On a regular basis, and with permission from the stalked photographers, we will borrow random blog posts of theirs and post here at the bf/stop.

Are You Hospitable?
by Laura Novak

Today I received this email from one of my wedding clients:

Laura,
I just had the pleasure of going to an event where Danny Meyer (CEO of Union Square Hospitality Group) spoke about business and how, in today's economy, it's not longer just about performance and service--but about hospitality. He's written a book Setting the Table: The Transforming Power of Hospitality in Business--I haven't finished it yet, but I immediately thought of you while he was speaking and how you're always talking about the "brand" of your business and how important customer service is for distinguishing yourself from the competition. This takes it a step further and discusses how you have to find a way to help the customer feel like your doing things for them, not to them in order to succeed in today's competitive landscape.

Having never heard of Danny Meyer, I went to a few articles on google and find out the following tidbits:

• Each of his restaurants is very distinctive, and each strives to distinguish itself with warm hospitality and consistent excellence
• When asked about customer service he responds "I can write what extraordinary service is, but extraordinary hospitality is not something I can describe. It is a process of making people believe "I'm on your side."
• his restaurants cook a meal every Wednesday at Beth Israel Hospital to serve the hospital unit's nurses, doctors and to families of dying patients.

When googling Danny Meyer, I found some articles on the type of food he serves but mostly about the philosophies of his approach to business and customer service. I even found an article interviewing one of his employees.

So are you a photography company or a customer service company who happens to deliver photography? I'm sure the 'artist' in most of us would like to think of ourselves as the former but based on what I've written so far today it seems Danny Meyer has made his success as a hospitality company who happens to provide culinary delights.