Nov. 14, 2002 - PALM BEACH, Fla.-- Matt Linderman, food and beverage director for the Four Seasons Resort Palm Beach, is spending Wednesday morning in the hotel's sheets. 

But he isn't sleeping. 

Linderman and seven other high-level managers are getting hands-on hospitality experience as part of the hotel's annual "Day in the Life of a Four Seasons Resort Employee." They're washing sheets and dishes, spritzing pool patrons with Evian, pampering spa guests and preparing crunchy calamari -- all under the watchful eyes of employees who daily do these jobs to such perfection that the Four Seasons is one of only two five-star, five-diamond properties in South Florida. This month, Zagat Survey also ranked the Four Seasons No. 1 in Palm Beach County. 

"Our jobs are not just suits and computers," says General Manager Harry Gorstayn, stacking dirty dishes in his shirtsleeves in the kitchen. "We're in the service business. I know the end result, but it's important for me to learn how long it takes to do this, how things get done." 

Gorstayn's trainer for the morning, nine-year employee Jean Lundy, watches as the hotel's top executive tries to keep pace cleaning cutlery and china for about 1,000 meals a day. 

"It's good experience for him to know what's going on in the hotel," Lundy says. 

Nearby, server Mino DiMartino pauses as he polishes a coffee pot. "He already knows everything," DiMartino says, glancing at Gorstayn, who's out of earshot across the kitchen. 

"Now he knows better," Lundy says firmly. 

In the spa, already busy on this rainy morning, Director of Sales Elissa Wallis is changing the shower curtain rings. 

"We thought they weren't quite the right color," she says. 

Her boss for the day, spa attendant Anne McKinney, gives Wallis high marks before dispatching her with tongs to offer chilled, scented towels to the exercisers. 

"You can tell she's in sales," McKinney says. "She's asking guests who call to make appointments, 'Would you like so-and-so with that?' She's very good." 

At the hotel's front door, Resort Manager Andrew Harrison -- sporting a perfectly fitting uniform -- greets guests as they arrive. The Four Seasons is expecting 140 people to check in this afternoon, but he's not worried about his new job. 

"I used to be a doorman in Switzerland 19 years ago," he says. "This brings back memories." 

Human Resources Director Shelley Komitor, waiting tables in the hotel's Ocean Bistro, says the "Day in the Life" program gives managers a chance to see things they might not otherwise know about. 

"This uniform is hot and scratchy," she says, tugging at the collar. "It's OK on a cool day like this, but I'm wondering if it's the right material for a really warm day." 

The program improves the working climate, too. 

"It's a big morale booster to see the upper echelon in uniforms, making mistakes," says Linderman, the food and beverage director. 

"There's a genuine warmth here," says Executive Pastry Chef Thomas Worhach, who has worked for 11 years in hotels around the world with this resort's famous five-star chef, Hubert Desmarais. "We're like family here." 

The Four Seasons Resort Palm Beach spends a lot of time, effort and money to maintain its top ratings, says Human Resources Director Komitor, who oversees 40 to 50 training manuals for the hotel's 375 employees. Today, for instance, Komitor learns that a coffee cup handle must point at 5 o'clock and that a coffee spoon must be placed on the saucers with the handle pointed at 6 o'clock. 

Such diligence pays off, industry analysts say, because consumers and travel agents use ratings to make travel decisions. Mobil Travel Guide's five stars, AAA's five diamonds and Zagat Survey's top numerical rankings are marketing tools that give properties an edge, especially in a crowded tourism market like Palm Beach County, General Manager Gorstayn believes. 

"It's all about standards," he says. "We eat, drink and breathe standards. It's our culture. It's why we're five stars and five diamonds." 

Meanwhile in the hotel's digital laundry room, Food and Beverage Director Linderman is feeding sheets into an ironing machine. 

"You forget how hard it is to get it done right," he says. "But that's our standard -- we have to work harder." 

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(c) 2002, The Palm Beach Post, Fla. Distributed by Knight Ridder/Tribune Business News. FS,