Disney cast member know how to PREspond℠ to customer need. Photo: Offbeat Training LLC

She was in a hurry, carrying her child in front of her, at arm’s length, and looking left and right. The Disney cast member, seeing this, and without being asked, pointed and directed, “the second door on the left.” She found the door and got her child into the restroom in the nick of time. It all happened so quickly that she might not even remember that cast member, but her day was made more magical because the cast member PREsponded℠ to her in her moment of need.

Much of Disney’s success comes from its ability to anticipate and meet customer need before the customer realizes that the need exists. Where many organizations are responsive to customer needs, Disney tries to PREspond℠ to those needs.

This behavior comes directly from Walt Disney himself. Walt always took the guests point of view. During the construction of Disneyland, he would make the construction personnel crouch down to a child’s level to visualize how the park would look to children. Once Disneyland began daily operation, he spent hours walking it incognito and observing guest behavior. Changes were then made based on those observations. Walt even, in one instance, had a walkway moved because the guests were making their own path through a flower bed.

This PREsponding℠ habit is still deeply ingrained in the Disney culture and is delivered through both design and delivery.

PREsponsive℠ Design

Disney pays critical attention to the placement of facilities. The intent is to deliver what the guest needs at the precise moment when they begin to realize they have that need. Some examples include:

• The Hub design – Disney parks are designed with a central decision and gathering location. In the Magic Kingdom, for example, the hub is right in front of Cinderella castle. To make guest flow, decision-making, and reconnecting party members easier, all paths lead back to this hub.
• Right siding facilities – Because most people are right-handed, they veer to the right as they walk through the parks. When you enter a Disney Park, the stroller rental and camera stores, for instance, are usually on the right and last-minute souvenir shops and Guest Relations are on the left.
• Merchandise shop placement – Many Disney rides exit into a souvenir shop where guests who enjoyed the ride can purchase a memory if it.
• Garbage disposal – Trash cans are placed every 25 or so paces so that a place to dispose of garbage is within easy guest reach.

PREsponsive℠ Delivery

Continuous Improvements – As we saw in Snaps Disney Asked What Was Wrong With It, The Epcot Ice Cream Police, Build It for Them, and Standing in Non-Existing Lines, gradual, often subtle changes are made to deliver a better guest experience.

Disney park guest behavior is, fortunately, consistent and easy to predict. Disney cast members have learned how to spot and PREspond℠ to each guest’s specific needs, usually before being asked. It amazes guests: as if the cast members have read their minds. Cast members are not, of course, mind readers. They instead use their on-the-ground experiences to predict and PREspond℠ to guest situations like the one that opened this Snap. Other common situations and responses include:

• A guest taking a group photo – Offering to take the photo so that person can be included in the snap
• A guest staring at a guide map – Approaching to provide direction
• A guest walking towards an attraction host – Sharing wait time information

The key to PREsponsiveness℠ is to pay close attention to customer behavior, spot needs and wants that are repeatedly expressed, identify and institute appropriate responses, demonstrate those responses yourself, train your staff on those actions, and reward those that deliver PREsponsiveness℠.

What to create your own customer magic? Don’t just respond to customer need. PREspond℠!