Book review: Setting the Table by Danny Meyer

Setting the Table: The Transforming Power of Hospitality in BusinessSetting the Table: The Transforming Power of Hospitality in Business by Danny Meyer
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Danny Meyer has created an extremely successful restaurant empire that includes restaurants as varied as The Modern (in MOMA), Union Square Cafe, Blue Smoke, and Shake Shack. In his book, he relates how he built his restaurant business and what he thinks the keys to success are.
While the author’s background is definitely in the restaurant and hospitality business, his outlook and his philosophy, not to mention the rules he has for his business, are applicable to all businesses (and non-profits). The Union Square Hospitality Group (the name of Danny Meyer’s business) focuses on treating its employees well, attracting and retaining customers, being community-oriented, and delivering an excellent product. All of this, the author believes, results in a profitable business model.
The results speak for themselves. The restaurants in his portfolio all have a reputation for excellent food and outstanding customer service. The author discusses how he looks for “a hospitality heart” when hiring employees.
I am generally not a fan of business books, but this one is well-written, straightforward, and thoughtful. In particular, I like how the author presents his philosophy and gives concrete examples of how that philosophy creates a successful business model. (This goes much further than “the customer is always right.”). In fact, the author states explicitly that even when the customer is not right, focusing on giving the customer a positive experience still is the correct approach.
Anyone who believes in emphasizing customer satisfaction, especially those in service-oriented businesses would benefit from reading this book. Heads of non-profits—where care and feeding of their donors is key to thriving—should also read this book. I highly recommend it! (Which, given that it is a business book, is unheard of!)

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