This document provides training on improving customer service. It discusses establishing a culture of service, defining clear roles and responsibilities, identifying different types of customers, and training employees to handle common problematic scenarios. Specific tips are provided on how to enhance the patron experience through proper recruitment, training, personal touches, over-informing patrons, and obtaining customer feedback. The goal is to understand patrons and move them along the value continuum from single ticket buyers to subscribers and donors.

1. Improving Patron
Experience:
E i
III. Training
Philippe Ravanas
Professor
Columbia College Chicago
1

2. 2
Customer Service Management Cycle
Customer Service Customer Service
Where it is now Where you want it to be
Stage 1 Stage 5
Understand the service Provide proactive
p
seekers Problem solving
Stage 2
Design experience Stage 4
S
& Set Standards Check up regularly
Stage 3
Build & train a
winning team
Ultimate goal: Understand how to move patrons along the value
continuum, from single ticket buyers, to subscribers and to donors

3. 3
A clear customer care policy defines:
1. Culture of service – and where it stops
2.
2 Roles
R l & responsibilities
ibili i
3. Expectations & delivery
4.
4 Client identification
Cli t id tifi ti & response
5. Training to scenarios & procedures

4. 4
1. Culture: The Disney way
1. The f
1 Th front-line i the b
li is h bottom li
line: employees iin f
l front of
f
the customer are the ones they see – look after them, teach
them well, support them. Every face to face interaction is a
moment of truth.
2. Hold staff accountable: Make them aware of what is
expected prior to hiring and during orientation. People work
better if they know the rules.
3. Create customer’s ‘wow’ moments: share them with
other employees & celebrate the employee who provided i
h l l b h l h id d it.
4. “What time is the three o’clock parade?”: may be a
cliché but to customers it is just a q
j question they’d
y
like answered.

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The Disney way
5. Separate on-stage and b k
5 S d back-stage presence: to
maintain the setting. Snow White can smoke but not when she
is ‘on-stage.’
6. Safety is not negotiable: – end of story.
7. Turn No into Wow : Ex: if a child waits in line for a ride
only to fi d he i not tall enough, h gets that allows hi and
l find h is ll h he h ll him d
his family to go immediately to the front of the line when he is
tall enough. A potentially bad moment turned into a wow one.
8. 2 ears, 2 eyes, 1 mouth: use them in that ratio:
listen & observe customers: they are trying to tell you
something. Then you can give them the help they need.
g y g p y

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2. Responsibilities: Classification of employees
1. Contactors
Directly involved - regular customer contacts
Well T i d/
ll Trained/motivated to serve customers on day to day
i d d d
basis - recruitment based on responsiveness
Ex: front desk employees
p y
2. Modifiers
Not directly involved but frequent customer contact
High levels of customer
relationship skills
p
Ex: Receptionists

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Classification of employees
3. Influencers
Sparse/No Customer contact
Implementation of organizational marketing strategy
Evaluated according to customer - oriented performance
standards
Ex: you!
4. Isolators
Performance of support functions
Critical for better performance
Understand Their
U d t d Th i contribution to better performance
t ib ti t b tt f
Ex: support functions: IT, HR, accounting…

8. 3. Expectations
R Reliability – Ability to perform the promised service
dependably & accurately
A Assurance - Knowledge, courtesy, ability to convey trust,
competence and confidence
d fd
T Tangibles – Appearance of personnel, facility, marketing
materials, etc.
t i l t
E Empathy - Degree of caring and individual attention the
customer receives
R Responsiveness - Willingness to help promptly
– without distraction
Leonard Berry, Professor, Texas A & M

9. Delivery
Reliability
Do what you say you will do and let the customer know
about it
Assurance
Product knowledge & Company knowledge
Active listening skills
Communications skills – verbal & written (in-person
(in-person,
phone, and email service)
Problem-solving skills - empowerment

10. Delivery
Tangibles
T ibl
Take pride in your environment, yourself, your workspace
and any forward-facing delivery mechanisms (online and
y g y (
marketing materials too!)
Empathy
Recognize the emotional state of the customer; validate
R i h i l f h lid
their feelings
Treat each person as an individual
p
Responsiveness
Respond quickly
The most frustrating part of waiting is not knowing how long
the wait will be.

