Description

🎙️ Podcast Title: Exceeding Expectations: Culture and Experience Design

Welcome to this episode of "Live with Sondra" where we explore the powerful connection between internal culture and guest experience with Phil Bruno, Chief Experience Officer and Founder of Treat Experiences. With over 45 years in hospitality and attractions—including 17 years at Anheuser-Busch—Phil has trained over 100,000 professionals and helped organizations transform their operations through experience design and employee engagement.

In this session, Phil Bruno and Sondra dive into:

• Anticipating Guest Needs: Why proactive service starts with understanding the questions guests haven’t asked yet—and how to answer them with a “yes.”
• Brand Promise and Frontline Teams: How your staff become the promise keepers of your marketing message and why alignment matters.
• Designing Experiences Through Culture: Why internal culture directly shapes external guest satisfaction—and how to build a team that reflects your values.
• Employee Experience as the Driver of Guest Experience: The 10-point correlation between staff satisfaction and guest loyalty, and how to measure it.
• Reducing Turnover and Boosting Retention: How low turnover is the strongest indicator of a healthy culture—and why peer-led recruiting works.
• Modern Training Approaches: Why SOPs are outdated and how continuous learning, gamification, and LMS platforms are reshaping team development.
• Daily Connection Rituals: How 5-minute standups and discovery visits create alignment, accountability, and a sense of purpose across your operation.
• Operational Impact of Culture: How improving employee experience leads to higher retail sales, smoother logistics, and more memorable guest moments.

Tune in for a masterclass in experience design, culture building, and operational excellence from one of the industry's most seasoned voices.

Connect with Phil Bruno on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/philbruno/

Connect with Sondra Shannon to learn more about Gatemaster’s role in fostering guest-centric culture and operational excellence: https://www.linkedin.com/in/sondrashannon/

Want to learn more about Live with Sondra or apply to be a guest? Visit: https://gatemaster.com/media/live-with-sondra/

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