Real John here. I've been dealing with hospitality/service a lot in regards to deliveries, restaurants, coffee, or even just simple customer support phone calls. I was thinking my expectations are too high but then I realized, no, I need to raise the bar and actually identify what the expectation is so people understand.
The world would be so much better when people just pause for a little bit and realize those little details. The anticipation of somebody's needs is so important to actually help them feel the experience that you're hoping to deliver, whether it be a software product, a restaurant, or any job. All right let's get into it
I've been thinking about two things lately: the quality of service we receive and how real relationships lead to opportunities.
My job search has brought the second one into focus. In my experience, the opportunities that actually go somewhere involve real people. Someone makes an introduction. We have a conversation. They understand what I bring, and I understand what they need.
A résumé gives someone my history. A conversation lets them see how I think.
At the same time, I keep noticing how often basic service falls short. People aren't paying attention to the details. Expectations aren't understood. Commitments aren't followed through on. The customer ends up managing the experience they paid someone else to provide.
Those two topics are connected by something I think we've undervalued: care expressed through ordinary actions.
The details are the experience
When I think about great hospitality, I think about someone noticing.
They understand why you're there. They anticipate the next question. They take responsibility when something goes wrong. You don't have to keep explaining yourself or chasing the same request.
That takes preparation, attention, and follow-through. And it applies well beyond a restaurant or hotel.
In an interview, it means reading the candidate's background before the meeting, understanding the role you're hiring for, and explaining what happens next. If the timeline changes, you tell them.
As a candidate, I owe the same care. Understand the business. Come prepared. Listen. Follow through.
Every interaction gives both sides evidence of what working together might feel like.
We can talk all day about company culture. How we treat someone who is waiting for an answer tells them quite a bit.
Relationships need something to grow around
The same principle applies to building a business.
A useful introduction. Remembering a problem someone mentioned. Giving an honest answer, even when it doesn't lead to a sale. Doing the thing you said you'd do.
Those actions give people a reason to trust you.
Too much networking is prospecting wearing a nicer shirt. Every conversation becomes a qualification exercise. Every connection gets dropped into a sequence. We say we're building relationships, but the other person can feel us waiting for our turn to pitch.
I want to understand the person and what they're trying to accomplish. Sometimes I can help directly. Sometimes I know someone who can. Sometimes we just have a good conversation.
A connection can create an opportunity. What I do with that opportunity determines whether the relationship gets stronger.
And the care has to survive the sale.
If I'm attentive before the contract is signed and hard to reach afterward, I've taught the client exactly what my attention was worth.
Hospitality belongs in leadership
A leader should understand what people need to do their work.
Clear expectations. Context. A decision when they're blocked. An honest conversation when something is wrong. A response to something they've already raised.
Nobody should have to chase me repeatedly for a commitment I've made.
That's a standard I need to hold myself to, especially when I'm busy. My unanswered message might be someone else's blocked afternoon.
But this also requires more than telling a team to care more. If everyone is overloaded, ownership is unclear, and commitments disappear into meeting notes, the system makes good service difficult.
Leaders have to create room for attention. Make ownership clear. Set realistic expectations. Keep track of promises. Give people the authority to resolve problems.
Then model the behavior themselves.
Raise the bar on something ordinary
I've landed on a phrase that captures what I want to build around:
Ordinary things, done unusually well.
We spend a lot of energy trying to create something extraordinary while the basics sit unfinished.
An email goes unanswered. A commitment gets forgotten. Someone asks three times for an update.
We've got a strategy deck, though. So apparently we're covered.
Raising the bar starts with looking at my own behavior:
- Where am I making someone chase me?
- What detail have I dismissed because it seems small to me?
- What have I left unresolved that someone else is still carrying?
Those questions are uncomfortable because they're specific. I can actually do something about the answers.
This week, pick one ordinary interaction and give it your full attention.
Prepare for the meeting. Send the update before someone asks. Make the introduction thoughtfully. If you've missed a commitment, acknowledge it and give a realistic next step.
Then do it again.
That's the kind of service I appreciate, the kind of leader I want to be, and the kind of business I want to build.
Ordinary things, done unusually well.