#12 Great Customer Service is STILL Valuable says Lizz Smith of the Townsend Hotel

The Townsend Hotel is the master of great customer service.  As their Senior Catering Sales Manager, Lizz Smith is responsible for booking events that offer great customer service while still providing a profit for the hotel.   Lizz understands the value of customer service, and how important it is to genuinely care about what your customer thinks is important.

Listen here to learn how she hires people, and trains them to consistently WOW the customer.

Join Pat Blackwell here every week, where you, the BEST vendors,  expand your wedding business into this lucrative Jewish market. By  understanding the traditions & vocabulary, you will build TRUST and GROW your business.   Cha Ching

Links mentioned in this episode:

1. For information on how to get on the Jewish Party Maven Certified Vendor List just click here:  I want to get on that Certified Vendor list 
2.   CLICK HERE to get the FREE DOWNLOAD JPM Top 12 Wedding Words the Best Vendors Know    
3. For more information about the AMAZING Townsend Hotel in Birmingham, MI, CLICK HERE!            

Don’t miss future episodes!

SUBSCRIBE & LEAVE A REVIEW:  Apple Podcasts -  Google Play -  Spotify and MORE!

For more platforms visit: BUZZSPROUT

Just like in the party world, reviews are like GOLD.  If you liked what you heard, please leave me a review and share what you liked the most about the episode.  

