Unreasonable Hospitality summary

Since time immemorial, the adage "the customer always comes first" has served as the North Star for the service industry. Workers are trained to put the customer's needs and desires at the forefront of every decision. And while there's no denying that making the customer happy is a critical part of the job, it's time to shift your focus to the people who make it all happen: your staff.

By first showing your staff unreasonable hospitality, you're not only making them feel appreciated, but you're also equipping them with the tools and knowledge they need to provide the same level of exceptional service to your customers. When employees feel that they're being taken care of, they're more likely to go the extra mile in their work.

Picture this. You’ve broken your phone and gone with it are the hundreds of photos you’ve treasured for years. While buying your new phone, you casually mention this little tidbit to the salesperson and, by the end of the transaction, they surprise you with a complimentary premium subscription to a cloud storage service, so you never have to lose another photo again. That’s unreasonable hospitality at its finest.

When you personalize your customer’s experience, you bring unreasonable hospitality to life. You don’t just provide them with the product or service they paid for but also show that you care about their needs and go out of your way to address them. By making a gesture that’s specific to a customer, you give them the feeling that they’re heard and seen and not just another number in your profit report.

While there’s nothing more heartwarming and rewarding than giving out unique services to each of your customers, you’ll inevitably come across repeating patterns in your business. In real estate, for instance, you’ll have more than one newlywed couple looking for a new home. In health care, there’s always going to be a little girl meeting the dentist for the first time. And in hotels, families with kids will likely be on your reservation list every month.

But just because you encounter these kinds of customers several times doesn’t mean they don’t get to be special. You can apply the magic of unreasonable hospitality even in such cases and that’s with the help of a tool kit.

If there’s one thing most people are scared of it’s change, particularly change that involves upending established traditions and long-standing rules. The fear of disrupting the status quo can be paralyzing, and there’s a natural tendency to cling to what’s familiar and comfortable.

But by refusing to embrace change, you risk jeopardizing your goal of giving your customers unreasonable hospitality and connecting with them better. Take the podium at the entrance of a restaurant, for example. This has been an age-old tradition at almost every restaurant, but while it does its job of welcoming customers, it literally stands between the maître d' and the guests and prevents your staff from giving your customers the warm and personal greeting they deserve.

At this point, you now know how to use unreasonable hospitality to keep your employees and customers happy. But unreasonable hospitality has one other superpower that most people often overlook: problem-solving. Believe it or not, the solutions to your problems can sometimes lie in being unreasonably hospitable. By going above and beyond, you can turn a problem into a positive experience.

Let's say a customer comes to you with a defective laptop they purchased from your store. You could get it over and done with by offering a simple refund. But to be unreasonably hospitable is to give your customers more. So instead of just refunding them, take things a step further. Maybe upgrade the product for free or add a one-year subscription to their favorite photo editing software.

Unreasonable hospitality is all about putting in the extra effort to make your employees and customers feel pampered. It’s not superficial gestures or basic courtesy but a genuine commitment to sprinkle some magic dust into someone’s day.

To be unreasonably hospitable to your employees means listening to them intently, trusting them without hesitation, and giving them recognition as often as possible. Unreasonable hospitality to your customers means delivering an experience that’s specific and personal to them, one they’ll forever cherish and share with others.