Smile, Darn Ya Smile

Smile, Darn Ya, Smile

Smile, darn ya, smile
You know this whole world is a good world after all
Smile, darn ya, smile
And right away watch lady luck pay you a call
Things are never black as they are painted
Time for you and joy to get aquainted.
Make life worth while Come on and
Smile, darn ya, smile

You may remember this tune, which was repopularized in the film, Who Framed Roger Rabbit. All of the ‘toons come together at the end of the film and join in unison on these words.

The greatest symbol of customer service is a smile. Having a smile is a part of what makes Disney legendary. For years making eye contact and a smile were the first of Disney’s Seven Service Guidelines. Under Disney’s new Service Basics, Smiling is listed as the first way to project a positive image and energy. It’s been a heritage of Disney’s to have their hosts and hostesses greet others with a smile.

All that said, it’s not easy smiling at Disney. Sometimes it’s hot out there. The humidity is high. Lightning storms are on their way. There are more guests than one knows what to do with. Lines queue in every direction. Some guests are frustrated, even angry; others are cheating in line or ruining the guest experience for others. The other cast members are exhausted and tired. And then to make matters worse, the boss comes parading through from having been behind his desk in an air-conditioned office and reminds you to smile.

It’s not easy—even at Disney. For instance, sometimes the prioritize standards of safety, courtesy, show, and efficiency lose their context. One Disney cast member put it this way:

“At my attraction we are constantly being pressured to be ‘efficient.’ They do ask us not to sacrifice courtesy over efficiency but at the end of the day all that matters are the counts each hour.… With competitions between attractions to see who can accomplish the highest counts, sometimes we forget to slow down and give that simple smile you talk about in your article. Yet if a guest stops and asks me how my day is going, I always gladly stop my monotonous routine to talk to them and create a ‘magical moment.'”

I find this response to be very authentic, and typical of how many people feel about being pleasant toward others. There are many benefits behind smiling.

Why smile?

There has actually been a large body of work done on why smiling matters. Indeed, look on the Internet and you will find that it is said that a genuine smile…

Makes us more attractive.
Helps us to change our mood.
Provides us a greater attention/notice from others around us.
Boosts our immune system and overall health.
Utilizes as many as 16 facial/neck muscles. But it takes 43 to frown.
Lowers the blood pressure.
Helps make people more successful in the long run.
Helps us stay more positive.
Releases endorphins that act as natural pain killers.
Boosts levels of Serotonin which regulates our moods, sleep, sexuality and appetite.
Acts as a natural pain killer.
Makes us look younger
Helps pave the way toward a better future.
Releases a warmer vocal tone.
Becomes contagious with others.
Relieves our stress.
Makes others more comfortable in our presence.
Triggers certain hormones, lowering heart rates, and steadying breathing.
Helps support our immune systems and fight illness.
Helps us to live longer.
Provides a stimulation to others as strong as eating 2,000 chocolate bars.
Becomes contagious.
Offers greater leniency to those facing a judge.
Eases the tension in an embarrassing moment.

The secret Is to SMILE

If you want your employees to smile, then you need to think about what that takes. I have an acronym for this-SMILE. SMILE isn’t a “cute” cheer. SMILE isn’t some quick little rule-of-thumb for turning a frown upside down. Rather it represents what is foundational in an authentic display of courtesy. SMILE stands for the following:

S – Serve

It’s about service. If you like truly serving others, a smile will be a natural extension of that attitude. Let’s face it. Faking a smile is really about masking your attitude. If you have a lousy attitude, it’s really hard to come across differently when communicating with others. And if your attitude is a conditional one, where you only act nice and smile to those who do the same, then you’re going to have an inconsistent experience. Great customer service is unconditional service. Unconditional service is about having the best attitude possible no matter what. Having the best attitude requires keeping a smile on your face.

M – Mirror

If you want your employees to smile and be happy, you’re going to authentically match that behavior. If you want fellow co-workers to smile, you have to lead the way. If you want the customer to be happy, you must take the initiative. You simply have to mirror the correct behaviors if you are going to expect it from others. It starts with a smile. And when you smile, try to match the emotional level others are at. If you bouncing around like Bozo the Clown while someone is getting over their hangover via a morning cup of coffee, you’ll lose the purpose behind the smile. That doesn’t mean if they’re grumpy, you be grumpy. But it does mean that smiling can simply be an act of pleasantry rather than an act of cheerleading.

I – “I” or “me”

We choose to smile. The greatest power we as humans possess is our ability to choose. We are the only creatures in the animal kingdom who choose to smile. Dolphins may look smiley, but that look is fairly fixed. We on the other hand, get to choose. An our smiles can’t look like a fixed smile on a dolphin. You can’t force someone to be pleasant with others. You can’t make it part of their performance review. You don’t get it by making others repeat cute and catchy phrases when they walk into your establishment. Even “Have a Magical Day” becomes less than magical if it’s forced on every cast member’s lips. By the way, some will say that you hire the smile and train the skill. Perhaps so, but whether smiling comes easy for you or not, you have to choose to smile with others. It’s a choice.

L – Lighten Up

We could have also used L for Laughter. Keep a sense of humor. Bring it to the surface whenever possible. Try to keep things light—even when others are drawing you down. Given time and a little context, you will probably look back on some of your worse job experiences and have a good laugh. When it’s hard to smile, find your laughing place and draw from it. For me, it’s sharing my experience with my wife after a long day of work. But sometimes it’s getting off the plane from a long gig and knowing I’m heading to a Disney park or the beach during the weekend. Find your laughing place, and lighten up—especially when others aren’t.

E – Engage

Employees who are not engaged in their work seldom keep a smile on their face for long. When I say engaged, what I mean is that they feel empowered, they feel a sense of ownership. They know what their doing and what their role means to the mission of the organization. They have the tools and equipment to do their job. They receive feedback for doing a great job, as well as development in learning how to be even more effective. It’s really difficult to expect employees to be happy and to genuinely demonstrate that emotion in their work if the work you give them is mundane and meaningless. You have to build employee engagement.

Of course, if you’re like W.C. Fields you may be inclined to “start each day with a smile and get over it.” After all, like my Gen-Y daughter says, some jobs are “super sucky.” And even in the best job, there are days where you’re not going to want to smile. Sometimes you have to acknowledge that the circumstances in which you find yourself are awful and uncomfortable. But here’s what you have to do. You still have to treat others—especially your fellow employees, with as much respect and dignity possible. And, returning to the lyrics of our song, if you want to make life worthwhile, you have to learn to smile as often as possible–even when you’re not in it. After all, it’s about attitude. And in the end, it’s attitude that determines our fate. So, smile, make some magic in your own business, and…

Author

Jeff Kober

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