It's All About the Experience - Pennington & Trim Alarm Services Inc

Earlier this year Ed and I attended the Electronic Security Association Leadership Summit and had an opportunity to attend a seminar about customer service by Dennis Snow.

Mr. Snow worked for Disneyworld for about 20 years, and we really enjoyed listening to him since we went to Disneyworld on our honeymoon and have gone there many times as a couple and with our children and grandchildren. We really enjoyed his message, and I shared it with our staff in our department meetings since we always want to provide the best in customer service at Pennington & Trim Alarms.

Mr. Snow asked, “Who has been to Disneyworld?” and “What did you like about Disneyworld?” Many people said they liked the fact that it was clean, that it was a magical experience, that they paid attention to the details and that they made people feel special. Mr. Snow said that time and time again people remember experience. He mentioned that Disneyworld spent $100 million to build the tower of terror ride, but most people don’t say I came for the rides. Rides are great, but experience is so important. Mr. Snow said that you want your customers to want to come back and tell other people how great their experience was. He said that experience comes down to people. Disneyworld trains their cast members (they don’t call them employees) to offer to take a picture for a family so one member of the family doesn’t get left out of the photo memory of their family vacation. Mr. Snow said you always have to think about what you want customers to say when they leave. At their restaurants they train their cast members to not just sell food but to create happiness by asking people where they are from and ask them if they are having a good time and to tell them to “Have a Disney Day!”

Mr. Snow said to always ask yourself this question – “What are the barriers to great customer service?” and “How can we alleviate our customers’ frustrations?” He talked about how the parking lot is the first and last experience that Disneyworld customers have. So many people lock their keys in their car or they can’t find their car. They train their cast members to help people locate their car by keeping a log of where they park cars during the day so they can ask them about what time they arrived to narrow down the search for the customer. They will unlock your car for no charge, so you don’t end your Disneyworld experience on a bad note. Mr. Snow said you should always strive to become a hero for the customer by helping them to fix their problem. If a customer locks they keys in the car, they get it unlocked and say, “Sorry the keys got locked in the car.” One customer told the person who unlocked the car, “Thank You – don’t let it happen again.” It’s all about creating an experience for the customer where they want to come back again and again and tell other people how great their experience was.

In our department meeting I encouraged our staff (who are on the front lines daily working with the customer) to let us know what barriers they see to great customer satisfaction and how we can alleviate our customers’ frustrations. Ed is very much a people person, and he truly enjoys providing security and peace of mind for our customers. We continually strive to provide the best in customer service and make sure they have a great experience and are always looking for ways to alleviate our customers’ frustrations.

Also, I asked our staff to let us know what are the barriers to great employee satisfaction and how we as owners can alleviate our employees’ frustrations. Ed is a huge sports fan, and he always stresses to our staff the importance of teamwork. It takes a lot of teamwork to make sure our customers have a great experience at Pennington & Trim Alarms. We try our best to provide a nice working environment for our staff and always want to look for ways to alleviate their frustrations so they enjoy coming to work and can provide the best in customer service.

Another thing Mr. Snow mentioned was describing your mission statement in terms of behavior.

Pennington & Trim Alarms Mission Statement

Making Money To Spread The Gospel

As We Protect Life & Property

With Teamwork & A Spirit Of Excellence

Here are few things we’ve sent to our staff on a weekly basis to describe our mission statement in terms of behavior:

TEAMWORK MEANS….

Communicate Constructively

Speak up and express thoughts and ideas clearly, directly, honestly and with respect for others.Don’t shy away from making your point but make it in a positive, confident and respectful manner.