Page 94 - Harnessing the Management Secrets of Disney in Your Company

Never a Customer, Always a Guest 75

In most organizations, however, the people who have the primary contact
with the customer are usually the least educated, least trained, least respected,
and have the least input regarding the direction of the company. And, unfor-
tunately, too many customer service training programs deal only with how to
smile and greet the customer, leaving service providers without a clue about
how to solve a problem. Treating customers with respect and communicating
in a pleasant manner are indeed important, but smiles alone will not improve
customer service.
If your organization is among the ranks of the clueless, do the following
two things well and listen for favorable customer response:

1. Become a customer problem solver. We are convinced that the quality
of orientation at most companies would have to increase tenfold to reach the
“pathetic” level. Orientation for front-line workers usually consists of how

to fill in the time card and how to complete an order form. In rare cases, a
30-minute session on how to talk to a customer is added. Organizations then
disguise unskilled front-line employees by hanging a sign on them that reads,
Trainee. What that really means is, “Don’t expect me to know anything; I’m

trying to figure out what goes on here too.”
Within the first week of employment, your front-line coworkers should
be able to answer the following questions with assurance:

■ What products and services do we provide? It is not a matter of
being able to point to the catalog and describe the products, but
rather of knowing how to solve the problems and fill the needs of
the customers.
■ What are the organization’s vision and values?
■ What is the mission for my department?
■ Who are our competitors and what is our competitive advantage?
■ To whom do I turn for assistance with a problem I cannot solve?

2. Gain customer feedback. Customer perceptions are very powerful and
often become reality. Therefore, every system in the organization must be

evaluated through customers’ eyes. Two critical questions to ask yourself are:

■ What is the level of ease of doing business with our organization?
■ What do we consider to be exceptional service?