Probably so. The hospitality industry is definitely a different animal and outside of “be hospitable,” I won’t pretend to know any of the nuances of behavior. But it seems like it would be hard to go wrong with be genuine too.
Of course then you get examples like that A&M family and it makes your eye twitch. Sometimes there’s nothing to be done.
Just the business professor that likes to talk about his big oil BOD appointments. Wife and son were peaches.
There are topics to avoid in conversation of course but we do better when the staff is just being themselves rather than being a polite but more closed off and buttoned up facsimile of their true self.
They don’t go up to guests talking about Groudon and Charizard or anything. Not yet at least. We have our boundaries. But if Jamaal wants to work for me I’ll make an exception.
People think they want “genuine” until they actually get it. Just like people THINK they want a relationship with someone who is completely open and honest…until they get it. I understand where @CuriousHusker is coming from (not as well as him).
Count me in as someone who has gained personal and professional perspective/benefits from watching how this regime goes about its business. One thing that they have preached constantly is that your talent and production level will always be the starting variable. Fair or unfair…it is what it is. Speaking as someone on the customer end of your business, the same concept applies to alot of us. The more “quirky” the individual, the better they need to be at their job. A grown man in heels and painted nails will never be able to convince me he gave a better customer service than he actually did. But if he gives me a good experience, I will not give 2 shits that he had on heels and had painted nails. And I will even have a “story to tell,” with some memorable things that enhanced the overall experience. People love telling stories about how they had one impression at first, and then came out with a completely different one. But if the employee is average or not good at their job, people will still talk. But it will be about how their first impressions were absolutely right and the establishment should be ashamed.
So as you establish how much latitude to give your people, start with performance. Because that is the main variable of Brad/Dan and a typical customer.