CONNECT:   Email

LIKE & FOLLOW: Facebook   Instagram

LEARN MORE: Website   

Transcript

Unknown: 0:03

Hello there, welcome to episode number 12 of the book more weddings with Pat Blackwell podcast. I'm your host, the Jewish party Maven, Pat Blackwell. When you think of terrific customer service, there's always one hotel in the Metro Detroit area that immediately stands out above the rest. The towns in hotel in Birmingham. When sports teams come to Detroit, they stay at the towns. When the biggest stars in this area get married, they often choose the towns and for that too. They're known for great customer service. While in many hotels, customer service is a lost art. At the Townsend, it seems that the opposite is true. The staff at the Townsend often go above and beyond what is expected and surprise their customers and often their vendor partners with something truly special. And that my friend, is the special sauce that gets people talking about you. They have taken the art of customer service and made it one of the core principles of their business success. Let's face it 2020 was a very difficult year for any hotel. But if you were the standard of great customer service, where do you start to make cuts? How do you maintain that level of customer service when it would be so tempting to blame COVID for lack of service. Today, we have the great privilege of talking with the senior catering sales manager of the Townsend Hotel in Birmingham, Michigan, Liz Smith. Liz has been in the hospitality industry her entire life. It's in her DNA. She knows that making connections with clients is crucial to list starts by asking lots of questions, and then truly listening to the needs of her clients. But she tells it best herself. So let's jump right in. Here's my interview with Liz Smith. Well, hello, Miss Smith. I am so happy that you could join me here today. I'm more Jewish weddings podcast. Yeah. Thank you for having me. Thank you. I know that you are this amazing force at the Townsend. But all these photographers and videographers and caterers and stuff who are listening? Don't know all the things I know. So will you tell us a little bit about yourself and about the Townsend? Absolutely. So the tozan itself has been here since 1988. We added on a whole second part of the hotel in 2000. We are at 150 guestrooms we have two ballrooms two boardrooms, and a small private event space for like rehearsal dinners, showers, things like that. So we're pretty much busy all the time now, which is a very good thing. And we're used to, you know, doing multiple events through a week. So you know, flipping rooms from daytime to evening, and back again to the next morning. So we're, we're happy to be busy. Awesome. And how long have you been? So this will be my 11th year at the town, which is even crazy. That has gone by very quickly. When I started at the Townsend, I worked under Joni Sam's, who was the director of catering here since it opened in 1988. So she spent pretty much her whole career here at the Townsend from beginning to end, which is pretty amazing. And as I was so grateful I got to work with Joni. And there's a team of people who have been here at the towns in since the beginning. Like we have a couple bartenders, a couple kitchen, people from the house back of the house. But I think it kind of is a nice complement to the hotel to the establishment that it's such a nice place to work that people stay for 30 hertz. Absolutely. Which is a nice thing. So let's talk about that. I know the Townsend because they're amazing. And I love when people tell me they're having their party at the Townsend because I know things will be taken care of properly, and they'll be treated with respect and all that goes to talk to us a little bit about customer service. How do you train people in customer service? Or do you not train them you find the right people to start with? Well, it's a little of both. I really think, you know, immediately if you have the right fit. You know, you're in the hospitality business because you love hospitality. If it's if you're irritated by working with a client, then it's not the right thing for you. I mean, you have to understand that we're here to serve the client and to make whatever experience they're having. Amazing. So whatever it takes to do that, you know, that's what you have to do. And if people don't understand that going in, that's a commitment and you have to want to do it. Like if you don't want to Do it then don't be here. So we usually, we're pretty good at finding those people. And they usually stick around for a long time, which is really nice. But I think once you have that hospitality, itch or you know, bug you, I don't think you ever get rid of it. I think you just have it, it's in your DNA. Life, which is nice. You know, I love taking good care of people. And that's what is so amazing at the Townsend is you have people who love taking good care of people. And that's huge. Because Well, like I say to it's we're very lucky and this specific environment and Birmingham and, you know, Oakland County area, that we have so many clients that are repeat clients that know they can trust us, that will take care of them. And they can come back for, you know, not just the bar mitzvah, but also come back for the wedding and then come back for the rest. We got the whole generational thing, which is, you know, really an amazing gift to have. Not a lot of places can say that. And I have that same thing. It's so amazing. I just got a deposit from somebody this morning, whose wedding I did. And now I'm doing her son's Bar Mitzvah. And oh my gosh, it's so fun to be part of people's lives that way. And I love that. Yeah. But it's, it's such a compliment. It's awesome. Yes. So you at the Townsend pride yourself on offering amazing service. But so many people are saying people aren't willing to pay