WOW Moments

Posted on July 23, 2010 by David

Have you experienced a WOW moment today?


Disney believes so much in creating magical WOW moments for their guests that they held a competition a couple of years ago to see who would be their Chief Magic Official. Through a long process which included an online application, interviews, video submissions and an on-site competition, they determined who would be responsible for spreading magic and inspiration throughout the theme parks and surrounding communities. Job duties include creating magical dreams for guests from around the world. The ideal candidate must be happy, never grumpy, able to easily befriend dwarves, dogs, monsters and mice. Must have good manners but can pillage and plunder with pirates when necessary. Must have an interest in oversized teacups and flying elephants.

This wasn’t something that Disney went into lightly. It was their intent to find the best person possible to, as they put it, “make dreams come true.” Disney was already skilled at making “wow” moments for their guests. They wanted to kick it up a notch.


While you may not be in the dream-to-reality business, you can still create those “wow” moments for your customers. How do you do that? It’s really simple. 


Exceed their expectations. 


Most businesses don’t. Most businesses are . . . well . . . whelming. Sometimes over, sometimes under.

Create those moments that leave your customers saying “WOW” to their friends, family or colleagues. They will remember you for it and your repeat business will improve.

Posted in Chief Magic Official, Customer Service, Dreams, Overwhelming, Wow | Comments Off on WOW Moments

Thanks for calling

Posted on July 18, 2010 by David

Okay. So it seems that I’m on this telephone theme lately.

A regular guest came by the other day while I was at another store. We were out of his product. Our employee took down his information and told him we would call when it came in. I was able to find the product he wanted and had it sent to the store.

I gave him a courtesy call to let him know his product was in and that we would put his name on it so he could come by and pick it up whenever it was convenient for him.

Well, he came in less than an hour after the phone call. And bought a second bottle as well. As he turned to leave, he thanked me for the phone call. He said he couldn’t remember when a store followed through on calling him back when they were out of a product. He even said the magic words, “You’ve got a customer for life.”

We may not think this is anything special. But to that customer it wasn’t just anything. It was everything. We took away any disappointment they may have originally felt and turned it into a very positive experience exceeding their expectations.

What are you going to do today, tomorrow, this week to make your customer know just how special they are?

Posted in Customer for Life, Phone call, Positive, Service | Comments Off on Thanks for calling

Using a lifeline

Posted on July 13, 2010 by David

I was listening to a recent Disney podcast while driving home from work. This one is known for its humor, insight and every now and then, great nuggets of wisdom that can be applied to numerous situations.

One such bit that transpired centered around how Disney appeals to all generations and that part of what they do is to attract new guests. One of the panelists was talking about taking their kids and someone else’s kids to Disney. He said, “Every child today is a potential customer tomorrow.”

Here’s another way to look at it from a business perspective.

Today’s phone call is tomorrow’s customer.

Can you honestly say you have enough customers? Is your phone your lifeline?

In a follow up to an earlier post on how not to handle a personal phone call while working, this is a great approach to have each time the telephone rings. Whether it is a slow day or the busiest day of the year you should treat each telephone call as a potential sale. You don’t know who is going to be on the other end of the phone line. Yes, with Caller ID being so popular you may know who it is. But you might not know what they are asking for.

Do you ignore the phone when you have a customer/guest with you? Maybe it’s time you learned how to multitask efficiently. Go ahead and answer the phone. It could be the difference between success and failure.

Posted in Customers, Phone calls, Success, Today | 3 Comments

What one degree can do

Posted on July 10, 2010 by David

How far do you think one degree can take you? Are you thinking this?

Or maybe something like this?

But here is what I’m talking about. One degree. The difference between having hot water and boiling water. That’s the difference between 211 degrees and 212 degrees. With boiling water you get steam. And steam can power a train.

I cannot do this topic justice. Plus I didn’t come up with the idea. Go here to watch the video. See what going the extra mile by exceeding the customer’s expectations can do.

Posted in 212, Expectations, Motivation, One degree, Power, Steam, Train | 3 Comments

Because it’s what we SHOULD do

Posted on July 9, 2010 by David

“It’s not our fault, but it is our problem.”

At the The Disney Institute, this axiom is taught as a foundation for the level of service that they offer to each guest and each Cast Member.

The perfect example came up recently with this statement in mind. A customer came in with a product that is normally non-refundable, without a receipt and pretty much expected a full refund. He didn’t make up a wild story about why he had to return the product. He told us he needed the money in order to pay his light bill. Whether that was actually the case or not isn’t the point. By company policy, we are under no obligation to refund this purchase. He didn’t play by the rules to qualify for a refund.

Can you guess by now that I went ahead and gave him a refund? Yep. I sure did. I had other employees present and I could tell they were watching what I was doing but seemed to be more interested in WHY I did it.

Years ago, I had a job at a state university. Lots of rules, lots of procedures, lots of deadlines. In my non-supervisory role, it was my job to communicate the rules and deadlines to prospective students. Those over me had the authority to grant exceptions to the rules when necessary. And after every deadline, it was necessary. Why? Well it wasn’t what we had to do. It became necessary because it was what we SHOULD do. In other words, it was the right thing to do given the individual circumstances.

Policies and procedures are in place in most organizations for a reason. They are there to maintain order and avoid chaos. I read on a friend’s blog about an experience he had with his cellular telephone provider. He needed a temporary fix for a problem but they were unwilling to help him. Get it? They were not willing to offer a short term solution. Instead of being innovative and make an attempt to exceed the customer’s expectations, they stood behind their policies, beat their chests and said, “We are right! You are wrong and we don’t care about you!”

I am not advocating dumping all the rules and let chaos guide our decisions. It’s not our fault that you can’t pay your light/cell phone/water/grocery/mortgage. But it is our problem and we will do what we can to fix it. Because it’s what we should do!

Posted in Chaos, Customer Service, Disney Institute, Policies, Problem, Procedures, Refunds, Resolve, Rules, Should | 2 Comments