Client service lessons from Disney

There are a few companies who have set the standard for customer service — Nordstrom, the Ritz Carlton, and Disney.

Recently, our partner group had the pleasure to hear a passionate presentation about customer service from Dennis Snow, who spent more than 20 years at the Walt Disney World Company. Dennis helps organizations increase their customer service performance. One concept that resonated with me was relooking at things that you’ve been doing for a long time from a new perspective—through the “lens of the client.” “When we understand that, it changes everything,” Dennis said.

In professional service organizations where we have ongoing relationships, it can be easy to slip into a “maintenance mode.” The service provider can start to feel like they know the client so well that they don’t need to “waste time” with unnecessary conversations.

At Plante & Moran, we want everyone to focus on frequent communication with clients and strive to be viewed as a trusted advisor. To ensure we’re using the client lens, we need to inquire about the critical operational issues of client businesses. And ask again at frequent intervals. Whatever your business, recalibrating to make sure you are delivering what is important to the client is always a recipe for success.

What have you experienced in your relationships with professional service providers that you’ve admired or appreciated? We hope you will share.