Three Storytelling Lessons From The Best Customer Service Experience You Might Ever Hear

In just ten years, Will Guidara and his business partner turned “a beloved, but middling” two-star brasserie into the world’s number one restaurant.

While transforming Eleven Madison Park into an iconic New York City restaurant, Guidara learned about the power of stories—how to tell them and how to create them.

When I interviewed Guidara about his new book, Unreasonable Hospitality, we discussed several topics related to the customer experience. But the following story stuck out as a remarkable example of exceptional customer service and the storytelling lessons it provides leaders in any field.

“One afternoon, I was clearing appetizer plates from a table of four foodies on vacation,” Guidara began. “They were on their way to the airport and talking about all the amazing culinary adventures they’d had in New York: Daniel, Per Se, Momofuku, and now, Eleven Madison Park. They said the only thing they didn’t have was a hot dog from a street cart.”

Guidara said it was a lightbulb moment, an opportunity to create an unforgettable experience.

“I calmly went back to the kitchen, ran outside to a hotdog cart, bought a hot dog, and ran back inside. We cut the hot dog into four pieces, adding a swish of ketchup and mustard, perfectly plated sauerkraut, and relish. Then, right before their final savory course (a honey lavender-glazed Muscovy duck), I placed on the table what we in New York call a dirty water-dog. And I said, ‘To make sure you don’t go home with any culinary regrets, a New York City hot dog.’ And they freaked out!”

Guidara says he’d served thousands of fancy dishes in his restaurant career, but no one had reacted like the four guests did when they saw the hot dog. “It changed my entire approach to the business from that point forward,” Guidara recalls.

Guidara told me the story in under two minutes. Yet, the lessons it contains about customer service can fill a book. Indeed, the story encapsulates many of the concepts Guidara explores in his 272-page book.

Stories have power because humans are hardwired to tell them, share them, and crave them.

Find a distinctive signature story.

Guidara’s hot dog experience is a signature story: a distinctive anecdote that serves a strategic purpose to educate, instruct, or inspire—and usually all three.

Choose a story that’s unique and relevant to your vision, your company, or your brand’s promise. The best stories are events or experiences that transformed how you see yourself and your company’s role in people’s lives.

Share the story again and again.

A signature story should be one that you share again and again. And when you’re tired of telling it, share it again.

For example, Guidara told me the hot dog story with such enthusiasm, I thought it was the first time he had shared it. It wasn’t. He wrote it in his book (chapter 18). He also told the story in a TED Talk.

There’s nothing wrong with repeating a story you know resonates with your audience. As long as you don’t repeat the exact same story to the same group of individuals day after day, there’s no reason to avoid sharing your signature story with as many people as possible.

The story is your signature, a distinctive anecdote reflecting your values and vision. So why not share it with all who’ll listen?

Create stories your customers will share.

Guidara didn’t just make four guests happy by serving a hot dog in a fine-dining restaurant. The small gesture also gave his customers a story they’d be telling others for the rest of their lives.

Ask yourself, What stories am I (or my team) creating for our customers? How are we creating experiences that customers will share with friends, family, or post on social media? Create experiences for your customers that are so delightful they’ll be compelled to share it.

After Guidara’s hot dog experience—and the reaction he received from the table—he devised other ways to provide “magical moments” customers would remember and share. Eleven Madison Park even created a full-time staff position called the “Dreamweaver” to design magical and unexpected moments.

Give customers what they really crave — a story they can tell their friends.