for that my clients won't pay for that. How do you get over that? How do you handle there's a cost to all this amazing service. But again, I think we're very lucky because we have such a loyal clientele, they really understand the worth and what we offer. And it's, it's important to them to have, you know, a beautiful room and have delicious food. And you know, the linens look beautiful in the flowers. But if their guests don't feel like they're, like they're being taken care of and that is appreciated, then it's not going to be a special event. I mean, they have to feel 100% trust in us, and what we provide, and I think we're very lucky that most of our clientele understand that. And if they don't, you know, want to pay for that extra service, then maybe it's not a good fit. So and that's okay, too, to say I mean, anything that you offer your service, anybody service is has value and is worth the investment. If you want, you know, a bare bones basic option. There's plenty of that out there. But what we offer, what you offer is something a lot more a lot more enriched, a better experience. I do Christian weddings, and I do some other weddings, but I specialize in Jewish weddings, and our Jewish clients, I think have a real understanding of the value of service and the value of having someone who understands their traditions. And that's what this whole Jewish party event is about. As a red coat lady, I work training vendors all the time to be there at the shop for the ketubah sign and and be there at the shop for the breaking of the glass and, and training people that you as a the Townsend hotel, are great at teaching your staff that are ready. So what kind of training programs do you have that? incorporate any of this? Or how do you train your staff like that? So we do have a banquet basics course that we do with our staff. So they go through, you know, normal hotel, banquet base, that kind of things, but then we always go a step beyond, you know, we give examples of what, what's regular service and what's something that we can do to exceed our guests expectation that he wants to things that they're not necessarily assuming or thinking that you'll think of you want to be kind of one step ahead of your guests. So they don't have to ask for what it is that they need. I had did a wedding many years ago when I worked at one of the temples in the area. And the groom specifically was a lint fanatic. Every time we had met, he would always have like, either a sticky or something on him to get all the lint off and he was obsessed with lint. So the day of his wedding, I had bought one of those, you know the little tiny lint rollers that you can get at checkout. So I bought one of those and put it on his place setting. And when he sat down, he was like, Oh my gosh, I can now relaxed. I knew that was like his anxiety. So I thought okay, I'm just gonna put him at ease here says little tiny baby lower and he was thrilled. So just getting one step ahead of the client, you know and teaching our staff to look for what is the client going to look for next like you know, we forgot to put you know candles on the table where the Shabbat candles were so you know before the client gets to My gosh, we need a lighter, we need panels, we already have somebody there to take care of it. So just being one step ahead. And we're very much the same way. But in order to be one step ahead, you have to understand what's important to your client. And I think that's where your real magic lies is you ask the questions to find out what's important to them. And as the Jewish party Maven, I know that some vendors don't do that. Some vendors show up and think they can learn on the job. Some vendors think that it's, it's another day, it's not another day, it's somebody's biggest day in their lives. Doing that extra step is huge. I think it's also a respect issue. I think it means a lot to our clients that if you take the time to learn how you can make their experience their day better. Like when I first got to the Townsend, I had never done a Persian wedding before, I didn't know what was involved in that. And so I did my homework, and I read, you know, the whole big spread that goes on a person table and what each thing, but the mirror represents what the candles represent, and the eggs, and you know, all of that, and they were impressed that, okay, my wedding matters to you, because you took the time to learn this. So the same thing with you know, learning what, like when the groom steps on the glass in a Jewish wedding, to make sure that the glass pieces are picked up, because they went may want to take that glass and make them as as out of it. So things like that, you want to know that they don't have to worry about we've got it, we'll take care of it, we'll make sure it gets back to your room. So you don't have to worry about, you know, a laundry list of Okay, make sure we have the kitchen, make sure we've got a glass, you know, from a stepping out and like all those kinds of things. They don't have to worry about it, because they have somebody like you that has their checklist in place and super organized. So I know it's been a crazy hard year for all hotels in America and across the world, frankly, yeah. Tell me about COVID and how you've survived COVID. You're still here. And I'm thrilled, you're still here. And I'm so looking forward to working with you again. I know me too. Well, we are I mean, we're definitely looking forward to not dealing with COVID. But we were lucky that we never closed the hotel during the whole COVID transition. So we were kind of learning in real time, which was super helpful, too. So we had put together like a COVID protocol, which is on our website, we also added UV lighting filtration system in the rugby grill and in the Regency room. So it's actually killing germs as it's going through the filtration