Dennis Snow’s Service Excellence Blog

This is the sixth in a series of ten blog posts that provide a brief synopsis of the chapters in my upcoming book, Lessons From the Mouse - A Guide for Applying Disney World’s Secrets of Success to Your Organization, Your Career, and Your Life. You can view previous posts from the book by clicking on the Lessons From the Mouse category on the left column of this page.

Lesson #6: Pay Attention to the Details - Everything Speaks

Disney “Imagineers” go to great effort to design the details that make the Vacation Kingdom a truly magical environment. The goal is to transport guests from the real world to a magical place. The details don’t stop with the design. Cast members understand that they are a key part of the story the environment is designed to tell. They maintain the integrity of the story by paying attention to the details. They wear appropriate costumes and play their roles with enthusiasm. Cast members pick up that stray piece of trash or report that peeling paint on the fence. They know that when it comes to the details, “everything speaks.”

Regardless of the business or industry, the details communicate messages to customers. Sometimes these messages seem trivial such as a napkin stain or withering flowers in a flower bed. But sometimes they can be significant like an unattended help desk or dangerous potholes in the parking lot. Trivial or significant, every detail says something about the organization’s commitment to the customer experience.

Everything the customer sees, hears, smells, tastes, or touches impacts their experience. Anything that is out of alignment causes a disconnect in the mind of the customer. Everything speaks! Customers may not consciously notice every detail, but subconsciously clues to your culture are being communicated. What is your service environment saying?

Question for Applying Lesson #6:

1. How does the Everything Speaks philosophy apply to your job or organization?
2. Take a walk through the physical environment of your organization (preferably with a team). What messages are being “spoken” in your work setting?
3. What needs to happen in order to ensure the details support your organization’s brand?

To be released this summer

Tags: Commentary, Lessons From the Mouse, Service Analysis, Tips for Better Customer Service by Dennis Snow
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This is the fifth in a series of ten blog posts that provide a brief synopsis of the chapters in my upcoming book, Lessons From the Mouse - A Guide for Applying Disney World’s Secrets of Success to Your Organization, Your Career, and Your Life. You can view previous posts from the book by clicking on the Lessons From the Mouse category on the left column of this page.

 Lesson #5: Don’t Be a Customer Service Robot

 Most of the jobs at Disney World have certain repetitive tasks, such as telling guests to “watch your head and step” as they board an attraction; emptying endless trashcans throughout the day; or reciting the same spiel (such as on the Jungle Cruise attraction) twenty-times a day, five-days a week. It would be easy for those jobs to eventually become so routine that they become robotic. And worse, for them to appear robotic to guests.

The Disney rule is to treat each guest as a VIP - a Very Individual Person. And you certainly can’t do that if your actions have become robotic. Disney cast members are expected to be animated, not automated. They are expected to make a real connection with each guest, even if it’s only for a few seconds. Sometimes it just takes a sincere smile, or secretly observing a child’s name stitched on his Mickey Mouse ears and welcoming him or her by name. The result is that guests feel Disney cast members care about them as individuals.

Robotic behavior doesn’t usually occur on purpose; it’s just that some tasks become so routine we do them without thinking. The bank loan officer who instructs her customer to sign here, here, and here, without acknowledging that the customer is using the money to send her only child to college - has fallen into the trap of automated behavior. Or the hospital receptionist who, without looking up, hands a patient a clipboard full of forms to fill out - has forgotten how nervous the patient may be. In both of these scenarios it is likely that the employee has performed these tasks so many times they can do them without thinking.

The problem is that when customers experience robotic behavior from employees they feel processed rather than valued. And it’s hard to generate loyalty when customers feel processed. The secret is to identify those routine tasks that involve customer interaction and commit to staying mentally present and to be fully conscious of how you come across while performing these tasks. It’s about maintaining an experience mentality versus a task mentality.

 Questions for Applying Lesson #5:

1. In your organization, what routine tasks could potentially appear robotic to customers - with the result that they feel they’ve been processed?
2. What can be done to personalize the tasks listed in question #1?
3. How can you make what is automated in your organization (such as voicemail, phone trees, or Website) more “animated?”

