Businesspeople from all over the country have been requesting copies of a power-point slide I’ve been showing during my talks on Fred Harvey and his hospitality empire. It is the oldest known list of the Fred Harvey company “Fundamentals” which was given to employees as far back as the 1800s. (I discovered it in the personal cookbook of a Harvey dining car chef from Texas in the 1920s.)

What is amazing about this list is how modern it sounds–which is a testimony to just how far ahead of his time Fred was, and also just how timeless the challenges are of running a good business and inspiring both employees and customers.

Besides personalizing the basics of customer service, the list also offers bold, clear statements on everything from stopping discrimination to encouraging environmentalism and locavorism. Pretty amazing for an entrepreneur who died over 100 years ago.

Fred Harvey Fundamentals

1.   Have a Sincere Interest in People
2.   Like all your Daily Contacts with Guests
3.   Radiate Cheer and Make Guest feel at Ease and at Home
4.   Remember “Travel Follows Good Food Routes”
5.   Keep Well Informed and Updated on the Condition, Origin and Season of different Supplies, and the Serving of Same
6.   Be Human and Be Yourself
7.   Courtesy and a Smile Pay Dividends
8.   Real Service is Without Discrimination
9.   Preserve or Create— Never Destroy
10. Tact is an Asset and Honesty is still a Virtue

From Appetite for America: How Visionary Businessman Fred Harvey Built a Railroad Hospitality Empire that Civilized the Wild West by Stephen Fried, p 92

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