system, which is kind of nice. And we're you know, obviously doing things like masks and gloves and all those kind of things and sanitizer stations. But we really want to look forward into the future where we're, that's not the world anymore. But safety is our top priority right now while we're still in it, along with, you know, excellent customer service, we have to make sure that both the guests are safe, our staff is safe, and kind of go from there because we don't want to risk anyone's party, you know, something going wrong, and people get sick. That's the last thing that we want. So we're continuing to do that. My clients are saying, Can I still have a buffet station? Can I still have a sweet table? Yes. So the guidelines with that have changed. So we have built plexiglass dividers, if clients do want those, we don't have to have them. But one thing that is required is that we have to have a server on the base serving the guests. So it's only one person touching the tongs, the ladle the spoon, or so we serve the guests, they don't pick up any utensils themselves. And that way, it's it's safer. And we also only do so many people at the buffet at a time. So it's not swarmed. So like releasing tables, you know, one at a time does help with that, too. So little little tweaks here and there, but nothing, you know, tragically different than what we used to do. Which is good. Absolutely. And guess when you already are used to having excellent service, it's easy to adapt and still have excellent service just in a little different format. But yeah, you just have to think about a little bit differently. Okay, so do you have any amazing stories of your favorite party in the whole wide world do have a story, but it's kind of a backwards story. It's it's how actually a party came to book not actually the wedding itself. Okay, now, I'll give you the abridged version because it's very long story. But I had an appointment with a bride and her parents they had flown in from South Dakota. They weren't you know, not in state and the appointment was in December which December's always very busy here at the Hotel. So I took the appointment. What also happened that night is a group who thought they had a Christmas party on that night showed up on the wrong night. So their party was supposed to be the following night, they showed up the night that I had the appointment with my client. So I had asked my client, you know, can you hold on five minutes and we just get this group situated, we basically pulled a party together within 30 minutes for this group, okay, for showing up on the wrong day. So we only so we pull it a little bit from everywhere, we got food, we got wine, we got a full bird, beautiful. Everybody showed up in their Ubers, which was terrific. The party started, I went back to my client who I was sending cocktails to, while they waited for me. By the time I got back to the room, it was probably an hour and a half later, which was terrifying. But when I walked in the room, the father said to me, no, listen, we were trying to decide if we're gonna go with the Townsend, or not for this wedding. But if you can pull a party together in 30 minutes, we're having our party here. Excited to book. And honestly, we've been friends ever since we send each other Christmas cards, mom, and they are one of my favorite families of all time. So it was a lot of fun. And again, an example of the amazing service that happens when you put your customers first. Well, and I couldn't tell the group that showed up. Sorry, you're on the wrong night. See, I hit the road. So we made it happen. And it was, you know, a lot of juggling, but I mean, that's why we're there. But wonderful. Okay, let's switch gears a little bit. Can you tell me an example of some time when you had some vendors who didn't understand the Jewish traditions are didn't understand what was important to their client and how things got derailed? Um, well, I have. I have two different stories. I have one story. I had a bride who booked a band from Chicago. And I had never heard of them, which I was a little nervous about. And they were supposed to show up at a certain time, of course to set up and do a sound check all that weren't there. We knew they were driving from Chicago, showed up an hour and a half late into the wedding. So there was no soundcheck no nothing. My banquet director at the time had to introduce the bridal party and the bride and groom into the room because the band was still not there. And we put our own background music on. So when the band finally showed up, they showed up in street clothes, like sweat t shirts, tennis shoes, took the stage and asked for chairs to sit down on a stage because they were tired from all the you know, last minute running and jumping and leaping. And the bride was mortified. It was just my heart just sunk for her. So they ended up getting you know, the dancing started. And, you know, the night ended? Well, it was just a really rough start. Um, communication is so important and very important to go over. I mean, everything soundcheck I mean directions to the hotel, whatever it takes place question where the bride talk to the band, amazing, fabulous, wonderful band. But the bride's communication to the band was that they would start their band at nine and play nine to one. The bride's communication to me was a typical Jewish schedule for the night where the ceremony was at 730 hors d'oeuvres were done at 830. And the band was rockin at 830. And whoops. So the band people weren't even planning to be there until after it was Showtime. And so it took some fancy footwork. But this was a fabulous group. And they pulled it together and made it happen. And but that communication is so important in those expectations to get everyone on the same page is huge. And I think the optional job of getting everyone on the same page. And that's