BIG experiences
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Something that all the experiences I’ve had this week have in common, aside from being impressively large, is that the focus on the customer is as big as the attraction. There is no doubt that this country is wired towards customers and their efforts are well rewarded. People feel valued and respected, they return year after year to the same attractions and the corporations see the positive returns on their bottom line.
We all know Disney ‘creates happiness’ for its guests and works hard to achieve an exceptionally high standard on a consistent basis. I attended training this week at the Disney EPCOT park run by the Disney Institute where the culture of customer service was discussed and how this culture is supported throughout every theme park and cruise line.
I learned that Disney select their staff primarily by watching potential interviewees’ interactions with others. Interviewers watch how applicants greet people, if they shake hands, whether they make eye contact and how they approach newcomers. Gradually over a number of interviews a picture is formed of that individual and their behaviour. They intentionally only hire happy people! They can teach customer service but they can’t change attitude. An ‘I don’t feel like being happy today’ attitude is selected out. My experience? Every staff person was friendly, looking for opportunities to help and going out of their way to engage every child they saw in the Disney magic. All in 40 degree heat and on a minimum wage much lower than what we get in Australia. These staff want to be here!
Kennedy Space Centre is completely different example of a big experience for guests. Aside from the Saturn V Rocket built to go to the moon and now on display in a gigantic warehouse; everything that NASA does is big. A shuttle launch is BIG. The world’s biggest American flag on the side of the world’s biggest one story building that houses the shuttle is BIG. The 2000 alligators that live in the swamps at Cape Canaveral are BIG. Their guest experience…also big.
What struck me at Kennedy was that no matter who I spoke to, from the tour bus driver to the guy who stands around the rockets asking guests if they have any questions to the woman on the cashier desk, all referred to the activities at Kennedy as ‘we are working on this or that’. The use of that one little word spoke volumes. Everyone is part of something much bigger. Everyone is responsible for being part of the team that makes that happen. When I asked the tour driver what would happen after the last shuttle launch in July, he gave a detailed explanation concluding with ‘We are working on a number of new rockets and missile launches and we hope to have a direction from Congress in the near future.’ No shrugging his shoulders suggesting the decision was way above his station. No passing the buck. No questioning ‘how should I know?’ In fact, the way he spoke I’d have been convinced that he himself sat in on the briefings and knew exactly what was in store for NASA.
The fact that he did know and had permission to tell me about it because he was part of the team that made Kennedy happen was impressive. How often can we say that about our own organisations? It’s a big challenge to give every frontline person the information they need to feel part of the top-most decisions, but it can be done. The results speak volumes about the sizeable efforts put in by the organisation to make everyone feel personally responsible for helping put men into space and that is one heck of a big result.