Tags: Commentary, Lessons From the Mouse, Tips for Better Customer Service by Dennis Snow
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 This is the fourth in a series of ten blog posts that provide a brief synopsis of the chapters in my upcoming book, Lessons From the Mouse - A Guide for Applying Disney World’s Secrets of Success to Your Organization, Your Career, and Your Life. You can view previous posts from the book by clicking on the Lessons From the Mouse category on the left column of this page.

Lesson #4: Have Fun With the Job (No Matter How Miserable You Feel)

Guests will often gush to Disney cast members, “You have the best job in the world! It must be so much fun to work here!” Yes, being a Disney cast member is mostly enjoyable and very rewarding, but it isn’t always fun. Working at Disney’s It’s a Small World attraction, for example, and hearing the song, “It’s a Small World After All,” eight hours a day, five days a week is a torture most people can only imagine. Standing in the rain telling guests that Space Mountain is closed for maintenance for a month, can result in guests directing their disappointment or anger at the unfortunate messenger - the cast member.

Yet cast members know it’s their job to create happiness for the guests, and allowing job irritations to impact the guest experience is unacceptable. So they look for the fun - especially when they feel miserable. The secret for Disney cast members is to play with the guests - while remaining respectful. In the case of Space Mountain being closed, simply providing inside secrets about Space Mountain, or suggesting that the roller coaster in Frontierland, Big Thunder Mountain, actually has a higher “barf factor,” usually results in a smile; and therefore creates fun (for the guest and the cast member).

Every job contains some miserable elements. Making those elements pleasurable is a real skill, and it’s all about attitude. Challenging yourself to get a customer to smile in an unpleasant circumstance; or turning an unpleasant task into a personal contest; or simply connecting with a trusted coworker who lifts your spirits can help get any of us through the inevitable unpleasant tasks that are a part of any job.

Unless you’re a professional comedian, work is rarely a laugh a minute - nor should work be all fun and games. But it certainly shouldn’t be unbearable. And work can easily become unbearable if we don’t actively look for those moments of fun. And those times we all face when we want to throw our hands up and shout, “I can’t take it anymore!” are the moments it’s most important to uncover the fun.

Questions to consider about Lesson #4:

1. What are some of the stressful or unpleasant aspects about your job or some of the jobs in your organization (your “Space Mountain is closed” situations)?
2. What are some ideas for finding the fun in those situations (while being respectful of customers)?
3. Within reason, what does having fun with the job look like and sound like in your role?

To be released this summer

Tags: Lessons From the Mouse, Tips for Better Customer Service by Dennis Snow
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 This is the third in a series of ten blog posts that provide a brief synopsis of the chapters in my upcoming book, Lessons From the Mouse - A Guide for Applying Disney World’s Secrets of Success to Your Organization, Your Career, and Your Life. You can view previous posts from the book by clicking on the Lessons From the Mouse category on the left column of this page.

Lesson #3: Little Wows Add Up

Walt Disney World guests often exclaim, “It seems like Disney employees will do anything to make a guest happy!” And while cast members may sometimes do extraordinary things - like arranging for a family to be grand marshals of the parade - cast members are usually extremely busy loading people on rides, scooping ice cream nonstop, sweeping the streets, checking guests into hotels, and so on. While they create ”big wows” when they can, the reality is that cast members focus on doing little things that wow, such asking guests where they’re from, taking a quick photo for a family, or just smiling sincerely.

While these examples represent genuine acts of kindness, they don’t necessarily knock your socks off. But the magic of these little wows is that they add up. As they accumulate over the course of a guest’s visit, small yet sincere, personalized actions have a tremendous impact. And when these wowed guests leave at the conclusion of their vacations, they can’t wait to come back. And they tell their friends, “Disney employees will do anything to make a guest happy!”

While it can be a daunting task to constantly come up with grandiose gestures that dazzle customers, it’s pretty easy to come up with behaviors that cause a customer to simply think, “That was nice.” Think of a time when a company’s employee remembered something about you, paid attention to your children, or shared some useful information you didn’t know about their product. These are all examples of little wows. And while taken individually these actions may seem like no big deal, little wows add up.

So, while the big wows are wonderful (and we should all create them when we can), the real magic is consistently creating little wows.

Questions to consider about Lesson #3:

1. What are some examples of occurrences that have caused one of your customers to literally exclaim, “Wow!”?
2. What are some examples of simple courtesies that prompt smiles and gratitude from your customers?
3. What actions can you take that demonstrate you truly care about the customer’s experience with your organization?

