I came across this TED talk by Bobby Stuckey, who owns an Italian restaurant in Boulder, Colorado and was very impressed with his definition of service v hospitality. As he says most people think they are the same thing, but he has a different opinion and believes more people should practise hospitality.
His definition of both is:
Service = What you do to someone
Hospitality = How you make them feel
Now whether you agree with his definition, his point is extremely well made. In our words we believe retailers can’t survive if they just transact their customers (what they do to someone), they have to provide an experience (how they make them feel).
He provides a great example of how one of his waiters deals with an irate couple, late for their 40th anniversary dinner – hospitality intervention he calls it.
Well worth a look at this 7 minute video and I’d suggest share it with your team and ask – are you and your team being hospitalians?
Roger Simpson – CEO, The Retail Solution and Author of “The Retail Solution” With over 35 years’ industry experience, Roger Simpson is recognized as Australia’s #1 Authority on customer ROI in the retail industry and as a global expert on staff coaching, customer service and selling skills.
