The Hindu Business Line : Not just smiles and style

It was a special gathering one afternoon at the elegant ballroom of the Taj Connemara in Chennai. The children and parents were proud to be there… they had worked hard for this day. For many in that gathering it was also a rare peek inside five-star environs and there was an air of awkwardness too. Suddenly, in bounded a woman with a very businesslike manner and a bright smile that instantly lightened up the atmosphere. It was Dinaz Madhukar, the hotel’s Genera l Manager, who had arranged for the free use of the hall for a performance put together by a therapy centre working with children with Autism Spectrum Disorder.

One of the parents happens to be a hotel staff and Dinaz even ensured that the gathering was served snacks that met the prescribed diet for the children.

“It is important to let your staff know that you care and that their interests are protected,” says Dinaz. She recalls an instance when a new recruit, fresh out of college, was asked to escort a guest to his room. The man tried to misbehave with the girl and she was shaken. The guest was requested to check out immediately. He protested that he had scheduled some meetings at the hotel; he was allowed to attend them and then leave.

Acknowledging that there are several stereotypes about women working in five-star hotels, she counters it by saying it is one of the safest industries. “As way back as in 1986, women staffers at the Taj working beyond 7 p.m. were dropped back home.” Her own workday typically begins at 8.30 a.m. and ends at… there’s no knowing when! There are the daily meetings with staff, the “lobby duty” greeting guests, the weekly review meetings, guests again for lunch… and so the five-star whirligig goes…

It’s a way of life she’s led since she “strayed” into the industry in 1986 at the Taj Mumbai.

“I had gone to visit a friend and was asked if I would like to apply for a position. There were two women who interviewed me and they said ‘we’ll try you out for two days’. I replied that I would try them out for two days and then decide! I think they liked my spunk… they hired me,” she recalls with a laugh.

She was studying for law then, but the college worked only from 7-10 a.m., leaving her free the rest of the day to take up the job.

And, soon, she found herself surrendering to the high-charged excitement of the job: “Once you’re in this industry, you can’t leave. Each day is unique, there is no sense of routine...”

She also found herself transforming from a “gauche newcomer into someone who had imbibed the finer things in life, making me brand-conscious”. She loved the glamour and glitz too, the constant stream of political biggies, film stars, corporate honchos and other celebrities.

Beginning as a guest relations associate, she went on to become a restaurant manager before shifting to the training department with the arrival of her second child. Dinaz is married to B.S. Madhukar, who also worked with the Taj Hotels earlier. “I shifted to the training department because it had a 9-6 kind of working hours; the break shift at the restaurant would have been too hectic for me with my second child,” she says. But training also allowed her to travel and experience the many different Taj properties across the country.

She later moved back to operational management and went on to become resident manager at one of the Taj hotels in Delhi before coming to the Taj Connemara as GM.

Crediting her husband for supporting her in every way, she says they were both up for postings as GM. However, at that point, they decided that one of them would step back, both for professional and personal reasons.

“We felt that this would be better for our children’s upbringing; also, we didn’t want to create a situation of conflict professionally,” she explains. Her husband now works in Bangalore and cares for their son (19) and daughter (11). The family gets together during the weekends, either in Bangalore or Chennai.

Rise to top

Dinaz makes light of her achievement, stating that at the Taj Hotels women have traditionally done well. She cites the example of Shirin Batliwala, who rose to become GM of Taj Bengal way back in the 1980s. “And there have been many more women GMs at the Taj,” she says, rolling off several names.

On the work-life balance demanded of such a hectic pace, she simply reasons that one should “make oneself as someone who cannot keep away from the excitement”. She recalls how early in her career she couldn’t stay away even on Sundays because “the work was such fun”.

As restaurant manager her work rarely ended before 11 p.m., but often she found herself dropping in at 2 or 3 in the morning, if she happened to be passing by, “just to check if everything was alright”.

At their Rick’s bar in Delhi, for instance, Dinaz prides herself on the fact that it was a place where women felt safe enough to drop in for a drink on their own.

Even at the Connemara in Chennai, the bar manager is a woman as also the HR head. She is emphatic that women at the top bring in a qualitative change in approach thanks to their inherent capacity for multi-tasking and empathy. And in the hospitality industry, she finds that a woman’s touch is invaluable: “We are creative, we have that caring touch… and we naturally tend not to waste anything and make the best use of available resources.”

Her personal touches at the Connemara range from introducing natural, wholesome snacks at the bar to redoing the hotel’s Raintree restaurant; from choosing the linen to deciding on the Christmas decorations; from introducing fun events at routine information sharing meets for staff to supporting an injured worker’s family by employing his sister at the hotel.

Guest relations

It’s an industry that totally banks on customer satisfaction. But Dinaz tempers that with realism, where things will tend to go wrong at times. “The art is to work around the shortcomings in such a manner that the guest does not even realise anything is amiss,” she says.

She also concedes that despite the best efforts, the hotel will have its share of upset guests. The only way then is to allow time for the guest to cool off, she rationalises. She advises her staff to deal with guests straight from the heart and with honesty. “I tell them to empathise with the guest’s expectations. After all, they are paying a lot and, naturally, expect the best.”

At the same time, Dinaz is firm on ensuring that the staff is treated well. She insists that her staff address her by name. Another plan close to her heart involves inviting all members of the staff to dine at the coffee-shop periodically, so they too could experience the five-star dining that happens around them all the time.

To those aspiring to enter the industry, she describes the work in one word – “infectious”. She advises job hopefuls to bring with them both flair for the job and compassion:

“At the end of the day, it’s an industry that’s seemingly about everything that’s superficial – style, flair, sophistication… but you’ll need to balance it with empathy and sensitivity.”

Heritage hospitality

When long-time patrons of the hotel come up to me and say, ‘Did you know that earlier there used to be a place where we played croquet… there was even a tennis court, a fountain…’ and so on, I am amazed and delighted to discover the many heritage facets of this hotel,” says Dinaz Madhukar, GM of Taj Connemara, Chennai.

The old-timers also share photographs of their visits to the hotel in those days. Noted historian S. Muthiah’s book A Tradition of Madras that is Chennai — The Taj Connemara reproduces an advertisement from 1880 which states the hotel was established in 1854. Called The Imperial Hotel, it promises “extensive premises… cool and fitted with every convenience” and wines from the “celebrated house of Messrs. McDowell & Co." Its proprietor was T. Ruthnavaloo Moodelliar.

In 1889 the hotel was named after the then Madras Governor, Robert Bourke, baron of Connemara, a county in faraway Ireland! Along the way, it became a Spencer’s hotel and remained a “Raj type hotel” filled with “Elevenses, Tea at Four, Soirees, Tea and Cocktail Dances, Saturday Night Balls, Connemara Nights, and Western Cabaret”.

It was in 1984 that the Taj chain took over its operations. Today it’s equipped with the latest amenities and cuisines that reflect a globalising palate. But some things endure…

Like the ‘Wednesday Clubbers’, who have been meeting here regularly for 62 years spanning several generations. Or the weekly lunch of the Rotary Club of Madras held here for 80 years now. A more recent tradition began when the “no frills” Madras Book Club began meeting here with offerings of just “books and tea, not cocktails and fashion”.

“We offer them ridiculously low rates… after all, it’s a tradition,” says Dinaz.

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