"People don't care how much you know until they know how much you care."

~ Teddy Roosevelt

When is the last time you truly had a memorable experience? My wife and I recently traveled to Taiwan for a spectacular wedding hosted by SportsArt owners Paul and Julie Kuo for their son Michael and new daughter-in-law Cecilia. As often the case when traveling, we arrived at our destination, the Novotel Taoyuan, late, tired and hungry. By luck, we were greeted by Executive Chef Robert Lu. As it turns out, Robert is not only an incredible chef, but also an exceptional host. Upon learning we were hungry and our preferences in cuisine (how do you say "grilled chicken breast and steamed veggies" in Taiwanese?) he proceeded to instruct the staff in preparing our meal. Not only was the main course fantastic but Chef also prepared a vegetarian hot and sour soup, paired our meal with an amazing Bordeaux and even found a nibble of chocolate for dessert.

SportsArt Leader of Sales & Marketing, Tom Maraday, sums it up in this way: "Customer service is giving someone what they ask for. Hospitality is giving someone what they want, even if they don’t yet know they want it!" Slicing across language, customs and cultural barriers, Chef Lu gets hospitality.

As it turns out, we are ALL in the hospitality business. We each have internal and external clients, friends, family and other "VIPs" to serve. My challenge to you today is to take a moment to give one of those customers not just what they ask for, but what they want!