“The only thing that’s going to matter are the people, nothing else.”
When I think back to my time at Marriott and Disney, one thing has remained constant: customer experience is people-powered. In this episode, I shared insights in response to a listener who asked how to revamp a customer experience model for a company with over 150,000 employees. My answer? Start with leadership.
You can’t build a great guest experience without first building a great employee experience. Leadership training is the foundation. Leaders must be positive, reliable, respectful, and clear about expectations. They set the tone for how employees treat customers and each other.
At Disney, we aligned every role, from the stage to behind the scenes, around one purpose: ensuring every guest has the most fabulous time of their life. That clarity helped us maintain high standards for decades. Training, onboarding, storytelling, and role modeling were key components. In fact, I wrote a story decades ago called “A Perfect Day for the Customer” to help cast members visualize excellence.
No matter your industry, your brand is delivered through your frontline team. If you want your customers to say “Wow,” start by ensuring your employees feel respected, well-trained, and empowered.
After all, as I always say, it’s never about the product. It’s about the people.
Resources
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Notable Moments
[01:49] Listener question on revamping a customer experience model
[02:53] Leadership’s role in defining and upholding standards
[04:09] Why service must be intentional and modeled from the top
[05:59] Why customer complaints are almost never about the product
[08:38] The origin of Lee’s storytelling-based training model
[10:30] How scripting experiences leads to consistency and excellence
