7 Lessons On Creating A Service Experience That Does Your Marketing For You

As a lifelong student of all things business, I love to look for lessons in my everyday commerce-related interactions.

After reading Unreasonable Hospitality by Will Guidara and getting inspired by the transferable lessons in top-tier customer service, I wanted to take it one step further and see the book in action by going to the famed restaurant it's about: Eleven Madison Park.

It was really fun to enjoy the imaginative dining experience while also paying close attention to the staff and noticing the unspoken things that I could pick up on because of having read the book.

Here are a few of the lessons it brought to light that can pertain to your business:

Don't be afraid to zig where your competitors zag. It could be a competitive advantage. This restaurant was the world's first all-plant-based 3-Michelin-starred establishment. The amount of media attention they got from that alone was priceless.
Customer service alone won't likely be the reason people do business with you. Your core service/product needs to shine and also stand on its own. Memorable service is the icing on the cake.
What can your business do to leave people with positive stories they tell and become a memory they'll cherish?
Hire for potential, not necessarily strict criteria for experience. For example, we met the maitre d' who was previously a graphic designer with no hospitality experience. She was phenomenal.
Value is subjective. When you price out the cost per course of this tasting menu, you clutch your pearls. But when you zoom the lens out to think about the value of the experience, it feels like a no-brainer. How do you apply this to your pricing strategy and create a full experience for your clients where they don't question the value of paying you?
Build a high-functioning team. Going into their kitchen and seeing the order, cohesion, teamwork, respect, and pride in their craft was mesmerizing. That doesn't happen by accident. Invest time, energy, and resources into this consistently.
Keep your values front and center. This was literally a sign at the entrance to the kitchen so everyone is reminded of them. It's clear that they are also embedded in every fiber of the establishment, not just a list of adjectives that are created in a strategy session and forgotten.