To be released this summer!

Tags: Lessons From the Mouse, Tips for Better Customer Service by Dennis Snow
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This is the second in a series of ten blog posts that provide a brief synopsis of the chapters in my upcoming book, Lessons From the Mouse - A Guide for Applying Disney World’s Secrets of Success to Your Organization, Your Career, and Your Life. You can view previous posts from the book by clicking on the Lessons From the Mouse category on the left column of this page.

Lesson #2: What Time is the Three O’clock Parade?
Is Not a Stupid Question

Every Disney cast member can tell you about funny questions Disney guests ask. How about “What time is the three o’clock parade?” or “Can we see where Walt Disney is frozen in the castle?” or “When will you be turning off the rain?”

In the face of such seemingly silly questions, the inviolable Disney rule is never to make a guest feel stupid. Guests are out of their comfort zones, the place can be overwhelming, and it’s the cast member’s job to understand and address the question behind the question. For example, when a guest asks, “What time is the three o’clock parade?” cast members know the guest really wants to know, “What time does the three o’clock parade get here?”

And those circumstances when a guest is completely in the wrong, the Disney philosophy is; “The guest may not always be right, but they will always be our guest.” Stated another way, “The guest may not always be right, but let’s allow them to be wrong with dignity.”

Customers are not stupid - it’s just that they may not know what we know. True; they didn’t read the sign, buy the right part, call the right phone number, or give the right specifications. But they’re not stupid. They’re out of their comfort zone - and each of us has made the same mistakes when we’re in an unfamiliar or confusing situation.

If we’re going create or sustain customer loyalty, we have to look at every situation through the eyes of the customer. When we view situations from the customer’s perspective, then and only then can we understand the question behind the question or the issue behind the issue. Then, and only then can preserve the customer’s dignity as well as their loyalty.

Questions to consider about Lesson #2:

1. What are some of the common yet bizarre customer questions or behaviors that sometimes occur in your business?
2. In the circumstances listed in question 1, what is the question behind the question, or the issue behind the issue?
3. How can you be sure that your customers who make a mistake are “wrong with dignity?”

To be released this summer!

Tags: Commentary, Lessons From the Mouse, Tips for Better Customer Service by Dennis Snow
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Some of you are aware that I’ve been working on a new book, Lessons From the Mouse, based on my 20-years working at Walt Disney World. The book is due to be published this summer and I’m truly excited about it. It covers the ten key lessons I learned as a Disney cast member and helps readers apply those lessons to their own organizations, careers, and lives.

With my next ten blog posts, I’d like to share a synopsis of each lesson that Lessons From the Mouse covers. My hope is that you’ll find these brief descriptions to be beneficial – and I also hope these descriptions whet your appetite so that you’ll buy the book when it comes out!

Lesson #1: Never Let Backstage Come Onstage 

The concepts of “onstage” and “backstage” are critical to preserving the Disney magic. Imagine a child actually seeing Cinderella smoking a cigarette. Years of therapy might be called for. Or imagine seeing a maintenance truck near the Frontierland train station – it doesn’t really fit the frontier theme, does it? Such disconnects would destroy the illusion that Disney has spent billions to create. As cast members, protecting the magic is a key part of the job.

No matter the organization, there is a brand image you want customers to have in mind. And that brand image can quickly be compromised by violating Lesson #1. Clearly distinguishing “onstage” from “backstage,” and keeping the two completely separate, helps to preserve the integrity of your brand. Even a seemingly harmless action like leaving a stockroom door open can create a “visual intrusion” when customers can clearly see all of the stockroom clutter. Or notes and memos about employee policies taped up on the wall in full view of customers. Do customers really need to know that returning late from a break may result in disciplinary action? 

And backstage isn’t just a physical place; it’s also an attitude. We’ve all overheard employees discussing things that have no business being discussed onstage. Customers don’t want to hear employees discussing last night’s keg party or hear employees complaining to each other about their supervisor. Most customers are annoyed when they have to get the attention of an employee whose head is buried in a magazine. Each of these perfectly natural employee behaviors belongs backstage where they don’t interfere with the customer experience.

Here are three questions for you to think about as you consider Lesson #1: 

·       What makes up the physical backstage of your organization?