one of the other things I always appreciate about working there is your staff is so good about saying this is what I think is this what you think, are we on the same page here and yeah, that's so important. That's what we're always so glad to see you, Pat, because you come in with your checklist. And we're like, okay, let's check our list. You know, do your checklist and see if we match. It's huge. It absolutely. Where other places are not that way. Other places are like nope, this is what I got this way it goes. Yeah, well, it doesn't work, talk to the client, and this is what I think they want. And I worked really hard to find out what they want. And I'm pretty darn sure this is what they want. So they work with me here. Yeah. And it's great. I had a bride years and years and years ago who was her own party planner and did as much as she could do and the night of her, you know, we had Figuring out the timing ahead of time and Okay, this is what we're doing. We're going with that great. So the night of the wedding, we went to come out of the kitchen with they had ordered beautiful, you know, flaming yarn for dinner came out of the kitchen with the filet. And right as we're walking out, I hear the band leader say, Okay, everyone get ready for 45 minutes of Russian dancing. Oh, and I and I ran over to the bride. And I said, what are we what are we doing? What happened? She said, Oh, I decided to do the dancing first and just hold off dinner. I said, Okay, well, you didn't tell me that. We have dinner. I said, I can bring it back. But I'd really love for you to have delicious steak. And she's like, Oh, no, let's do the food. Now. Absolutely. We can wait on adapting. So you know what wasn't a big deal. But she just didn't think of you know, flipping the time back. She didn't have someone like you to help guide her through that. But it all worked out. And the stakes were delicious. pacus is not about me. But I do want to take this opportunity to say, as the red coat lady, we are looking out for the client for the mistakes that we can save them from themselves. You know, they only do this once or twice in their life with their kids when they have in these parties. And we learn something every single party and no, and we're there to help them. We're there to look out for them. And that's I'm not the cater. But I know that a lot of mistakes can be avoided by talking with the caterer. And so I have people all the time who are asking me how to become a party planner. Ice for those people, how do they become a party planner? How do they break into the Jewish market if they are a party planner? Well, not everyone should be a party planner, I'll start good ones that are out there that are really good. But there's some people who just like to be a party planner, because they like a party. And that's, that's not what it's about. Um, I don't know, I would say the biggest thing you have to do is, is do your research. And if you have somebody that can actually mentor you, like somebody like you, Pat, it really makes a huge difference, because you see things that not everybody else sees. And I want to be clear, I'm not a party planner, I know, I'm a party manager, I work with these amazing people who can find their own venue and plan their own menu, and brace. But so what I encourage people to do is get a job with a caterer work a summer job with a caterer work a job with a linen company, work a job with a photographer, find out what those jobs are really like before you start telling them what to do, right? Because you have to start from that vision perspective of what those people see, and then get the full circle. And then you then that gives you an overall picture. Right? And so tell me what kinds of things vendors can do to do a good job at the Townsend? Is there anything that you wish every vendor knew? I not all vendors are as studious. Do you I mean, what I would think is, if I wasn't ever at a venue, I would either call or make an appointment to see the venue and check it out. So I knew the lay of the land before I got there. Um, because a lot of vendors just assume they can show up and just roll in and roll out. And they may they may not know a specific guidelines or protocols for each venue, I'm like you have we have a specific loading dock. Right? Exactly that you have to load into. And there's a reason for that. And then really confirming setup time and breakdown time is super important. Because depending on who has to do what first, like if the dance floor has to go down first, and then pipe and drape or you know, vice versa, or the room has to be flipped. And you need to have your setup done and out of the way, right. And what a lot of. Again, this is just things that other people wouldn't think of. But if we're flipping a room, the band can only get there so early and set half of their band, they can't set the whole band. So that does take more people kind of all hands on deck to flip and then do a really quick sound check and then get ready to you know, bring people into the room. So if you're working at the tellington, they should call you for that information. They email you tells us the best way to contact you. Best way to contact me is email. I am still working half from home and half in the office. So my laptop is always with me. And so are you willing to share your email on this podcast? Sure. Absolutely. It's l Smith at towns and hotels calm. Easy enough. Easy enough. Okay. So I love that you're always learning new things. And I love that your staff is always learning new things. And you have just such a great attitude. among your staff have the servant attitude. So I know I asked how you found it. But how do you reward that? When you find someone who has that great attitude? And they've done something exceptional? How do you say, well, we did it? How do you reward yourself? Well, one of the