10 & 5 Rule of Hospitality

In baseball it was important that a team stay engaged in the game.  This was not easy for some teams, depending on the makeup of its players.  The players would sometimes have other things on their minds, sometimes as simple as the smell of a hot dog or the sight of a pretty girl in the stands....the point is, keeping an entire baseball team engaged for 9 innings was important and a challenge at times.

Teams would do so many things to show they were engaged, and sometimes it would end up being what DP High School Baseball Coach Mike Barefoot would call, "false chatter."

False chatter is noise or activity that is supposed to make others think you are engaged.  Participation in false chatter was like having cancer and watching it spread like wild fire.  Great teams realized that energy we spend exerting "false chatter" would be better served powering at the main objective together...which is to be genuinely engaged and focused on a main objective.

A team of highly engaged players is a special thing to be part of...and something that is not easy to develop.

At Hyatt, when I was first trained in Guest Service, they taught us the 10 & 5 rule as part of our bellmen training.  The rule was a basic that if you really embraced the practice, you would put yourself on a path to providing exceptional customer service and being a great teammate.  When Hyatt introduced it to me, I tried it and I really loved the response I was getting with both the other staff, but also the customers who were paying my bills with the tips they gave me.

This rule has been so important in my life and it has allowed me to effectively engaged with the people and world around me each day.  The rule requires that I be conscious throughout my day and the interactions available to me.  Sometimes I find myself wondering a day without engaging the world around me- trapped in my digital bubble- I sometimes need to stop myself and remember this very important rule of personal engagement.  I need to put my bellboy hat back on.

10 & 5 Rule
When a guest comes within ten feet (10) of a team member(s), the team member(s) should cease their conversation to acknowledge the approaching guest. At approximately five (5) feet our team members should acknowledge the guest(s) with a nod or greeting, whenever appropriate.

How well does this apply to life.

Bryan