@Disney: 3 ways to turn your wait in line into a world of wonderment

February 1, 2012

Waiting in line for something thrilling is sometimes difficult.

Your mind races with excitement in anticipation of what’s next.

  • The movie premiere that you’ve been longing to see is now just 30 minutes away.
  • The newest version of the iPhone that you can’t live without just went on-sale and you are nearly to the front of the line.
  • The clock on your oven counts down 5,4,3,2,1 signaling that your juicy, succulent Thanksgiving turkey is about ready.

As I recently stood in line to ride the much-hyped Disney World coaster, Expedition Everest, “The Waiting”, a familiar song from a Florida native son, Tom Petty bounced through my head:

“The waiting is the hardest part
Every day you get one more yard
You take it on faith, you take it to the heart
The waiting is the hardest part.”

Waiting in line is time-consuming at Disney, although not nearly as bad as expected when I saw the immense group of visitors. The crowds were heavy during our stay, yet, surprisingly, we never waited for more than 30 minutes for a ride – sometimes even without a Fast Pass.

The Alphabet of Fun should start with D for Disney.

The wait for Expedition Everest was one of the longer ones, yet once immersed within the world of Yeti footprints, Himalayan explorers and snow-capped peaks time seems to melt away. You find yourself pondering the existence of the Yeti instead of searching for a clock, which you’ll be hard-pressed to find at Disney World.

@Disney: Why not try these ideas to make wait times seem even shorter and thrill the customer in the process?

  1. Can characters entertain the guests as they wait in line? The youngsters might want to frolic with Donald Duck and Mickey Mouse, but I am thinking more characters that are true to the theme. How about a pirate mingling with the line as they wait for the Pirates of the Caribbean? Or a bearded explorer in search of the Yeti for the masses waiting for Expedition Everest?
  2. I realize I am biased living in Austin, Texas, the live musical capital of the world, but can Disney World weave music into the experience of waiting? The Pirates of the Caribbean already has an entire movie soundtrack guaranteed to make everyone say, “AARRRGGGGHHH.” Music over the loudspeaker could add ambiance, but imagine the impact of a live band playing imposing ‘pirate music.’
  3. Surprise customers that had to wait the longest for a ride on Space Mountain with a Fast Pass to another great ride at the resort. You’ll turn a happy customer into a Disney evangelist.

The customer service of Disney is legendary in concept and execution. Despite the lines, I’ll still wait for the rides and shows at Disney World. The thrills that await are unforgettable. Perhaps trying a few new customer experience angles will even enhance its excellence.

Until next time,

Dan Naden

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Posted by Dan Naden

@Hertz: The Virtual Agent Lightens the Pain of Waiting

January 16, 2012

I’ll admit it; I hate waiting.

I try to be patient, yet I am spoiled by the immediacy of everything.

When the train gates fall and bring my car to a standstill, I sigh.

When all lines at the grocery store look like a LA freeway, smoke drifts out my ears.

Before you join the masses on the road, wouldn't it great if you didn't have to wait?

When the number at the deli counter is 14 and I am number 36, I silently groan.

The Hertz Rental Car place in Atlanta, Georgia was a busy place a few weeks ago.

As I strolled up to the counter, the line was interminable; tense business professionals attempted to pass the time stuck in their smartphones.

I glanced to the left and noticed a bank of open monitors.

Simultaneously, a friendly young lady invited me to meet a virtual agent by guiding to an open computer.

“It will be much shorter than waiting in this long line,” she said.

I was a bit skeptical that I appeared to be the first taker (sucker!), but I was intrigued to test-drive the process.

“What’s your name, sir,” the smiling Hertz representative asked.

“Dan,” I responded.

“Dan, I’d like you to meet Mary. Mary will take care of you this morning.”

As the friendly young lady stepped away from the monitor, the smiling Mary appeared on the screen and began to quickly, courteously, effortlessly find me an affordable vehicle for my stay in Atlanta. The entire process probably took 2 minutes less than a face-to-face exchange – that’s efficiency.

I was impressed by how Hertz made the ‘impersonal’ exchange via computer very personal. Think Skype with a smile.

If the metrics make sense, other service industries (airports, ticket counters, car service stations) should seriously consider virtual agents to alleviate longer lines, harried travelers.

I may still dislike waiting, yet Hertz serves up a smidgen of joy while you wait.

Until next time,

Dan Naden

1 Comment | customer experience, Customer Service, knowing your customers, marketing | Tagged: , , , , | Permalink
Posted by Dan Naden

Sea World presents a charming day…with a catch

January 4, 2012

I am surrounded by Cookie Monster, Elmo and Bert, as they dance to a catchy tune about letters and numbers. For a moment, I think about throwing caution to the wind and join in the two step. The furry creatures that taught me the ABCs are now paving the path for the next generation and I can’t really control myself.

The smiles on our children’s faces are as wide as Texas.

The live shows were a dazzling display of beauty and strength.

Recently, the family spent a spectacular day at Sea World San Antonio on a mild late summer day. The sun beat loud and proud on that day.

This treasured day, however, almost didn’t happen.

Our plan was simple:

-Open the doors to the park at 10am.

-Stay until exhaustion beat us down.

 The skies on that particular Saturday morning, however, were hostile. Drizzle and fog dampened all spirits. The previous night’s rain, thunder and lightning displays were legendary.

After a few hours of wishing, hoping, praying that the rain would stop, we caught a break.

The skies lightened just enough to let us into the park around noon.

