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Be Our Guest: Perfecting the Art of Customer Service
"Exceeding expectations rather than simply satisfying them is the cornerstone of the Disney approach to customer service. Now, for the first time, Disney Institute, which specializes in helping professionals see new possibilities through concepts not found in the typical workplace, reveals the business behind the magic of quality service. During the last 15 years, thousands of professionals from more than 35 countries and more than 40 industries have attended business programs at Disney Institute and learned how to adapt the Disney approach for their own organizations." "Be Our Guest highlights the successes many of these companies have achieved, plus the key processes and best practices that have made Disney a trusted and revered brand around the world for more than 75 years."--BOOK JACKET.
208 pages, Hardcover
First published May 1, 2001
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 419 reviews
July 10, 2017
I sometimes wonder if companies purposely write hypnotically boring business books to make readers lose interest in discovering the real trade secrets.
Going into "Be Our Guest", I was hoping for juicy details about Disney's creepily scientific customer service (i.e. the way they subtly manipulate your emotional state with music and visual cues), but it read just like your typical business book. If you like bland execu-speak and forced acronyms that help you remember corporate values, then this book is for you!
I should have known it was going to be lame, since it was written by Disney, but I kept holding out for some good dirt. I guess after a lifetime of watching Disney movies, I still believed that dreams could come true. How wrong I was.
Going into "Be Our Guest", I was hoping for juicy details about Disney's creepily scientific customer service (i.e. the way they subtly manipulate your emotional state with music and visual cues), but it read just like your typical business book. If you like bland execu-speak and forced acronyms that help you remember corporate values, then this book is for you!
I should have known it was going to be lame, since it was written by Disney, but I kept holding out for some good dirt. I guess after a lifetime of watching Disney movies, I still believed that dreams could come true. How wrong I was.
January 2, 2022
I recently finished taking Disney's Approach to Quality Service online, and it was fun to see how the program, 10 years later, has updated and expanded the content explored in this book! A lot of things to take away and put into practice - if an updated edition of the book is ever released, I'd recommend!
March 2, 2014
As a pastor and leader, I am always trying to think of what I can do to create an environment that will open up people's hearts to the most important truths in the world. If anyone understands how to create compelling environments, it's Disney.
Some of my favorite thoughts in the book were:
"Quality service means exceeding your guest's expectations and paying attention to detail."
"Everything speaks." (in other words, everything in your environments is saying something)
"My business is making people, especially children, happy." -Walt Disney
"We don't put people in Disney. We put Disney in people."
"You can't change people. But if you change the environment that people are in, they will change."
Some of my favorite thoughts in the book were:
"Quality service means exceeding your guest's expectations and paying attention to detail."
"Everything speaks." (in other words, everything in your environments is saying something)
"My business is making people, especially children, happy." -Walt Disney
"We don't put people in Disney. We put Disney in people."
"You can't change people. But if you change the environment that people are in, they will change."
November 13, 2023
10/28/23
This is not great.
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10/27/23
Reading this for my work book club and we will see how it is...
This is not great.
----------
10/27/23
Reading this for my work book club and we will see how it is...
September 25, 2018
The book provides an overview of the management process that is used at the Disney parks. The examples of how the parks are run are fun to read, but this book also provides examples from other companies that have attended Disney business seminars. Those examples are a bit dull and drag the book down a bit. Also, it should be noted that some of the examples from outside companies date the book a bit. For example, Toys "R" Us is held up as an example of a company that put greater effort on customer service after participating in Disney seminars. Toys "R" Us is out of business now, but even when it was open, customer service was not something that I associated with that store, so that makes me wonder about the examples of other outside companies that they provide.
