461 ocean boulevard
In the 1970s, while most bands were recording in Los Angeles and New York, a studio in North Miami was turning out hits. It wasn’t just the studio and the sound; it was the whole package. Their whole approach to customer success.
Criteria Studios gave birth to the Eagles’ Hotel California, Black Sabbath’s Heaven and Hell, and parts of the Saturday Night Fever soundtrack.
From the outside it was hard to understand why Criteria became known as “Atlantic Studios South,” but Graham Nash shed some light on the subject in his recent conversation with Rick Rubin.
Rick Rubin: “What was it about Criteria in the 70s that drew so many artists?”
Graham Nash: “First of all, it’s a great Studio, there’s a great sound in the studio and that’s why a lot of artists got there. But also, there were two ladies that provided a service that was great. You could rent a house and they would do all the cooking and they would clean all the beds and do all that stuff. And that’s exactly what we did. That’s what Eric [Clapton] had done previously on his album.”
Rubin: “Beautiful, because I always wondered. Miami was not really a hot spot at that point in time but so many great artists all were traveling there, and I never really knew what the draw was, but that’s interesting that there was like a live-in situation. That you could go off and make a record and everything will be taken care of besides you being in the studio making the music.”
Nash: “Right, and as you say it was out of the way. It wasn’t Hollywood. You know, it wasn’t New York. It was completely out of the way in terms of ‘why Miami?’ but it was the combination of a sound of the studio itself and the availability of being able to rent a house where you didn’t have to think.”
Of course it needed to be a quality studio; those are table stakes.
Additionally, getting outside the city allowed them a sense of freedom where creativity could thrive.
No doubt that the production was terrific, and the studio management had everything dialed in, but the game changer was the two ladies managing a house at 5242 North Bay Road. Making sure everything was taken care of. A 70s version of Airbnb, except you walk out with a gold record.
Cindy Johnson and Jeri Jenkins are the “two ladies” and formed their company, Home at Last, as 18-year-old art students. It was a side hustle that became a real estate career. They started providing Miami homes with all the creature comforts covered, and because of the partnership with Criteria, their niche became rock stars recording in the area. All of the cooking, cleaning, chasing down whatever it was (minus drugs or sex) that would keep superstars like the Bee Gees, the Eagles or Crosby, Stills & Nash happy and productive.
Free Prize Inside
In his book Free Prize Inside Seth Godin said, “every product and every service can be made remarkable. And anyone in your organization can make it happen.” Criteria made the living situation remarkable by partnering with Home at Last.
Home at Last made it remarkable by taking care of every little detail. Word spread from Clapton to Nash, and beyond.
By providing a complete package, studio, house, food, laundry, they were able to attract top-tier musicians away from the city and helped create hits like Derek and the Dominoes’ “Layla” and Fleetwood Mac’s “Go Your Own Way.”
It can be small, like that Free Prize in a box of Cracker Jacks. Small things can separate you from the competition. A new tweak on an old thing, like purple ketchup. It’s the thing that makes you stand out in a competitive landscape.
Or it can go beyond the Free Prize, what Godin calls a “soft innovation.” Service. Hospitality. The thing that eases the customer’s burden or provides a delightful experience that they share with others. If done well, these are things that differentiate you for the long term, because you can only come up with so many ketchup colors.
Delightful experiences like a bright red popsicle hotline located near the hotel pool. A phone that kids can use anytime, no emergency necessary, they use it because they want a popsicle or because they want to see if it really works the way they’ve heard.
The Magic Castle Hotel & The Popsicle Hotline.
A converted 1950s apartment complex, refurbished, retro, and now a top rated hotel in Los Angeles alongside the Fairmont, Hotel Bel-Air, and the Four Seasons Beverly Hills.
They do it by creating “moments,” a Free Prize, not through technology, architecture, or luxury. Through whimsy, creativity, and service.
“Visitors at the hotel’s pool can pick up a red phone on a poolside wall to hear, “Hello, Popsicle Hotline.” They request an ice-pop in their favorite flavor, and a few minutes later, an employee wearing white gloves delivers it on a silver platter, no charge. It’s a small defining moment that doesn’t cost much to produce, but has paid off for the Magic Castle Hotel.”
Popsicles are cheap, and so are red phones. For a kid, it’s an experience they’ll tell their friends about. A service that puts the young ones first.
We can get all the basics at Holiday Inn. Reliable, ‘know what you’re going to get’ level service is worth paying for too. On a cold wet road trip, that is all you really want or need. But for something special you look for those small improvements and the extra mile. It doesn’t need to be expensive.
Different works, caring works, a smile works, and making customers feel like they are at the center of things really works.
What if your product made your customers’ lives easier? Better?
What if your service took the thinking out of it?
