Live from Future Call Center Summit: No CX Loopholes for Disney

Call Center IQ's Brian Cantor is reporting from The Future Call Center Summit in Orlando, FL.

No business can deliver a perfect customer experience. Not even Disney.

All businesses can, however, control how they perceive and repair those imperfections.

The proper course for such reparation will differ from business to business and circumstance to circumstance, but one fundamental tenet will always hold true: it is always the organization’s responsibility to make things right.

Because this year’s Future Call Center Summit is taking place at Disney’s Contemporary Resort, all attendees staying on-site are eligible for the iconic company’s "Magical Express" service. Upon arrival at the airport, hotel guests can avoid hovering over the bag check belt and scrambling for an expensive taxi. They simply walk to the Magical Express gate, board a complimentary bus and relax until they arrive at their hotel.

In addition to safely and comfortably driving them to their hotels, Disney also transports customers’ checked luggage from the airport to their rooms.

An immensely appealing service, Magical Express is nonetheless undermined by (at least what appears to be) a convoluted process.

In attempting to book my reservation, I came across several different informational websites and at least two different phone numbers. Despite having a preference for online booking in this so-called omni-channel world, I could not find an option to make a Magical Express reservation without picking up the phone.

Of course, I could not seem to secure my reservation even after picking up the phone.

On a few separate occasions last week, I received a busy signal (in 2014!) when attempting to call one of the provided numbers.

After temporarily giving up due to the perpetual busy signals, I figured I would make one last attempt on Sunday, the eve of my flight to Orlando.

The number worked, but after a convoluted menu (that would not let me skip ahead by repeatedly pressing zero!), I received an alert that the Magical Express service was closed until Monday morning. That seemed beyond absurd – since people travel seven days a week, customer service for travel needs to be open seven days a week.

Certain a mistake had been made, I called a general Disney travel support line. After a brief hold, I was greeted by one of the friendliest, most sincere agents I have ever encountered. Having experienced her enthusiasm and warmth, I don’t know how I’ll be able to stomach the apathetic, cold demeanor offered by most support agents.

Unfortunately, politeness is not an acceptable substitute for correctness. After a lengthy—albeit enjoyable—conversation, the agent transferred me to what she deemed the proper number for booking a Magical Express reservation.

Obviously, she explained, I would be able to confirm my Monday airport shuttle on Sunday night.

She was wrong. The agent to which I was transferred echoed what I heard initially: the Magical Express reservation office was closed until Monday morning. I would be unable to confirm a shuttle prior to arriving in Orlando.

The transfer agent did, however, confirm a welcome piece of knowledge. Even though the official wording for Magical Express implies one needs a reservation, any confirmed hotel guest could simply show up and board a bus to the resort.

I, admittedly, did not really believe her. Given all the copy that suggested one needed to make an advance reservation, I fully anticipated a problem boarding the bus once I arrived in Orlando. But with no other option at my disposal, I was at least able to take solace in the notion that the agent’s claim would give me ammunition in my inevitable argument.

Upon arrival, I made my way to the Magical Express support desk and, in anticipation of a fight, launched into a rant about how I could not confirm my reservation on Sunday but was told it would not matter. Much to my surprise, the representative did not engage in an argument. She simply confirmed, "That’s correct" and, after a friendly bit of small talk, handed me my voucher.

And even though I did not register my bags with Disney prior to boarding the plane, she also offered to have someone grab my luggage from the baggage belt (I declined, but I sure appreciated the offer!).

Superficially, there was nothing remarkable about this experience. Disney made a few errors, but at the end of the day, it honored its policy, adhered to logic and delivered the result for which I was looking.

But as someone familiar with so many bad experiences, the mindset behind Disney’s service was refreshing. Recognizing that things can go wrong in the reservation process, Disney offers customers a contingency plan for assuring they get the service to which they were entitled.

Whereas some brands would look for a loophole to provide a lesser experience, Disney made no effort to let the situation live in a gray area. As a hotel guest, I was entitled to a free shuttle from the airport. Even though I did not approach the process exactly as described, Disney made sure I received access to that shuttle.

Rather than engaging in a futile argument about who was to blame for the failed reservation, Disney absorbed the blame and shifted focus to what mattered: resolving the problem.

Rules and policies, as Disney knows, are meant to help rather than hurt customers. If it turns out that they have the opposite effect, a customer-centric business does not have the prerogative to wash its hands of the matter. It, instead, has the obligation to rectify the situation.

Your job is not to let customers how they failed to properly seize the opportunity provided by your business. It is to reveal how they CAN seize the opportunity they were promised.