Magical Moments and Take 5s: Take II
Last time we spoke of Magical Moments and Take 5s. We asked you to share some of your experiences, not only with Disney, but with other organizations. Thanks to all who wrote. We want to share some of those experiences and build on them as well.
Magical Moments and Take 5s abound at Epcot’s Flower and Garden Festival. This Magical Moment involves lady bug releases.
As you recall, Magical Moments are orchestrated opportunities to surprise and delight customers. Take 5s are also opportunities to surprise and delight customers, but they are much more in the moment.
Ricki B. takes us to Disneyland, where these concepts behind great guest service were first fine-tuned. She shared both two stories that illustrate both a Magical Moment and a Take 5 at Disneyland. One Magical Moment was at the Carnation Plaza where the Nestle’s Toll House Cookies are made with children and Cast Members. One enthusiastic, long-time Cast Member noticed that their 4-year-old grandson had a birthday badge on so he gave him a large cookie. Their grandson, Jacob, brought the cookie to his family and broke off pieces to share with everyone. When the Cast Member noticed how Jacob had shared the cookie, he praised him, and told him to wait there as he had something special to give to him. He shortly returned with two special identical Cast Member pins with a card attached. One was for him and another was for him to share with someone in the park who was doing something special. As Ricki shared it: “He definitely made our day as we were really touched as he would take the time to do that.”
Disneyland. Home to many a Magical Moment.
This is a great example of taking a Magical Moment (making cookies with Cast Members) and adding a Take 5 on top of it (special pins). Of course, these opportunities can’t happen if you don’t resource your employees with the tools to make them happen.
Ricki B. mentioned another occasion when they visited Turtle Talk with Crush at Disney’s California Adventure. They visited the park with their Son and his family from Denver. They were watching Crush the Turtle show in California Adventure and their grandsons raised their hand but were not picked by Crush. After the show, they approached the host Cast Member with their questions. The Cast Member told them that he thought Crush would like to talk to them about their questions. So after everyone had left he called Crush back and the boys got to ask him their questions and had some private time with just their family and Crush. “That was very magical and made my family’s day. The boys still talk about that magical moment made possible by a caring Cast Member.”
Crush is best when he’s talking to you!
Again, technology is great. But it’s made greater when you’ve utilized it for personalizing one’s experience.
These concepts are easily transferable elsewhere. Raelaun operates his own recreation experience. When a child is too short to ride in their bumper boat attraction, they allow the child to stand in a safe area behind the queue area and blow the “official” whistle signaling the end of the ride cycle. This usually turns an upset child into a very happy and eager to help out guest. It works wonders for the parents as well. As he puts it: “I highly recommend any type of business to use this practice. With very little effort, you can create a positive image in every single guest that walks through your door and ensure they will return again and again.”
Tom S. took exception to my comment that some of the offerings during the Year of a Million Dreams initiative were token because they were not nearly as personalized. He noted: “My 22-month-old daughter will take a free sticker from any cast member in any mood. Much better to get one than not to get one. And I was happy to get a Jungle Cruise map, even if it was the 5th one he gave out that day.”
Great point. My kids are similar. He goes on to say: “I don’t think there will be a dramatic Cast Member improvement till they start with a minimum $10 an hour wage in Anaheim. That’s about what many kids make for babysitting.”
That’s a fair point. And we may want to bring this up further in another column. The issues around pay in Anaheim have become so embarrassing, that they can no longer be brushed aside. But that said, Gallup has done some interesting research around what creates employee engagement. You can pay someone a decent wage and never see engagement. We’ll talk about that in a future column, but consider the comments sent in from Claudia, who is a former international Cast Member from Epcot. She shares how she did the following:
- Provided free ice creams to lost kids at Baby Care.
- Replaced cameras dropped in Rio del Tiempo with disposable ones.
- Replacing a lost entire Nativity set of a Guest she served earlier-even though he didn’t still have a receipt.
Magical Moments at this last weekend’s Cinco de Mayo celebration.
Many of these events come as part of providing service recovery. She remarked:
“It not only makes a guest’s day special but it made our days special and less humdrum. Surprisingly, even working at the most magical place on Earth can get a bit dull so we all looked forward to spicing up our days and it was almost as if the guest’s benefit was nothing but a happy side-effect.”
There’s so much truth in this statement. You want to engage your employees. And engaging them in Magical Moments and Take 5s creates not only engaged employees but loyal customers. That’s not to say you can’t pay attention to pay. But it’s not just all about the pay.