Read
May 13, 2011Be Our Guest : Perfecting the art of customer service
We all share the same goal – satisfied customers
Disney in In Search of Excellence
Long term success depends on our ability to motivate people, one day at a time and one innovation at a time
Disney approaches
- Quality service
- Creativity
- Innovation
- Leadership
- Loyalty
- Supply chain excellence
Training programs connect companies to their
- Own heritage
- Values
- People
- Guests
Trends come and go – companies need to mobilize the
- Brainpower
- Passion
- Creative energies
Of their workforce
Best practices and philosophies in action
Quality service principles
Disney’s fundamentals of success
- You build the best product you can
- You give people effective training to support the delivery of exceptional service
- You learn from your experiences
- You celebrate your successes
- You never stop growing
- You never stop believing
Walt Disney World – 30,000 acres or 47 square miles
A work in progress
Largest single site employer in the U.S.
55,000+ cast members (employees)
Serve millions of guests each year (customers)
Page 19 "Think for a moment about a magic show. To the audience, the show elicits feelings of wonder and surprise. Most of those watching have no idea how the magician is creating the effects they are witnessing on the stage. Not knowing how an illusion is created and simply enjoying the show are a big part of the fun. The magician's perspective is completely different. To the magician, a magic show is a highly practical task, a series of repeatable steps designed to create a fixed result and delight the audience.
The same thing happens at Walt Disney World and in all other companies that create magical customer experiences. The happy surprise that a well-served customer feels is a result of hard work on the part of the company and its employees. For the customer, the magic is a source of wonder and enjoyment. For the company and its employees, magic is a much more practical matter." Page 19
Partnerships – relate to 16 separate branches at MCLS ? … The challenge is to maintain Disney standards in restaurants and hotels the company does not own and to make passing between these separate businesses a seamless experience for guests.
Customer Service Conundrum – Customer retention requires customer satisfaction, but customer satisfaction is a moving target. Consumers as a whole are more demanding than ever, and rightly so. Further, delighting the repeat guests on whom Walt Disney depends means raising the service bar with every visit.
We all must satisfy our guests or customers or patrons or risk losing them.
The Experience Economy
We’ve seen the demise of the industrial economy
We are past the peak of the service economy
Entering a new age of competition authors call the experience economy
- Goods and services are merely props to engage the customer in this new era
- Customers want memorable experiences and companies must become stagers of experiences
“… while the work of the experience stager perishes upon its performance (precisely the right word), the value of the experience lingers in the memory of any individual who was engaged by the event.” Page 23
Practical Magic
Make a clear distinction between being on and off stage.
Employees are on stage every time they are in public areas of the park or in front of guests.
Employees are backstage when they are working behind the scenes and out of guests sight and hearing.
We all share the same goal – satisfied customers
Disney in In Search of Excellence
Long term success depends on our ability to motivate people, one day at a time and one innovation at a time
Disney approaches
- Quality service
- Creativity
- Innovation
- Leadership
- Loyalty
- Supply chain excellence
Training programs connect companies to their
- Own heritage
- Values
- People
- Guests
Trends come and go – companies need to mobilize the
- Brainpower
- Passion
- Creative energies
Of their workforce
Best practices and philosophies in action
Quality service principles
Disney’s fundamentals of success
- You build the best product you can
- You give people effective training to support the delivery of exceptional service
- You learn from your experiences
- You celebrate your successes
- You never stop growing
- You never stop believing
Walt Disney World – 30,000 acres or 47 square miles
A work in progress
Largest single site employer in the U.S.
55,000+ cast members (employees)
Serve millions of guests each year (customers)
Page 19 "Think for a moment about a magic show. To the audience, the show elicits feelings of wonder and surprise. Most of those watching have no idea how the magician is creating the effects they are witnessing on the stage. Not knowing how an illusion is created and simply enjoying the show are a big part of the fun. The magician's perspective is completely different. To the magician, a magic show is a highly practical task, a series of repeatable steps designed to create a fixed result and delight the audience.
