Back in the 1980s a music business anecdote that made the rounds was that arena rock band Van Halen had rather detailed requirements listed for each tour stop. This included a demand that there be no brown M&Ms in the M&M bowls backstage. At the time, those aware of the rumor (truth, it turns out) marveled, including yours truly. What power Van Halen had, but also how idiosyncratic musicians are. Naturally I and others missed the point.
Van Halen’s requirement was rooted in safety. The nitpicky demand about the color of M&Ms was a way to ensure that those the band contracted with read the contracts closely. Given the acrobatics taking place on stage, it was important that everything in the arena set-up be done right. Odd demands not met were potentially a dangerous “tell.”
A long-forgotten piece of Van Halen trivia came to mind while reading Will Guidara’s excellent new book, Unreasonable Hospitality: The Remarkable Power of Giving People More Than They Expect. While Guidara was GM of New York Times Four Star restaurant Eleven Madison Park, he recalled that “We trained the people setting the dining room to place every plate so that if a guest flipped it over to see who had made it, the Limoges stamp would be facing them, right side up.” Why? Why such a focus on minute details that Guidara himself acknowledged would be noticed by exceedingly few customers? Think back to Van Halen. Guidara went on to write that “By asking the person setting the dining room to place each plate with total concentration and focus, we were asking them to set the tone for how they’d do everything over the course of the service, how they’d greet our guests, walk through the dining room, communicate with their colleagues, pour the champagne to begin a meal and the cup of coffee to end it.” Absolutely. Sloppiness, or non-attention to detail has a way of spreading. Guidara plainly understands this truth innately.
Read Full Article »
