When I rejoined the Oberoi Hotels in 2003, I was sent on a 10-day induction at the then new Oberoi Resorts - Vanyavilas, Udaivilas and Rajvilas. At the end of the induction, I was to meet PRS Oberoi for a detailed debrief before taking on my new role. He was in his office, seated in a comfortable leather chair. Through his window, I could see peacocks idling in the garden outside.
He asked me what I thought about the new resorts that have opened since I left the company five years back and I remember saying, "Sir, outstanding, we are now competing at a global level".
Before we could continue, he received a call from the General Manager at The Oberoi Mauritius, as a portion of the resort had caught fire from burning sugarcane fields nearby due to high wind speeds. Mr Oberoi heard him and only said, "Just take care of the team and guests." I was in awe of how calm he was about one of the most beautiful hotels in the world on the verge of burning to the ground. After the call, he continued his conversation with me and another colleague who was present, and went on about his expectations from a good General Manager. I remember his advice that day - focus on your guests, team and profitability, ensure that you cut waste and not expenses. These words still resonate in my ears. The phone rang again and now nearly half the resort was on fire. I just wanted the meeting to end at this point, but he stayed calm, asking us specific feedback on the new resorts, always starting with - what can we do better?
I remember the ritual of fortnightly meetings with Mr. Oberoi, usually on Sunday afternoons that stretched into late evenings. To be prepared for them one had to start a day in advance. He was very sharp, knew the business better than anyone else and was uncompromising on quality. The meetings would be around operations at the hotels, new initiatives, revenue, profitability, budgets and hotel renovations. However, there was one common constant. The first agenda before the start of these meetings was to discuss negative guest reviews across platforms. So, the first couple of hours would go into discussing guest comments and analysing reasons behind the negative ones. We did that for 25 hotels even before meeting him with answers. He would listen patiently but always have a viewpoint, putting the guest first, of course. He continued this practice with me till my last month and close to his 88th birthday, working late into the night.
Today, when people ask me how we create a culture of service excellence, I just tell them, you need to lead by example, every hour and everyday. All the time. That is what makes an iconic company and a legend. And that is who he was.
(Kapil Chopra was the President of The Oberoi Group from 2013 to 2018. He is currently the Founder of EazyDiner and The Postcard Hotel.)
Disclaimer: These are the personal opinions of the author.