·       What makes up the “attitudinal” backstage of your organization?

·       What magic or illusion should not be compromised at any time during a customer’s experience with your organization?

Tags: Commentary, Lessons From the Mouse, Tips for Better Customer Service by Dennis Snow
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In my  previous blog post, Why Service Initiatives Often Fail, I emphasized the importance of never tolerating intolerable service in your organization. I also promised to share a 5-step coaching process to help plan and deliver coaching to any employee who is not living up to your organization’s service expectations. I want to emphasize the word plan because it is vital to plan each of the steps in advance of the coaching meeting.

This post is longer than usual; but I believe the subject is critical for service success and I also know that the 5-Step Coaching Process works.

5-STEP COACHING PROCESS

1.      Position the discussion – This step lets the employee know why the coaching is occurring. Too often leaders will begin discussing the performance situation (Step 2) without providing context. The best way to position the discussion is to refer to the organization’s objectives, values, or standards that connect to the performance issue you are addressing.

2.      Discuss the performance situation – Based on the perspective of Step 1, what is the current performance? What is happening (or not happening) that is causing a problem? It’s important at this step to discuss observable performance and not pass subjective judgments such as, “You have a poor attitude.” The best approach is to discuss outcomes that have been agreed upon, but not satisfactorily accomplished or an organizational performance standard that has not been met.

3.      Set a plan of action – At this step, the employee and the coach agree on what behavior(s) must change. A rule of thumb is that the employee should do the majority of the talking, with the manager guiding the discussion. The employee must own the solution. Keep in mind that the employee will not always agree that his/her performance is a problem. While it is most helpful that they do agree there is a problem, it is more important that they understand you expect a change in performance and that they are clear on what that change is.

4.      Communicate the consequences of non-performance – This step is often left out because discussing consequences can be uncomfortable for the employee and the manager. Without consequences, however, there is little incentive for the employee to change his/her behavior. The consequences aren’t always extreme, like termination of employment – not every situation is that bad. But consequences must be discussed. The consequence may be to the organization or to the customer experience, but there is always a consequence. The employee should clearly understand the consequences of their actions.

5.      Set a follow-up plan – I always recommend scheduling a follow-up meeting to discuss progress made. This step communicates to the employee that the coaching was not just a chat – changes are expected and he/she will be held accountable for those changes. Pull out the calendar and schedule a follow-up discussion.

Again, I want to stress the importance of planning each step in advance of the coaching session. Don’t leave it to chance - if the discussion gets heated it’s easy to get off track. Have a plan. 

Finally, never, ever let a coaching moment go. A coaching moment is one of the most powerful training opportunities an employee can experience. It’s real time training because it focuses on a specific and immediate issue.

I would love to read any comments and suggestions you might have regarding your own service coaching experiences.

Tags: Tips for Better Customer Service by Dennis Snow
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One of the (if not the) top reasons that I see many customer service initiatives fail to reach their full potential is due to a lack of accountability. Too often managers ignore substandard service performance from an employee (or employees) because the manager is either uncomfortable with confrontation, worried the employee might quit, or they believe they’ll handle the problem at performance appraisal time - which is absolutely the worst time to surprise an employee with any performance issue.

Another reason I see managers avoid confronting substandard service issues is that they feel the whole customer service subject is too subjective and it’s hard to “prove” that an employee’s service performance is unacceptable. They ask, “how can I measure something as subjective as an employee’s service performance?” I always respond by asking, “Can you tell me who your service superstars are? Can you tell me who your service problem employees are?” The answer is always yes - they know exactly who is strong and who is weak when it comes to customer service.

So while judging the quality of an employee’s service performance may be somewhat subjective; we need to get over it and get on with addressing the problem. Don’t look for some excuse for not confronting the issue. The longer you avoid confronting the offending employee, the more that employee alienates your customers and compromises the credibility of your service initiative.

My all-time favorite leadership quote is this:

“Intolerable service exists
when intolerable service is tolerated.”

You’re not doing anyone any favors by delaying taking action.

Be honest with yourself - Are there any situations in which you are tolerating intolerable service in your organization?

In my next post I will provide you with a 5-step coaching process that can help you plan and deliver coaching to any employee who is not living up to your organization’s service expectations.