The same thing happens at Walt Disney World and in all other companies that create magical customer experiences. The happy surprise that a well-served customer feels is a result of hard work on the part of the company and its employees. For the customer, the magic is a source of wonder and enjoyment. For the company and its employees, magic is a much more practical matter." Page 19
Partnerships – relate to 16 separate branches at MCLS ? … The challenge is to maintain Disney standards in restaurants and hotels the company does not own and to make passing between these separate businesses a seamless experience for guests.
Customer Service Conundrum – Customer retention requires customer satisfaction, but customer satisfaction is a moving target. Consumers as a whole are more demanding than ever, and rightly so. Further, delighting the repeat guests on whom Walt Disney depends means raising the service bar with every visit.
We all must satisfy our guests or customers or patrons or risk losing them.
The Experience Economy
We’ve seen the demise of the industrial economy
We are past the peak of the service economy
Entering a new age of competition authors call the experience economy
- Goods and services are merely props to engage the customer in this new era
- Customers want memorable experiences and companies must become stagers of experiences
“… while the work of the experience stager perishes upon its performance (precisely the right word), the value of the experience lingers in the memory of any individual who was engaged by the event.” Page 23
Practical Magic
Make a clear distinction between being on and off stage.
Employees are on stage every time they are in public areas of the park or in front of guests.
Employees are backstage when they are working behind the scenes and out of guests sight and hearing.
February 2, 2021
Why you should read this book: You're looking for a short, fun inspiration towards customer obsession....Or if you're looking for an excuse to visit a Disney Park for "career development".
Why you should not read this book: If you haven't visited a Disney park before and experienced the magic yourself. Honestly think that it might ruin the magic the first time, and the book might end up sounding like classic corporate BS.
Summary
[Disclaimer: I read this simultaneously with Onward by Howard Schultz, so it's impossible not to compare, which I'll refer to below. If you're looking for customer obsession, read this book before Onward.]
A well-organized, clear, and concise book, Be Our Guest was a fun, breezy read that communicates the philosophy and culture of a customer-obsessed company. In addition to using case studies from the Disney parks, the book references companies in other industries to help users visualize concrete examples for other industries. Readers familiar with Disney parks will recognize many of the examples, and the previously-unknown Easter Eggs are delightful to learn about, particularly the less visible or operational examples (such as the thoughtful placement of garbage cans).
One underrated aspect that other similar books seem to underemphasize is the iterative nature of continual improvement, especially as consumers change and entering new markets. It's so easy to negligently assume a static characterization of our "customers", which is how companies get left in the dust by disruptors, and it was eye-opening to see how Disney parks have evolved since opening. Even more so, this book is a bit dated and doesn't include some of the new magical experiences at Disney (amazing smartphone app, for example), which is additional testament to the continual improvement and proactivity by the company.
Many ideas and concepts in the book may seem like traditional corporate culture (having company-specific language, putting the customer first, attention to detail, etc), but it's obvious that Disney rises above most corporations in almost all categories from the consumer perspective. It seems to me that to achieve this transformation executives need to put their money where their mouth is, particularly with valuing their cast members (aka employees). For example, from an outsider, it seems that harnessing employee ideas is more central to Disney's operations than it is to Starbucks, despite the lip service to it.
This is a 4 star book, but gets +1 stars because of the conciseness, one of the most underrated aspect of books nowadays. Like they said in the book, magical experiences aren't only created by what guests see and hear, it's also the things that they don't see (in Disney, trash in the park; in this book - extra filler pages!)!
[Helpful summary page : https://lifeclub.org/books/be-our-gue...]
Why you should not read this book: If you haven't visited a Disney park before and experienced the magic yourself. Honestly think that it might ruin the magic the first time, and the book might end up sounding like classic corporate BS.
Summary
[Disclaimer: I read this simultaneously with Onward by Howard Schultz, so it's impossible not to compare, which I'll refer to below. If you're looking for customer obsession, read this book before Onward.]
