Head Tilt #32: Lessons from Disney #2 of 4 "We don't have bad days."

Anger from Inside Out, as displayed at Angry Dogs hot dog stand in Disney's California Adventure

The entire Disney experience parallels that of a big production. It's all a top-rated show. Disney employees are dubbed cast members. Customers are guests. Things happen on stage (customer-facing) or backstage (in the break room, perhaps-- never in front of the customer). 

Once while bumming around the parks researching, I asked two cast members at Elias & Co, a shop at Disney's California Adventure, how they dealt with bad days. 

They exchanged glances with wide eyes. 👀 

"We don't have bad days," one said with a smile.

What?! Everyone has bad days! 

Except when you work for Disney. 

The standard is set high. Of course, they actually can have bad days, but that happens backstage, never onstage. 

When at work, the customer experience rules the cast member's reality.

If they are doing their jobs well, you'll never hear a Disney cast member

• complain
• gossip
• be rude to guests
• be rude to each other

The standard is set high, and they reach it nearly every time.*

I think back to my college days as a bartender. I was young and was never taught this standard. My co-workers and I would gather around the cash register and complain, vent and gossip. So what if customers heard?  Whatever. We didn't even notice. Plus, it didn't matter.

But it did matter! 

When the customer comes to you for a service, don't drag them down with your own stuff!

When leading a customer-facing team, Don't assume your team knows what to do. Instead, make customer service standards explicit.

Think of it: 

Would you pay for a glimpse 

into someone else's bad day? 

Probably not. 

Today's lesson:  We all have bad days, and still, the customer doesn't need to know about it (even if they are the ones who caused it).

Make your service expectations clear to all employees.

Put a plan in place that supports your service providers and elevates the customer experience. For example,

• Give employees a place to "shake it off" or express negativity after challenging situations. 
• Create a plan for getting back into action when they are thrown off track. 
• Help your team realize that the way they treat internal customers (their co-workers) is as important as the way they treat external customers. It's a ripple effect.
• And most importantly, recognize people on your team who model the way of exemplary customer service and positivity.

Make consistency your team's super power. 

Be consistent with EXCELLENCE!

*Note: When I have seen them crack—and I have—it really stands out!

Head Tilt #16: Let's start at the very beginning

.  

 (I hear it's a very good place to start.)*

 

“Mindset change is not about picking up a few pointers here and there. It's about seeing things in a new way.” 

Carol Dweck, Mindset: The New Psychology of Success. 

In the customer service classes I teach, we cover some of the things you'd expect to see associated with such a subject: how to analyze your customers, how to show empathy, how to deal with disgruntled people, etc., etc.

But I always start the class by talking about adopting a service mindset.  

Simply stated, a mindset is the mental lens of attitude and assumption that colors the interpretation of our experiences. 

 Some people have a fixed mindset, assuming they can never change it.  For example, they see everything through a lens of blue and it will always be that way. "It is just the way I am," they say.

Others have a growth mindset, one they know to be pliable. They believe that their perspectives can evolve with awareness and practice. They view life through a kaleidoscope of color. "I can see things differently," they say.

(I'm betting that the people who are reading this blog subscribe to the growth mindset.)

To strengthen your service mindset, look at your job as a service provider through these powerful lenses:

1. Gratitude: Appreciate the opportunity to interact with customers and coworkers. 

2. Helpfulness: Relish helping others find solutions to their problems. 

3. Expertise: Commit to learning about your job, company, and coworkers. 

4. Empathy: Pledge to understand another's point of view.

5. Responsibility: Recognize the importance of being the face of your company, regardless of your title.

6. Leadership: Be a role model of great service.

Try each mindset on and see how different your service looks. 

See? 

We start at the very beginning. 

Great service doesn't start with a smile.

It starts with our mindset. 

mw

*Image stolen from the internet. I am sorry. It was too good to pass up.