“The best way to predict the future is to create it” Abe Lincoln.
I was at a Disney Institute Training a couple of years ago at a Pharmacy Development Services conference and a story that they told stuck with me.
All of your customer experiences are important because at each point of interaction you are either strengthening your brand, or you are taking away from it.
And the first and the last impression are by far the most important. The first impression forms the opinion that the shapes the experiences that follow, and the last impression is how the overall interaction is remembered.
Saying that, one of the most consistent complaints at Disney World was that at the end of the day people could not find their cars in the massive parking lots.
Now management and staff went to great lengths to make it easier. The parking lots are in sections names for cartoon characters and when you park your car and get onto the train that takes you to the park entrance you are reminded a minimum of three times to remember where you parked.
But with all of that on a regular basis what would happen is that a family with young children, after a full day in the park would head back to the parking lot, with tired children in tow, and not be able to find their car.
The only option was to wait until the parking lots emptied and then staff would take them around until their car was found. So even with great staff support what is the last impression? This place is too big with too many people and it’s too hard to navigate with a young family.
Except the young family is one of Disney’s three main target audiences! And really it’s not Disney’s fault that the parents don’t remember where their car is – but it is their problem! This was a consistent complaint that they received.
With the whole team this was a complaint they regularly brainstormed ideas on how to deal with it until one of the train drivers came up with a solution that has worked like magic.
The train drivers now keep a log and write down every ten minutes which lot they are in, and what section of the lot cars are being parked in. For example let’s say at 10:30am they are in Goofy lot, row 3.
So now when parents can’t find their car at the end of the day, staff ask what time they came into the park (and if they have their ticket there is a time stamp), and the staff can take them to the section of the parking lot that was being parked when they arrived. Problem solved.
What areas of your business are not your fault, but they are your problem?!
Look at common challenges or complaints. An example in pharmacy would be dealing with a patient’s insurance coverage.
Or in a carpet cleaning or home service business – being on time for scheduled appointments when a previous job took longer or there was a traffic issue.
Brainstorm with your team options to deal with these issues, look for out of the box ideas.
Remember – the issue absolutely may not be your fault, but if it impacts your customers’ satisfaction it definitely is your problem!
The TouchPoint Scorecard is a great tool to develop looking at your business from your customers’ perspective. This is the #1 skill to differentiate your business and to deliver a consistent ON Brand experience.
Click Here to download your copy of The TouchPoint Scorecard and to make it easy to use, watch the Step by Step Training Video.
What challenges or complaints do you deal with in your business that are not your fault but are your problem?
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