Tags: Commentary, Tips for Better Customer Service by Dennis Snow
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In my last post I talked about how to provide good customer service when the customer himself/herself is wrong or makes a mistake. In this post I’d like to focus on what to do when your company screws up.

The public is never at a loss for examples of high-profile company screw ups. The one that really hit home for me has been the recent Southwest Airlines debacle regarding maintenance issues. I’m a huge Southwest fan and was disappointed that they compromised their reputation by falsifying records and then trying to cover up the deed. It looks like the matter was perpetrated by a few individuals in the company as well as some FAA officials (it’s still under investigation), but the company received a serious black eye.

Some companies handle mistakes very well. The Tylenol tampering scare in the early 1980s was handled immediately by Johnson and Johnson and to this day is recognized for its excellent response. Others companies have created huge problems due to the poor handling. Firestone Tires and Ford handled the situation by pointing fingers at each other when some of their tires were tragically defective.

So, what do you do when you make a big or even a small mistake? No matter the size of the problem, there are steps you can follow. The complexity of each step will depend on just how big the mistake it is; but the steps are the same.

1.Admit to the mistake quickly – Trying to cover up a mistake will come back to bite you. Someone is going to find out and it’s best to assume they will find out sooner rather than later. When we come forward ourselves to admit a mistake, customers are more forgiving.

2.Accept responsibility – Neither Firestone nor Ford accepted responsibility for the problem, and both companies were fried by the press. Accepting responsibility may seem dangerous in the short run (lawsuits, etc.) but the organization comes out stronger because of the willingness to own up to the problem. In fact, costly lawsuits can be even more likely when the company takes a belligerent stance.

3.Apologize – We all appreciate a sincere apology. Saying you’re sorry that the situation occurred can take the sting out the mistake. Sometimes a sincere apology is all the customer really wants!

4.Say what you’re going to do to fix the problem – If the wrong meal was delivered, say how you’re going to make it up to the customer. If the phone bill is wrong, say how you’ll handle it. Clearly communicate that you are taking ownership of the issue. If the tires are defective, tell us how you’re going take care of the situation and don’t waste time pointing fingers.

5.Explain what you’ll do so the problem doesn’t happen again – This step may not be necessary for some errors – you don’t really need to explain to the customer how you’ll make sure to deliver the right meal in the future. Bigger issues, like the Southwest Airlines maintenance problem, seriously erode customer trust. In that case, customers want to know that you are putting in processes to ensure the situation doesn’t happen again.

If more companies and employees would follow these steps, customers and companies would be better off. Everyone screws up and most of us can accept that as long as the organization handles the screw up well. Most of us are willing to give a second chance; maybe even a third. But if the situation is handled poorly, it may be one strike and you’re out.

Tags: Commentary, Tips for Better Customer Service by Dennis Snow
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As bricks and mortar increasingly give way to virtual organizations, more and more interactions with customers are taking place via the telephone and the Web. Some organizations apparently believe that while good customer service principles might apply to face-to-face interactions, they don’t apply to phone and internet interactions. Wrong. They do apply. Everyone has gotten lost in the phone directory maze of “press 1 for this, press 2 for that,” and when (or if) we finally get to a live person, that person comes across as indifferent or rushed (probably because they’re held accountable for call volume only). Most of us have also given up on trying to navigate some Websites, let alone trying to get a response via a Web inquiry.

I came across a good blog posting titled, “A Primer on Providing Professional Customer Service,” that addresses the basics of customer service in an electronic world. (Be patient when you go to the link; it takes a moment to download). The posting provides some practical ideas for making your electronic customer contact channels more user-friendly.

For me, the article highlighted a valuable customer service lesson. Leaders should regularly contact their own companies via the same electronic channels their customers use.

• Call your 1 800 number and see how user friendly it is – it probably isn’t.
•  Log on to your company’s Website and see how easy it is to get the information you need – and be sure to ask a question via the interactive feature.

See what happens. If you don’t like what occurs, imagine how your customers feel. They get mighty frustrated and while they might tolerate the frustration for awhile, they sure don’t get a warm, fuzzy sense of care. Making your phone and Web systems easy for customers to use (even a delight to use!) is an important part of any customer service strategy that shouldn’t be neglected.

Do it now – call your company or make contact via the company Website. How’d it go?

Tags: Tips for Better Customer Service by admin
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