While on vacation with my family recently, we visited a couple of theme parks in California. Let me start off by saying, that on so many levels, you can’t compare the two. What struck me the most, however, was the employees that worked at these two different parks.
In Theme Park A, the employees were genuinely happy to be there and their positivity was infectious. They were friendly, efficient, and overall enhanced the experience for us as visitors. They’re doing it right.
At Theme Park B, the employees were operating in slow motion, barely cracked a smile, and were practically looking at the clock, waiting for their shift to end. I even overheard one of the employees telling a customer, “We aren’t Theme Park A” I was shocked that he would speak in this tone, and to a customer.
I have had several friends ask me if it is worth it to go to Theme Park B. I’ve suggested that they not bother. This brand has now lost potential customers based on my experience as a customer. And it’s not just me. The other three parents I was with where shaking their heads too. We were just so frustrated that this particular theme park had lost out on a great opportunity to allow their brand to shine.
Your employees represent your brand. Brand is another word for user-experience. Create a culture where your employees can represent your brand in the best light. Engage your employees. Keep them happy. Train them. Re-train them. You will keep customers, and win new ones.
It doesn’t matter what product you sell, what service you provide – as long as you have the right people representing your business, have engaged employees, things will fall into place, and your customers will be there. Customer service is always key to any business. After all, if you don’t have a customer, you don’t have a business.
At the end of the day regardless of what business we are in, was the experience with our clients engaging and positive? These experiences lead us to go back time and time again or at the very least rave to others about it. We are in an experience economy so best experience wins!
In the past, reward was given to those who soldiered on the most, followed directions the best, and worked the longest hours. No wonder we used to refer to our daily work as the “grind”. Employees who are thriving today are nothing less than leaders in their own realm. Godin calls them “artists”, in the sense that they provide value to other peoples’ lives above and beyond what is expected of them. They are not replaceable cogs in the machine but “linchpins” as Godin calls them: indispensable components of the whole. You find them in your favourite coffee shop where the barista makes you feel so good that you would never think about getting your latte anywhere else. You find them in the flight attendant who puts a smile on your face with their wit and attention. They are the customer service reps who not only solve your problem but manage to make you laugh and completely forget why you were so frustrated before making the call. Linchpins are better listeners – they do what it takes to solve problems, and they engage with people. They are leaders at what they do; not because they have to, but because they can’t help but invest emotionally in the work they do.
Why are such leaders in everyday jobs still a rare find? The answer may be slightly more complex than you might think. People are leaders in their field because they are passionate about what they do. They truly care. The real challenge is that the majority of employees don’t do what they are really passionate about. They are in the wrong jobs, doing the wrong things that don’t really mean anything to them emotionally. This predicament was described by Ken Blanchard and Sheldon Bowles in their 1993 bestseller “
