On a recent trip to Disneyland we stayed at the (almost complete) newly refurbished Disneyland Hotel. The trip was great fun in many ways and the accommodations were pretty nice. But there was one facet which I found of particular interest: Service.
Disney is renowned for its service. So much so they even offer instructional courses on providing service. Our hospital is one of Disney’s clients and we are subsequently in the process of becoming one of the hap-hap-happiest hospitals on earth. Yahoooo!
At Disney the one thing that stood out most about service was the fact that people said nice things even when you were not receiving anything approaching good service. For instance, when I complained it was crazy one paid to valet a car when there was no phone service for retrieval, the front desk told me, very nicely, that I would have to walk out front through the ongoing construction area to get the car and, yes, they were sorry they didn’t have a phone. And in the Tiki bar-- it was like one of those old comedies where the American makes a request of the Japanese guy who smiles, nods enthusiastically, backs away bowing subserviently, and then nothing happens. But this staff was white and spoke english!
Disneyland is not alone in this. The b.s., uh, service mantra is everywhere: "Your call is important. Please stay on the line." "Service is our first priority." "You're not just a number with us." Or how about the person who returns your credit card and says, "Thank you, Michael."-- usually after pausing for just a beat while they glance down to make sure they have the name right. I always want to say either, "That's doctor Michael to you" or "Wow. Good job with your reading skills!" Either way, I never come away feeling like I've really established a warm and endearing bond with the business or their employee.
I don't think Disney really cuts the mustard when it comes to service training. For businesses that believe faking it is an important service skill they should go straight to a pro. Not Disney. A grown up: A high-end hooker. They look beautiful, they tell the customer exactly what they want to hear, they do exactly what the customer wants done, and they make the customer believe they're enjoying it every bit as much. For the "service provider" it is simply a well learned and convincing performance designed to maximize revenues and establish customer loyalty.
On second thought that’s not such a good model. I think the hooker actually meets the client's every expectation. Few businesses are in a position to match that performance. No pun intended.
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