Years ago, I tried to imagine what a perfect trip to Walt Disney World would be like for a typical family of four. I then actually wrote it out in the form of a ten-page story describing a weeklong visit by the fictional Rogers family. Why did I do this? Because I had just moved to Orlando to be senior vice president of resort operations, and the Rogerses’ fictional story was essentially a script. I planned to use it to show cast members how to perfectly serve each guest.
Here’s how the story went: The family arrives. The valets park their car carefully, the greeters greet them politely, the bell staff take their luggage graciously, and the front desk checks them in efficiently and smoothly. The story went on to describe the perfectly prepared room, followed by pleasant encounters with friendly, well-informed cast members everywhere the Rogerses went: eating at a restaurant, boarding a bus, buying ice cream, riding Space Mountain, and so forth. This five-star performance ended on departure day, with cast members waving good-bye to the beaming Rogers family, who had just had the vacation of their lives.
The act of writing that story gave me a vivid picture of how service excellence would be experienced by guests. I distributed the script to everyone who worked in my area of responsibility so they could turn the vision of perfect service into reality. My cover letter said, among other things, that I hoped the story “will help you visualize and understand what world-class service would look like at Walt Disney World.” It became the template for everything I did during my tenure. Whether your job is to answer phone calls or deliver consulting services; whether you’re in accounts payable or tech support; whether you’re a server in a restaurant or the maître d’; whether you’re a bank teller or the bank manager; whether you’re a flight attendant or a pilot—you too can create a similar script for what great service should look like.
I often tell people to begin each workday as if they were stepping onstage to perform the show of their lives. I tell them to imagine that the big red curtain is about to go up and there are critics sitting in the front row. I also remind them that a great performance depends on a great script; just ask any producer, director, or actor, and they’ll tell you that it all begins with words on a page. So if your goal is a great service performance, you first have to spell out exactly what that would look like. Why not be your own Shakespeare?
Start by imagining the perfect experience for someone coming to your business, no matter what it is, from the moment they arrive in the parking lot, at the front door, in the lobby, or in the reception room to the moment they leave, happy and content and eager to return. What do they see? What do they hear? How do they feel? Think through every detail and what you and your employees—the performers—have to do to make that perfect experience possible. Who does what? When do they do it? What do they say? How do they say it? What are they wearing? What is their attitude? The more detailed you get, the better.
The next step is to share your script with everyone in your team, your department, or even the entire organization. After all, as with a Broadway play or a Hollywood movie, the only way to guarantee a hit production is to make sure the entire cast knows their parts. Of course, if you run a large organization with a cast of thousands, you can’t include every tiny detail or your story will end up longer than War and Peace. So leave out some details and invite others to fill them in for their own departments. This will encourage people to write their own scripts—a practice that will stimulate creative engagement and ensure that every aspect of the overall performance is covered.
If theater isn’t your thing, think of your script as a recipe. Chefs don’t write down their recipes for fun; they do it so that once they have figured out the perfect mix of ingredients, they can reproduce that dish exactly the same way every time. In the same way, once you’ve perfected your recipe for service, wouldn’t you want to make sure you could serve it up consistently, day in and day out?
Of course, while the script or recipe is an indispensable blueprint for consistent performance, it should not be set in stone. Every director and actor (and chef) will tell you that no two performances (or meals) are exactly the same, even if no one changes a single line of the dialogue (or a single ingredient). If you have the right cast and have rehearsed them well, you can and should let them improvise once they’ve mastered the script (see Rule #35, “Be Flexible”). This is particularly important, because your performers will be interacting with unpredictable extras called customers, so they will have to improvise even more than actors on a stage or screen. Plus, circumstances change constantly, so I recommend revising your script from time to time. We did that with my Rogers family story as new services were introduced and new technology became available.
A well-developed script is also a terrific resource for hiring and training. Like a casting director, you can study the script to define what characteristics to look for when you “audition” candidates. For instance, if you are hiring a salesperson, you’ll want an extrovert with high energy, a big natural smile, and an ability to interact with a high volume of customers. Your script can help you pick out those qualities because it spells out that “character’s” words, appearance, demeanor, and specific actions in more detail than the typical job description.
The bottom line is, do not leave employee performance to chance. Make sure everyone has a script. Like audiences who attend plays and concerts, your customers want excellence every time. A great script ensures that your business will have a long, lucrative run.