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4. Identification
Difficult clients are…
like death and taxes: unavoidable
not always right, nor always wrong
l i h l
a pain for you and often for other clients: tainting
their experience
expensive, as they slow operations
not always worth serving: define cost to serve
helping you get better
opportunities: can be turned into evangelists
not all the same: typology

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The extreme user
Does not conform to typical use. C f
D f i l Can frustrate
other clients.
Ex: Kevin Smith Bounced off Southwest
Do you have other examples?
How to respond: make sure you conform to the law
and have clear policies & procedures in place in place.
Ex: Family li
E F il lines at airports = win-win
t ip t i i
"I'm way fat, but I'm not there just yet,"

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The Negotiator
Wants l of unbudgeted extras. A
W lots f b d d Assumes you are
desperate and will use almost any technique to get
more delivered. Don’t usually want a long-term
y g
relationship and may be blatantly rude.
How to respond: Stay cool and stick to the rules.

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The Worrier
Worries b
W i about everything. Of a f d
hi Often fundamentally ll
nice person, but will call all the time to inquire about
an order.
How to respond: Reassure the client, and inform
p ,
him/her regularly of all updates. He/she will typically
learn to trust you and become an evangelist.

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The Royal Visitor
Assume he/she should be treated as royalty.
Seriously difficult individual who is frequently friendly
but status aware. Assumes he/she holds enormous
status-aware
influence both over the organization and possibly
over your career.
How to respond: Focus on professional
delivery, d i the temptation to
d li despite h i
over-deliver or knuckle under.
“Flattery will get you everywhere” Mae West

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The Listening-impaired
Just doesn't listen, or read brochures, yet
complains indignantly when caught uninformed.
p g y g
How to respond: repeat, repeat, repeat…
p p , p , p

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The Decision-averse
Can’t make a decision, but will blame you if he/she
doesn’t like what you suggested.
How to respond: offer alternative but let him/her
choose.
h

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The nitpicker
Will hold you to the d il of the contract, even
h ld h details f h
after you have uncovered a better solution. Quick to
litigate.
g
How to respond: Limit exposure
Switch discussion from breach of contract to customer
satisfaction
Systematically compensate the plaintiff

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Training
Common themes in critical service encounters
Recovery: Adaptability:
Employee Response Employee Response
to Service Delivery to Customer Needs
System Failure and Requests
Coping: Spontaneity:
Employee Response Unprompted and
to Problem Customers Unsolicited Employee
Actions and Attitudes

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Recovery
DO DON’T
• Make it easy to complain • Ignore customer
• Listen without • Blame customer
interrupting immediately • Leave customer to
• Acknowledge problem
A k l d bl fend for him/herself
f d f hi /h lf
• Explain causes • Act as if nothing is
• Take responsibility wrong
• Apologize
• Lay out options
• Compensate/upgrade
"If your customer goes home mad, it is not only too late, but they will tell many
people THEIR STORY. But if you can catch them and correct the error, they will
tell YOUR STORY!"Jake Poore, Customer service Disneyworld

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Adaptability
DO DON’T
• Anticipate • P
Promise, then f il to
i h fail
• Acknowledge need follow through
• Attempt to accommodate • Ignore
• Explain rules/policies • Show unwillingness to try
• Take
T k responsibility
ibili • Embarrass the customer
• Avoid responsibility

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Spontaneity
DO DON’T
• Take time
• Exhibit impatience
• Be attentive
• Ignore
• Anticipate needs
• Yell/laugh/swear
• Listen
• Discriminate
• Provide information
(even if not asked)
( k d) • Treat impersonally
• Treat customers fairly
• Show
Sh empathy th
• Acknowledge by name
“One of the deep secrets of life is that all that is really worth doing
is what we do for others.” Lewis Carol

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Coping
DO DON’T
• Listen • T k customer’s
Take ’
dissatisfaction
• Avoid argument pe so a y
personally
• Try to accommodate • Let customer’s
• Explain dissatisfaction affect
• Keep records others
Learn from others: Madrid Airport

24. 5 Forbidden Phrases & replacement
I don’t know . . .
“Good Question, let me look into that for you.“
We can’t . . .
“That’s a tough one, let’s see what we can do” (find an alternative)
You’ll have
Yo ’ll h e to . . .
”Here’s how we can help you with that.”
Hang on a second, I’ll be right back. . .
g , g
“I’ll need to ask an associate to be sure, are you able to wait while I
check into it?”
No . . .
Find a positive alternative. “We are all out of stock, but we can give you
rain check or a similar product at the same price.”

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Any questions?
Let’s have a break!

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Your turn!
Do you have a culture of service?
Why / why not?
Do employees have clear roles & responsibilities
re. customer service?
How do you train your employees to better serve
your audience?
Are they rewarded / sanctioned for providing
good / bad service?
How do you train your volunteers
to better serve your audience?
Are they rewarded / sanctioned
for providing good / bad service?

