By: Katie Klaes
Disney is commonly referred to as “The Happiest Place on Earth.” People visit Disney for any number of reasons: birthdays, proposals, honeymoons, graduations, or simply to make family memories that will last a lifetime.
Do you think these customers have high expectations? You bet they do.
How to Provide Excellent Customer Service
At the Walt Disney Company, the guest experience is everything. Employees must be dedicated to making each and every guest feel special.
Every business will have its share of unhappy customers, even the happiest place on earth. What sets a business apart from the rest is how they handle these situations. Not just once, but consistently by all team members to all clients.
The LAST Method
What is an employee to do when they encounter a guest who is unhappy, whose expectations have not been met?
For all customer service issues, Disney has well-defined quality standards that help employees (known there as cast members) work through their decision-making process. Due to extensive and consistent training, cast members are empowered to make decisions in order to resolve the problem.
One such tool is the LAST Model:
- Listen
- Apologize
- Solve
- Thank
Listen
Most people just want their complaints heard and feel empathy from the listener.
The complaint most likely won’t be about the person listening, but as an employee and representative of the company, it is now up to them to solve it.
Apologize
Saying sorry can go a long way when it is used sincerely. Patients want their feelings validated, and you can apologize on behalf of the company for what happened and the experience they are having.
Solve
The first two steps will help tremendously in diffusing the situation.
When it comes to solving the problem, is there a way that you can make the patient happy by spending a small sum of money that will be a huge value to them and make them happy? – A gift card to a local establishment or free whitening may do just that.
Thank
Thank the patient for bringing the issue to your attention and for choosing the practice for their dental care.
If appropriate, follow up with them and make sure they are happy with the resolution.
Katie Klaes
For questions and suggestions, please e-mail me at klklaes@gmail.com.
