Άρθρα

Isn’t life full of ironies? For example, have you ever watched a really skillful person demonstrating their skills? It might be a top athlete or sportsperson, a salesperson or service provider or perhaps a magician. The one thing they all have in common is that when they become really good at it, they make it look really easy to do. And then it’s all too easy to overlook the practice and skill that lies behind the apparently ‘simple’ task and possibly have the misconception that ‘anyone could do that’.

This is very true of great service providers. When we see or experience what it is they do, and how they do it, they can make it appear so simple that it would be easy to think it's easy to do. But that’s far from the truth. In virtually almost all the cases I’ve investigated my experience has shown that the apparently ‘simple’ tasks have taken months of practice and often many mistakes and disappointments to perfect.

The Disney Effect

I saw an example of this again last December when I had the opportunity to see ‘behind the scenes’ at Disney in Florida. It provided a great insight into the irony surrounding this magical service provider. On the surface, everything happens smoothly and calmly. They make it look easy. The characters appear from nowhere and glide around the park, greeting, entertaining and delighting the guests. The parades run to split second timing with the right music always playing in the right place at the right time. The displays start bang on time with lights, people, animations and fireworks all in perfect harmony. And the whole place is always immaculate with no rubbish, cigarette ends, toffee wrappings or even wilting plants. And if you stop to think about it, the basic equipment that Disney use is much the same as in the competing parks. They are recruiting from the same population of people. Their visitors are the also the same people that visit one of the other theme parks on other days in the area. So they have to cope with the same technical challenges and problems, they have the same staff issues and they have the same caring or uncaring visitors. So what is it that makes them appear able to do it so much better than the others? The answers became very apparent when we went ‘behind the scenes’.

Perhaps ‘behind the scenes’ is the wrong phrase. ‘Under the scenes’ might be more accurate. This is because although there is a lot of activity and preparation that takes place ‘behind’ the park, there’s even more ‘beneath’ it. In fact, the park the visitors walk around is actually the first floor of a two-storey construction. The ground floor, which is below the park, is where much of the activity takes place. This virtual rabbit warren of corridors and rooms is where uniforms and costumes are stored and issued, supplies are kept, mustered and distributed, and staff are transported throughout the park to appear ‘magically’ wherever they are needed.

Our tour took us to the plant nursery where we saw the work taking place to prepare for the new seasons plantings. We saw the topiary characters and animals taking shape. We also learned how for every major plant on the park there is an understudy (another identical plant that can replace it overnight if necessary) and a junior (a third plant being grown to replace the original or the understudy if either become too big).

We learned how the clever but simple design was used to discourage guests from doing the unwanted things and encourage them to do wanted things. For example, all walls at the side of bridges have tops that are designed to make them extremely uncomfortable for people (adults or children) to sit on. This obviously prevents people from sitting in dangerous places without the need for unsightly signs.

We were told how each area of the park contains what Walt Disney called a ‘come to me’. This is a feature that can be seen from other areas in the park that draw you to it. Examples are the castle that draws people to the centre of the Magic Kingdom, the bronze statue of Walt Disney, hand in hand with a child, and the Epcot Globe. These ‘come-to-me’ items encourage people to visit all areas of the park.

We learned that staff playing the part of characters do no more than 20-minute stints on the park so they are always fresh and alert. How all new recruits must attend weeks of training before they are allowed to take up duties with guests. How they have more weeks of retraining and public service duties every year.

We saw the model shops where the Disney character heads are made and shipped all around the world so that Mickey and his friends are identical wherever they appear.

We learned about the lights on the ‘light parade’ floats and characters and how they are all wired in short runs so if there is ever a fault it can only affect a small number of lights and so cannot spoil the total effect. And about the detectors set onto the roads so that the central computers always know where the floats in the parade are at any time.

We learned much more too but I think this is enough to show the ‘behind (and below) the scenes’ professionalism, preparation, and dedication to perfection that makes Disney so magical.

I used the word magic in the title because I think it’s a good one to link with service. When we see a great magician at work, he or she makes it look easy. We all know that there’s a great deal of skill being used, maybe also some clever technology, but the ‘show’ they put on makes us focus on the illusion and forget what’s behind it. Great service is the same. My visit to Disney showed how 95% of what makes it the great place it goes on unseen by visitors. But then they add the magical 5% (pixie dust?) that turns it into a show, and we forget the mechanics and remember the magic. I know this is true of all magic because I’ve learned a few tricks myself. They each need hours (in my case weeks!!!) of practice to perfect and are often over in just a few seconds. But if they are then presented with style, making a show, the real magic then takes place.

I think it’s just the same with service. You must put in the hours, weeks, months or maybe years of preparation and practice. You’ll probably make many mistakes as you learn to get it right. You must also be able to deliver it with a degree of skill that will make it look effortless and easy. You’ll then have 95% of the job done. But if you don’t then make a ‘show’ of how you do or present it, there will be no magic and it won’t be thought of as anything other than ordinary by your customers. It’s that final 5% that turns the ordinary into the extraordinary. It’s the little bit extra that makes the big difference. It’s what gets noticed and makes it magical and memorable.

So I guess that means I’m ending with another irony. The really hard work, the planning, practice, and preparation are often never seen or noticed by customers. The better they are the more invisible they become. But the relatively easy bit, the performance, is usually noticed and remembered. But as I said at the beginning - isn’t life full of ironies?

© Copyright Chris Daffy