Relationship Marketing Strategy and implementation

requested permission from village chiefs before visiting their villages.
Chiefs were required to adhere to certain Club policies, but had wide lati-
tude to set village policies that affected GMs’ vacation experiences.
The chiefs were a colorful and varied cast of characters; one American
GO described them as “one part Napoleon, one part Santa Claus, one part
Jerry Lewis, and one part Long John Silver.” Examples of the creative ways
they had dealt with impending disasters and major incidents were legion,
creating an almost reverential respect for the village chiefs throughout the
organization. (Most of Club Med’s top-level managers had been village
chiefs.)
For example, Sylvio de Bortoli, vice president of sales, who had been a
village chief for many years, recalled:

When I was in Cancun one season, I received word that a charter from New

York was experiencing horrible problems and was going to arrive ten hours

later than scheduled – at 4:30 A.M. I knew that the planeload of GMs would

be miserable, probably angry, maybe even hostile.

So I rounded up my GOs and we formulated a plan. We met the GMs at

the airport, whisked them through customs, and had drinks waiting in the

buses. On the ride to the village, our guests told us that they had experienced

a horribly rough landing – so rough, the oxygen masks descended! Then the

pilot announced over the PA, “If you think thatwas bad, wait until you see

how I taxi up to the gate!’

The recruitment and internal market domains 341

Chief of

the Village

Chiefs of

Services

Mini Club Entertainment Offices Hostesses Maintenance Sports BeverageFood and

Manager

Staff Entertainers

Disc jockeys

Decorators

Wardrobe

masters

Light engineer

Sound

engineer

Choreogra-

phers

Dancers

Administrator

Bank

Planning

Traffic

Boutique

Excursion

Secretary

Computer

Electricians

Plumbers

Gardeners

Carpenters

Caretakers

Supplies clerk

Housekeepers

Laundry

Land sports

Boardsailing

Sailing

Tennis

Horseback

riding

Snorkeling

Water skiing

Picnics

Swimming

Yoga/Archery

Scuba

Cuisine team

Pastry cooks

Bread cook

Waiters

Waitresses

Cleaning crew

Bar team

Restaurant

manager

Storeroom

clerk

Butchers

Hostesses

Figure 5.1.2 Organization of Club Med villages.