On every episode of How Success Happens, I get to talk to awesome people and find out how they do what they do. This week, I sat down with the living embodiment of the word “awesome”: Guy Fieri.
I flew to Las Vegas to meet up with the Mayor of Flavortown himself at Customer Contact Week, a massive gathering of business and tech leaders showcasing the latest solutions, tools, and strategies for seamless customer operations across a variety of industries.
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We sat down with a bottle of his Santo Tequila and a container of tenders from his Las Vegas Chicken Guy! outpost and chatted about how the restaurateur, entrepreneur, TV star, and philanthropist got to where he is today. And importantly, how he is using his unique position to support restaurant industry workers, as well as first responders, law enforcement, and the military through his Guy Fieri Foundation.
Listen to our entire conversation here or watch the video above. Below are some highlights of our chat, which have been edited for length and clarity.
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What does the word “success” mean to you? How has that definition changed over time?
I think the word success for me means impact — having the energy and the connections and the empowerment to make really big things happen. My wife asked me what I’m going to do when I retire, what’s gonna be the end game? And I said, it’ll all be philanthropy. I was down at my house in Mexico for a week’s vacation, and a little restaurant on the beach had burned down. No insurance, the place was just destroyed. There was another restaurant in town that was closed on Tuesdays, so I went to the restaurant owner and said, “Hey, can I borrow your restaurant on Tuesday?” I grabbed my friend, and we did a pop-up in that spot. And in this little fishing village in Mexico, they raised $15,000 in one night for the owner and his displaced workers. That’s what success is.
Since we’re here during Customer Contact Week, can you share your best to entrepreneurs about leveling up the customer experience?
One of my favorite books is Dale Carnegie’s How to Win Friends and Influence People. I think people miss one of the points of the book, which is that you need to understand that everybody sees the world from their own perspective. The first thing I teach any of my team members is that when they are dealing with a guest who is having a negative experience, remember it’s not personal. You didn’t screw up the steak. You didn’t make the table reservation late. But that does not relieve you of the responsibility to engage that guest. What is the first thing anybody wants to hear when something goes wrong? I am so sorry. That’s very frustrating, and I am here to try to remedy this the best I can. Offer them a seat at the bar, get them something to drink. Engage. People tend to shut down and get defensive in those situations. We feel attacked. But you need to give your customers consideration and treat them as you would want to be treated. That is transformative.
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We’re talking here on Friday the 13th Eve. Are you superstitious?
I’m not superstitious. But I’m very spiritual, though. I never believed in the afterlife or any of that kinda stuff, but when my little sister passed away, I started to get these feelings. I needed to talk to her. I went to a medium, and it was crazy, so many people from my past were showing up. There’s no way anybody could make this up. Someone could study you for 10 years, and there’s no way they can say the things to you that are being said. I asked if my sister was going to show up, and the medium said, “She’s been here the whole time.” And I said, “Why isn’t she talking to me?” She said, “Oh, your sister says she talks to you every day.” We were raising my nephew; he was 10 when she passed away, and she said she was with us the whole time. And that just connected everything for me. Here’s my theory: a baby in a bassinet can’t talk or understand us, but there’s some connection that happens when we lean in. It’s there. So I wonder if we are the baby in the bassinet, and there is some higher power that we connect with, even if we can’t speak or understand.
Listen to the rest of the conversation here.
About How Success Happens
Each episode of How Success Happens shares the inspiring, entertaining, and unexpected journeys that influential leaders in business, the arts, and sports traveled on their way to becoming household names. It’s a reminder that behind every big-time career, there is a person who persisted in the face of self-doubt, failure, and anything else that got thrown in their way. Subscribe now on Apple, Spotify, YouTube or wherever you get your podcasts.
