Guest Services, Inc. annually recognizes the leadership and staff of its properties with the highest quality of service by awarding the Q Award. This year, we send our congratulations to the DoubleTree Suites in Naples, Florida for being the top-performing unit in 2018. Our team at DoubleTree earned an exceptional score of 98%. President and COO Jeff Marquis and Chief Executive Officer Gerry Gabrys presented the award to Jennifer Wallace and her team in Naples, Florida on April 10th. We also want to showcase all of the other Q Award recipients who scored 90% or above this year below.
Calculating each property’s score as well as conducting all of the audits is Director of Quality Assurance Nick Diapoulis, along with assistance from Joe Piccioni, QA Auditor/District Manager.
There are multiple audit categories: dining, food kiosk, recreation, retail and lodging/condo. Within each category, Nick and his team examine three main aspects: on-site observation, guest surveys, and client evaluation. Half of the possible QA audit score is from the auditor’s on-site observations, and the other half is from guest surveys and/or client evaluation. Below are just a few elements of what is inspected during the quality audit, but each category has its own criteria.
| On-Site Observations
– Cleanliness/Organization – Customer and Speed of Service – Guest Services Standards – Public Areas and Recreational Facilities – Food Quality/Presentation – Maintenance/Environmental Awareness – Guest Rooms – Marketing/Merchandising |
Guest Surveys
– Facility Cleanliness – Customer and Speed of Service – Food Quality and Presentation – Quality of Programs, Services, and Staff Knowledge – Quality of Merchandise – Value |
Client Evaluation
– Facility Cleanliness – Customer and Speed of Service – Food Quality and Presentation – Overall Quality and Presentation – Management’s Responsiveness and Communication |
Each aspect is tailored to the specific category it is under to make the scores consistent across the board. The one thing that doesn’t change between the categories is the desired high standard of hospitality.
“Customer service and cleanliness are our foundation. Our guests and clients are the whole reason for our being,” says Nick. “We want to make sure our staff’s demeanor is positive and inviting; our guests and clients feel acknowledged; our speed of service is timely; and all our operations are clean, safe, and visibly appealing. We want to provide and continue providing the highest quality service to our guests and clients, and these audits help us improve and sustain that goal.”
Throughout the inspection process, best practices at each property are acknowledged and may even be passed to another unit who could use it to make them even stronger. Nick says “recognizing our unit management and staff’s hard work and accomplishments is one of the main reasons why we perform the QA audit and recognize the highest ranking unit with the Q Award. We can share great ideas throughout the company that can elevate Guest Services even further.”
“A few years ago, a client told me that when they previously had a larger hospitality contractor, it never took the time to provide this type of service,” says Nick. “The QA program and Q Award shows that Guest Services cares about our clients and guests so much that we evaluate our performance annually to discuss the successes and needed improvements to become the very best.”
Thank you to everyone involved for setting the Guest Services standard for service excellence in your units and properties! Here is the list of all the 2018 Guest Services Q Award recipients; congratulations to all!
Air & Space Food Kiosk
American History Food Kiosk
Art & Industry Food Kiosk
Bear Mountain Dining
Bear Mountain Lodging
Bear Mountain Retail
Boeing East
Boeing NRO
Boeing Southwest
Boys Home
Breckenridge Dining
Breckenridge Lodging
Cap Ferrat
Children’s Home Easton
Claridge
Columbia Island Food
Columbia Island Marina
Constitution Gardens Food Kiosk
DIA (Defense Intelligence Agency)
Domino Sugar
East Potomac Tennis Center
Echo Bluff Dining
Echo Bluff Lodging
Echo Bluff Retail
Ellipse Presidents Park Food
Ellipse Presidents Park Retail
Emerald Heights
Fairfield Inn and Suites
Father Judge Missionary
Fletchers Boat House
Florida Southern College Buckstop
Florida Southern College Cyber Café
Florida Southern College Moc Mart Retail
Florida Southern College Terrace Café
Florida Southern College Wynee`s Bistro
General Dynamics
Giants Ridge Bunkers
Giants Ridge Retail
Giants Ridge Wacootah Grill
Grandview Annapolis
Great Falls Maryland Food
Great Falls Virginia Food
Heartwood Retail
Herndon Harbor Senior Center
Heron’s Key
Hogan Lovells
Holocaust Memorial Museum
Hopkinton State Park Boathouse
Indian Craft Shop
James Creek Marina
Jefferson Food Kiosk
Jefferson Retail
Key Bridge Boathouse
Keller Ferry Marina
Keller Ferry Marina Retail
Kings Bridge
La Mer
Lincoln Food
Lincoln Retail
Lincoln Retail South
Mansion La Palma
Marbella at Pelican Bay
Marbella at Pelican Bay The Cove
Marbella at Pelican Bay Dining
Monaco Beach Club
Moorings Park Clubhouse
Moorings Park/Park Grill
Moorings Park Trio Restaurant
Morgan Lewis and Bockius
Mount Rainier Paradise Lodging
Mount Rainier Paradise Restaurant
Natick Boathouse
National Emergency Training Center
Natural History Food Kiosk
Naval Air Station Patuxent
Navy Yard
Newton Boathouse
NIH Fishers Lane
Northrop Grumman Annapolis/Undersea
Northrop Grumman ATL
Northrop Grumman BWI Central
Northrop Grumman WQB
Northrop Grumman WQC
Office of Naval Intelligence
Park Plaza
Rock Creek Horse Center
Rock Creek Tennis Center
Rockwell Collins
Saint Raphael
Sculpture Garden NGA Ice Rink
Sculpture Garden NGA Pavilion Café
Seven Bays Marina Retail
St. Pierre
State Department Charleston
Stratford
Surfsedge
Swift Culpeper
Swift Manassas
Terraces
Tidal Basin Food
Tidal Basin Recreation
Trieste at Bay Colony
Triple Craft
United Association
Walter Reed National Military Medical Center
Washington Sailing Marina
Weeki Wachee Food- Captains Quarters/Pirates Grub/Snack Shack
Weeki Wachee Recreation
Weeki Wachee Retail
Windsor at Bay Colony