“In this volatile business of ours, we can ill afford to rest on our laurels, even to pause in retrospect. Times and conditions change so rapidly that we must keep our aim constantly focused on the future.” - Walt Disney
Are you sure Walt is discussing animation and the future of his company? It’s almost as if he was sitting with us in the most recent LMA Capital Chapter program. What lessons can be learned when you pull back the curtain and take a glimpse inside the Disney approach to customer service, in which expectations aren’t simply met, but exceeded?
Be Our Guest begins by laying a foundation using the core Disney principles and then proceeds to explain how the process brings the principles together. Checklists and worksheets are intended to help organizations focus their cast (employees) and setting (infrastructure) into a cohesive strategy that delivers exceptional customer service. Readers are guided through a five-part magical process using Disney as well as other organizations as examples:
- Magic of Service: Developing a Service Theme
- Magic of Cast: Creating a Culture of Customer Service
- Magic of Setting: Building an Environment that Supports Customer Experience
- Magic of Process: Bringing the service, cast, and setting together to create a consistent customer experience time and time again
- Magic of Integration: Providing tools to complete the cycle and exceed expectations
Once you embrace the Disney speak of magic, casts, and setting, you find a valuable and easy guide to assist in improving your client service. As Be Our Guest demonstrates, the magic is part art and part science.
By Nicole Steckman, Senior Marketing and Business Development Administrator BuckleySandler LLP for the November/December 2015 Issue of the Capital Ideas Newsletter