How to Provide Excellent Customer Service!

What is it that gets customers coming back for more? The secret to having a long term following is offering excellent customer service! Magician Michael O’Brien has over 8 years of experience as a customer service trainer and supervisor at one of the world’s most customer service based companies, the Walt Disney Company. Michael would like to share some of what he learned with us during his time at Disney, and help translate your kindness and service into $$$!

How to Provide Excellent Customer Service!

Offering excellent customer service is something every single company should be striving for. Let’s face it, when you go out to eat, you expect friendly staff who want to make your time both worthwhile and fun! No one wants to encounter a rude or angry employee. 1 bad interaction with a customer will literally destroy your relationship with them faster than 10 positive ones could build it! Michael O’Brien has been trained by the best of the best when it comes to how to handle customer service, The Walt Disney Company. Before we get into how YOU should provide good customer service, lets take a look at what Disney has to say about it.

Disney’s SERVICE Model

The Walt Disney Company has come up with a very unique model to help us provide the best service possible! Let’s take a look at the following model called “S.E.R.V.I.C.E.”
-Smile: Even something as simple as smiling and speaking with a soft tone goes a long way!
-Eye Contact: Make eye contact with the person you are speaking too and maintain a positive body language. Avoid keeping your hands in your pockets and slouching!
-Respect: Give your customers the same level of respect you expect them to give you. Do not treat them like a number or a dollar in your wallet. Treat them like a person!
-Value the Magic: No not that kind of magic ;) haha but value what you do! Be proud of what you are offering. At Disney we do everything we can to keep the magic and fun alive! Do the same with your business!
-Initiate Contact: Don’t sit there and wait for them to find the courage to say something to you. Engage your audience and you will see them open up!
-Create Service solutions: You should remove the word “NO” from your vocabulary immediately. Do what you can to help a client out, even if you don’t directly benefit from it. 
-End with a “Thank You.” These two words have more power than you know. Let them know how much you appreciate their business and thank them for their time and money!

Michael O’Brien’s MAGIC Model

In addition to the above SERVICE Model, Michael has added a few more ideas to help you out as a magician.
This is the “M.A.G.I.C.” Model!
-Make THEM the star of the show: Avoid showing off how talented and skilled YOU are, but rather show off how awesome and wonderful THEY are during your show. Discover ways of making the magic happen in your audience’s hands. Have the guest of honor hep you with a trick! Do what you can to make it a shared experience that your audience can be part of. THIS is what makes you stand out and be remembered!
-Ask them their name: The #1 one noise we all like to hear is the sound of our own name! Ask for it and use it throughout the act. I would rather hear “Michael” then “Hey you with the face!”
-Give them something to remember: Along with making them the star of the show, find little ways to give them a memory that will last forever! The simplest way to do this is to let them keep a signed card or a piece of magic they helped you do! don’t have the budget to be giving stuff away? Then BORROW something from THEM! Float a ring or bend a quarter and give it back! I guarantee that they will remember you overtime they look at that ring or reach into their pocket for some change!
-Include something extra: As a general rule of thumb I always try to include something extra at my shows. If a client books me for 30 minutes, I will usually do an extra 5-10 free of charge. If someone purchase a book or DVD off of my site, I will toss in a free download or something. This will show the client that you really do care about making their experience a wonderful one and that you are not there just to collect your paycheck and leave! Don’t do just the bare minimum. Try to go above and beyond your audience’s expectations!
-Contact your clients regularly: You should be contacting your client at minimum 2 additional times aside from the initial booking. For example I always contact my clients 24 hours before the event to let them know all is going to plan and 24 hours after the event to thank them so much for having me! This follow up will help them feel at ease as well as let them know that you care.

Additional Service Solutions

Here are some more tips and tricks to help you provide excellent service!

-Avoid getting into arguments: This sounds like a “Duh” statement, but sometimes clients can be a bit too much. Avoid telling off a customer who is trying to lowball you or getting angry at someone for telling you that you are not the best choice for their event. If you feel that the event is not for you, simply let the client know that you do not feel like a good fit for the event and THANK THEM for their time. You may be surprised to find out that they will end up calling you back to book you because you truly ARE just what their event needs!
-Get familiar with different customs and cultures: There are tons of different religious customs or cultures out there! It is ok to be ignorant of how these cultures work. Just do your best to find out and treat their culture respectfully. For example, I recently worked an event at an Orthodox Jewish Festival. I was not aware that the women are not allowed to shake a man’s hand. I found out “the hard way” during a show when i went to shake the client’s hand. She politely informed me of the culture and I politely thanked her and apologized for not knowing. It is ok to be ignorant as long as you remain respectful.
-Love your job: This will make your customer service shine more than any other piece of advice I can give. LOVE WHAT YOU DO! If you are miserable, try to figure out a way to make it fun again. The more fun you have the happier you will be. That happiness will rub off on your clients and they will be able to tell if you truly are having fun! 
Thank you so much for reading this article! Please be sure to subscribe to the video above if you have not already and leave a comment below letting us know what sorts of customer service advice you have to share!

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