Magic in the Room #34 – G.U.E.S.T Service™️

December 8, 2020

We all want is to feel seen, heard, and understood. When we can help our clients and customers feel that way, their experience with our brand soars.

The  G.U.E.S.T. Service™framework  presents five powerful ways to be of service in a meaningful way that people will never forget. It is a way of understanding service rooted in empathy and connection that allows our customer to feel like an important guest, someone worthy of respect, love, and belonging.

You should treat your customers and even your internal teams as if they were a guest. When someone walks into your home, how do you welcome them? How do you want them to feel? Maya Angelou famously said, “At the end of the day, people won’t remember what you said or did. They will remember how you made them feel.” This is true when we walk away from a place of business as well as any individual that we interact with.

Thankfully, specific techniques will ensure that people walk away with a positive feeling after interacting with you or your business. The G.U.E.S.T. Service™framework will help you do this and much more. But what does the acronym stand for?

  • G is for greeting with empathy and a friendly smile.
  • U is for uncovering needs.
  • E is for expressing gratitude.
  • S is for sharing names and contact information.
  • T is for teaching benefits and advantages.

G.U.E.S.T.  provides you with five powerful ways to transform the customer experience. In this episode of the Magic in The Room podcast, Hannah, Luke, and Chris discuss what each stage of the G.U.E.S.T. Service™framework means to them. Although it’s five things that you can easily remember, the skills can take lots of practice and a lifetime to master.

We all want an experience with a brand. We want to be left with some form of positive feeling at every interaction. Yet, at the same time, when we’re intentional about looking for it, our brains are wired with a negative bias, which means we’re more likely to focus on the downsides.

Humans have incredible built-in threat detectors, and we’re always unconsciously scanning our environment for what could be a threat. We’re quick to notice anything that isn’t quite right or what could be threatening. And it takes a little bit more intentionality to look for the positive things.

We all need to develop the habit of seeing the good and then expressing gratitude for the great things in our lives. This also includes the people that we work with on our team, our customers, and our guests. Every brand has reasons to believe in the products and services they deliver. But we must take the time to tell the story and craft it for the people we’re engaging with.

 

The secret is understanding others’ needs, along with the resources and support that you can provide. Only then can you marry other people’s needs to what you have to offer. To learn more about creating an intentional customer experience, check out our online  G.U.E.S.T. Service™  program!

Magic in the Room #199: The Power of Mattering

By Sarah Whitfield • April 7, 2026
In this episode of Magic in the Room, Luke Freeman, Hannah Bratterud, and Chris Province dive into the concept of “mattering,” inspired by Zach Mercurio’s work, and explore why it is a foundational driver of engagement, performance, and culture in organizations. They challenge leaders to move beyond assuming people matter to actively ensuring individuals feel that they matter by being valued and by contributing value to a shared purpose. The conversation highlights how mattering differs from belonging, why it cannot be replaced by perks or efficiency, and how leadership behaviors like attention, recognition, and presence directly shape whether people feel seen, heard, and understood. Through examples ranging from workplace dynamics to broader societal trends like social disconnection, they argue that disengagement, conflict, and even poor performance are symptoms of a mattering deficit. Ultimately, they position mattering not as a soft concept, but as a measurable, actionable leadership responsibility that underpins trust, resilience, and long-term success.

Magic in the Room #198: The GUEST Experience

By Sarah Whitfield • March 3, 2026
In this episode of Magic in the Room, Luke, Hannah, and Chris explore how the concept of mattering transforms customer experience through their practical GUEST framework. Building on the idea that people thrive when they feel noticed, affirmed, and valued, they argue that exceptional service is not just about efficiency or technical competence, but about intentionally designing experiences where guests truly feel significant. They unpack the five elements of the GUEST model: Greet with empathy, Uncover needs, Express gratitude, Share names, and Teach benefits. They show how each step reinforces belonging and loyalty, whether in a 30-second interaction or a 30-year relationship. The conversation highlights the difference between service and hospitality, the power of recovery when mistakes occur, and the leadership responsibility to embed mattering into culture rather than leaving it to chance.
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