The secret ingredients of unreasonable hospitality
Gary Leff in his article titled “Full service airlines and hotels have forgotten they’re In the hospitality business”, refers to something he came across in the book “Unreasonable Hospitality: The Remarkable Power of Giving People More Than They Expect” written by Restaurateur Will Guidara, the former owner of ‘Eleven Madison Park’ restaurant in New York.
Will Guidara owned and operated the Madison Park restaurant for nearly fourteen years. When he took it over in 2006, it was a so-so type of brasserie, which by the time he sold it in 2020 had become a really fancy operation; with servers wearing suits and ties, crisp ironed table clothes, and a kitchen with an army of 30 cooks serving tasty dishes – not least of all, it been named the number one restaurant in the world in 2017. Legendary French chef Fernand Point (said by many to be the father of modern French cuisine), attributed its success to “perfection: lots of little things done well".
Those little things done well included focusing on some minute details such as training people setting the dining room table, by placing every Limoges dinner plate properly, so that if a guest flipped it over to see who had made it, the Limoges stamp or logo would be facing them – right side up!. Such was the focus on getting everything right…even if it meant been noticed by very few guests.
During his podcast “The secret ingredients to great hospitality”, Will had this to say, “To be clear, our kitchen served unbelievably delicious and incredibly innovative food. Our service was as gracious and close to technically perfect as possible and our dining room – just Google a picture. It’s one of the most beautiful out there and it was because of these reasons that we were consistently on the list of the best restaurants in the world. But it was a hot dog that earned us the number one slots of the best, or rather the strategy that gave birth to unreasonable hospitality. It became the principle that guided us towards taking ordinary transactions and transforming them into extraordinary experiences.”
The $2 hot dog that sparked this approach came about, after Will overheard four foodies, who were heading to the airport after their lunch at his restaurant, lamenting that despite having eaten at NY’s best restaurants, they couldn’t get to try the city’s renowned hotdog. Will then went out, brought a hot dog from a street vendor, and took it back to the restaurant’s kitchen, where he persuaded a horrified chef to present it beautifully. When they served it to the foodies…it felt like magic to them!
Will Guidara weaves heartfelt stories and keen observations to illustrate how purposeful, no holds-barred hospitality can do wonders where giving more – not less, can produce remarkable memories. Just think about it. When you dine in a fancy restaurant – what makes it memorable the most? Is it the dish you could not pronounce (sure it does make for a good laugh), or the showmanship and thrill of the flambé that set you on fire (figuratively speaking)? No, it’s more likely the smaller details that were done to make you special. Like getting your son his favourite ice cream even if it was off-menu or the maitre de, making a stuffed bear out of a kitchen towel after picking up on a guest telling her daughter over the phone, they forgot to buy her a stuffed teddy bear.
These are moments that more often than not remain etched in one’s memory and define exactly what unreasonable hospitality represents. Seizing those opportunities to give customers more than what they initially came for.
Shafeek Wahab – Editor, Hospitality Sri Lanka, Consultant, Trainer, Ex-Hotelier
|
|
|
|
