Recently I have written a few articles about some very critical service notions that form the foundation of guest service at Disney. I've talked about Disney's service theme: "We Create Happiness" and Disney's four service standards: "Safety, Courtesy, Show, and Efficiency."
Today we are going to discuss service basics expected of both cast members and managers. These are often referred to as Service Behaviors, and they serve several purposes. They:
The typical tendency for leaders is to try and map out all of the possible behaviors their employees should demonstrate when working with customers. This approach is flawed for two important reasons. First, such behaviors tend to come across as rote, rather than genuine. Second, it is impossible to map out all the potential behaviors individuals should demonstrate for future unforeseen circumstances. Attempting to compile such a comprehensive list is comparable to the common listing of dozens of rules for swimming at the local community pool. The list is usually so long that invariably no one pays attention at all—making the attempt a waste of time and effort.
What does this look like at Disney? For many years this has been known as Disney's Seven Service Guidelines:
They evolved over the years, even utilizing the seven dwarfs to describe each guideline. The guidelines were posted in many places backstage, particularly in the areas right before you stepped on-stage.
While these guidelines succeeded for many years, there were some challenges. "Make eye contact" and "Thank each and every guest" communicated to the 17-year-old popcorn seller exactly how to follow the guidelines. Other behaviors were more vague such as "immediate service recovery" or "appropriate body language." You would need more specific behaviors to define to a seventeen year old what exactly you were supposed to do.
That brings us to the present. Just recently Disney created not one, but two sets of service guidelines based on surveys they conducted with thousands of Disney guests and cast members. The first set of guidelines focuses on all cast members and the second on management.
"I project a positive image and energy."
"I am courteous and respectful to all guests, including children."
"I stay in character and play the part."
"I go above and beyond."
What I love about this list is that it's collapsible; you can look at just the four headlines, but you can also identify key behaviors for each. Many of the earlier seven service behaviors fall within the new guidelines, and new ones emerge, such as "treating guests as individuals"—you'll recall that I spoke about that in my last article. I personally like "look happy and interested." There's much that could be said about the need for that particular behavior.
Also note that each of these areas begin with the word "I" in front of each statement—suggesting that each cast member should take ownership in doing these things.
Now there's the other list, this one is focused on management:
"I demonstrate commitment to cast members."
"I know and manage my Operation, and I teach it to cast members."
"I lead and monitor cast performance and operational improvements."
There are a lot of points listed under each of the major headings and they are all behaviors that need to be brought out into the light. My favorite here is the heading of not only knowing and managing one's operation, but teaching it to the cast members. Many of the older cast members talk about how management, in the early days of Disneyland and Walt Disney World, would walk the parks with their proteges, teaching them the ropes. I like how that topic hearkens to that concept of walking in the guest's shoes.
As before, these behaviors are posted in backstage locations, not only at Disneyland and Walt Disney World, but throughout all parks worldwide as well as the resorts and the Disney Cruise Line. They are even posted at all Adventures by Disney locations.
Other organizations do this as well. The service behaviors for Ritz-Carlton's Three Steps of Service are fairly simple, but are very ingrained into the culture.
Ritz-Carlton's Three Steps of Service:
I've worked with many organizations to establish their own service behaviors. Here's an example of one that I helped the Brookfield Zoo in Chicago to create. It has a similar accordion style with subject headings followed by more specific behaviors. Note the "bee" analogy—it's a zoo after all!
"Bee Proactive"
"Bee Attentive"
"Bee Helpful"
"Bee Polite"
"Bee Professional"
In summary, consider the following:
Best of luck as you create greater service in your own area. And here's to making the magic in your own business.
