In a competitive market, excellent customer service can make all the difference in driving sales and maintaining customer loyalty. Lee Cockerell, former executive vice president of operations at Walt Disney World Resort, offered some customer service guidelines based on the characters of the 1937 animated Disney film, Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, at the Do it Best Fall Market in Indianapolis last month. They are:

  • Be Happy - make eye contact and smile.
  • Be like Sneezy - greet and welcome each and every guest. Spread the spirit of hospitality, it’s contagious.
  • Don’t be Bashful - seek out guest contact.
  • Be like Doc - provide immediate service recovery.
  • Don’t be Grumpy - display appropriate body language at all times.
  • Be like Sleepy - create dreams and preserve the “magical” guest experience.
  • Don’t be Dopey - thank each and every guest.

—Lee Cockerell is the author of The Customer Rules and Creating Magic. Visit his website at leecockerell.com