Been bopping around Disneyland the past few days with the fam. Disneyland in my opinion is Customer Sevice Mecca. If you care about customer service like I do (as a relationship strategist I teach and coach on it in the corporate world as well as teaching the customer service mindset as a core relationship strategy in marriage and family work) then Disney not only practices what they preach, they eat, breathe, walk and talk it. They even have a musical number centered around the concept:
Watch “Be Our Guest” from the movie Beauty and the Beast.
“Be our guest, be our guest!
Put our service to the test.”
I was. And I did.
And once again I was wowed! And once again reminded about how to do relationships, any relationship, right.
Watch the vid. This is how they approach it. The amazing amount of people pressing in on these people is astounding. Yet they remain energetic, enthusiastic, talkative, engaging and persistently patient and pleasant. Even when dealing with moronic or obstinate customers they treat them with kindness and respect (i.e., the classic “When’s the 3:00 o’clock parade?” question).
Just as in the above clip, they like to not only give great customer service, they also like to show it off and have fun doing it. They like to make a big deal out of great customer service. And what do people do? They, like me, talk about it. And we want more. And we come back for more. Again, and again, and again. Sounds just like what most marriages need (especially with such crappy stats)…
Q: So how do you apply, or think could be applied, “Be Our Guest” customer service in marriage and family relationships?
Serving. It’s what we’re really called to do when we get married. If we’re not serving each other what’s the point? There are many who just don’t get it. But it’s not about me. It’s good to be reminded that it really isn’t about me. It’s about my bride, my kids, my God. Servant hood, kindness, compassion and love I think are returned when we give to our spouse. Thanks for your post. It is so true.
Thanks Mark. I so agree. While it seems so simple and obvious I have found (as you may have,too) that it’s so obvious it is frequently missed completely. When I teach this to male clients it’s like a light goes on, “Of course! I would do no less for my customers. If I did they’d fire me and go elsewhere.” It’s stuff they know well in the biz world but had never considered as being relevant to relationships at home. I take it further with them by stating if our customers, with whom we’ve made no sacred vow to, deserve to be treated so well (and they do), how much more then do our spouses and children to whom we have sacred obligations deserve our very cream of the crop best? No one should ever get better from me than my spouse and children. That simple truth keeps my actions clear to my truest priorities, my noblest self and, of course, yields amazingly reciprocal relating (and happiness).