Does your business provide Unreasonable Hospitality?

[Pesso]

Hey Square Readers,

Welcome to another round of the Square Readers Book Club! Today we’re starting our next book for January & February 2025, Unreasonable Hospitality by Will Guidara! 

This book is all about giving a truly incredible hospitality experience to your customers. It dives into key strategies and tactics that the author has used in the restaurant industry, with transferable lessons you can use in your business. Its focus is on creating a culture of excellence and care, empowering employees to enable it, and using small gestures to blow your customers’ minds.

As we start reading the book, we’ll kick off our conversations with a baseline of your experiences giving and receiving exceptional customer service. I’d love to hear about you and how you have received great hospitality, and given it in your business, so share your story in the comments!

So let’s talk:

• What’s a great customer service & hospitality experience you’ve ever received? 
• How do you currently deliver an outstanding customer experience, in big and small ways? 
• What questions are you hoping to have answered by reading this book?

For some extra fun, share a selfie of you with the book here in the comments! 

Don’t forget to:

• View and Subscribe to all threads about this book

Happy reading!

Pesso

[#2]

Hey Readers!

We just posted our second discussion thread, diving into what Unreasonable Hospitality is, and an exercise to start brainstorming new ideas on ways to provide an incredible experience to your customers.

Head on over to share your thoughts!

[CareyJo]

Don't hate me because I'm a Broncos fan!  LOL

I'm excited about this book!  I loved the first chapter.  It was a quick, easy read.  Even if I only read one chapter a day it will be quick to finish but I suspect I'll have it done sooner than that.

I agree with all of the comments here.  For me, a big one is one that @ryanwanner mentioned - bringing me a refill without being asked.  I'm ALWAYS impressed by that.  My second big one is giving me enough ice.  I always ask for TONS of ice and 95% of the time I'm lucky to get an inch or two at the top.  My family is so used to me complaining about the ice that they now complain for me and make a joke out of it.  They will tell the server, that's not enough ice, just bring her the bucket!

I also agree that treating people like family is HUGE.  We live in a small town.  We live in the smallest big state in the US... lol.  We're fourth largest in land mass and yet we have the smallest population of all of them.  Our entire state is just one small town all spread out and if you spend enough time here, I guarantee you'll hear someone from here say that.  Most of our communities act like family and treat you like family, like they've known you your whole life.  It's welcoming.  It matters.  We can go to the biggest city in MT, which has a population of around 200k and still find it.

In our business, I'm the voice.  People rarely meet me in person because we work from home.  My husband cannot remember names to save his life.  He rarely knows a customer by name if I mention them.  His brain just doesn't work that way.  But he can literally drive through town, on any street and point to every house he has worked on.  He can point out buildings he helped build.  He can tell you what's hidden in the walls of those buildings too 🤣  But I remember names.  When Willa calls for service, I ask her how her daughter is doing after her son's suicide.  When Russ calls, I ask how his mom (who's 101) is doing.  I remember the details and the people.  So when he gets to their house, they will say to him how good it made them feel that I remember them.  That I KNOW who they are, they're not just a name in my data base.

For me, as a person, not just a business owner, is to smile.  Be kind.  Say thank you.  Hold doors.  For everyone.  When you smile on the phone and have a conversation with someone and not just take their vitals, they can feel it.  I tell everyone to have a great day when I hang up.  That's something I learned from my mentor nearly 30 years ago.  She answered her phone by saying "it's a great day!" not hello.  I choose to end with it.  I learned decades ago that the last thing people hear you say is what they will remember the most.  For example:  You have a leaky pipe on your boiler and we're going to have to shut it down but we can fix it!  You always want the last thing you say to be the positive note.  You've heard it a million times - end the conversation on a positive note.  In giving UH, you can do that by simply giving a smile and saying thank you.

[Pesso]

I'm so glad that you're enjoying the read and soaring through it so far, @CareyJo !

That's so funny with the ice -- I'm the opposite. I drink my water so quickly, that all that's left is ice, and because my glass is the emptiest, the servers fill mine first, and more ice goes in, so 10 minutes after sitting down my glass is all ice and no water. My brother gets a kick out of it every time, and I'm laughing but frustrated. Maybe only one time in my life has a server noticed and switched me out to a fresh glass. 

That is absolutely wonderful that you've built up those relationships and gotten to know so much about your customers. That's really rare and so incredible, and I know they appreciate that personal touch that you bring to things. That's such a great tip about remembering how the conversation & interaction ends.

Thanks so much again for all the insights and can't wait to hear your thoughts on the rest of the book as we go!

[ChickenRacer]

I drink a ridiculous amount of water a day, and I constantly freak people out with how much I consume. I also can't stand venues that make it difficult to consumer water, ie small cups and the like. I am a no ice for water, but lots of ice for spirits haha

[ChickenRacer]

I am excited for this book, first one I have read along with the Square Book Club, albeit I will be audio-booking it. I too heard about it from The Bear, and it was on my list. After having started it, it's been exciting to see some of the habits that are already in play, though as always much to work on!

