This past weekend, I had the privilege of traveling to New York City to see what has now become one of my favorite musicals (Hamilton, that is) and spending some quality time with my father. It was some sorely needed R&R and I thoroughly enjoyed Hamilton in a way one can’t really appreciate until one is sitting in the theatre and taking in all the sights and sounds. However, I will not be writing anything on that experience (other than to coincide with my post on reading Ron Chernow’s biography on the same man), mostly because there is no commentary I can make that hasn’t already been said.
This post is dedicated to another event that occurred during the same weekend and both the man and the philosophy behind it: The event was dining at Union Square Café (USC) before seeing the show. The man is Danny Meyer, restauranteur and entrepreneur extraordinaire, and the philosophy is enlightened hospitality, the science of delivering exceptional customer service and how it makes the guest feel. After reading Mr. Meyer’s amazing book Setting the Table, I knew that I eventually had to dine at one of his restaurants and experience this science for myself.
The truly amazing aspect was that the service began before I even visited USC. After confirming my reservation on the phone at another one of his restaurants a few days before, I asked the receptionist if there was any availability at USC. I had resigned myself to a response of “no”, considering one usually must book a month in advance at USC, until the receptionist came back and not only found us a spot but accommodated our need to be at the theatre by 7:45 PM. If that’s not a textbook good first impression I don’t know what is!
What’s more, the enlightened hospitality didn’t stop once we reached the restaurant. Every staff member seemed to know our time table for getting to the theatre on time, and they all made it their duty to accommodate our crunched schedule. Nevertheless, we were greeted warmly, indulged in complimentary champagne (this also happened to be my long overdue birthday dinner), and provided superb recommendations that turned out delicious. We were even greeted by the restaurant’s own guest relations manager, who I made a connection with over our mutual love for Danny Meyer, hospitality, and the UK (having studied there only just last year and she being originally from London). She gave me her card and invited me to come up sometime again for a private behind-the-scenes look at the restaurant operation. The ending to our meal was just as spectacular, as I was surprised with a birthday dessert and we were given a loaf of bread to celebrate the company’s newest bakery opening up soon. Needless to say, I left happy and satisfied, both with food and with experience of enlightened hospitality in action!
I could honestly go on and on about the restaurant and the hospitality I received but let us also look at the way enlightened hospitality was delivered: every single staff member I met, from the associate who took our coats to the guest relations manager, was either informed or genuinely curious about me. Everyone was excited for me to be seeing Hamilton. Everyone wished me Happy Birthday. The guest relations manager capitalized on my zeal for hospitality and made it a point to give me her information and invite me back. There was no ulterior motive in anything done, only the desire to build customer loyalty and good will among the restaurant’s guests, with the hope that they will either return again (as I hopefully will in the future) or spread good news about the restaurant (which I certainly will).
Enlightened hospitality goes beyond what Danny Meyer describes as the technical delivery of a product or service, which any fancy restaurant with a decent chef can accomplish. All the interactions I had with the staff and the service I was provided contributed to an entity beyond any product and vastly more valuable: a feeling. A feeling that I was important and cared about and not simply another customer to feed. For any business, creating value out of feelings might be challenging and have no immediate monetary value. However, the reason I believe Danny Meyer has been so successful is that he focuses on these feelings as the building blocks for success (i.e. brand loyalty, bigger customer spends, word-of-mouth marketing, etc.) The feeling that Danny Meyer and his staff created for me was priceless, and everyone knew that.
So a huge thank you is in order, to Danny Meyer and the entire staff of USC, for delivering more than a tasty meal and a loaf bread. Thank you for an indescribable feeling that I wouldn’t trade for anything in the world. That’s enlightened hospitality.
Here is the link to Union Square Hospitality Group, the parent company to all of Danny Meyer’s fabulous restaurants, if anyone happens to be in New York and looking for a fantastic time out: http://www.ushgnyc.com/
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