Despite our late start, we were ambitious about our pursuit of trying every ride, coaster, game that was available at Sea World San Antonio. With the park featuring Halloween hours and events (until 10pm), we believed that we had plenty of time to ‘give it a go’.

We petted the sting rays, bobbed and weaved on the Shamu Express roller coaster, laughed on the merry-go-round, and marveled at the artistry and acrobatics of Azul. Azul was a major departure from your typical dolphin show. Talented professionals swam, dove, climbed, soared against a majestic backdrop of light, color, sound.  Unbelievable.

Even I tested his nerves on the jaw-dropping Steel Eel. As I made the slow, methodical incline prior to the ride’s steepest drop, I wondered, “Why am I doing this?” When it was over, I was ready to do it again!

Then, unexpectedly at 5pm, we heard this over the park’s loudspeaker:

“Attention please; because of inclement weather earlier in the day, the park will be closing at 6pm today. All Hallowscream activities are cancelled for tonight.”

The words: “What?”, “Huh?” could be heard reverberating around the park.

This was a surprise in the worst way.

I realize weather plays a significant role in the unpredictable schedules of most of these amusements parks, yet we wouldn’t have made the decision to enter the park around noon (at full price!) if we knew the day was only six hours long instead of ten hours. With the sky clearing, it didn’t cross our mind that the park would close early.

Most likely, we’ll return to Six Flags San Antonio for some stupendous fun. This bout of unfortunate, nearly unfathomable, news probably put a frown on the furry faces of Cookie Monster, Elmo and Bert as well as on the faces of the Austin visitors.

Until next time,

Dan Naden

1 Comment | advertising, Atmosphere. Customer Service, Communication, community, customer experience, Customer Service, knowing your customers, marketing to kids, Texas | Tagged: , , , , | Permalink
Posted by Dan Naden

Blackberry’s customer service misfortunes

December 21, 2011

With my flight hours away, and my departure gate in sight, I decided to move off the main pathway of Atlanta’s airport and into one of its many retail stores.

Moving past smoothie factories, cheery sports bars and bustling departure gates, I ventured into a Blackberry store.

Blackberry's in-store experience was extremely underwhelming.

The young man glared at me as if I were the first visitor in hours. No greeting. No welcome. He stared straight ahead as if his job were torture.

Being a former Blackberry customer and ‘in the market’ for a new phone, I had an interest in the past, present and future on this once proud leader of mobile devices.

After browsing the many phones available in the store, I thought the staffer would inquire about my needs, yet the silence continued.

I took the first step and asked:

“Do you have any specials today?”
“No,” the worker responded, quickly retreating to his comfort of silence.

“Are all of the recent outages affecting Blackberry resolved.”
“Yes,” he muttered.

“Do you have any Sprint phones?”
He then pointed to a row of Sprint-enabled phones against the wall.

I tipped and tapped a few keyboards, touched some screens, read some feature descriptions and then it happened as I prepared to exit the store.

“Are there any questions I can answer for you?” the Blackberry representative asked meekly. Amazingly, he finally woke up to his role as customer advocate.

I turned and shook my head from side to side as I stepped back into the main artery of the airport.

Blackberry’s problems are much more fundamental and far-reaching than this dispirited exchange, yet this is clearly are a microcosm of this floundering mobile machine.

Years ago, Blackberry lost the touch of the customer. Apple brought products to market that inspired and energized the masses. Now, Blackberry’s doing its finest to ignore customers on their doorstep.

Until next time,

Dan Naden

3 Comments | advertising, Communication, Customer Service, experience, knowing your customers, marketing, merchandising, shopping, simplicity, Uncategorized, user experience | Tagged: , | Permalink
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@ Best Buy, it’s the stuff that brings them in….

September 19, 2011

Since when have we become so ‘accessorized’?

Recently, I visited a Best Buy and expected to find wall after wall of big screen TVs, computers, electronics, stereos. I am not much of a gadget guy, so I don’t frequent these places very much. Well, I wasn’t disappointed. My preconceived notions were fulfilled.

The store’s perimeter is an electronic festival with flashes of light, color, images and sound.  A bank of TVs allure with stunningly picturesque pictures of bears swatting salmon in angry rapids, two children frolicking in a meadow of wildflowers, a fearsome linebacker delivering a knockout blow to the opposing team’s quarterback. I couldn’t help but look at every one, despite the fact that they were all streaming the same picture.

You could hear a pin drop in this aisle.

The store’s interior, however, pulses to a different beat. Let’s call it stuff (accessories): game cartridges, DVDs, CDs, gift cards, wires, cables, camera cases, Ipod skins. I am fairly tech-savvy, yet I almost felt compelled to ask for a translation guide. This accessory goes with what product? And why would I need this?

I used to think of Best Buy as the store of ‘Big Things’: TV, appliances, stereos.  It’s where I went with a friend’s truck because I knew my car wouldn’t hold my loot.

Now, it’s the land of small things. Five years ago, you walked out of Best Buy with something on a dolly for $500 pushed by a pimply-faced high-schooler. Now, you pack your cart full of ‘things’ and wonder how all of it cost $300. During my recent visit, the traffic condensed around the peripherals, add-ons, and accessories, not the big-ticket items.

The world’s become bigger. Its products, however, are becoming smaller.

Sure, we still buy the big things, but the ‘little stuff’ seems to be the locomotive in today’s economy train.

Until next time,

Dan Naden

1 Comment | advertising, Communication, communications, customer experience, Customer Service, knowing your customers, marketing, shopping, store design, Uncategorized, user experience | Tagged: , , , , , , , , | Permalink
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