Customer Service - 5 Things Disney Does Best -

Customer Service

Yesterday I ran in the grocery store and grabbed a few items. The check out line was long and I was in a hurry. The young girl operating the cash register barely glanced at me. While she waited for me to get my money she grabbed her cell phone and texted I think she mumbled, “Have a nice day,” but I wasn’t sure.

Another store I entered was packed and there were lots of cashiers working. But they were also talking. Cashier number 1 was discussing something she did last week with Cashier number 2 and it was loud enough that everyone could all hear.

Finally another store I once frequented had an employee who consistently asked personal questions and talked about customers. I always did my best to avoid him but when I realized seeing him was inevitable, I stopped shopping there.

Disney Does it Best

Poor customer service irritates me, but it isn’t all the employees fault. I wish these employees could see how Disney does customer service because there is no comparison.

When I visit Disney I never fail to come home impressed with how their employees treat customers.

They make you feel like YOU are the most important person in the world and that makes you want to come back. Well, truthfully, there are a lot of reasons to want to go back, but customer service is at the top of the list.
They have great communication skills. They look you in the eye and don’t mumble. The older I get the harder it is to hear someone if they don’t enunciate their words. I come from a family of “mumblers” so I understand that lots of people have this problem but Disney employees speak clearly and loud enough for you to hear them. And when they are talking to you they look happy. No one wants to talk to a sour puss! Have you ever seen employees that keep looking at their watch and look like they have just lost their best friend? Their body language screams “I want out of here!” Disney employees smile, make eye contact and speak clearly. They know how to communicate.
They go out of their way to be helpful. There are some places I shop that I have to search for 15 minutes to find someone to help me and then if I ask them where I can find something they point in the general direction and mumble, “It’s over there.” You won’t find that at Disney. They will stop what they are doing, help you or make sure they can find someone who can help you and they will do it every single time, not just when they feel like it.
They treat every person the same. If you have ever been in a store where employees treat their customers differently you will understand how important this is. I know a farmer who went to buy a new truck. He went straight from the farm in his dirty work clothes and when he got to the show room he couldn’t find anyone to wait on him. There were plenty of sales people but they ignored the tired, dirty farmer. He went somewhere else and someone waited on him. He paid for the new truck with a roll of cash he took from his bibbed overalls and left. Disney employees treat everyone with kindness and respect.
Training and management make the difference. I’m not a rocket scientist but I believe training and management are what makes the difference. The stores where the employees did not give good customer service probably didn’t do a lot of training with their employees and then monitor them closely to make sure they followed through; Disney does. How do I know this when I have never worked there? I’ve been there and seen their employees. There are reasons why they ALL know how to treat their customers.

When you own a business you want your customers to return again and again. Poor customer service is one of the fastest ways to make them go somewhere else. Of all the places I have ever been- no one does customer service better than Disney and that’s one of the reasons they are known as The Happiest Place on Earth.

After I finished this post a friend shared a comment that reiterates how I feel about Disney Customer Service that I just had to share with you.speaking of customer service. Rebecca Bryant said, “My baby boy has started his first job. When I ask him how he likes it he replies I treat everyone like they are at Disney I greet them with a smile and offer as much help as I can. This is a kid who has grown up on Disney and the magic they provide.”

What a great world it would be if we could all treat everyone as if they were at Disney!