Who’s Your Competition? Exploring Mickey Mouse Customer Service

By J.K. Radomski

ORLANDO - Anyone who has ever visited Walt DisneyWorld may have noticed the excellent customer service they’ve received while waiting in line to ride Splash Mountain, while ordering a smoked Turkey Leg from an outdoor stand, or buying tickets to the parks and attractions. This was certainly my reaction after a recent trip there, and it started me thinking.

My first reaction was, “Wow! The people working the parks sure are friendly.” But other words - courteous, polite, helpful, available, and odd - also come to mind. The service was exceptional. Employees were doing whatever they could to make sure each visitor’s experience was a magical one. And unbelievably, this mentality ran deep, not only throughout the parks, but at the resorts and hotels too, and even at your local Disney Store.

It goes beyond Walt Disney’s promise to “create happiness by providing the finest in entertainment to people of all ages, everywhere.” It’s ingrained in the Disney culture and is a big part of the experience, or show, you get with the price of admission. That’s why Disney calls its customers “guests,” and refers to its staff as “cast members.” To them, it’s more than just for show - it’s serious business. While there are many facets to Disney’s customer service philosophy, one of the key aspects is the competition.

Your initial reaction might be to name other theme parks, Universal Studios or any of the many Six Flags locations for instance, but you would be incorrect. Disney competes with Federal Express, Microsoft, GE, L.L. Bean, and any blue chip company you can think of. They are, in effect, in competition with any company that can raise customer expectations.

Think about it. Guests have no problem waiting in line for 20 minutes, anticipating a boat ride with the Pirates of the Caribbean, but these same people become very impatient when the slow-moving line at the bank takes half that time. This is because Disney knows there’s going to be a few lines, and makes sure you’re entertained during your wait with music and sound effects, set pieces, pre-shows, and décor that puts you in the mood and into the storyline.

Now imagine your bank doing the same, but minus the pirates and their cutthroat behavior, even if might be ironically appropriate. Maybe your bank can improve the wait in line with a lounge area complete with comfy sofas and the latest business magazines, or by maybe hanging small televisions on the ceilings airing financial reports, news, or maybe even cartoons.

Part of this competitive philosophy is that Disney believes its Guests compare experiences across businesses. If another company, no matter what business, satisfies their customers better than you do yours, you will be compared to them in a negative light.

Does that mean if your company specializes in data collection, data processing, or analysis, you should be weary of companies selling fast food, hockey sticks, and your neighborhood drug store? In a word, yes. They are your competition too.

Think about the last time you checked into an airport and dropped off your bags. You probably repeated the dreaded airline mantra of, “I hope my bags don’t end up in Hawaii.” (Unless, you were going to Hawaii, of course.) But then, you don’t have that problem with FedEx. You simply, and with blind faith, drop your important tables and analysis report into a FedEx pickup box, and somehow you know it will get to its destination the next morning, whether it’s Atlanta or the middle of the Nevada desert. Yet, why is it that while both your airline and FedEx are doing close to the same thing - moving your belongings from one destination to another - you’re less worried about FedEx coming through with its promises?

Expectations.

You’ve come to expect FedEx will guarantee your packages will be hand delivered from point A to point B. It’s a part of their new “Drop Everything” motto. And now, you’re moving that expectation to your airline. If they’re both doing the same thing, why can’t they both do it equally well?

Think about the last time you called up several field companies to bid on a project. Did one of them get back to you in an hour, and did another take two days?

Both companies are in business doing the same thing, yet one responded to you faster than the other. After price and other details are weighed, the company acting faster to answer my questions would probably get my bid. They’ve already built up my expectations that they understand deadlines, and take their business seriously. I might perceive the other company to be slacking off, or too busy to give my project the attention that it needs.

Did the company with the fast response time also have a polite and pleasant phone manner? Bonus. I would almost expect their interviewers to be like-minded.

While some might argue that the customer service offered by Disney is a little extreme at times, I feel that after a week there, I have been affected and I am now less tolerant when it comes to dealing with sub par service. Is there anything wrong with: hoping the waitress at my nearby sushi restaurant asks me if I’m having a nice day and gets my order right; expecting that my dry cleaner’s promise that a suit will be pressed and ready for 5:00 p.m. is kept, and I’m not dealing with his lame excuses when 5:30 p.m. comes around; or if the surveys I was expecting to start data entry on arrived on time, as the courier company pledged.

Aside from building my expectations, my trip has also made me think about how I do business, and what changes I should implement if I want to improve myself and compete with the Mouse.

Am I too brusque with clients when I’m under a lot of stress? Do I make a good impression when new clients call and ask about the services we offer? And while I’m good at keeping promises, what can I do to not just meet deadlines, but have client deliverables ready well before they’re due? In our industry, that would be the equivalent of Disney “magic”.

It’s a bitter pill to swallow when you think about your customer base, and wonder how many of them may have been a Disney guest at some point in their lives, or how many might have called FedEx to pick up a package and gotten a quick blast of wonderful customer service. And then wonder how their expectations might have been raised.

Is the Disney guest buying a Tigger mug and some Mickey Mouse-themed Christmas Ornaments this month, treated better and with more courtesy than when they call your company up for a market research-related service? If so, then you’re competing with Disney too.

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