The Art of Service in a Thankless World

Customer Service is a thankless profession.

Your job is to deal with people and people are unpredictable. When you're anonymous, they show up at their absolute worst.

Stressful day? Take it out on the cashier.

Late to Work? Blame the barista for moving too slow.

No matter how the customer treats you, your job is to leave them feeling heard, validated, and satisfied.

Don't Expect a Reward.

When I first started in hospitality, I worked in a restaurant in the West Village. Every night we would throw piles of fresh bread away, no longer servable in the restaurant. I would leave my shift and pass many on the street asking for help.

I had no money at the time but thought the bread would be a small gesture to someone in need. I had the best intentions, wanting to help in a way that I could.

I proudly approached a man asking for money, and he looked at me puzzled. “What am I supposed to do with this?", he said. I responded that it was fresh bread for him to eat. He scoffed and threw it back in my face, offended at my offering.

Confused, I accepted that not all actions are received the way you intend. While everyone may not want your help, you cannot stop trying.

Every action does not guarantee reward or recognition. But this doesn't mean you give up your effort. No matter how big or small, can change the world.

Good Service is an Art.

Service is about what you do, a sequence of actions, and the process of doing something for someone. Service is not enough. My experience led me to pursue a career that focused on hospitality.

Hospitality is how you do it. A genuine intention and authentic action that changes the way a person feels. To understand their wants, needs, motivations, and pains, allowing you to engage completely.

"Hospitality is a dialogue. To be on a guest’s side requires listening to that person with every sense and following up with a thoughtful, gracious, appropriate response."

Meyer, Danny. Setting the Table: The Transforming Power of Hospitality in Business (Kindle Locations 1047-1051). HarperCollins. Kindle Edition.

Impact Through Interaction

Hospitality is not something reserved for the service industry. It is the welcoming experience we provide others. How we choose to interact with the world and the impact we leave on the people we encounter.

Everyone can practice more hospitality in their daily lives.

I have experienced many demanding and unreasonable customers in my career. High expectations and a need to leave satisfied no matter what. After years of difficult situations, you would think it would be enough to make someone give up on humanity altogether.

There is something magical about attempting to change how someone feels. The action may be small or unnoticed, but it goes beyond the act and changes your purpose for being in the world.

It gives you a perspective on how we choose to interact in the world that goes beyond ourselves.

To Change the World, Start with One Person

Changing the world is not about enormous wealth or innovation. Hospitality teaches that anyone can change the world. It starts with one person.

It is to be present with people you come across in your everyday life. To recognize their pain and acknowledge their needs. To build a relationship, even a momentary one, and notice their being in the world.

A small, intentional action can change their day and their interaction with the world.

It is Easy to be Kind in a Perfect World.

In customer service, everything happens by chance. You never know what may happen on a given day. You are dealing with people, and people are unpredictable.

Most of the time, when one thing goes wrong, a ripple effect follows through. Everything comes crashing along with it.

Everyday life demands so much from everyone. We get lost in our own lives. We forget to see the opportunities and possibilities for impact in every situation. How can we continue to be present when our world feels like chaos?

The Common Ground: We Are All Human

No matter where you come from, what you do for a living, or how much money you make, we all have the same common ground. We are all human.

We all have struggles and triumphs, some greater than others. We are all navigating our way through to find peace. But we do not recognize the shared battle we all have of being human.

To practice hospitality every day, you must acknowledge the world and the people around you. It is as simple as a smile or hello to a stranger on the street. A small bit of effort in the world, without expecting anything in return.

Remembering someone's name or a story they told you. Small acts that show you are with them and their journey.

Never underestimate the power of a small gesture to a stranger; you may change their day and their world. You never know the impact you may have.

Empathy vs. Sympathy

We hear the word empathy a lot these days, but what does that mean?

The definition is the ability to understand and share the feelings of another.

While sympathy is defined by pity and sadness for their misfortunes.

We often pity those less fortunate than ourselves. We turn a blind eye to strangers, unwilling to acknowledge their struggling because we are too. But recognizing their pain and acknowledging their existence can make all the difference.

People don't want you to feel sorry for them. They want to feel acknowledged and not less than. To understand others, we must get out of our heads and be present in the world.

Connection in Chaos.

The world can be a dark place to be. There is chaos and struggle that overload our daily lives.

You never know what strangers around you are going through. Remember the common ground that we are all human, attempting our best at the game of life.

Taking the time to be present with the world can make it a little brighter for everyone.