Disneyland offers a link in its mobile app where visitors can submit a “cast compliment” for employees who were especially friendly or helpful. The company uses this feature to single out employees for excellence in customer service.
I would like to offer a compliment to the employees guests never notice. This goes not only for Disneyland, but also for any popular hospitality business. The more customers that employees serve, the more important that they offer an experience that is not just friendly but frictionless as well.
Friction is the enemy of any well-tuned machine. In the hospitality business, interactions between employees and guests create multiple opportunities for friction that can slow or stall operations. The trick for business is to provide great customer service without that friction.
Think of the load platform at Pirates of the Caribbean. Great cast members display an infectious enthusiasm that inspires visitors to want to get into their load row and onto that boat and sit down as swiftly as possible. They are not stopping to get to know or entertain guests. This is no place nor time for “magic moments.”
A day at Disneyland, or any other vacation resort, provides plenty of opportunities for employees to do that. But if managers are not careful in the training they provide and the metrics they use to evaluate employees, they can create unnecessary friction in their operations.
Creating friendly and frictionless operation is the art of high-volume service. It requires a team of individuals with diverse personalities and strengths in dealing with customers’ needs. In less popular locations at slower moments, a business needs the social extroverts who love to talk and get to know their customers. But in high capacity settings, a business needs a different skill set.
In computer programming, there’s a management cliché that you should find the laziest person to take on the most complex tasks. That’s because they will find the most efficient way to program a solution. In theme parks and high-volume hospitality businesses, you want to find the happy introverts to load your attractions. They are the ones who appear thrilled to be working at a location, but also who want to get their visitors in and through quickly, without anyone slowing down and fixating on them.
“How many? Row two. Have a seat, and a have a great time!” That’s it. Enthusiasm is the social lubricant that keeps the throughput counts high, the wait times low and the customer satisfaction rates soaring.
Of course, not every customer arrives ready for a frictionless day. That is when businesses need employees with the training and experience to resolve potentially problematic interactions with as little fuss and drama as possible. If that cannot happen without stalling operations, the business needs to have enough extra people in the rotation to allow someone to step aside to resolve the situation.
When it all works well, everyone has a great time, even if you do not remember the names or faces of the people who made it happen. So, thank you to all the friction-soothing employees whom customers never notice.