Mike Cangi is a husband and father to 3 young children and the Co-Founder and CEO of FareRx.
We’ve all heard the old adage, “The customer is always right.” This is a principle that has guided customer service for decades. But let’s face it: Traditional customer service is no longer enough. In a world where artificial intelligence can answer customer queries instantly and 24/7, it’s hard to know what differentiates a memorable customer experience from a forgettable one. The answer? Hospitality.
The Downfall Of Transactional Customer Service
Traditional customer service is fundamentally transactional: You ask, we answer; you complain, we resolve. The most important metric for a “successful” customer service interaction for the longest time has been speed. And with the advancement of AI and machine learning, complex transactions can be swiftly and efficiently answered at a fraction of the time it used to take.
AI has entered into nearly every industry, and McKinsey has deemed “AI-enabled customer service” the “next frontier of customer engagement.” From making dinner reservations to helping change flights or extending your hotel checkout time, bots are often at the center of executing tasks and engaging customers with desired precision and speed, which can leave little room for the human touch.
But should speed be the only thing we care about when it comes to customer service? And is AI the best solution we have to invest in, no matter the industry?
Why Hospitality Is The Next Frontier
As Maya Angelou is known to have wisely said, “I’ve learned that people will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel.” This statement underpins the essence of hospitality: making people feel seen, heard and even cherished. Hospitality is not merely transactional; it’s transformational. It’s a rainbow spectrum of feelings that can elicit joy, hope and support, which creates an even deeper emotional connection between your brand and your customer. It’s how you make clients feel like they matter—like they are a part of something more than a mere business transaction.
Take Eleven Madison Park, a popular New York restaurant, for instance. The team there takes dinner reservations to the next level by researching guests, thereby allowing staff to greet customers by their first names as they walk through the door. Or, look at Chewy, which has been known to send a card or flowers to grieving pet owners who request to cancel their pet’s food prescription after experiencing the loss of their furbaby. It’s those little extra steps a company can take, the personal touch or even that dash of the unexpected that transforms an ordinary transaction into a memorable experience.
The Bottom Line: It’s Worth The Extra Effort
Hospitality is hard work, no doubt about it. But consider it a long-term investment—one that requires a brand’s commitment with almost no shortcuts. One of those commitments is often building an internal team that is dedicated to your brand’s mission and to cultivating customer relationships grounded in empathy because it might just be as important as the product you’re offering.
In my time as CEO of my company, I have gone all-in with this culture of hospitality, and it has paid dividends. On its face, our “products” are fresh groceries that we deliver to members of healthcare plans who can benefit from food-as-medicine services. Below the surface, though, is our member hospitality team, a hyper-local, highly trained team that responds to phone calls and emails and physically delivers the groceries directly to our members’ doorsteps. As opposed to treating all of those touchpoints transactionally, we leverage those moments to build relationships, empathy and listening, which has helped us bond deeply with those members. The result? We’ve received handwritten thank-you notes, positive reviews and employee retention and grown the business.
Making The Shift From Customer Service To Hospitality
1. Train your team.
Hospitality starts internally. Invest in training programs that go beyond the mechanics of a job role to include empathy, active listening, motivational interviewing and problem-solving through a hospitality lens.
2. Go the extra mile.
It’s often the little things that make a big difference. Whether it’s a handwritten note, a personalized recommendation or simply remembering a customer’s name, these are the building blocks of an exceptional experience, and satisfied customers are the best evangelists for your brand.
3. Create feedback loops.
Continuously seek feedback, not just from customers but also from your team. A system of open communication helps catch minor issues before they become significant problems.
4. Invest in technology wisely.
Use AI and other technologies to handle routine, non-personal tasks. This can free up your team to focus on what machines can’t replicate: genuine human connection.
5. Lead by example.
Hospitality must be a top-down initiative. As a business leader, show your team what hospitality looks like in action, as this sets the tone for the entire organization.
So, if you’re looking to elevate your business, throw out that age-old customer service handbook. Speed isn’t the only metric to measure when creating a successful customer service strategy. And if you want to go far, AI alone won’t get you there either. The future is not just about transactions; it’s about relationships. And nothing fosters relationships quite like a hospitality-forward mindset.
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