Hospitality
Hospitality is a tricky subject to write about; it’s also the part of this job that I care the most about, so keeping my thoughts brief is tough. So much of it is based on our lived experience; good hospitality looks different to every person. It can be as varied as giving someone a cup of coffee with nothing but a nod and an exchange of money, or it can look as involved as following a regular out to their car and offering them a comforting shoulder in a trying moment – and everything in between. It’s hard to nail down principles when we’re after this kind of genuine human connection, but there are a few things we can keep in mind. Two primary thoughts come to mind: first, that service is what you do to someone, while hospitality is how you make someone feel. And second, that good hospitality is about looking for ways to be on someone’s side.
Much of this comes from restauranter Danny Meyer’s model of Enlightened Hospitality. And that starts with each other – we can’t show good hospitality to others if we don’t show it to our own team. How can we do this? I’m reminded of a story Joy told me about how when she was pregnant and working at Findlay, her team went out of their way to do anything and everything that required the least bit of physical involvement. To be clear, Joy was able to do these things herself, but because her team cared for her so well, they wanted her to be as comfortable as possible. It’s so important for us to look for ways to be on each other’s side like this. Public facing service can be a brutal environment day after day; it helps to know that you have a good team on your side, so that you can be on the side of others.
Next, we look to our customers. Danny Meyer writes, “Hospitality starts with the genuine enjoyment of doing something well for the purpose of bringing pleasure to other people.” I love this thought, that latte art or brewing an excellent pour over are really just a vehicle to show our care and interest in others. We want our guests to feel that we are genuinely interested in them, and that they do matter. I often hear Jon tell folks that we get the opportunity to be the “hero of someone’s day.” I love that! We have the unique chance to make someone’s day instantly better – not many people can say that, and it’s a gift we shouldn’t take lightly. Keep in mind that for some guests, this will be as simple as serving them a warm drink with a smile and a nod – no conversation necessary. This is where we get at that important distinction between service and hospitality. Serving an excellent drink well-made is a good act of service, but how are you making that person feel? That’s where genuine hospitality comes into play.
After our staff and customers are well taken care of, we can start looking to our community at large. Deeper Roots is already doing this through our Community Give Back program. If you’re not already aware of it, we give $1 of every bag of Community Blend we sell to an initiative locally and to one of our producing partners, split equally. Here in Cincinnati, this has included partners like Cincy Red Bike, the West End Community Garden, and the Seven Hills Neighborhood house. Globally, this has included Fazenda Ambiental Fortaleza (Brazil), La Armonia Hermosa (Guatemala), and Mwika North (Tanzania). This can also include more boots-on-the-ground type endeavors, like keeping our streets clean and donating unsold pastries to local food kitchens (which Findlay does every morning).
Taken together, these three areas of hospitality – enacted in this order – can help us bring great hospitality to our shops. I want to encourage you to be thinking of ways to show exceptional hospitality in each of these areas. Not to be too cheesy, but that’s Good for the People.