As you know, I am “over the top” passionate about delivering totally awesome and memorable customer experiences…because this is what people talk about…in fact it’s what creates “word-of-mouth on steroids.” I had the opportunity to attend the biggest event to kick off the football season, the “NFL GameDay Experience” before the Seahawks first regular season game. They bring this experience to the city that wins the Super Bowl at the beginning of the season so they brought to our fair city.
There were tons of booths from every imaginable sponsor of football including such names as Marriott, Verizon, and even Snickers. And there were bunches of people, mostly young, working the booths and tents trying to get you to come in and check out what they were about. It reminded me of the old movies about when the circus came to town and there were all these “hawkers” standing outside trying to entice you to come into their tent. This was the modern day version of the tents and the hawkers. What were they using to entice you to go into their booth? FREE STUFF and PRIZES and CHANCES TO WIN and GIVEAWAYS.
So being the customer experience fanatic I am, I went into a number of these booths to see what they were offering and what kind of experience I would get. What did I find…DRONES. That’s right, not the new Amazon ones flying overhead but people who clearly weren’t excited to be there and this was just their “job” for the day. Drones as in, “Stand over there, fill out the form, come back over here, we’ll give you a free prize and you can leave…next!” Sadly…no memorable experiences…just a process. Had they done it so many times before that they ran out of delivering “amazing” or “awesome” experiences and now were just delivering a routine process…or did they ever deliver this type of experience?
What I was hoping for was more like, “Greetings, thank you for taking time to visit us today. We are so glad you chose to stop by and check us out. We have some cool stuff you can leave with but we also want to make sure your experience with us for a few short minutes is the best it can be so you feel it was worth your time to visit. Now, if you don’t mind, we are going to get you through this line as fast as we possibly can and while you are waiting, we have some cold water if you would like some. We also have some things you can play with if you want while you are moving through the line. I would also be happy to answer any questions you might have along the way. Thank you again for stopping by…we are honored you gave us your time.” OK, maybe a bit over the top…or maybe not. If you heard that from one booth and the drones from all the others…which one would you remember and tell your friends to check out?
Translate this into businesses today…maybe even your own business. People who do their job day in and day out and sadly become drones because of the repetition. But to your customer, each day is a special day and one where they get to interact with your employees. Which conversation are they going to get…drones or memorable. Might be a good thing to test out on your own organization and see what is being delivered to your customers.
Oh, and one more thing. These jobs are not paying high wages. These are most likely minimum wage or slightly above jobs at the NFL GameDay Experience. I have to believe with current unemployment rate that there are lots of people who would enjoy the energy and thrill of working in this environment. HINT to employers…interview those who demonstrate passion for what they do and demonstrate passion in whatever they are doing, they go over the top. There are tons of people out there looking for work…find these people. And if your management team can’t, they aren’t looking in the right places or they might not know what to look for. Hire passion and find passionate people to hire them. Passion is contagious…and it can be in your own business. The difference is amazing…
As you know, I am “over the top” passionate about delivering totally awesome and memorable customer experiences…because this is what people talk about…in fact it’s what creates “word-of-mouth on steroids.” I had the opportunity to attend the biggest event to kick off the football season, the “NFL GameDay Experience” before the Seahawks first regular season game. They bring this experience ot the city that wins the Super Bowl at the beginning of the season so they brought to our fair city.
There were tons of booths from every imaginable sponsor of football including such names as Marriott, Verizon, and even Snickers. And there were bunches of people, mostly young, working the booths and tents trying to get you to come in and check out what they were about. It reminded me of the old movies about when the circus came to town and there were all these “hawkers” standing outside trying to entice you to come into their tent. This was the modern day version of the tents and the hawkers. What were they using to entice you to go into their booth? FREE STUFF and PRIZES and CHANCES TO WIN and GIVEAWAYS.
So being the customer experience fanatic I am, I went into a number of these booths to see what they were offering and what kind of experience I would get. What did I find…DRONES. That’s right, not the new Amazon ones flying overhead but people who clearly weren’t excited to be there and this was just their “job” for the day. Drones as in, “Stand over there, fill out the form, come back over here, we’ll give you a free prize and you can leave…next!” Sadly…no memorable experiences…just a process. Had they done it so many times before that they ran out of delivering “amazing” or “awesome” experiences and now were just delivering a routine process…or did they ever deliver this type of experience?
What I was hoping for was more like, “Greetings, thank you for taking time to visit us today. We are so glad you chose to stop by and check us out. We have some cool stuff you can leave with but we also want to make sure your experience with us for a few short minutes is the best it can be so you feel it was worth your time to visit. Now, if you don’t mind, we are going to get you through this line as fast as we possibly can and while you are waiting, we have some cold water if you would like some. We also have some things you can play with if you want while you are moving through the line. I would also be happy to answer any questions you might have along the way. Thank you again for stopping by…we are honored you gave us your time.” OK, maybe a bit over the top…or maybe not. If you heard that from one booth and the drones from all the others…which one would you remember and tell your friends to check out?
Translate this into businesses today…maybe even your own business. People who do their job day in and day out and sadly become drones because of the repetition. But to your customer, each day is a special day and one where they get to interact with your employees. Which conversation are they going to get…drones or memorable. Might be a good thing to test out on your own organization and see what is being delivered to your customers.
Oh, and one more thing. These jobs are not paying high wages. These are most likely minimum wage or slightly above jobs at the NFL GameDay Experience. I have to believe with current unemployment rate that there are lots of people who would enjoy the energy and thrill of working in this environment. HINT to employers…interview those who demonstrate passion for what they do and demonstrate passion in whatever they are doing, they go over the top. There are tons of people out there looking for work…find these people. And if your management team can’t, they aren’t looking in the right places or they might not know what to look for. Hire passion and find passionate people to hire them. Passion is contagious…and it can be in your own business. The difference is amazing…