In regards to the talking points:

• What’s a great customer service & hospitality experience you’ve ever received? 
  • Most recently we went to a holiday town in it's off season, and of the 6 venues we went to, one cafe very much stood out, with friendly staff (who greeted you!!), and great tucker. It was the simple things they did that should be automatic, rather then being exceptional in itself
• How do you currently deliver an outstanding customer experience, in big and small ways? In a small way, trying to always acknowledge customers, whether they are currently being served, in-line to be served, or looking lost. I think it's such a lost art, and something so important. In a large way, we work extremely hard to be consistent. Sometimes our actual product (food and beverage mainly) is 7.5 out of 10, rather then consitently 10 as we'd like, but it 99% of the time 7.5 or better. I think that's puts us ahead of the game with our competitors, based on our type of business and our trading up's and downs.
• What questions are you hoping to have answered by reading this book?
  • Basically just what else I can work on, personally and with my team. Due to constraints with locattion, seasonality, staffing etc, we have to do things different, so sometimes we sell the "sizzle" more then the "sausage", so any service/hospitalty edge, I am a fan of. 

[Pesso]

Thanks for joining in with us, @ChickenRacer ! Listening absolutely counts as reading!

I love that -- what about the experience, greeting, and conversation stuck with you the most? What were some of those simple automatic things?

The small things really are the biggest. I absolutely feel the difference in a place like that we're I get simple hellos from people who aren't directly serving me -- it just makes me feel welcomed and the whole thing less transactional. 

Consistency is huge, and like you said, the sizzle and hospitality can often outweigh the sausage and the product itself!

Can't wait to hear your learnings as we go-

[ChickenRacer]

The simplest thing that makes me feel welcomed at a venue, is acknowledgment when you walk in and/or are waiting. There is nothing worse then staff completely ignoring you, then "turing on the charm" once it's your turn. A simple "won't be a moment" or the like, makes you feel welcome. Especially being in the industry, it gets worse when they are doing a "busy" job, and you have to wait for them to grace you wiith their presence.

[Pesso]

I couldn't agree more -- it's such a small act but it has such a huge impact, @ChickenRacer ! 

[CareyJo]

CHAPTER 2 - OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMGGGGGGGGGGGGGGG!!!  A WHOLE box of tissues!!!

Wow!  Really puts life into perspective, doesn't it?

[Pesso]

For reallllll. So sad, and so incredible that a business could take away even a drop of pain like that. That's what it's all about.

[schaefferjosh]

I know!!! Had me crying at my desk! 

[bonny]

I don't have an example of great customer service to share.  I've been on the receiving end of less than stellar service. The first half of my life was spent predominantly in the military, in the hurry up and wait culture.  I can say it was discouraging and there were few ways to improve the process because it was well beyond my control.  I've been different enough to always want to exceed expectations though.  One example, when my unit deployed, I planned ahead to place a mint on everyone's pillows for when they arrived onsite.  It always brought an unexpected smile to their faces. I also bought extra toilet paper at my expense so when the inevitable happened, I could come to the rescue and no one was left high and dry, so to speak.  That kind of stuff was always appreciated.  I love the examples in the book where it's not just one person coming up with good ideas to try because everyone notices the small stuff differently.  When it's a team thing, everyone is involved in the process improvement.  Maybe the better descriptor is invested.  

Outstanding customer service. I have two different modes. One is I make a point to ship the same day orders are received and I send a handwritten thank you note with each order. For my in-person customer service, I take the time to answer all the questions they have, including ones I know are not going to result in a sale.  Like when they want to know how I get the detail in my paintings and then the surprise when they learn it was watercolor, a traditionally unforgiving medium to work in.  I'm sure they don't realize I have to stop myself from talking quite literally for hours upon hours on the methods used with different results until their eyes rolled out of their head but I shorten it to just the highlights and invite them to email me if they have more questions.  Some do, some don't.  I've noticed the engaging part of the conversation is when they realize they are actually talking to the person who made whatever it is we are looking at versus a salesperson with talking points.  

The questions I was hoping to have answered are things like how can I engage with my customers better.  Being an introvert, schmoozing doesn't come naturally to me.  It takes a LOT of effort on my part but I would like to learn how can I make a difference and understand how to translate the experience into something memorable for my customers.  

So here is my selfie.  I don't know how you all are getting the whole book and you in the picture.  My arm isn't long enough.  😁  Also note, that I take the jacket of the book off and save it for when I'm done with the book so it doesn't get all banged up while I'm reading. This is what's under the jacket.  I plan to donate the book to my local library when I'm done with it since they don't have one and there's a waitlist of 42 people for the one digital version they do have.  