What is the one thing that would make it all run more smoothly, the one thing holding them back?
Oftentimes it’s a ‘why didn’t I think of that’ moment. Obvious in hindsight, like so many of the best ideas.
A needed upgrade that you couldn’t quite put your finger on.
With all the artists living in LA and New York, how does a studio in Miami make it easy? How do they make it better?
Alleviate the hassle.
People are traveling down for a great recording experience, and if they are busy grocery shopping and washing their underwear, the trip becomes more hassle than it’s worth. Take care of all the things they need to produce great music. Help them focus on their job by taking everything else off their plate.
Upgrade the experience.
You don’t need to think about the accommodation, and you don’t even need to take care of your day-to-day, it’s all handled. You get to focus on the thing you are there to do. Food, laundry, nosey neighbors, and walking the dog. All eliminated. That is an upgrade from their normal recording experience back home.
Escape the prying eyes of management and media. Focus on nothing but your music. And we’ll take care of the nitty gritty details. That is a good pitch. And it works.
The 11-Star Customer Experience:
Brian Chesky, co-founder of Airbnb, calls this exercise “creating an 11-Star experience’ and he shared some examples with Reid Hoffman.
“So a one-, two-, or three-star experience is, you get to your Airbnb, and no one’s there. You knock on the door. They don’t open. That’s a one star. You’re never using us again. So a five-star experience is you knock on the door, they open the door, they let you in. Great. That’s not a big deal. You’re not going to tell every friend about it. You might say, “I used Airbnb. It worked.”
So we thought, “What would a six-star experience be?”
A six-star experience: You knock on the door, the host opens. “Hey, I’m Reid. Welcome to my house.” You would show them around. On the table would be a welcome gift. It would be a bottle of wine, maybe some candy. You’d open the fridge. There’s water. You go to the bathroom, there’s toiletries. The whole thing is great. That’s a six-star experience. You’d say, “Wow, I love this more than a hotel. I’m definitely going to use Airbnb again. It worked better than I expected.”
What’s a seven-star experience?
You knock on the door. “Welcome. Here’s my full kitchen. I know you like surfing. There’s a surfboard waiting for you. I’ve booked lessons for you. It’s going to be an amazing experience. By the way, here’s my car. You can use my car. And I also want to surprise you. There’s this best restaurant in the city of San Francisco. I got you a table there.” And you’re like, “Whoa. This is way beyond.”
So what would a ten-star check-in be?
A ten-star check-in would be The Beatles check in, in 1964. I’d get off the plane and there’d be 5,000 high school kids cheering my name, with cards welcoming me to the country. I’d get to the front yard of your house and there’d be a press conference for me, and it would be just a great experience.
So what would an 11-star experience be?
I would show up at the airport and you’d be there with Elon Musk saying, “You’re going to space.” The point of the process is that maybe 9, 10, 11 are not feasible. But if you go through the crazy exercise of “keep going,” there’s some sweet spot between “they showed up and they opened the door” and “I went to space.” That’s the sweet spot. You have to almost design the extreme to come backwards. Suddenly, doesn’t knowing my preferences and having a surfboard in the house seem not crazy but reasonable? It’s actually kind of crazy logistically, but this is the kind of stuff that creates great experience.”
The sweet spot is important.
As Brian is alluding to, the 11-Star experience is not just unfeasible, it’s not really that helpful. It’s more of a thought experiment because people don’t actually want that experience. They are coming to town with something on their agenda, maybe they want to write an album or see their Aunt Marla, and to steamroll whatever they have planned would not only make the experience less enjoyable, but it would also leave some resentment and bitterness.
People might need a place to stay on a business trip, or on a Disney vacation, and they’d skip your 11-Star Airbnb because you keep trying to launch them into low orbit with Uncle Elon.
But what if they could get you to the front of the line at Disney or help you close the big deal? Now that is an experience. That is something that is additive.
Customer Success is the Mission:
At Criteria, the mission was to make music. No matter what other experiences the studio could provide, if the album is a stinker, that will be the lasting memory. That is what will spread to other artists.
They need to get the music right, and all the hospitality should be in support of that primary mission.
They take care of the details, they clear the time, they make services available, so that the artists can be the best version of themselves.
The memory they take with them is “Layla” and “Go Your Own Way,” a mission accomplished, not an overbearing host.
It’s not just about a Free Prize Inside, you want those Cracker Jacks as well. It’s not about popsicles, it’s about trip, it’s about making memories.
Criteria had it right back in the 70s, aligning your offerings with your customer, not the other way around. Support them on their path, removing friction, adding joy, putting them at the center, and providing services that allows them to accomplish what they came for. That is customer success.
And if you really nail it, they might name the album with you in mind.
Originally Published: 461 ocean boulevard — Win With Flynn
