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Micah Solomon is a customer service consultant and Forbes contributor known for helping companies rebuild their relationships with customers. He structures this book around candid conversations with some of the most respected names in hospitality. Herve Humler of Ritz-Carlton Hotel Company writes the foreword and the roster of contributors includes Danny Meyer of Union Square Hospitality Group, Tom Colicchio, Isadore Sharp of Four Seasons, and Patrick O’Connell of The Inn at Little Washington among others.
I really liked how, rather than compiling these voices into a dry management manual, Solomon weaves their philosophies into a readable, conversational guide focused on building service cultures that keep guests loyal across generations, from boomers to millennials.
What stood out to me most is how the book resists the instinct to reduce hospitality to checklists and measurable standards things like thread counts, plate presentation or scripted greetings. Instead, it frames exceptional service as something rooted in values, instinct and genuine care. Qualities that have to be cultivated through leadership rather than enforced through procedure. Each chapter pairs a leader’s personal story with a broader principle so the ideas never feel abstract; they’re grounded in real decisions made under real pressure, whether that’s recovering from a service failure or training a new hire to thinking like an owner.
The book’s main limitation is its narrow frame of reference. Nearly all the contributors come from the luxury and fine-dining end of the industry, brands like Ritz-Carlton, Four Seasons, and upscale independent restaurants, so the anecdotes often assume a level of staffing, budget and price point far removed from budget or mid-market operations. A reader managing a limited-service hotel or a casual restaurant may struggle to translate advice built around white-glove service and generous resources into their own leaner environment.
But I still think, for anyone working in hotels or restaurants, the balance of big-picture thinking and concrete anecdotes makes most of the book easy to apply. It works well as inspiration for someone early in their hospitality career and as a refresher for executives shaping service standards, though readers outside the luxury segment should expect to do some translating of their own.
This review and rating are the opinion of the reviewer.
5 stars = Exceptional not to be missed | 4.5 stars = Essential read | 4 stars =Very good | 3 stars = Good | 2 stars = Poor | 1 star = Very poor
This book falls under the Business and Leadership pillars of the IoH’s Five Pillars of Learning, an approach to continuing professional development based on the five core areas of hospitality management.
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