[Pesso]

Thanks for jumping in, @bonny !

Those military examples are so great all around -- I love the little thoughtful gestures that make others feel considered and taken care of. That's what it's all about!

You're absolutely right, it's so much more powerful when many folks come together to come up with ideas and then execute ways of providing that exceptional experience -- them all being invested is key.

Those are huge too -- the personal touches and being there as a resource for your customers are fantastic.

I'm thinking, maybe there's something you can apply from the military examples too. In those cases, you anticipated their needs beyond what your job was, and gave them something unexpected and helpful and satisfying. Is there something you can do like that for your business too? Anticipating their needs and giving them something useful and meaningful. What are the mints and toilet paper for your customers? I think that would be super powerful and make a big difference. Jump into our next discussion thread to brainstorm!

Thanks for sharing the selfie! Woah, it's times like these that I wish I had the physical book and not ebook -- that cover is so cool! I love that the author follows through with his principles of giving a great experience on all of the details! 

[JTPets]

On amazon canada its limited time offer of $0.99 for the audiobook, I snagged it as one of my 2 free books for a trial on audible - not much of a reader myself, lets see if audio works better 🙂

[Pesso]

That's fantastic, @JTPets ! Thanks for sharing the sale and for joining us for this round -- really excited to hear your perspective.

I'd love to hear your answers to this first round of questions -- it's a baseline so you don't have to listen/read any of the book yet to answer.

[Pesso]

Hey Readers!

We just posted our second discussion thread, diving into what Unreasonable Hospitality is, and an exercise to start brainstorming new ideas on ways to provide an incredible experience to your customers.

Head on over to share your thoughts!

[thecedar]

Great customer service / hospitality recently - I checked into an Airbnb and they had forgotten to restock fresh bath towels, the host popped in while we were out for the evening and not only left fresh towels but also salted the icy sidewalk and turned the heat up a bit since it was a cold day! 

We try to emphasize giving back to the community and offer free coffee for emergency responders and snow plow drivers during the winter months, for example. We're constantly looking to improve and our regulars help us test new drink ideas and new pastries! 

Ways to creatively do more - and encourage the team to do so, also. 

[Pesso]

That's such a great example, @thecedar -- thanks for sharing! That really is them going above to and beyond to be super thoughtful and anticipate your needs.

It's so wonderful that you give back that way and help out those who do so much for the community. I love that you have customers test your new items, that's such a great way to make them feel more ownership and connection to the business -- and an extra little surprise! 

[GoalGetter]

Hello everyone,
 
I'm happy to be a part of this community. Last year, I read some of the books but didn't participate much. My goal this year is to read all the books and get on here to participate with my own experiences and learn from each of you and your expertise. 

Several years ago, when my husband and I were shopping with our four children, we stopped at the food court in a mall to eat. I asked the cashier a question about an event happening in the mall, and she was kind and explained the event. Then, when we returned to place our order, she surprised us by giving us a free meal. We were shocked and did not expect our meal for 6 people to be free, but she just smiled and said, "We get to offer a free order once per shift." That was incredibly generous of the owner, who fosters such kindness among the employees by allowing each of them to offer a free meal or six free meals. I think this teaches the young employees valuable lessons of empathy and consideration for their community. I'm sure it gives the entire staff a sense of purpose and fulfillment beyond their daily duties. Knowing that they are positively impacting their community, I'm sure, boosts morale and job satisfaction.
 
I do a lot of events, so I usually have a chair for myself to sit on when I'm not busy. Recently, at a super busy holiday event, I was too busy to sit, and I had a few people ask if they could sit in my chair a couple of times during the first weekend of the event. I was happy to oblige. So, the following weekend, I brought a few extra chairs and set them up near my booth, but far enough away that people didn't need to ask; they could sit. From now on, I bring at least one extra chair, and just yesterday, I had a lady who had been choking on something and needed to sit for a moment. I know it's not a "big" deal, but it makes me feel good to provide a bit of respite for people who may need it.

When I meet new customers my goal is to find the need they have and provide them with information and resources to meet that need.

I look forward to learning new ways to provide exceptional customer service.

[Pesso]

Thanks so much for jumping in, @GoalGetter ! I'm so glad that's your goal, and we'd love to have you with us as much as you can!

Wow, that's such a great way for the business to systematize and empower their employees to surprise & delight customers! I love that it gives them the freedom to choose who to give it to, and really makes them feel ownership over things, and exactly like you said: purpose and fulfillment. 

That's so wonderful of you to listen to that need, and prepare for the future in order to satisfy your customers like that! It's absolutely the little things like that, providing some comfort and connection to folks that really makes a difference. 

Thanks again so much for sharing, and I can't wait to hear more of your perspective across our other discussion threads for this book.