Behind the Scenes: How Customer Service and Unreasonable Hospitality Can Transform Education Service Agencies

Behind the Scenes

In the world of education, the concept of customer service is often overlooked, yet for Education Service Agencies (ESAs), it is the foundation of meaningful partnership with the schools and communities they serve. ESAs operate behind the scenes, ensuring districts have access to resources, expertise, and support that would otherwise be out of reach. But true impact requires more than efficient service delivery; it requires a mindset of hospitality. Will Guidara, the renowned restaurateur and author of Unreasonable Hospitality (2022), argues that great organizations succeed not simply by meeting expectations, but by exceeding them in unexpected and deeply human ways. Guidara’s philosophy of “giving people more than they expect” offers a powerful framework for ESA leaders. By embracing hospitality as a leadership skill, ESAs can transform routine transactions into experiences that build trust, strengthen relationships, and create lasting value for schools, educators, and students alike.

The Core of Unreasonable Hospitality in Education

Unreasonable hospitality can be portrayed by making every guest feel like the most important one in the room. ESAs do this by ensuring even the smallest, most resource-challenged districts get the same quality of service as large, well-funded ones. More importantly, ESAs must ensure that students have access to high-quality, cost-effective programs and services that they deserve. Leadership teams within ESAs are now tasked with illustrating how hospitality-oriented leadership, a hallmark of Unreasonable Hospitality, can shift traditional ESA practices into genuinely service-minded, relational, and culture-shaped work.

The hit Disney+ TV drama series The Bear offers a vivid metaphor for this cultural shift. The show illustrates how nurturing team mindset, experience, and intentional leadership transforms service not just for customers but also for organizations themselves. In this way, The Bear provides a compelling example of how values of hospitality can inspire education leaders to elevate both the experiences of staff and the outcomes of students.

Lessons from The Bear and Behavioral Science

In the Marketing Week opinion article, The Bear is more than a good TV show – it hides some behavioural science truths too, Richard Shotton (2024) explores how The Bear illuminates behavior-shifting lessons through its characters and narrative. A standout moment occurs when Richie, initially disengaged with the restaurant business, experiences a turning point after reading Unreasonable Hospitality. This fictional portrayal serves as a real-world invitation: exposure to elevated service models can transform attitudes toward leadership and customer-first thinking, illustrating the power of hospitality-inspired frameworks to reshape mindset and organizational culture.

Much like Richie’s transformation, ESAs and school leaders who adopt a hospitality mindset can move from transactional service provision to a transformative service culture. The takeaway is clear: by prioritizing people, empathy, and experience, organizations can spark deep changes in both their staff and their communities.

Evidence from Research on Central Office Leadership

The importance of a customer-service orientation in education is reinforced by research. Mania-Singer (2017) conducted a qualitative case study in a midwestern urban school district using General Systems Theory (GST) and social network analysis (SNA) to explore how relationships between central office staff and elementary school principals influence school improvement efforts. The study found that these relationships were sparse and largely one-way, with principals often seeking district input but receiving limited reciprocal communication or opportunities for feedback. Notably, higher-performing schools had greater access to decision-making forums and support, while lower-performing schools were largely excluded. This centralized and unidirectional structure hindered effective knowledge transfer, feedback loops, and ultimately, school-level reform.

Mania-Singer argues that effective systems require supportive, reciprocal relationships. Central offices that actively listen and respond to principals with a “customer-service posture” promote improvement across all schools, not just a select few. This echoes Guidara’s call for exceeding expectations: service in education must be equitable, responsive, and inclusive.

The Case of BOCES: Customer Service in Action

Jones (2013) examined how superintendents in New York State perceive the services provided by Boards of Cooperative Educational Services (BOCES), which function as ESAs. The study found that superintendents’ perceptions of service quality and leadership effectiveness were central in shaping their decisions to use BOCES services. When BOCES were viewed not only as service providers but as strategic partners in leadership and improvement, districts were more likely to engage with and rely on their services. Conversely, perceptions of limited responsiveness or insufficient leadership capacity reduced superintendent reliance. Overall, the study highlights the vital importance of customer service, responsiveness, and leadership capacity for ESAs in building trust, increasing utilization, and supporting district success.

This aligns directly with the notion of hospitality in service. Just as customers return to a restaurant not only for the food but also for the feeling of being cared for, school districts return to ESA services when they feel valued, supported, and respected.

Unreasonable Hospitality in Practice: Educational Leadership Examples

An inspiring example of hospitality-driven customer service can be found at Pennsylvania’s Northwest Tri-County Intermediate Unit (IU5). Within the Department of Innovative Technology Solutions, Technology Administrators Vince Humes and Bill Wiedenheft launched a project called K-CUP, an acronym for Kindness, Caring, Understanding, and Patience (Humes & Wiedenheft, 2021). The initiative added a small but powerful touch of hospitality to routine technology service. Each time a computer technician repaired or worked on an employee’s device, they left behind a K-CUP filled with Hershey’s Chocolate Kisses on the staff member’s desk. The empty K-CUP containers were purchased online, filled, and distributed as tokens of appreciation. This simple act of kindness not only resolved technical problems but also left employees with a tangible reminder that they were valued. It is a practical demonstration of how even small gestures of service and thoughtfulness can embody hospitality and strengthen organizational culture.

