Disneyland and Disney World has been the pinnacle of almost everyone’s childhood dream for decades. Not only does Disney provide a magical escape for families – it does so with nothing short of excellence. So, how does the company manage to still be so loved and still so good at what they do?
Well, as much as Disney movies have been able to connect with children all over the world, it is their incomparable customer service that keeps their theme parks bustling. No matter how old you are, Disney believes in putting you first as soon as you walk through the entrance and that is what sets them apart from the rest.
In this book summary readers will discover:
- Disney’s Quality Service Compass
- The theme that says it all
- How far Disney’s considerations go
- The use of Surveys
- Disney’s three solutions to waiting in line
Key lesson one: Disney’s Quality Service Compass
Just like the main point on a compass, Disney has a Quality Service Compass that they use to guide their customer service. It consists of four key elements that guide Disney employees or cast members as they are called, just as a compass would.
The first compass point is guestology. This is defined by Disney as being the art and science of knowing and understanding their customers. Guestology is the very foundation for all other actions on the Quality Service Compass. It entails finding out exactly what a guest likes and does not like and then relaying this information to all cast members. In this way, they meet customer expectations at all times. For example, Disney observed guests in order to identify what they expected from a family vacation. They were able to determine that families wanted to have a fun time together taking a break from their usual daily routines. Armed with this information, Disney was able to make changes that allowed visiting families to experience this.
The second compass point is quality standards. Now that they know what guests want, Disney employees then look to finding ways of providing the highest quality service. This is further broken down into four quality standards. These are safety, courtesy, show and efficiency. Safety refers to the welfare of all guests, Courtesy ensures that guests are treated personally, Show ensures that all elements that guests encounter in the environment are in harmony and Efficiency ensures that everything and everyone is working as it should. An example of this in action would be when Disney cast members are about to begin a show but spot a lost child in the audience. Safety is the first quality standard, thus while remaining in character, they would help the child first before starting their performance.
The third compass point revolves around the three delivery systems which are employees, setting and processes. Disney employees receive advice about their performances continuously which ensures that the service they provide is of the highest quality. The managers ensure that the settings in the Disney theme park, hotel and store always meet Disney values and everyone ensures that processes are developed to provide faultless customer experiences.
The fourth and final compass point is integration. This refers to the integration of the delivery systems. Disney uses an integration matrix to accomplish this. The matrix takes each important element and examines it in terms of the three delivery systems. An example would be if courtesy is entered into the integration matrix. Courtesy is then looked at in terms of employees, setting and processes. Managers make sure that employees of a store are trained to interact with guests politely and helpfully. The store or setting may allow guests to provide feedback in the form of recognition cards that can be given to employees that they find helpful. There could even be a process in place that allows guests to name VIPs in their group ensuring they are specially taken care of whilst visiting the store.
These four points of the Quality Service Compass is integral to all Disney employees. Just as a real compass will guide your path, the Disney compass guides its employees on their path of excellence.
Key lesson two: The theme that says it all
Disney may have declared itself as the happiest place on earth, but it has a much more important theme that forms its public image. It is ‘ We create happiness by providing the finest entertainment for people of all ages, everywhere.’
This theme lets all Disney’s guests know what to expect from them. In turn, Disney cleverly states its goal – to create happiness, how it intends to do this – by providing the finest entertainment and target group – people of all ages, everywhere.
Internally, the theme keeps employees focused on a common purpose. Everyone has the same mission and their daily activities can reflect it regardless of what positions they hold in the company. This means that every Disney employee fulfils an important role when they interact with a guest. The very fact that customers are called guests emphasizes this because it is already implied they need to provide personalized treatment to the people they interact with.
Thus, a carefully formulated theme has the ability to motivate both customers and employees giving your company a great foundation.
Key lesson three: How far Disney’s considerations go
Disney considers their guests every experience with them. They don’t just stop at the emotions they can evoke – they consider every sense they experience. When you walk through Disneyland in the morning, do you what you can smell? Popcorn. They do this intentionally to give their guests a sense of comfort and warmth. They have also taken into consideration that the eyes contain approximately 70 per cent of the body’s sense receptors. All the public road signs and those providing directions are coloured purple and red. This was done since research has shown that these colours are most frequently remembered.
They even ensure that the sounds that guests are surrounded with are welcoming and not annoying. Disney understands the importance of music and how it can affect one’s emotions. Thus, they match the music with the goals of the venue or store. Next up is taste. Disney provides a myriad of food kiosks and restaurants – each and every one of them is tailored to fit their surrounding areas. For example, you can grab a turkey leg in Frontierland and get some salt water taffy at the Boardwalk. Every taste that a guest is offered matches the setting and thus encourages the theme.
Last, but definitely not least is touch. When someone touches something, they receive a whole lot of information about the object. This is regardless of whether we touch it with our hands, feet or faces. Therefore, Disney ensures that there are interesting and enjoyable things to touch. The simple use of water is a prime example. Disney theme parks have hidden fountains scattered around to surprise and excite children.
Disney has taken all this into consideration. They aim to stimulate and use every sense to ensure that their guests have a great experience.
Key lesson four: The use of Surveys
Surveys are powerful tools in helping companies especially when their focus is on customer experience. You get to know who your customers are with details like their age, gender and preferences. This is all valuable information that can be used to ensure that your services match the customer’s requirements and expectations.
Disney, for example, found that most of their guests at Disneyland were not from the United States. The information they collected further revealed that 25 per cent of their guests were Brazilians travelling in large groups and they often like to sing together. With this in mind, Disney got their Portuguese speaking employees lessons in Brazilian culture. Thus, they were able to better serve the Brazilian guests by acting as translators.
Surveys also allow companies to gather psychographic information that allows them to tap into their customer’s emotions. Disney is able to tell how their customers feel when on a particular ride or when they arrive and when they leave. With this information, they can better accommodate their guests. For example, if guests say they are tired after walking through a particular area, Disney will install more seating areas where people can rest or if they want people to get excited when they enter, they might add cast members to welcome everyone as they walk through the gates.
Key lesson five: Disney’s three solutions to waiting in line
Disney knows that no matter how wonderful their venues are, no one likes to stand in a long line to get on a popular ride or into a show. This is why they have developed three solutions to deal with this.
The first is to optimize the operation of product and service processes. They accomplish this by managing facilities in such a way that wait times are minimized. For example, Disney developed Extra Magic Hours for guests staying at the resort. This means that they have access to areas in the theme park an hour earlier than usual opening times and for a few hours after other areas have closed.
The second solution is to optimize the guest flow. This entails giving the guests information about wait times and allowing them to decide what they want to do. The assumption is that since guests are encouraged to explore the park at their own pace, they can manage their day with the information placed on tip boards around the park. These boards let the guests know about the major attraction and how long is the estimated wait time.
Lastly, Disney aims to optimize the queue experience. The queues in Disneyland are inevitable. So, to keep everyone in a good mood, Disney offers pre-entertainment in the line to make the times guests spend in them enjoyable.
The key takeaway from Be Our Guest:
Disney is a prime example of how a company can be successful if they pay attention to their customer’s needs. By using the information in surveys and closely observing your customers it is possible to not only keep your company standards high but also to meet your customer’s expectations.
How can I Implement the lessons learned in Be Our Guest:
Do not underestimate how your environment can affect a customer. Just like how Disney thinks about how they can stimulate every sense to make a customer’s experience magical, so too should you. What is the first thing that your customers see when they walk into your company? How can you utilize their senses to your advantage? You would be surprised by how much you can achieve if you just put yourselves in their shoes for a moment.
