Guest with a capital “G”

One of the requests I got from readers of last weeks post, Confessions of a Customer Service Superhero, was for more book recommendations, so I figured I would both move the story forward, and give you a few more books to put on your wish list.

I confessed last week that I was a pretty bad employee prior to 1993, but my life took an unexpected turn when I was shipped off to a secret facility in Orem, Utah for management training. That's where they implanted a radioactive “Service Larva” into my brain, and that began my transformation into a Service Superhero. As this Larva lived inside my head it began to grow, and so did my desire for more information. I became obsessed with customer service, and I began to consume whatever I could find on the subject.

I had been pursuing a retail management career at the time, so I grabbed The Nordstrom Way by Robert Spector and Patrick D. McCarthy to learn about this retail giant’s commitment to their customer. I learned that they began as a family run shoe store, and that their entire service philosophy was formed kneeling at the feet of their customers. By reading about the lengths that they would go to take care of their customers, I began to understand what a true Service Superhero could be. To this day, when you walk into a Nordstrom’s, everything and everyone in the store is there to make your experience more comfortable. They're always thinking about you. Often they’ve even got live piano music wafting through the store, because it makes your time in their store a little nicer.

I also studied Disney. Did you know that visitors to their theme parks are not called customers? They are called Guests, and every time they write that word they spell it with a capital “G” to indicate the importance they place on these folks. When I learned this, my brain started working overtime.

Words are powerful, and when I thought about the word "Guest," I thought about someone staying in my house. There are a lot of things that I might do to a customer that I would never do to a Guest in my house. For example, I wouldn’t think twice about making a customer wait in line, I’ve been to the grocery store, that’s what customers do, but a Guest in my house… Well, I wouldn’t want my Guest to have to wait for anything.

Customers buy goods and services, and I thought back about the expressions I’d heard growing up “You get what you pay for.” and “Buyer beware.” These expressions always made me feel like I had to keep my guard up. Although I was a customer, I was made to feel like the person I was giving my money to was trying to take advantage of me. No one would treat a Guest that way, would they? 

The government has even felt the need to step in and protect the customer on several occasions throughout history. “Lemon Laws” were enacted so that a customer that got screwed when buying a car, had recourse. Conversely, a Guest in my home is someone I take care of. I’m the one concerned with their well-being, and if I can do anything to help them out, I will. My Guest doesn’t need protection from some third party, governmental source; they've got me. 

If you're interested in learning more about Disney’s customer service philosophy, you should read Be Our Guest by The Disney Institute with Theodore Kinni. 

Studying these, and other titans of service, helped shaped my philosophy when it came to serving a Guest. It nourished the worm in my brain, which grew and morphed, transforming into the “Service Bug” that has since taken over my life. It has changed me, forever, into a Service Superhero. 

Remember, I can transfer my abilities, or Superpowers, to anyone that truly wants them. Let me know if you'd like to set up a training seminar for your service team, so you can begin to deliver "Superhero Service" to each and every one of your Guests. 

Be sure to come back next week for more adventures from a Service Superhero. 

If you agree or disagree with anything I’ve said here, or would just like to share a Service related story, or insight, or if you’d like to mention your favorite service related book, I'd love to hear from you. Please post a comment below.

Confessions of a Customer Service Superhero

Every Superhero has an origin story…

In 1993 I was shipped off to a secret facility in Orem, Utah for eleven weeks. It was billed as a “Management Training Boot Camp,” but after that experience, I was never the same.

Prior to attending this “Boot Camp” I was just a regular guy, not a great employee – I was a little bit selfish, and sometimes I could be a jerk to both my employer and to my customer.

I’m embarrassed to admit this, but I remember one job I had as a busboy; I was the only busser working on this particular Sunday lunch shift, and I decided that since the world revolved around me, I was only going to move at what I deemed a comfortable pace. The line of people waiting for a table kept getting longer and longer. Tables were empty, but they were still dirty so no one could sit there, and I, for some reason, refused to move any faster.

I wasn’t that bad at every job I had before arriving at the Management Training facility, but I wasn’t a good employee by any stretch.

During those eleven weeks I was exposed to a different way of thinking. I was given books like The One Minute Manager by Ken Blanchard and Spencer Johnson, and In Search of Excellence by Tom Peters and Robert H. Waterman. I was also taught things like: “The customer’s always right.” and “If you don’t take care of the customer somebody else will.” They’re clichés now, but I had never heard them at the time.

The most influential service lesson I learned during those eleven weeks was this:

THE CUSTOMER IS MY BOSS. I WORK FOR THEM. 

THEY PAY MY SALARY.

Of course the place where I work gives me a paycheck, but it’s the customer who gives them the money. Maybe it was the rebel in me that latched on to this one so ferociously, but I loved the idea and still embrace it to this day.

When they told me this, it was as if these people had placed a little white-hot, radioactive “larva” in my ear, and it squirmed its way into my brain.

As this larva, this worm, began to make its home in my grey matter, I began to see everything differently. I instantly understood that if I truly had the best interest of the customer in mind while I did my job, I couldn’t make a mistake. I looked it up, and dictionary.com calls that bulletproof.

This “radioactive larva” morphed into a “bug” that continued to grow inside me. It not only took over my brain, it took over my life. I began to consume customer service books, and seek out customer service thought leaders.

I became obsessed with the customer experience, which caused me to develop additional... well, abilities. Some people call them Superpowers.

For example, I can now read a customer’s mind. I put myself in their shoes and analyze things from the their perspective. Empathy. By doing this, I can determine their needs, and how best to help them, without them verbalizing anything.

Bullet Proof.

Mind Reader.

These are just a few of the powers I have developed over the last twenty years, and I will discuss more of them as the Blog continues.

If you will allow me though, I will touch on one additional power:

Transference.

I can transfer my abilities, or Superpowers, to anyone that truly wants them. Let me know if you'd like to set up a consultation or perhaps a training seminar for your service team, so you can begin to consistently deliver "Superhero Service" to each and every one of your Guests.