This week, I was honored to speak at the Georgia MGMA conference in Stone Mountain.  There were over 100 health care professionals, administrators and managers in attendance.

I spent my time with them sharing how they could put a little Disney "Magic" into their organizations.  I have presented to health care organizations before, and I am always prepared for the standard pushback...

• "That will not work in our organization"
• "Disney is about happiness and pixie dust and we are about Medicare and health issues"
• "If we had the resources of Disney, we might be able to do that - but we don't...so we can't"

Great news!  I did not hear ANY of those comments.

One participant had a great comment.  She stated that the two biggest issues for her customers are FEAR and PAIN.

Now those ARE two issues that Disney does not normally deal with...

Health care may not have the same product as Disney, but they are in the same business - Customer Service!

There is nothing wrong with implementing a positive customer service policy, no matter WHAT business you are in.  Health care, funeral services, road construction - you would be hard pressed to tell me that these are not, at the end of the day, customer service jobs.

And all customers deserve good service.

Disney has what it calls its Seven Guest Service Guidelines.  They are:

1. Make eye contact and smile
2. Greet and Welcome each and every guest
3. Seek out Guest Contact
4. Provide immediate service recovery
5. Display appropriate body language at all times
6. Preserve the "magical" guest experience
7. Thank each and every guest

It is not rocket science - they are simple soft skills that can work in ANY corporate culture.

Leaders, it is your responsibility to make sure that your employees are customer friendly, no matter what business you are in.

A wise man once said...

"Remember, without customers, you have no business being in business!"

How true...