Why Disney Customer Service in Government?

Beautiful Ottawa County is located in the southwestern section of Michigan's lower peninsula. Its western boundary is formed by Lake Michigan and its eastern boundary is approximately 30 miles inland.  

Today the County has a population of 260,364 inhabitants and is the 8th most populous county in the state. 

Why Customer Service in County Government?

Most counties consider customer service as a distraction from doing their real work.  At least in the private sector, competitive forces provide an incentive to emulate the outstanding customer service icons like Disney, Starbucks, Zappos or Four Seasons Hotels and Resorts.   So, what difference does it make to have an outstanding Disney-like customer-centric culture in the public sector?  Surely, counties have a monopoly on their services!

Each year, Ottawa County welcomes millions of visitors to its vacation playground. In Holland, people from all over the world come to the Tulip Time festival in the spring.  (It is the third largest such festival in the United States.) Ottawa County's convenient location and rarely-too-warm summer climate have made it a mecca for sportsmen and vacationers alike.  

So, why should this County, with all of its considerable assets, be concerned with customer service?  Al Vanderberg, Ottawa County Administrator, said, "we owe great service to our citizens, our employees and it’s good business….”

For example, when a new business locates within a region, the impact on employment is: (1) a direct impact from the jobs provided by the business itself; (2) an indirect impact if the business buys production materials and services locally; and (3) an induced impact or multiplier effect from the flow of wages spent by new employees, which may provide new jobs in other businesses and in turn the spending of those wages--on and on.  San Jose State University Department of Economics reports that the regional employment multiplier ranges from 1.28 – 3.67.

That means that if a business locates within your county and provides 100 new jobs,  a range from 28 to 267 additional jobs will be created to support the new business.  So if a visiting executive has a good customer serve experience with your county, it certainly may help their decision to locate there, but if they have a terrible customer experience in your county, they will likely choose another place to put down roots. 

 

As part of a total company-wide improvement effort in 2010,  Al Vanderberg began an Ottawa Way Customer Service Initiative.  After reading The Disney Way, Al contacted Bill Capodagli to help Ottawa County adopt a Disney-like customer service culture.

The Journey Begins

In the fall of 2012, Bill Capodagli began working with Al and his Customer Service Steering Team.  The Steering Team is comprised of the key leaders from 33 departments.  The first step was for the Steering Team to understand and become totally immersed in the Disney Way Experience through a series of workshops.

  

During the initial presentation and discussions, Al and his team came to the realization that although the 33 departments ranged from law enforcement to social services, the same Disney Way Experience Model should drive them all.

 Front-Line Management Buy-in

The next step to implementing The Ottawa Way Customer Service culture was a 3-day Leadership Workshop for approximately 100 first-line leaders. 

  

Becoming “customer-centric” is not an activity to be “checked off” during an annual strategic planning process or meaningless performance reviews.  An organization-wide cultural change driven by top management is required for success.  Ultimately, the Dream/Vision, Values and Culture of the organization must be embraced by all employees for the transformation to be realized.   Front-line leadership must not only embrace the new culture they must believe that they have ownership in its development and results. 

The Roll-out

Upon completion of the Leadership Workshops, Al mandated a 3-day Ottawa Way Customer Service Training for all employees.  For the ensuing year, approximately 60-100 employees participated in the training on a monthly basis. You may be asking, “Why does this training need to be conducted over three days?”  A well-trained presenter could deliver the principles in less than a day.  However, if it was that simple, countless organizations would be as magical as Disney!

When employees arrive at the 3-day training, they do so with a set of values that has been ingrained in them over the course of their employment.  Now they are expected to embrace a new set of values, yet they need time to realize that the old values are no longer the best for the organization as a whole.  Through a series of exercises and discussions over the three days, most employees embraced the new values.

The “Hot Seat”

During the afternoon of the second day of the Ottawa Way Customer Service Training, participants experience the “Hot Seat.”.  Al Vanderberg and two of the Steering Team department heads become the “Hot Seat” panel.  Participants are invited to ask the panel any questions pertaining to the Ottawa Way Customer Service Initiative or County operations.  

The purpose of the “Hot Seat” is two-fold.  First:  Top leaders being available, displaying candor and demonstrating support to employees; Secondly: Establishing trust and open communication between top management and the work force

“Brain Trust” Follow-up

 “A hallmark of a healthy creative culture is that its people feel free to share ideas” – Ed Catmull, President of Disney and Pixar Animation Studios

The key to any cultural transformation is frontline leadership.  Their diligent commitment to embracing a shared set of values, attitudes and behaviors is absolutely essential to creating a customer-centric culture.

The Ottawa Way will continue into 2015 with a newly created Leadership "Brain Trust" comprised of 15-20 leaders and a facilitator.  The leaders will complete a Customer Service Implementation Questionnaire with the goal of achieving excellence in categories such as Elements of the Customer Experience and Removal of Barriers to Pride in Workmanship.

Congratulations to Al Vanderberg and his entire workforce for staying the course to achieve "Disney Way" customer-centric cultural excellence!

Bill Capodagli–ESKOWORLD Keynote Review

http://www.flexpackmag.com/articles/85846-eskoworld-2013-exceeds-expectations

Disney Way in Ottawa County - An Update

FOUR C’S STRATEGIC INITIATIVE UPDATE
The second round of Ottawa Way – Disney Way Customer Service training was completed last week. Bill Capodagli, co-author of The Disney Way facilitated the training and was assisted by Laura Mousseau and Misty Cunningham. A lot of positive feedback has resulted from the training. Each month for the next year another 90 employees will go through the training. A total of 1,100 will be trained.

