Performance Tips from the Mouse

Walt Disney is perhaps the greatest practitioner of Guest Services around today. Books have been written about what the "cast" at Disney does to make people feel welcome (I know - I've read all of them, and own most of them).

So I'm sure you won't mind if we go backstage at Disney to learn about their Performance Tips - a list of actions which every Disney employee learns during their orientation.

Performance Tips are a set of generic behaviors that ensure that cast members know how to act courteously and respect the individuality of each guest. These tips have been translated into a set of behavioral actions called Guidelines for Guest Services:

• Make eye contact and smile!
• Greet and welcome each and every guest
• Seek out guest contact
• Provide immediate service recovery
• Display appropriate body language at all times
• Preserve the "magical" guest experience
• Thank each and every guest

You can read more about these guidelines found in the excellent book "Be Our Guest," published by the Disney Institute by going here.

These seven sentences serve a variety of purposes. First, the define behavior in terms of guests. They also communicate employee responsibilities. Finally, they showcase ways to customize service to individual guests.

Your church won't have tens of thousands of people coming through your doors every day - but the principles Disney uses as a baseline starting point for training its cast members are appropriate in the context of your church.

Why don't you put these Perfomance Tips into practice for your Guest Team?