Today’s consumers crave a memorable experience. Disney understands this, which is why the company has dedicated so much time and resources to training its employees. Disney touches its guests in many places, from the ticketing process to the exit survey. The customer experience is built from the ground up with intentionality. For example, imagine you are at a restaurant and you see an employee take something out of their bag and leave it on your table to enjoy after your meal. You might wonder if that was a mistake or if it was intentional. In most restaurants, that would be viewed as a mistake because they wouldn’t want customers to think they were eating stale food that needed to be supplemented with personal snacks. In Disney however, every employee knows exactly what they are doing and why because they have been thoroughly trained on how every interaction builds towards feeling like you’re in your happy place when you visit their resort, wherever that may be!
What it means to be a great service organization
A “great service organization” is customer-focused, has a clear service strategy, is committed to service excellence, and has strong service execution. An organization that can consistently deliver superb service experiences will have happy customers who will happily refer new guests to them. Hospitality is the key to providing a great service experience. Hospitality is the ability to treat your customers like they are guests in your own home. It is being polite, friendly, and helpful while treating everyone as an individual and with respect. While this is often an innate ability, hospitality can be learned and can be taught. It’s not just about smiling and saying “Welcome to our store!” or “Have a nice day!”—which is how many people look at it. It is about genuinely wanting your guests to be happy and comfortable.
Disney trains its employees for the long term.
Disney trains its employees in the basics of hospitality and listening skills. But more importantly, it trains its employees to think in the long term. It trains them on how to create an experience for guests that will make them want to come back again and again. And it trains them to think about how their actions will impact guests years from now. Disney however, every employee knows exactly what they are doing and why because they have been thoroughly trained on how every interaction builds towards feeling like you’re in your happy place when you visit their resort, wherever that may be!
Disney Builds Relationships With Its Guests
Disney understands that its guests want to be treated like human beings. They want to be spoken to like individuals, not like a number or a statistic. They want to be treated with respect and dignity, and they want to feel like they are being given a little bit of extra attention. They want to be told about the interesting facts of a given attraction or the story behind the making of a particular movie. They want to have their questions answered and they want to feel like they are being engaged. Disney builds relationships with guests and takes the time to know them as individuals through their interactions with them.
Disney Provides an Environment for Families to Have Fun Together
Disney knows that families want to create memories together. They want to be able to do things as a family that they can look back on fondly years later and remember how they felt at that moment. Disney has tried to create an environment that is suitable for all types of families, including those with special needs. It has attractions and shows that are suitable for all ages and interests. Disney also provides opportunities for families to create memories together outside of the park. It has cultivated relationships with many hotels and transportation companies throughout Florida and has partnerships with local theme parks and attractions. Families can visit Disney in Orlando, but they can also visit Disney in Anaheim, California. They can also visit Disney in Tokyo, Paris, Shanghai, Hong Kong, and even in the UK. Families can also visit Disney World on Disney Cruise Line ships.
The Importance of Touchpoints in Service Training and Marketing
Disney is all about the experience. This is why it is so important for them to build relationships with their guests and provide an environment that is suitable for family fun. To do this, Disney understands that it must touch its guests, both physically and emotionally. This is why Disney has invested in creating a variety of touchpoints that guests can interact with and experience, both inside the parks and outside of them. For example, when you go online to purchase your Disney tickets, you are interacting with a website that is packed full of useful information and that makes the ticket-purchasing process easy. As you go throughout your day, you will likely interact with Disney in more ways than you realize. You might see an advertisement on television or online. You might be handed a brochure when you are at the airport. You might see a billboard advertisement on the drive to the airport or on your way to the hotel.