Editor’s note: This is part 2 of a two-part series on hospitality. Here’s part 1.

There is a word in the Japanese language that captures the idea of giving without expectation—of giving to someone with your heart. The word is Omotenashi. In simple terms, it means kindness with no pretense—caring for someone, even a stranger, with the utmost respect. 

In an industry built on profit, how do we give without expecting anything in return? We work in a business where everything hinges on the customer’s expectation of receiving a quality product and customer service in exchange for money. But what if there is something more? Something that can be gained beyond monetary service? 

In order to explore this concept, we need to reshape the idea of hospitality. We need to be different, to stand out. And to do this, we have to go beyond the basic tenets of good customer service. 

Amping Up the Service 

Service is motion, steps, timing, and the gears in an engine. It’s a well-rehearsed dance that ebbs and flows through the space.  

Every person on the team works toward one goal—to serve the customer efficiently, with grace, and with the same selfless precision of an operating room or a Japanese tea ceremony. With a solid training program and clear standard operating procedures, service should feel like driving a stick shift without looking at the gears or playing guitar without watching your fingers. It’s the details no one on the outside sees. And hidden among the music of glasses clinking and good conversation is the quiet sound of movement and enjoyment. 

From the time staff greet the customer, clear the dirty glassware away, and everything in between, it is an opportunity for selfless, seamless hospitality. 

We have all walked into a restaurant or brewery with long lines at the bar. Each bartender takes one order at a time, pours the beer, brings it to the customer, and closes or starts a tab. Even with multiple people behind the bar, everyone is singularly focused on their tasks, and as they take turns, the customers stand and wait. 

One way Atlas Brew Works combats this is by employing “beer guides.” They roam around the brewery with no sense of urgency, ready to discuss beer and place an order for someone if needed. They have a handheld POS at the ready to place orders when customers request it.  

Beer guides are not considered servers, but on slower days, they can help run food and drinks. Atlas created this position to make the restaurant space feel less like a busy restaurant and more like a private tasting. Beer guides do table touches and make customer service feel more personable and less rushed. Implementing them is an investment in selfless hospitality, as they focus solely on the customer, but they are worth it. 

When the Storm Comes

There is no greater test for your hospitality than when your taproom is getting crushed. It’s easy to be present when the taproom is half full and the kitchen or food truck has low ticket times. The real measure of selflessness is what happens when the place is packed, tickets are running long, and you have a server, bartender, or floor lead out. 

Servers instinctively begin to protect themselves when times are busy. They start to lessen hospitality without thinking. Their pace quickens and they stop being present to the customer and their co-workers. Beers are dropped off without a call out, there is no head on the beer, and the tasting flight has not been explained. 

Throwing bodies at this will not solve the problem on its own. When the storm is upon the staff, they need to ground themselves immediately. They can still stop for a few moments to speak to the customer—not a long table touch, just a check-in with eye contact. The guest knows they are busy. But they’re not just waiting on their order; they’re waiting for information. They can handle some bad news. Staff can talk to them honestly and provide a solution. This grounding moment will make a world of difference to the customer and subconsciously give a staff member’s mind some respite. The customer will start to feel seen and not lost in a sea of people. 

Then there are the difficult guests—the ones who snap back, who complain, who seem determined to bring staff members down. Train your staff to be gracious anyway. We never know what people are carrying into the building such as the loss of a job, a sick family member, an argument with a spouse or partner, or a child who has gone off the rails. The gift we can hand them in that moment is understanding. We might be the one thing that makes a bad day slightly less painful. Receive their frustration with grace and hand back kindness instead.

A Simple Tea Ceremony 

By ensuring your establishment is clean and organized; the team has each other’s backs (and you have theirs); your service is seamless and efficient, even during the difficult moments; and that even difficult guests feel welcome and acknowledged, you are providing more than a memorable dining experience for your guests. They will feel cared for. 

The art of building selflessness in hospitality is just a simple tea ceremony. It is the unprovoked, natural action of making people around you feel seen and part of something. If you can do that, you can better the lives of all the people you encounter, not just at work but in life.