May 2023 – Fawning is a clever tactic in the hospitality industry.

If you’ve ever had a server praise you too much, offer unsolicited compliments, and give you a lot of attention that is not sincere, you’ve been fawned over.

I once had a server offer up exaggerated compliments on my scarf. The timing of the compliments suspiciously coincided with the moment I was punching in the tip percentage. And, I fell for it.

During an event, I am typically very skeptical about excessive amounts of positive feedback shared directly with me. I’ve been duped too many times by an event attendee who gushes their praise onsite and then tears things up a day later in the post-event survey. ☹

Evening in the Maritimes blew this theory out of the water.

Not only did we receive lots of anecdotal positive feedback on the night of the event, but the post-event surveys were also overflowing with compliments on aspects of the event that were directly attributable to our team:

    • ‘Well organized and friendly environment and vibe.’
    • ‘We were impressed with the organization of the event.’
    • ‘I found the before, during and after experience one of the most professionally managed events I have ever been to.’
    • ‘It was such a friendly vibe – I loved it.’
    • ‘EiTM had such a fun atmosphere! I really appreciated the cute spin on the raffle (I adopted three sea creatures) and the fun extras like the Shelfie station. It was much better than a typical stuffy charity dinner!’
    • ‘This was such a unique and fantastic event! Fun environment! It was overall the best fundraising dinner I have ever attended.’
    • ‘It was really fun and well organized from start to finish!’
    • ‘Excellent organizer.’
    • ‘I liked how smoothly it went – overall, a great event!’
    • ‘The pacing was really great and the attention to detail was awesome!’

Then, there was this:

    • ‘I SHALL RETURN.’

The ALL CAPS and the simplicity of the declaration gives me all the feels.

Being interviewed by the Ottawa Business Journal was the icing on the proverbial cake. Or, in this case, the melted butter on the fresh, Nova Scotia lobster.

It’s been a long time since I felt this much buzz. It was CLAWsome.

Events are back, baby!

PS – This ramble is not meant to minimize or disregard the other type of fawning. I recently learned that fawning in the form of people-pleasing done to diffuse conflict, feel more secure in relationships, and earn the approval of others, is a trauma response. Read more on that here.