The first visit by your customer must be great if you want them to come back. Read this letter a guest sent to me when I was at Walt Disney World. They give some very simple reasons why they will become repeat Guests. As the first sentence of my book says; It is not magic that makes it work; it is the way we work that makes it magic.
Go to my website for more information on my book: https://www.leecockerell.com. 55 Days until publication.
Dear Lee,
My family and I just returned from our first vacation at the Walt Disney World® Resort, and I just wanted to say “thank you” for the outstanding customer service we received during our stay.
From the moment we arrived on March 3, to the day we left (a week later), the service was unsurpassed! I have worked in retail for the last 16 years and consider myself a customer service guru. Everywhere I go, I am constantly evaluating different approaches in customer service skills. I have never experienced such a warm, happy, friendly, and professional group of people as the Cast Members at the Walt Disney World® Resort.
Our experience was consistent throughout the Walt Disney World® Resort. From the people at our hotel, the Cast Members at the rides, to the man who sold ice cream at Epcot®! They were all very personable, informative, and outgoing.
Kudos to your entire staff at the Walt Disney World® Resort, and thank you for making our family vacation so special! I can’t imagine going anywhere else on vacation. I would also like to note that we were surprised at how reasonable the food and souvenirs were. Other tourist areas we have been to seemed to take advantage of its captive audience by over-charging on just about everything. This was certainly not the experience we had at the Walt Disney World® Resort. We can’t stop telling all of our friends and family about the wonderful time we had. We have already started to save for our next Disney vacation and can’t wait to come back! Thank you again for everything.
Sincerely,
AND WE CAN’T WAIT TO COME BACK!
The Marketing and Advertising got them here the first time, and the front-line Cast Members did the rest! Now they cannot wait to come back, and they cannot imagine going anywhere else on vacation and they are telling all of their friends. Word of mouth is really powerful for growing our future business, and it costs much less than TV advertising. This is what happens when we meet the Four Guest Expectations:
- Make Me Feel Special
- Treat Me as an Individual
- Respect My Children
- Have Knowledgeable Cast Members
. . . and when leaders meet the Four Cast Expectations:
- Make Me Feel Special
- Treat Me as an Individual
- Respect Me
- Make Me Knowledgeable, Develop Me, Know My Role
These things are common sense but not common practice. Practice common sense in your business and it will thrive instead of just survive . . . Lee
These letters demonstrate the ongoing success of the Disney model. The success of the Disney Vacation Club further demonstrates the vacation loyalty that is generated when a motivated cast works to create the perceived magic. I cannot wait to read Lee’s new book. He was the creator in chief.
After seeing some clips of Lee during various Disney Institute programs in the past, I too cannot wait to read the book.