things that we do, for every event, whether it's a 30 person dinner, or a 300 person wedding, is we do a lineup before each event, to go over all the timing to go over all the food, linen rentals, who's doing what, and at that time, I do like to point out, if there's a staff, like, a lot of staff will go above and beyond, and take that extra step to, you know, do something nice on the head table, or, you know, they, they see that the bride is very emotional. So they put a little box of tissue on our table, you know, something like that. And I like to call out the staff in that lineup. So they know that I've seen what they've done, appreciate it and encourage it to other samples, they Okay, that was a smart thing to do that we'll all remember that next time. And if I can, you know, get some little gifts here and there, like a Starbucks gift card, or you know, just something so they know that were paying attention, what they do matters. And it matters to me. Because I mean, that's my, that's my client, that their focus is a amazing time. And if my staff helps me get there, and give that experience to them, you know, they should be rewarded. So as a vendor, who's coming into the Townsend, I work with your staff, if I have an experience with some of your staff, who was just amazing, above and beyond, what's the best way for me to get them some recognition, what's the best mate way for me to keep encouraging that, um, if you could tell me an experience that you had, and honestly, it should go both ways, if it's amazing, or if it's not amazing. But more amazing exams, never not amazing at the time, it's great. But if you would let me know, and then I could share that with my team, we get to send you an email so that it can be written as opposed to a phone call? Yes, because we do post, we have an area downstairs in the hotel for staff, and we put up you know, inspirational things in that area. And I always like to post letters that I've received from the client saying, Oh, my gosh, it was most amazing night, everything was spot on. Everything was perfect. And it really makes the staff feel special to see not only the event that they work, but their name in the letter that they made a difference. Okay, so does the Townsend have a preferred vendor list? We do. Um, I do have people that will call me periodical and say, Oh, yeah, I really want to get on that vendor list. But the only way you can get on the vendor list is if we work with you, because I'm not going to put a penny right on. Correct. Because I don't know, if you're just a guy that comes in off the street and has a balloon business. I don't know anything about you. So unless we've worked with you. And so you know, your work ethic and how you relate to clients and how you relate to staff. It just won't happen. But just a phone call, we actually have to see you in the property working with an event. And I love that your preferred vendor list has integrity behind it and other venues for our audience that doesn't know, other venues, their preferred vendors list is whoever paid to be on the list, right? Or who happen to advertise in their magazine or who happened to put an ad in their church journal or whatever it is, right. It's about integrity on your case. And that's absolutely cool. Absolutely. Okay, well, if somebody were trying to break into the Jewish party world, what advice do you have for them? Um, basically, really, what you had noted before, Pat, like to get in at the base level, and learn what they can learn from the bottom and go up. Um, like you said, working at a temple, you know, working, assisting a florist is just being a helper to a photographer. I'm sorry, it wasn't click. If you're a photographer, but you want to become a Jewish wedding photographer. If you're a videographer, but want to be in the Jewish wedding market. Do you have any suggestions for them? But again, I would like you said, do your homework. So you understand their traditions, and what's involved. But one of the things I can tell you one is called a rabbi, the first time rabbi, I don't think so. I don't think our vendors are gonna be calling rabbis and that's one of the reasons I started this whole Jewish party Maven because Who are you going to call? Are you going to ask your client to explain all these traditions? Probably not. That doesn't work. No. So, okay, so I think I'm hearing from you if you want to be in the Jewish party world know your stuff. Yeah, know your stuff do the research. Um, when I first worked at the JCC years ago, which is mostly kosher environment, and you're saying that, like people know what the JCC is? Oh, right, sorry, the Jewish Western field. I worked with several rabbis and mosquitoes. Ischia is a word that not many people know. It's basically a supervisor who supervises over a kosher establishment. And when I first started working there, I didn't realize that it's not okay to reach out your hand to shake a hand of a rabbi or mosquito because it's not. It's not a polite and respectable thing to do in that environment. So that's one thing that I had to learn and unlearn as to be respectful of their of their traditions and their guidelines. So that was, that was important. But I would say having someone like you, Pat, been called one 800. Pat, and get the answers to all the questions that are out there in the Jewish party planning world. Tell me about how the Townsend handles kosher meals. Do you permit kosher caterers to come in? We do. We allow any outside theater has to be approved by our executive chef. So we would sit down and have a meeting prior to the guests sending a contract. We have to make sure that they follow. Oh, you know, safety and health protocols. We're going to help the health department. But most often, there's probably two kosher caterers that we see here the most, a few Indian caterers that we've seen here. And once