The Experience. Loeffler Bruce

throughout the country is average or worse – both of which are unacceptable.

      Our research considered the caliber of service at several of the largest organizations in the United States – and we found that most consumers are less than impressed with the Experiences they're having. These organizations may have their business models down to a science, but their customer service model is inconsistent at best, and nonexistent at worst. Smaller companies – or as we call them, the Family 500 – are a bit better at pleasing their customers than the Fortune 500. According to a 2011 American Express survey, 80 percent of Americans agreed that smaller companies place a greater emphasis on customer service and the Experience than larger companies. Despite this data, smaller companies and closely held businesses still have a sizable gap in what organizations believe they are providing and what they actually deliver.

      According to a 2011 American Express survey, 80 percent of Americans agreed that smaller companies place a greater emphasis on customer service and the Experience than larger companies. Despite this data, smaller companies and closely held businesses still have a sizable gap in what organizations believe they are providing and what they actually deliver.

      We've titled the solution to the problem these companies face the “I. C.A.R.E.” Principles, of which there are five in total. The first four deal directly with the Experiential interface with the consumer, customer, and client, while the fifth and final directly addresses the Experience you create internally for employees. Each Principle is supported by 10 sub-Principles that we call our “Non-Negotiables” that are meant to provoke thought and provide detail into the specific attributes of an exceptional Experience.

      We will examine both sides of the organization's internal makeup: the Experience for the customer as well as the empowered Experience for employees. Some may ask: why both sides? Study after study on behavioral science in the workplace shows that employees who feel their leader genuinely cares about them as a person and makes the effort to invest in them are far more likely to deliver enhanced service, have a better attitude, and get along with each of their coworkers. Happy employees tend to be long-term employees. These are the people who become your champions and the ones you can convert into Ambassadors.

      As Walt Disney himself once said, “What you do behind the curtain will eventually end up onstage.” There is more to the Experience than simply the interface with the consumer. The Experience that an organization is committed to causing for its clientele must begin with the Experience that the organization is committed to causing for its own people.

      Do You Care?

      With the framework of The Experience, you will find the opportunity to invest in the personal growth, the value, and the role that each employee plays in the success of the company. Succinctly stated, our most important “customer” should be the frontline person who actually serves the customer. If we do not take good care of our frontline staff, they have little incentive to provide any better service to their paying customer than the way they were treated. After all, the way the staff is treated is the way that they will treat your guests in your absence.

      With regard to the overall Experience created by your organization, it is incumbent upon every employee, manager, and executive to (1) know where they stand, (2) know where they want to be, and (3) have a plan and a process to help them improve. The Experience book, the “I. C.A.R.E.” Principles, and the Experience Quotient offer a path and the advice to help you do exactly this.

      Defining the 5 “I. C.A.R.E.” Principles

      I. ∼ Impression: The lasting imprint made through first and ongoing relational inflection points; the catalyst to building a relationship.

      C. ∼ Connection: The pivot point between contact and relationship. Converting clients and customers from consumers to Ambassadors (those on a mission to tell the world specifically about you) hinges on the ability to create the cerebral, emotional, and personal Connection.

      A. ∼ Attitude: The filter for everything you think, say, and ultimately do. Attitude is the lens through which you see the world and the outward expression of inward feelings.

      R. ∼ Response: Service is about personal responsibility and responding as opposed to reacting. The hallmark of customer service and an exceptional Experience is the Response. If the Response time, tone, and talent do not match up with every other aspect of an exceptional Experience, everything else is rendered useless.

      E. ∼ Exceptionals: The secret behind the Experience is the relational expertise and execution that come from the people in charge of delivering it. The management team and employees must be prepared, empowered, and endowed to have the Experience living and breathing within them.

      This book is a tool that creates Ambassadors of the Experience, and defines the five I. C.A.R.E. Principles that differentiate Disney and other fine organizations from their competition. What we believe is most unique about this book is that it is applicable in virtually every industry where a service deliverable is essential to the success of the organization. Our book is built to enable your people, leaders, and organization to be much more successful, creating one dynamic, focused, and practical solution to what companies are missing today: an exceptional Experience.

      So – let's get started.

      CHAPTER THREE

      FIVE LEVELS OF THE EXPERIENCE WHAT LEVEL ARE YOU?

      The purpose of life is to experience the utmost, to reach out eagerly and without fear for a richer and newer experience.

– Eleanor Roosevelt

      Customer service is worse today than it has ever been. Our internal research tells us that customers are increasingly frustrated because they feel that “no one seems to care.” What is truly sad is that it takes no more time to be warm, friendly, and personable than it does to go through the motions. Where has the genuine care gone? Where is the relentless resolve to cause an exceptional Experience?

      Every person wants to feel important – and every consumer has a choice of where to do business. If a particular organization does not provide better service or a better Experience than what a consumer can receive over the Internet, why would a customer make the effort to come into the restaurant, store, or other establishment? Consumers want and deserve to feel valued, welcomed, and as if they really matter. Today's technology and social media capabilities give them the power to positively or negatively affect your brand. The Experience you deliver therefore has an enormous impact on your bottom line.

      Research shows that today's customers are not just disappointed or dissatisfied; they are outraged. Reporter Brad Tuttle's article in Time magazine of June 7, 2011, entitled “Customer Service Hell” tells us that while 80 percent of companies believe that they provide superior customer service, only 8 percent of clients feel that they receive superior service from these same companies. This highlights a tremendous opportunity for businesses that desire to gain a real competitive advantage. A 201 °Customer Experience Impact Report by Harris Interactive stated that 9 out of 10 customers would pay more to ensure a superior customer experience. If these businesses were to provide a great experience for their customers when their competitors are providing a lousy one, they would not only be different, they'd be superior.

      Reporter Brad Tuttle's article in Time magazine of June 7, 2011, entitled “Customer Service Hell” tells us that while 80 percent of companies believe that they provide superior customer service, only 8 percent of clients feel that they receive superior service from these same companies.

      A 201 °Customer Experience Impact Report by Harris Interactive stated that 9 out of 10 customers would pay more to ensure a superior customer experience.

      The stores we've come to know as big box retailers are losing customers by the droves. And most fail to recognize that their inability to create a positive experience is the problem. Unless we fix the holistic service problem – the total Experience – businesses will continue to see a steady decline in customers and therefore in revenue.

      What Level