Be My Guest

Disney World does a lot of things right with customer service. One of the cornerstones of their success comes from getting rid of the word “customer.”  Instead, they call their customers “guests” and they think of them that way too.

 

How do you treat a customer? Well I guess that depends on the way you think about customers. People are quick to dehumanize someone labeled a “customer” because of memories of the ones who were challenging, cranky or clueless. Suppose instead, businesses of every type started doing what Disney does – treating their customers as guests.

 

What thoughts do you associate with a guest? Someone welcome? Someone you invite in? Someone that your mother taught you to be extra polite to?

 

Do you suppose you might be treated better at a hospital or doctors office if you were thought of as a guest? How might you be treated differently at a fast food restaurant or supermarket if you were seen as a guest?  Imagine the difference your business to business interactions would feel if each party treated the other as a guest.

 

 

Reflections:

How might your behavior change toward your current customers if you started thinking of them as your guests?

Posted by Marilyn Suttle at www.LoveThemUp.com