What Unparalleled Hospitality Really Means - And Why People Deserve Better

My first encounter with "Unparalleled Hospitality"

The year was 2009 when I was first introduced to this idea of "Unparalleled Hospitality" from a fast-casual "healthy-eating" establishment.

Defining Unparalleled Hospitality

"Unparalleled Hospitality" refers to a standard of guest service and welcome so exceptional and superior that it cannot be rivaled or surpassed by any other experience. It involves going above and beyond standard practices to create moments that seem almost impossible to deliver, anticipating needs that may not even be articulated.

Why Being One Step Ahead Always Stuck With Me

I have always been intrigued by this idea, that you could complete something so wonderful, that you were always a step ahead of the customer to ensure their experience was the best ever. Fast forward 15 years later to the creation of People Deserve Better. I have searched and found few businesses offer this type of customer experience, and often many employees are not being setup with the tools to be successful.

Hospitality Feels Unreasonable Now

I have had the privilege to work alongside many leaders of all leadership capabilities and learn from those experiences. Over these years, I have learned first-hand that it's almost become unreasonable to ask for hospitality in an establishment.

Somewhere along the way, business lost it's hospitality focus and became transactional. Efficiency replaced empathy. People were replaced by speed and convenience. Whoever is left gets to carry the burden of providing "great service" despite being understaffed, undertrained and having little support behind them. Employees are experiencing burnout from carrying the weight of poor systems, staffing shortages and leadership gaps.

You Can't Deliver Great Hospitality Without Supporting People

The culture of the organization is going to be set by the leadership team and the systems in place will provide the additional support needed for your team. Too often teams find themselves short-staffed and unable to provide great service. Add the rushed training, unclear job expectations and constant pressure to do more with less. At times it can difficult to deliver 5-Star service when you are constantly catching up.

2-Star Support to your Staff doesn't equal 5-Star Service for your customer

If you are serious about creating better experiences, these are some questions leaders might need to be asking:

1. Is my team shaping the culture of my organization - or leaving it up to chance?

2. Is new-hire onboarding and training thoughtful and engaging, or rushed?

3. Is my Organization staffed for the experience I want to deliver, or just getting by?

4. Do the systems I have in place really support my team when they are stretched to their max?

5. Am I asking for 5-Star Service without providing 5-Star support?

I Deserve Better Experiences - And So Do The People Around Us

I believe the way we are going to fix the world, is to increase our empathy for one another, which requires us to slow down and live in community with those that are around us. If we are going to fix the world, we must first start with ourselves and remember that "I deserve better experiences" and begin to hold our community accountable. Our change starts now.

When people feel supported and seen, great service doesn't become another item on your to-do list, it becomes a natural response to living in community. Here's to chasing the Unreasonable.

Terence Wilkerson

Founder & Principal Consultant

People Deserve Better