A business leader explains how treating guests and employees like family creates loyalty. The strategy is simple: learn people's names, make them feel they belong, and build the kind of place where everyone knows each other, like the bar in Cheers.
I learned a long time ago my definition of hospitality. I didn't create it. I heard it somewhere and I always love it. So you create a rapport, you build a relationship, you make friends with your guests every single day because that's what brings people back again. That's what gives them a feeling of affinity for your business where they've got this powerful sense of loyalty or belonging. You know, it's that old TV show Cheers. People want to go where everyone knows their name. It's that simple. Okay. So there's the hospitality piece. The family piece is you want your team to feel a respect and a team bond and a chemistry. Okay? So you want them to feel like family. You want them to enjoy working together. You want them to enjoy interacting with leaders. You want this symbiotic relationship. And then you also want your guests to feel like family where they feel like they're regulars or they're recognized. Even if they're first-time visitors to your business, you want to treat everyone as if They're an old friend, and you introduce yourself by name, and you treat them like you see them 5 times a week.