A recent feature from Lehigh University’s College of Education highlights how Superintendent Bob Steckel has applied Will Guidara’s philosophy of Unreasonable Hospitality to educational leadership. Drawing on the idea of “giving people more than they expect,” Steckel reshaped leadership culture by creating book-club-style supper gatherings. These gatherings served as intentional spaces for staff and aspiring leaders to experience extraordinary service and community building. The initiative illustrates how hospitality principles can be adapted from business into education, reinforcing that leadership grounded in care, attentiveness, and going “above and beyond” fosters stronger professional relationships and organizational culture (Lehigh University College of Education, 2024).

Steckel’s example demonstrates how even small, symbolic acts of hospitality can have significant ripple effects in educational culture. These gatherings were not merely meetings; they were experiences designed to communicate value, belonging, and inspiration.

The Satisfaction-Performance Chain: Data-Driven Hospitality

Mittal and Jung (2024) provide a quantitative perspective on the benefits of customer focus in education. Through interviews with more than 150 educational leaders across 1,000 schools and survey responses from 10,644 K–12 parents, the authors applied the Satisfaction-Performance Chain (SPC) framework. Their findings show that schools can achieve improved stakeholder satisfaction and stronger academic outcomes by prioritizing initiatives with the highest “lift potential.” In practice, this means focusing on areas such as family and community engagement rather than overinvesting in less impactful programs like extracurriculars. Importantly, the authors stress that successful implementation requires disciplined focus, avoidance of initiative overload, and realistic timelines of 18–24 months for strategy development and 12–18 months for embedding into practice.

The SPC framework parallels the philosophy of hospitality. It emphasizes attentiveness to what matters most to customers, a focus on families, and most importantly, the students. ESAs that adopt this approach position themselves as responsive, empathetic partners committed to long-term improvement.

Tangible Takeaways for ESA Leaders

Research and case studies point to several practical steps ESA leaders can adopt to embed customer service and hospitality into their everyday practice:

• Listen actively and reciprocally: Build feedback loops with districts and principals to ensure communication flows both ways (Mania-Singer, 2017).
• Prioritize equity in service delivery: Guarantee that small and resource-challenged districts receive the same level of support as larger ones (Guidara, 2022).
• Position as strategic partners: Approach relationships with superintendents as partnerships rather than transactions to increase engagement (Jones, 2013).
• Create memorable experiences: Design intentional moments, such as collaborative gatherings, that foster belonging and model hospitality in leadership (Lehigh University College of Education, 2024).
• Focus on high-impact initiatives: Use data-driven approaches, like the Satisfaction-Performance Chain, to concentrate resources on initiatives with the greatest potential for improving outcomes (Mittal & Jung, 2024).
• Invest in leadership development: Offer professional development that reinforces empathy, responsiveness, and relational leadership skills.

By implementing these tangible actions, ESAs can more fully embody a service mindset and position themselves as trusted partners in educational success.

Together, these examples and studies show that quality customer service and unreasonable hospitality are not optional extras for ESAs. Rather, they are strategic imperatives that enhance trust, strengthen relationships, and drive measurable improvement in educational outcomes. By viewing districts and families as customers deserving of attentiveness, care, and respect, ESAs can elevate their role from service providers to transformative partners in education.

This shift requires intentional leadership. ESA leaders must model hospitality in their interactions, create cultures that prioritize empathy and responsiveness, and design systems that support feedback and equity. It also requires courage to rethink traditional structures and move toward more relational, service-oriented approaches.

Conclusion: Hospitality as a Game Changer in Education

The evidence is clear. Quality customer service and unreasonable hospitality can be game changers in the world of education. Research demonstrates that one-way, centralized systems hinder improvement, while responsive, supportive relationships drive equity and reform (Mania-Singer, 2017). Superintendents’ perceptions of ESA service quality and leadership directly affect their engagement, underscoring the strategic importance of service excellence (Jones, 2013). Real-world examples, such as Northwest Tri-County IU’s K-CUP Project (Humes & Wiedenheft, 2021) and Bob Steckel’s hospitality-infused leadership practices, show how educational leaders can translate Guidara’s philosophy into everyday organizational culture (Lehigh University College of Education, 2024). And large-scale studies confirm that prioritizing customer needs enhances satisfaction, loyalty, and academic outcomes (Mittal & Jung, 2024).

Ultimately, Unreasonable Hospitality challenges ESAs to do more than deliver services. It calls on them to design experiences that exceed expectations, foster belonging, and build enduring trust. By embracing hospitality as a leadership skill, ESAs can move from being behind-the-scenes providers to becoming essential partners in student success. In the restaurant industry, a meal can become unforgettable through genuine care. In education, service delivered with empathy and intentionality can transform schools and communities. The challenge for ESA leaders is to create cultures where every person feels valued; when that happens, people flourish, and the entire system of education rises with them.