Over The Top Service

Fran and I were fortunate enough to attend the Superbowl this past weekend in Tampa. We stayed in Orlando at the Yacht Club at Disney World. While the outcome of the game wasn't what we hoped for, the service at the resort was more than we expected.

The people at Disney have authored the book on total customer service. From the moment we pulled into the resort we were greeted and treated like a valued guest. Everyone from the doorman to the maids in the hall always had big smiles, said hello followed by the statement, "Have a Magical Day".

What was most refreshing was how the staff would go above and beyond to cater to your every need. I had left the battery charger to my camera at home. I went to the front desk to see where the nearest store was to go buy one. The front desk manager said that they have a whole basket of chargers behind the desk and she would check to see if they had one that would work for my camera. Unfortunately they did not have one that worked for my Canon camera.

What she did next, blew me away. She said that she had a Canon camera at home and that she would be more than happy to take my battery home with her, charge and return it to me the next morning, then loan me the charger for the duration of my visit. I have never met this woman before in my life and I could not believe that she was willing to do that. As it turned out her charger was for a different battery, But just the thought that she was willing to do that for me was unbelievable.

The good news was that the battery lasted all weekend and we got some great pictures from the parties we attended and the game.

My battery experience was followed up with another great experience I had looking for a pool party at the resort. I had mistakenly gone to the wrong pool ( I think that there were three pools there). I asked the maintenance man at the pool for directions to the correct location. Instead of giving me directions, he personally escorted my to the right pool. Wow!!

The front desk manager did not have to offer to charge my battery for me and the maintenance man did not have to escort me to the right location. But they did and that is why Disney is a huge success and has an incredible reputation for customer service.

Disney has even created a cottage industry on business and customer service through the Disney Institute where you "Experience the Business Behind the Magic"

In business, we should go the extra mile, it goes a long way and yields BIG benefits!