The secret to turning an everyday restaurant into one of the world's best began with a hot dog.
Will Guidara talked about his "unreasonable hospitality" strategy in a TED Talk. Guidara said that the techniques can be used in any career or job.
The restaurant Eleven Madison Park in New York City was co-owned and operated by Guidara for nearly a decade. It is not the kind of place you would expect a food cart hot dog to visit.
During a particularly busy lunch rush in 2010, Guidara heard a table of food-obsessed vacationers complain that they hadn't had time to get a New York hot dog.
In a cartoon, the light bulb goes off over the character's head, signifying they're about to come up with a good idea. If you were with me that day, you would have seen one over my head.
A chef accustomed to preparing four-star meals was persuaded to prepare a $2 hot dog for a table of tourists by a man who dashed outside to buy a hot dog.
Guidara said that no one had ever reacted better to anything he had served them. It was the highlight of each person's meal and they would tell the story for the rest of their lives.
It worked so well that Guidara eventually added a new position responsible for those kinds of ideas, from turning the restaurant's champagne cart into a Budweiser cart, to creating a replica of a beach in a couple's private dining
Guidara was not in the business of serving dinner. I was trying to serve them memories.
Guidara said that nearly every industry is a service industry, and anyone can find small ways to create unforgettable experiences for their clients, customers or coworkers.
He gave three pieces of advice on how to make your life and business better.
Staying present is the first thing to do.
Guidara said that long to-do lists make it difficult to listen to the people around us.
Make room for playful behavior. Getting a $2 hot dog onto a plate at a fancy restaurant takes a conscious letting-go of self-imposed standards, but it makes a difference for that group of diners.
Guidara said that if he was trying to give people a sense of genuine belonging, one size doesn't fit all.
A bottle of champagne would have been nice, but there was no match for the hot dog the guests wanted.
Guidara said that if you start to look closely, you will find opportunities to give people more than they could ever imagine.
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