice: chase revenue or protect intimacy. It chose intimacy. To avoid overextending staff and diluting the experience, Four Seasons capped occupancy. The organization focused on preserving what Scott calls the “first five”: those opening minutes that define a guest’s stay. “People want to see your eyes and your teeth,” he says. They want to be recognized, not processed. That doesn’t mean resisting tech. Four Seasons embraced tools that support connection: a CRM “golden record” surfaces each guest’s preferences so staff can deliver personal touches at scale. They also rolled out a proprietary 11-platform chat tool that helps staff resolve 80% of requests within 90 seconds. Last year, they set an NPS record. Culture provides the foundation for the organization’s enduring success. Recruiting favors empathy, veterans mentor newcomers, and managers celebrate tiny moments of recognition as fiercely as revenue. With management contracts that stretch a whopping 80 years, Four Seasons plays the long game: culture first. For Four Seasons, the strongest currency isn’t points, but people. Guest: Scott Taber, Senior Vice President for Global Hospitality, Four Seasons Hotels Host: Rob Markey, Partner, Bain & Company Give us feedback: Customer Confidential Podcast Feedback Send us a note: Contact Rob Topics Covered: 00:04 How occupancy caps protect service under pressure 00:12 No points program means loyalty through recognition 00:20 Salesforce “golden record” and how it personalizes at scale 00:30 The benefits of their chat platform that responds instantly to guests 00:35 Getting culture right, like hiring empathetic staff and having veterans mentor newcomers 00:41 How their 80-year contracts reinforce a culture-first strategy Notable Quotes: 00:02 “It’s the service excellence that we want to have in our properties every single day, and making sure that we have the right tools, training, support, structure, to truly bring that to life. And all while creating great jobs and helping to have amazing leaders and supporting them to create great memories and experiences for our guests.” 00:03 “We had a record year last year with our guest experience score, Net Promoter Score.” 00:11 “Our typical management agreement is 80 years. We want to be with this hotel, we want to be with this project, for the long term. It’s the vision of Mr. Sharp [Four Seasons’ founder] committing himself to the property and us being committed to the property for that period of time. I think there are some pretty good foundational elements to keep us going for a long time to come.” 00:12 “ [Customers] want to be remembered and appreciated for their business. Four Seasons doesn’t have a loyalty program. We’re a small brand: 133 hotels. So, how do we do that in a way that is thoughtful and that helps our employees to be able to remember our guests in the right way?” 00:25 “We want to hire for attitude and teach the skills. So you are looking for someone who wants to connect with that guest and be in sync with what that guest needs at that moment. And that comes with how we teach and how we coach that behavioral side to engage with the guests—what’s important for them in the moment.” Additional Resources: Connect the dots between the present and the past with our Customer Confidential podcast from 2016, Inside the Four Seasons Approach to Five-Star Service Learn more about how Four Seasons was impacted by Covid-19 in our brief: The Power to Change