A well-organized, clear, and concise book, Be Our Guest was a fun, breezy read that communicates the philosophy and culture of a customer-obsessed company. In addition to using case studies from the Disney parks, the book references companies in other industries to help users visualize concrete examples for other industries. Readers familiar with Disney parks will recognize many of the examples, and the previously-unknown Easter Eggs are delightful to learn about, particularly the less visible or operational examples (such as the thoughtful placement of garbage cans).
One underrated aspect that other similar books seem to underemphasize is the iterative nature of continual improvement, especially as consumers change and entering new markets. It's so easy to negligently assume a static characterization of our "customers", which is how companies get left in the dust by disruptors, and it was eye-opening to see how Disney parks have evolved since opening. Even more so, this book is a bit dated and doesn't include some of the new magical experiences at Disney (amazing smartphone app, for example), which is additional testament to the continual improvement and proactivity by the company.
Many ideas and concepts in the book may seem like traditional corporate culture (having company-specific language, putting the customer first, attention to detail, etc), but it's obvious that Disney rises above most corporations in almost all categories from the consumer perspective. It seems to me that to achieve this transformation executives need to put their money where their mouth is, particularly with valuing their cast members (aka employees). For example, from an outsider, it seems that harnessing employee ideas is more central to Disney's operations than it is to Starbucks, despite the lip service to it.
This is a 4 star book, but gets +1 stars because of the conciseness, one of the most underrated aspect of books nowadays. Like they said in the book, magical experiences aren't only created by what guests see and hear, it's also the things that they don't see (in Disney, trash in the park; in this book - extra filler pages!)!
[Helpful summary page : https://lifeclub.org/books/be-our-gue...]
March 30, 2013
Being a huge Disney fan, I really wanted to love this book. And the behind the scenes peek at things that one would normally not learn unless they were a Disney employee about the way they deliver an unparalleled experience was quite entertaining.
However there wasn't enough practical application to make this a useful book for trying to evaluate my own corporate culture. Some exercises to apply the Disney philosophy to other industries would have made this more helpful.
However there wasn't enough practical application to make this a useful book for trying to evaluate my own corporate culture. Some exercises to apply the Disney philosophy to other industries would have made this more helpful.
February 20, 2025
This was a really interesting & inspirational book.
It spent too much time on the history of Disney and less on the meat & potatoes of the customer service piece, but I did find the history interesting. It was a bit like a long sales pitch for the Disney Institute classes.
Between all of that, I did find many moments of ideas and actionable items for improving my own customer service department, so this was still a valuable read. It is fairly short, so easy to get through.
It spent too much time on the history of Disney and less on the meat & potatoes of the customer service piece, but I did find the history interesting. It was a bit like a long sales pitch for the Disney Institute classes.
Between all of that, I did find many moments of ideas and actionable items for improving my own customer service department, so this was still a valuable read. It is fairly short, so easy to get through.
April 18, 2023
Even though this book was written more for a business audience, it still has very practical tips for anyone who is constantly in front of people.
August 18, 2018
Quality Service:
“Exceed the expectation of our guests and pay attention to detail “
Simple things done to the asymptote defines what every business should strive for. Disney certainly does this better than any other.
“Exceed the expectation of our guests and pay attention to detail “
Simple things done to the asymptote defines what every business should strive for. Disney certainly does this better than any other.
April 22, 2024
Nothing thrilling. Had to read it for work.
March 27, 2021
It is a little dated, but I would say the concepts/principles are still very much applicable.
March 22, 2021
It was OK. Outlined some methods the Disney Institute uses to help other companies solve their problems. I think the points are relevant. I wish they had more detailed and modern examples (latest example from what I recall is 2005 with the Hong Kong Disneyland).
It was interesting to see that so much thought goes into managing Disney theme parks, however I don't think the book really conveys *how* it's done. It's too much generalization and not enough detail, so, I can't imagine another company really getting much use from the book.
It was interesting to see that so much thought goes into managing Disney theme parks, however I don't think the book really conveys *how* it's done. It's too much generalization and not enough detail, so, I can't imagine another company really getting much use from the book.
