Well, I’m back from the Walt Disney Cruise, freshly ill after coming into contact with 500 kids during cold and flu season.
Still, the vacation was fantastic, and the Disney folks have lessons to teach to professionals everwhere. They are fanatical about details, and about going out of their way to please guests. It was depressing to leave the ship and go into a store on the mainland, because the help in these stores was so much less helpful, friendly, and knowledgeable than the service workers on the cruise. The Disney workers act as if it is an honor to serve. Most other service workers look bored, annoyed, and like they can’t wait for another dreary day to end.
I compare this to many IT professionals, who sometimes act — well, less than delighted to work face to face with clients. In fact, the day before leaving the cruise, I had the misfortune of being on a call with an IT client of mine and one of their clients. The IT professional cut the client off when she asked reasonable questions, acted impatient throughout the call, had a pompous and arrogant demeanor, and — by the end — set the relationship back quite a bit.
One of the pillars of the Disney system, in case you haven’t read about it, are Magic Moments. Disney folks go out of their way to find interactions with customers such that they can blow them away with great service. If you mention it is your anniversary, they bring you a special cake. If your child seems to like a specific Disney character, they find a way to get your child to see that character. It’s pretty amazing.
There’s a whole system here that involves screening people, motivating people, and training people. But most readers of this blog should already be screened and motivated, since they are the owners of their own firms.
So, do you have a systematic way to provide magic moments to your clients?
Andrew Neitlich
