How do you make your residents and prospects/customers
feel? Let's talk about the prospect part
of the equation first. Pretty much the
same spiels are given at every community, and everyone seems to follow the same
points for what we call the basic points of a good shop. From an industry standpoint, we look at
conversion ratios, traffic counts, prospect calls, and of course visitors. I ask a very important question and that is,
"Did I create an experience that was memorable or did I just deal with
another prospect?"
Being a cast member for Walt Disney World and asking the
question about how their experience was usually brings some interesting
answers. What do you remember about
Disney and what impressed you? I often
hear how clean it was, or now nice the cast members are, or how uniform the
appearance is, and of course how organized Disney handles tens of thousands of
people every day. If you have been at
Disney, you probably remember your experience with one of these answers. For some reason, they base their experience
on all these things but seldom do I hear it was a specific ride or
attraction. Take Tower of Terror for
example. It cost Disney 100 million
dollars to make this one ride...yes this one ride! So what is Disney really known for and what do
guests remember. More times than not, it
is about the experience.
Property managers need to take a lesson from Disney and
instead of pointing out their pool or their fitness center (or the rides in the
distance), focus on the living experience they provide. Any Disney park you enter you are engulfed in
an experience before you get near any rides.
You are greeted by cast members waving and welcoming you. You are met with music, sights, sounds,
smells, and even the sparkling clean environment long before you get to the
first ride. And even after waiting in
line for an hour to see It's a Small World and complaining about the wait, at
the end of the day we are still in awe because of the experience that was
provided and the cast members that were there to assist us. The service Disney is known for and the “experience”
they provide is considered to be the best in the world.
In the multifamily industry we provide homes and a
lifestyle, not just amenities and things.
For some reason we focus on the tangibles, forgetting about the
experience we have the opportunity to create.
I have said it a thousand times; any leasing person that sits from
behind a desk and greets their prospects there is missing an opportunity. Imagine this, you walk into a community
center and a person meets you coming in the door and says, "Welcome
home. My name is Larry, how can I be of
assistance." This is an example of
the difference between customer service and a customer experience. The difference is in the journey as we take
them from a customer to a guest and making the entire event an experience. Imagine at the end of the visit instead of
the leasing specialist just shaking their hand and thanking them, walking out
the door with them and to their car. At
Disney resorts we have something called the arrival experience, but it is much
more. Those covering the curb greeting
new guests also have another task. As
guests are leaving we say things like, “Have a magical day,” or “We’ll see you when
you return.” In what ways can you change
the event into an experience, and leave a lasting impression that make guests
want to return and call your community home?
Think about it.
I also mentioned the experience when we are dealing with our
existing residents. If there are
opportunities when you have an unhappy resident or guest, how do they feel when
they leave? This is not how you feel, but
does your resident feel. Does your
company have a “customer service” hotline or call number? My feeling is if a resident or guest has to
call customer service, then something has gone wrong with their experience. Now I know there are going to be corporate
exec’s out there that are proud of their customer service centers and believe
they serve a purpose. I on the other
hand have a different take and believe it often leaves the site personnel
trembling in their leasing shoes when someone asks for the number no matter how
they dealt with the issue. People call
customer service when they have a problem. So equating customer service with
customer experience is like saying that a safety net is a trapeze act. Yes, the
net is important to the act. But if the performer needs to use the net then
something has gone wrong with the show.
Disney strongly believes in “empowerment,” which means if a cast member
believes they need to perform a recovery they are empowered to do whatever they
feel necessary to diffuse the situation.
There may be a discussion later on the level of recovery that was given
as a teachable moment, but a cast member will not be reprimanded or terminated
because they acted in a recovery situation.
This is where I believe the multifamily industry could do better in
providing teachable moments for recovery and empowering our site teams in the
process.
Customer experience includes a customer’s perception of a
company, a customer’s interaction with a company, and a customer’s recollection
of that entire process, from start to finish, at all points. Customer service
is more than simply assisting customers and meeting their needs. It helps to
shape the overall customer experience but doesn’t fully define it. The truth is you don’t create an exceptional
customer experience solely by empowering employees. You also need
customer service standards to support those employees, and, ultimately, your residents
and guests. Have you communicated those
standards? Have you provided how the
empowerment system will work? As usual,
I have provided many questions and not necessarily the answers. This is because every company is different,
every community is different, and each resident base has a different set of
expectations. Remember, my job is not to
have all the answers…buy to inspire each of you to find them so they become
part of you as a professional. Now go
lead and enjoy the experience!
