Observations from your customer at Table Six…
If you run an independent hospitality business and sense execution isn’t landing as intended… this is for you.
Guest experience is shaped long before the guest arrives. It is the output of systems.
Every service interaction is either defined in advance… or decided in the moment. Still is structured and deliberate. Sparkling is expressive and human. Great service requires both… but sparkle only works when the stillness beneath it is intentional.
Still or Sparkling examines the small shifts in service that accumulate… and what they quietly cost.
No noise. No theatre. Just clear thinking about the micro decisions that carry real weight.
Latest reflections…
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The Pub That Anticipates Everyone
Halfway through a long walk I stopped for a quick pint, drawn in by a strong online rating and the look of a proper local pub. Within a minute of stepping inside, the room had already answered most of the small questions…
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The Menu With No Hours
Noon on a Saturday. Bags packed by the door of the Airbnb, checkout complete, appetite timed neatly between departure and the drive home. A nearby pub’s website shows breakfast clearly… plates described, prices shown, photos inviting. No serving hours are listed. Anticipation…
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Cutting the Bill in Half
The server doesn’t arrive with a dessert menu. He arrives with a grin and a raised hand. Rock, paper, scissors. Win, and you cut the bill in half. It’s explained clearly and without theatre, then repeated across the room with identical energy.…
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Gu3stWiFi?
I check into a small independent hotel. After being shown to my room, I open my laptop, reach for the WiFi details on the welcome card… and stop. The network name is straightforward. The password is not. A tight sequence of upper…
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Push or Pull: The Cost of Undefined Entrances
A Saturday evening arrival. Street noise behind you. Light and conversation visible through the glass. Two identical doors sit side by side. A guest reaches first. Pushes. Nothing. Tries the other. Pulls. Still nothing. A second attempt, this time with more force.…
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The Room That Didn’t Decide
Late morning. A large, light-filled room attached to a conference centre. Polished concrete floors, long communal tables, plenty of sockets. A handful of people on laptops. Two servers leaning against the bar. It isn’t busy. I order a drink at the counter.…