27. Expectations
Give a specific proof & improvement for each:
R Reliability – Ability to perform the promised service
dependably & accurately
A Assurance - Knowledge, courtesy, ability to convey trust,
competence and confidence
d fd
T Tangibles – Appearance of personnel, facility, marketing
materials, etc.
t i l t
E Empathy - Degree of caring and individual attention the
customer receives
R Responsiveness - Willingness to help promptly
– without distraction

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Scenarios
Describe the experience of a satisfied patron
g
What went right?
Describe the experience of a dissatisfied patron
What went wrong?

29. Training for Customer Service
Identify 3 most common problematic scenarios
Identify procedures to solve each
List people involved
Response / feedback

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13 Tips to enhance customer experience
1. Don’t turn your back on your audience:
your mission i not just to put on a great show,
i i is j h
but as importantly to share it with the public.
Develop a culture of customer service and make
sure that every employee sees customer service as
part of your organization’s culture, and not as an
after thought or worse, a necessary evil.
worse evil

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13 Tips to enhance customer experience
2. Don’t take your patrons for granted:
over the past d d customer service h
h decade, i has
vastly improved in every industry.
Consumers have grown accustomed to good
service, and are more demanding then they
used to be.
Don t
Don’t test your patrons loyalty and strive to
yo r patrons’ loyalty,
retain their clientele.

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13 Tips to enhance customer experience
3. Think total experience:
every i t
interaction between your audience and
ti b t di d
your organization - whether by telephone, on
the Internet, in the parking lot, at the box
p g
office, during an event or during the lodging
of a complaint - enhance or negate your
consumers
consumers’ satisfaction.

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13 Tips to enhance customer experience
4. Script the experience:
create a logical, seamless and agreeable path
through which customer will go before, during
and after attending your play or exhibition.
gy p y
Make your guests happy the moment they get in.
Make sure that every aspect of their experience
sets their mood and prepares them to enjoy the
spectacle that is about to unfold before them.

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13 Tips to enhance customer experience
5. Recruit and train the right people:
Good customer service is a matter of attitude
and aptitude.
Hire people who are personable yet not easily
rattled.
Teach them how to interact with the public and
to answer any query.

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13 Tips to enhance customer experience
6. Allow people to break the rules:
p p
There are exceptions to everything.
All your front office employees should
y p y
understand the exceptions and have the
autonomy to ignore procedures if it is necessary
to accommodate a patron.
patron
Flexibility always lowers the number of
p
complaints.

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13 Tips to enhance customer experience
7. Over inform:
Be very clear about what you deliver to your
customers, what they should know about the
show & what you expect them to do.
w w y p
Tell them everything they need to know to
come enjoy the experience, then tell them
again,
again as they will forget.
forget

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13 Tips to enhance customer experience
8. Use a personal touch:
your guests have to think of their experience with
you as more th an anonymous retail exchange.
than t il h
Identify them by their name when they come to see
you
Surprise them by communicating with them when
they don't expect you to, just to find out how
they re
they're doing.
For instance, you could greet every new
subscriber with a welcome card placed
on their seat for their first visit
visit.

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13 Tips to enhance customer experience
9. Don’t operate blind:
p
Listen to your customers and to your front
office staff. It’s the best way to understand
what need to be done to improve the
audience experience.
Develop a mechanism to capture the voice of
customers, collect their complaints & track
ll h i l i k
their satisfaction level.
If you don’t measure it, you can’t change it.
y y g

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13 Tips to enhance customer experience
10. Follow up and through:
p g
Don’t let customers feedback fall into a
black hole.
Address their concerns fix what they say
concerns,
is not working and let them know you
fixed it – before it’s too late

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13 Tips to enhance customer experience
11. Be a customer yourself:
y
go regularly through the process of buying
and attending your own shows. It’s the
best way to understand how customers
experience your product.

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13 Tips to enhance customer experience
12. ‘Collar’ the experiences y don’t control
p you
surround it by experiences you control
ex: facility, box office…

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13 Tips to enhance customer experience
13. Don’t reinvent the wheel!
“The future is already here - it is just unevenly distributed.”
William Gibson - writer

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Words of wisdom
“The easiest kind of relationship for me is with
ten thousand people. The hardest is with one.”
Joan B
J Baez
43
“I've learned that people will forget what you said,
people will forget what you did but people will
did,
never forget how you made them feel.”
Maya Angelou, Nobel prize of literature

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Any questions?
Thanks!