February 19, 2020
Despite Disney being the topic of conversation, this book seemed to lack magic and be in desperate need of some pixie dust.
Honestly pretty disappointed with this book. Felt like the book itself was poorly written, felt like it used a lot of the same examples multiple times. Would have loved for the book to have just focused on the Walt Disney company rather than giving so many examples of other companies applying things Disney does.
Honestly pretty disappointed with this book. Felt like the book itself was poorly written, felt like it used a lot of the same examples multiple times. Would have loved for the book to have just focused on the Walt Disney company rather than giving so many examples of other companies applying things Disney does.
April 3, 2022
This is a must read for anyone in a service job. That means everyone. A lot of easy to pick up information. Fast, easy and brainstorming read.
April 5, 2023
Interesting, but tedious
June 4, 2019
Ay Disney, cualquiera se enamora. En este mes de no-ficción decidí irme por un libro de negocios. No es un libro para todos, en verdad que a veces aburre, y como muchos otros de su liga pudo ser más corto. Aún así me gustó, porque enseña como crean la razón por la que todos queremos volver a Disney: la magia. Bueno, más bien dicho por los detalles. Y wow, ellos le ponen mucha importancia a los detalles.
Si puedo resumir el libro es que la magia está en los detalles. Hay que darle aplausos a Walt Disney por entender que ganaría más clientes (o como los llaman invitados) excediendo expectativas. Esto se cumple: al conocer tu invitado, definir los estándares, crear y enviar la historia de todas las maneras correctas (empleados, setting, y procesos) e ir siempre manteniendo e innovando. Nada fácil.
El libro es sencillo, explica todo y da ejemplos que usan en Disney (los parques y hoteles), además de algunas de las compañías que han recurrido a Disney por mejoras. Todos sabemos que el servicio al cliente es clave, pero muchos se nos olvids la prioridad que es esta economía de las experiencias. Leer como el mega monstruo (sea Sullivan o Wazowski) de Disney lo maneja da diferentes perspectivas.
Léanlo: si tienen un negocio o trabajan con clientes. Recuerden: la magia está en los detalles. ✨
Si puedo resumir el libro es que la magia está en los detalles. Hay que darle aplausos a Walt Disney por entender que ganaría más clientes (o como los llaman invitados) excediendo expectativas. Esto se cumple: al conocer tu invitado, definir los estándares, crear y enviar la historia de todas las maneras correctas (empleados, setting, y procesos) e ir siempre manteniendo e innovando. Nada fácil.
El libro es sencillo, explica todo y da ejemplos que usan en Disney (los parques y hoteles), además de algunas de las compañías que han recurrido a Disney por mejoras. Todos sabemos que el servicio al cliente es clave, pero muchos se nos olvids la prioridad que es esta economía de las experiencias. Leer como el mega monstruo (sea Sullivan o Wazowski) de Disney lo maneja da diferentes perspectivas.
Léanlo: si tienen un negocio o trabajan con clientes. Recuerden: la magia está en los detalles. ✨
September 13, 2023
Este libro desgrana de manera amigable y muy accionable, el diseño de procesos que hace que Disney sea Disney.
Tiene insights súper valiosos para los profesionales de cualquier rubro. ¿Por qué tan amplia mi recomendación? Porque todas las industrias y organizaciones se diferencian por cómo interactúa con sus clientes, ya sea para aplicación personal o dentro del contexto de una compañía, es un libro súper útil para tener a mano. Sirve a emprendedores, profesionales freelancers, ejecutivos en pequeñas, medianas o grandes empresas, artistas, profesionales que recién ingresan al mundo laboral, etc.
Lo más valioso es que guía al lector para que pueda trabajar en su diferenciación y propuesta de valor, y lo hace súper ameno, conociendo los entre telones de cómo la compañía de entretenimiento más grande del mundo administra sus parques. Gran lectura.
