Hospitality

I hear this a lot: “Well, of course you could afford to pull those tricks at an expensive restaurant.” And I always think: Are you sure you can afford not to? It’s true—these gifts cost money, in labor if nothing else. But I’m my dad’s son, and I reviewed the Dreamweaver line item in the P&L every month with an eagle eye. There was never any... See more

If you know that people are going to come in, looking to buy a car for their teenager, why wouldn’t you be prepared with an act of hospitality that will strengthen their connection to your brand? How would you feel about a car salesperson who pulled you aside and said, “Look, I know what it’s like to have a newly licensed teenager on the road, so I... See more

Gifts, to me, are deeply meaningful, which is why I get so mad when a business gives me a cheap tote with a branded USB drive. Try harder! Do better! Gifts are a way to tell people you saw, heard, and recognized them—that you cared enough to listen, and to do something with what you heard. A gift transforms an interaction, taking it from... See more

Tom’s swing for the fences may have turned out to be a great business move, but his focus was always on her, and that’s a good thing for all of us to remember when we’re giving a gift — whether to win someone over, win them back, or simply to show them how much we care. Don’t give them the gift you want them to want; give them the gift they... See more

This is a hospitality solution: a problem that we solved not by sneakily chipping away at the service we were offering but by blowing it out in the opposite direction—by giving more, not less.