Mike Huckabee hosted his Fox Show from the Venetian/Palazzo last week. In his monologue he points out that he is standing in contrast to the President who urged people not to go to Vegas. That, of course, isn’t what the President said. And, Huckabee’s Vegas support came with a caveat: He arrived with the Ten Commandments and a $20 bill, and he did not plan to break either. Honestly, with that attitude, from a Vegas perspective, he might as well have stayed home.
But what fascinated me about the show was the rare interview with Venetian head Sheldon Adelson. Huckabee consistently tried to praise the amazing customer service on the Strip, and, in response, Adelson claims (a few times) that the Venetian/Palazzo’s service is better because the property is the only non-union resort on the Strip. I think that view deserves a reality inspection: Adelson can not afford to have customer service fall bellow the union properties on the Strip and stay competitive.
The Venetian/Palazzo has fine customer service, but certainly does not have a reputation for being so special that the resort stands out in anyway on the Strip.
Who does stand out for customer service? Actually, union properties. For starters, the union property Wynn is considered to have the best customer service by most everyone in Vegas. Obviously, Four Seasons does an exceptional job and Mandarin Oriental has a reputation for service that I have yet to personally check out.
Venetian/Palazzo has fine service, better than most cities offer at hotels; but Vegas is not most cities. We are very competitive when it comes to pleasing guests. As it happens, the best customer service on the Vegas Strip can be found at union properties.
I am not saying Venetian/Palazzo has major customer service problems. But is that because Adelson is such a great boss, or because unhappy workers could quickly vote in a union were his behavior to match his rhetoric?
The truth is that the incredible customer service supplied on the Las Vegas Strip is largely delivered by union employees. A casino that does not want a union must keep salary and benefits similar or better than what the union offers. That is the case at Venetian/Palazzo. Adelson is paying the ticket to keep his property union free and so, for what it is worth, he has bragging rights. But, looking at Wynn/Encore’s customer service, it does makes sense to ask if not being union benefits any Venetian or Palazzo customer or guest? I doubt it. (photo: Sarah Gerke)
Well put, Richard. I immediately thought of the Wynn/Encore as well (especially the Tower Suites), and I’m not surprised the Four Seasons is excellent –they make it a part of their corporate focus everywhere. I think you’ve clearly shown that the level of service in Vegas is, at best, neutral in relation to unionization. I guess Adelson was just looking for a legit looking podium to make his unsubstantiated claim. This reminds me of a comment made by a prof I had: “if you make a statement and no one disputes it, it eventually becomes considered truth.”
Just want to say this first, i enjoy this blog/site/column, whatever you want to call it but I do have one gripe with Mr. Abowitz. I have read the movable buffet for a couple of years and the fact that you call people out to spend money in Vegas and go wild when you don’t drink or gamble yourself. So the guy goes to Vegas not to break the bank, his chouce, just as it is yours not to consume alcohol or gamble in the gambling mecca. Honestly, the only problem I have with Mr. Abowitz , and I really do enjoy his writing, is his lack of recklessness at times, which could actually lead us into some amusing and no doubt insightful musings on the greatest city in the world
I think both Adelson and Abowitz have described a fallacy. A union has no bearing on the level of customer service that an employee will perform at. Adelson was looking for a good way to put out there that his property is Union Free. There are a good many people that like that fact and will support him because of it.
Hmmmmmmmmmmm…… Sheldon Adelson has made some substantial cutbacks to his employee benefit packages since the recession began. So much, that his property is now widely considered to be a “last resort” if looking for a job in the service industry on the strip. And there is many more people that DO NOT support Sheldon Adelson’s Anti-Union stance. And Sheldon is widely considered the Al Davis of casino owners by many in the gaming industry.
I agree with curious above…Sheldon Adelson has made substantial cutbacks to his employee benefit packages since the recession began. I personally am part of that benefits package and will say that every time we go to the doctor it is denied initially and I have to call and fix it. They always claimed they had better benefits because they were union free…now that the benefits are terrible and they treat their employees like crap, what do they have left? Don’t be surprised Mr. Adelson if the word union starts popping up more often. You might want to take a closer look at the management running your guest service department. If your guest service employees that are keeping your customer service are unhappy, they might just start walking and giving their hard work and dedication to someone that cares!