Tiene insights súper valiosos para los profesionales de cualquier rubro. ¿Por qué tan amplia mi recomendación? Porque todas las industrias y organizaciones se diferencian por cómo interactúa con sus clientes, ya sea para aplicación personal o dentro del contexto de una compañía, es un libro súper útil para tener a mano. Sirve a emprendedores, profesionales freelancers, ejecutivos en pequeñas, medianas o grandes empresas, artistas, profesionales que recién ingresan al mundo laboral, etc.
Lo más valioso es que guía al lector para que pueda trabajar en su diferenciación y propuesta de valor, y lo hace súper ameno, conociendo los entre telones de cómo la compañía de entretenimiento más grande del mundo administra sus parques. Gran lectura.
December 13, 2018
The "secret sauce" that Disney uses for customer service is actually pretty simple, and I'm sure there will be/are many reviews criticizing it for its simplicity, but that's the thing about business strategy - most effective strategies actually ARE very simple. The trick is finding managers who can execute them consistently and who can find and motivate employees to follow them.
The book is a little light on implementation, but the reality is that every business/industry will have some pretty specific requirements, so there was no way they could offer much practical advice.
The one strong criticism I have is that the self-congratulatory tone practically veered toward auto-fellatio; we get it guys, Disney's the most awesome thing ever.
The book is a little light on implementation, but the reality is that every business/industry will have some pretty specific requirements, so there was no way they could offer much practical advice.
The one strong criticism I have is that the self-congratulatory tone practically veered toward auto-fellatio; we get it guys, Disney's the most awesome thing ever.
March 31, 2023
O livro é quase um estudo de caso de como a Disneyland foi projetada de maneira meticulosa a pensar na experiência do cliente. Entretanto, acredito que falhe em trazer elementos que sejam facilmente extrapolados para outras realidade fora do que foi aplicado. De qualquer forma, é interessante conhecer a atenção aos detalhes que faz com que a experiência seja boa e que encante. Para mim, não acredito que trouxe elementos inovadores (que eu não tenha lido antes em algum outro livro), mas me deixou com muita vontade de ir à Disney :)
September 5, 2021
In dit boek neem je een kijkje achter de schermen bij Disney. Hoe creëren zij overal en altijd een gouden gastbeleving? Ik vond de premisse van het boek interessant, maar uiteindelijk viel het een beetje tegen. De visie en structuur zet de schrijver helder meer. Ik had alleen gehoopt op meer inspirerende voorbeelden en toepassingen. Het blijft een beetje droog.
June 2, 2021
I found the last chapter to be the most insightful, the one on integration. The book has solid ideas and advice. I don’t know what I expected but it’s a bit more “corporatey” than I hoped which made it a bit pedantic. Solid read though.
December 30, 2021
I love Disney and I think they have much to teach the world about customer service. I prefer the book How to be Like Walt more than this one (although it's longer and will require more attention to read).
January 10, 2024
Um livro nunca me deixou com tanta vontade como esse. Estou já fazendo minha poupança para ir à Disney ASAP. Se tudo o que é relatado for verídico mesmo, com certeza será uma das melhores experiências em viagem que terei na vida.
July 14, 2024
I found that it took some time for the book to get to the point, but when it did, it sparked my mind to find creative ways to implement an intentional experience. However, not all personalities may get through this book, so I recommend looking for summaries online.
January 21, 2019
A bit outdated but good tactics and understanding of customer service magic!
November 21, 2020
A different (but brilliant) insight into the Disney world.
(and useful and applicable to any business!)
(and useful and applicable to any business!)
May 8, 2021
Very good view of customer service and at helping an organization to find its focus. Inspirational.
October 13, 2023
This book packs a lot of valuable information in the Hospitality World.
I didn't realize all those small details that Disneyland parks has until after I read this book.
I didn't realize all those small details that Disneyland parks has until after I read this book.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 419 reviews