Japan also celebrates May 5 with Child’s Day. Hence another set of Magical Moment opportunities in that pavilion.
I want to go back to Tom S. who also provided a great Nordstrom story:
“I sat in my car and a pocket, hooked on my anti-theft Club, became partially ripped off. I took it in to Nordstrom (where I purchased the pants) to find out how much it would be to repair and the clerk insisted there would be no charge. I am going to buy pants there again. I owe them.”
That’s a great example of being a service hero, even though the incident was not the fault of Nordstrom. Nordstrom succeeds at this because they give their employees the freedom to do this. You have to empower your employees to make this happen. And this kind of service tiers up to greater employee engagement. Thanks Tom for bringing some great issues to the surface!
Nordstrom succeeds by empowering their employees.
I’ll end with a couple of my own favorite, personal Take 5 stories:
I have a young daughter (4 at the time) who has some challenges with autism. Specifically, when the fireworks go off at The Magic Kingdom, she becomes very frightened. When Wishes premiered at The Magic Kingdom, I told the rest of my family that I would take our daughter inside an attraction during that time so they could see it. As the hour came upon us, I moved into Buzz Lightyear’s Space Ranger Spin. She panicked. I didn’t realize she was anxious about that attraction as well. Looking hurriedly for somewhere to turn, I ran across the way to The Merchant of Venus. There were several guests still inside shopping, so I thought I was fine.
That said, within 5 minutes they had all exited, and I knew I still had some 10 minutes to go. The manager on duty at the store informed me that the store was closed. I explained the situation. He and two others on duty, ready to pull their cash till, looked at me like they were going to die if they had to wait another minute to get off duty. But they said nothing. I sort of sunk into a corner with Madison trying not to cause any difficulty.
The next few minutes were awkward. But finally the fireworks ended and I took my daughter by the hand and headed out the door. I was already moving away from the building when the young manager called after me. I turned and looked around. Kneeling in front of my daughter, he said: “Before you leave, we want to give you something. It’s a gift from Tinker Bell. She knew you couldn’t see the fireworks, so she wanted you to have something.”
He handed her a Tinker Bell wand, which lit up in the night. Fascinated, she clutched on to it watching it change many colors. Thank him profusely, I thought to myself: “Yes! He did the right thing! He created a Take 5 moment for my child out of what was an awkward situation!”
On my way out of the park, I had to tell someone, so I stopped at City Hall. Remember, I made mention that Guest Relations is always on the right as you exit, so as to handle guests as they are exiting. I stood before a hostess who looked exhausted from the day’s whining. You could see she was just going through the motions of hearing another complaint. When I got to the part where the young manager gave the Tinker Bell wand, you could see her do a double take. “He did what?! That’s wonderful! What’s his name? We’ll have to thank him!” I acknowledged him and continued on my journey. Sharing my Take 5 with another brought perhaps more joy to her than it did to my daughter.
That was a special experience. But it pales compared to what it can look like in the real world. For instance, consider the Mayor Weaver’s wife on Main Street. Not a pretend wife, but his real life in the real world. I don’t mean to strip the magic here. But the mayor’s wife was our same daughter’s nurse when she was in intensive care for her first couple of months in Florida Hospital. I can’t begin to tell you the amount of time she gave to both us and our daughter during that very stressful time. They weren’t Take 5s. They were Take 60s! In fact, I can’t help but see the Mayor on Main Street without becoming a little tearful. That’s because when we sincerely do these things, it creates in us a feeling we can never remove.
To Mayor Weaver’s wife, and to all at Florida Hospital, Thanks.
It’s one story out of many we all share. But they are messages about what we can do for others, even in our own place of business. In short, providing Magical Moments and Take 5s:
- Are critical to creating customer loyalty.
- Help to engage employees.
- Can be a high touch support to high tech offerings.
- Help in providing great service recovery.
- Succeed when you give employees the permission to freely do so.
- Are contagious when they happen!
Next time, we are headed specifically to The Magic Kingdom at Walt Disney World. As a clue to our topic, here’s a riddle. See if you know the particular answer I’m looking for.
Besides “where’s the restroom” or “where’s Mickey” or other typical questions asked in any of the parks, what is one of the most common questions asked by Guests unique to The Magic Kingdom park. Hint: It happens every day, and more people attend it than any other attraction.
Write me if you have an answer. Meanwhile, take 5 and make someone’s day special. It’ll help you find the magic in your own business.
Best, Jeff