we sit down and get a plan for what they're looking to do, it's super easy to execute, just depending on what's involved, as far as equipment with China, over glassware if things need to be kashered, which in the Jewish world, means that the basic needs to be sterilized instead of side. So we know that that silverware or China glassware is as safe and clean to use. Tell me about a client who only needs five kosher meals, right? So they wouldn't have a full caterer come in for that. We would just order those meals, our cart, and have them delivered. But again, knowing the Jewish community, you have to know that they're not going to deliver on Saturday, because Saturday is the Sabbath. You'd have to have them either delivered Friday for an event or Sunday, depending on when the event took place to make sure that you have a kosher meal that was delivered not to the talent and of course, but on a different venue. And the waiter thought he was doing this tremendous service to the guest. And he unwrapped the kosher meal and put it in the microwave and brought it out to the guest steaming hot. And of course that's not acceptable in the kosher world. And everything was sacred about it not sacred, but everything that gave assurances to that guest was no longer available. No. No meal for them. Nope, exactly. How do you handle kosher appetizers when you have a group of people and only four of them keep kosher? So basically the same thing. So if we were to order them a meal, we would also order them a appetizer course. So basically, it's usually something like sushi, something cold, so it also be Saran wrapped and have the sticker on it from the mosquito saying that it was certified. Who would hand the guests the plate wrapped in saran wrap still, of course, because you're good. Yeah. Same with desert. And same with Phil was trying to ask the questions like will there be wind servers with dinner? Coffee service, so we make sure that we have coffee cup, a wine glass of water glass? You know everything that's all need to not, you know, look different than the other guests. You want it to be as close with other guests are doing as possible. All right. Is there anything else that you would like to talk about today? Um, can we talk about my dog? Do you have your dog? I always have a picture of my dog Pat. All right. Let's see it. Got a picture of your dog. Here. Tell us this dog's name. Mabel has name label. She comes to work with me every Saturday. I love it. meter come by. So is there anything fun you've been reading lately? Um I guess a lot of articles about just kind of getting back to the normal of what the new getting Back to normal. The new normal the new normal. Yeah, I'm just people are anxious to be with people. People want to celebrate. And my phone's been ringing. Have you been crazy busy lately? The last two weeks has been insane. And I'm so happy to have it back in my life. You know? We're busy. Yes. Okay, so what do you read for fun? Um, honestly, I haven't read. See, I'm not a I'm not a tablet person. I have to have a book in my hand. Me too. Um, I haven't read a book since the summer. So I'm, yeah, I'm a little a little behind. Okay. So you have to learn? How do you learn? Do you listen to podcasts a lot? Do I do podcast? I do. Um, you know, I'm just search online, you know, on the web. Like, read the New York Times Online. But that's really it. And you know, there's also like webinars and seminars in our industry with more than ever. No, yes. No, those keep me busy as well. At least a couple of those a week. Makes it awesome. Well, I don't have any other big grilling questions for you, Liz. But I so very much appreciate your time today. And all the knowledge you share with our wonderful audience. I appreciate it. And I look forward to seeing you at wonderful celebrations soon. Me too. Thank you so much for having me, Pat. Thank you. Take care. Take care. All right. Well, I hope you enjoyed this episode. This podcast is all about how we can help each other better serve our Jewish clients. Liz knows lots about great customer service, truly taking time to get to know your client's needs. That's the key. She says. Then do your research and learn what you need to know long before their big day. That's one way to show you care. The Jewish party Maven was formed specifically to teach vendors the customer is so important to the Jewish weddings and bar mitzvahs. So if you're a photographer, a videographer a cater, or a venue who wants to offer great customer service in the Jewish party world, you've come to the right place. Learning the Jewish traditions is an important way to show your Jewish customers that you care about what's important to them. That is part of great customer service. And that my friends will help you grow your business. Or there's some specific words or customs you don't understand in this Jewish party world. Send me an email or join the Jewish party Maven, vendor rockstars private Facebook group. I want to hear from you. Okay, let's wrap this up. Remember your freebie, download this powerful cheat sheet the 12 Jewish words the best vendors know. It's on Jewish party maven.com weds website. To learn more about the Townsend hotel, click on the show notes at Jewish party maven.com slash 12. If you would like to learn more about the traditions and customs so important to successful Jewish parties, follow me on Facebook or Instagram at Jewish party Maven. I really appreciate your feedback about the show. So leave me a review. You know I had to ask that. So now go out there and take loose Smith's advice, surprise and delight your customers. You can do this, but only if you genuinely care. Caring is the real key to great customer service. Now, join me next week when we'll learn another dorriswedding word. And you'll be one word closer to booking your next Jewish party to Ching thanks for listening