#69: Will Guidara—Why Great Service Is Never an Accident
The StoryBrand Podcast
StoryBrand.com
4.7 • 2K Ratings
🗓️ 27 April 2026
⏱️ 34 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
Remarkable customer experiences don't happen because someone on your team happened to be in a good mood. They happen when a business decides, in advance, how people should feel at every step. Without that kind of intention, even great companies become forgettable. So how do you design moments customers actually remember and share?
In this episode, Donald Miller sits down with Will Guidara, author of Unreasonable Hospitality, to talk about how business owners can turn everyday transactions into memorable moments. Will explains why hospitality is not just for restaurants, how systems can teach your team what "right" looks like, and how his new field guide helps companies build teams, create a culture of excellence, and deliver magic in a deliberate, repeatable way. Listen in to learn how to make customers feel seen and turn that into a competitive advantage.
Learn from Will:
Will Guidara / Unreasonable Hospitality https://www.unreasonablehospitality.com/
Unreasonable Hospitality The Field Guide https://uhthefieldguide.com
Pre-Meal Newsletter https://www.unreasonablehospitality.com/premeal
If you want help creating messaging that drives sales, attend the next StoryBrand Your Business Live workshop for direct teaching from Don and hands-on guidance from a StoryBrand certified marketing Guide: https://storybrand.com/live/?utm_medium=podcast&utm_source=podcast&utm_campaign=sbyourbusiness&utm_term=sbpod&utm_content=SB_workshop
Buy the updated Building a StoryBrand 2.0 https://storybrand.com/building-a-storybrand-book-new/?utm_medium=podcast&utm_source=podcast&utm_campaign=basb2.0&utm_term=sbpod&utm_content=BASB2.0
Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | You guys are wasting your money on advertising. |
| 0:02.0 | Yeah. |
| 0:03.0 | Just get down in the weeds and go, okay, if we give the person this and treat them this way, |
| 0:06.0 | and this way, they'll come back. |
| 0:07.0 | And it's also just rooted in graciousness. |
| 0:09.0 | Sometimes when I talk about systemizing graciousness, people think it undermines the authenticity. |
| 0:16.0 | I just think it ensures that it happens more consistently. |
| 0:19.0 | A world where people are more consistently gracious is a pretty cool world that I want to live in. |
| 0:24.2 | Being unreasonable in pursuit of all the little and big things we can do to make someone feel seen, |
| 0:29.6 | to give them a sense of belonging, that truly is not just the right way to live, |
| 0:34.7 | but truly a competitive advantage. |
| 0:42.0 | You're listening to the Storybrand podcast based on Donald Miller's best-selling book, |
| 0:43.3 | Building a Story Brand. |
| 0:49.3 | The Story Brand framework is made up of seven key elements, all of them anchored in one powerful idea. |
| 0:50.8 | Your customer is the hero, and you are their guide. |
| 0:56.1 | Each week on the podcast, you'll get exactly what you need to craft clear messaging that connects with more customers and grows |
| 1:00.8 | your business. Now let's dive in with your host, Donald Miller. |
| 1:09.9 | My friend Will Gader is back on the Storybrand podcast this week. |
| 1:13.6 | You know his book, Unreasonable Hospitality. |
| 1:16.1 | Will really started, built the restaurant, 11 Madison Park in New York City. |
| 1:20.4 | Took it to number one in the world. |
| 1:21.7 | If you've not read Unreasonable Hospitality, the best business book I have ever read, it's riveting. |
... |
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