This phase of customer service training is intended to cause a cultural shift in that employees of all 33 departments, offices, courts and agencies will have experienced the same training and have a unified focus on the County customer service story, vision and customer codes of conduct. I had some interaction with the group by introducing the Four C Strategic Initiative on the first day and history leading to who we are on the second day.

I also sat in the “hot seat” with Treasurer Brad Slagh and Marcie VerBeek, Human Resources Director at the end of the second day to take whatever questions the group had. A very fair question was, “What comes next? Do the employees being trained wait for a year to begin implementing the cultural change, until all employees
have been trained? When will specific customer training tools be developed? Did the leadership really buyinto the training they received in November, because no changes have been implemented? Is it really okay to begin living this customer service vision?“

Great questions! Anyone who has been through the training can begin following the customer codes of conduct immediately. Almost every one of these can be positively impacted by each employee individually. The leaders didn’t implement change because we are working on a cultural shift not the program of the month. I committed to circling back with the leaders to explain some of the concerns expressed and to discuss how this will all roll out over the next year.

We are making one more call for members for the Customer Service Team and will get this group going soon. They will provide a communication link and forum for all who have gone through the process already and will research and recommend specific tools for
customer service. The cultural change will happen as more employees go through the training and practice the
customer codes of conduct.

Al Vanderberg, County Administrator, Ottawa County, Michigan

Property Management Association of West Michigan–Bill Capodagli–Keynoter and Author

http://www.pmawm.com/newsletters/DIRECTIONSMay13.pdf

Ottawa County, Michigan Learning The Disney Way

http://impact.mlive.com/jenison/print.html?entry=/2013/05/the_disney_way.html

Funeral Business Advisor Reads The Disney Way

http://www.funeralbusinessadvisor.com/?p=7419

Good Customer Service - by Dean Brown

http://bidn.com/blogs/Dean.Brown

Bill Capodagli–Caring for Employees

http://o.canada.com/2012/10/02/1003-disney-fakery/

Bill brings The Disney Way to the “Mountaintop” this Friday–join in!

http://www.mountaintopuniversity.com/eBlast/08_15_12/event.htm

Disney Way Dream Retreat Sample Reviews–ClearPoint Credit Counseling Solutions

“I worked for the Dominion Virginia Power for 29 years with most of that in management. This retreat was by far one of the best ones I have attended! Thanks!!!”

“Mr. Capodagli provided a lot of insight and he gave a different view on how to look at things. Also, the stories of what made/makes some of the companies referenced from the book (The Disney Way) successful, gives me something to aspire to within our own company. I want all of our clients to know CFS as the greatest in the business just like the Four Seasons is known in their industry.”

“I enjoyed the storyboards.  Although this was a similar activity to the Affinity Diagram, I think the storyboards work better because there is discussion allowed amongst the group.  It was amazing to see how we all identified the same issues/barriers within the organization.”

The Disney Way Webinar Happening in May

Event Details:

Who: Disney management expert, Bill Capodagli

What: Creating Magical Customer Service - The Disney Way Webinar

Where: On-line

When: Wednesday, May 16th, 2012 from 2:00 - 3:30 PM EDT

Cost: $49.00

Sign up: http://tinyurl.com/7b75oco - Learn how to implement The Disney Way Customer Service Model in the comfort of your own office or conference room.

For additional information: Contact Lynn Jackson, Producer, dreamovations@aol.com

Bill Capodagli - Michigan Disney Way Cultural Initiative

http://www.dowagiacnews.com/2012/04/25/it-takes-whole-community-for-real-change/

Disney Way Webinar…May 16th, $49.00; Register today!; http://tinyurl.com/7b75oco

WHAT:

"Creating Magical Customer Service - "The Disney Way" Webinar is a convenient and affordable way to learn how to attract customers and gain their loyalty. This is the signature Webinar in a series based upon the bestselling books: The Disney Way (a Fortune magazine "Best Business Book") and Innovate the Pixar Way. The Disney Way has the distinction of being the only book on Disney to have been cited in this week's New York Times article: "In Customer Service Consulting, Disney's Small World is Growing."

For over thirty years, management expert and bestselling author Bill Capodagli has benchmarked the Walt Disney Company, and assisted scores of organizations revamp their customer service standards; leadership practices; and innovation processes using Walt's original credo for success.

In "Creating Magical Customer Service - The Disney Way", Bill Capodagli brings to life the "Dream, Believe, Dare, Do" Disney Way principles -- the foundation of a commitment to creating customer experiences that are second to none. Bill presents solid ideas, tips, and problem solving techniques to produce great results. Along with webinar co-host and creative consultant Ken Freestone, Bill invites participants to ask questions and get real answers in this engaging "learning lab" style webinar experience.

WHY:

Walt Disney's "Dream, Believe, Dare, Do" credo is a powerful foundation that will support any business, drive any team and guide any leader to newfound levels of success.

WHEN:

May 16th, 2012 from 2:00 - 3:30 PM EST

HOW:

We provide a link to sign on to megameeting.com on Windows, Mac, Linux, Ipad and Android. For smart device apps, search for megameeting mobile.

EASY SIGN UP:

http://tinyurl.com/7b75oco

The Disney Way in the New York Times

The Disney Way has the distinction of being the only book on Disney to have been cited in this week’s New York Times article: “In Customer Service Consulting, Disney’s Small World is Growing.” http://tinyurl.com/c729kfp

Clearly, The Disney Way is changing lives. From Fortune 500 companies such as Volvo to small organizations such as YMCA’s Camp Kern, the Disney Way’s culture of excellence in service is coveted by those who want to be the best in their fields.

You, too, can learn how to offer Disney-style hospitality, attract new customers and gain their loyalty…and you won’t even have to leave your office!

Join us for the “Creating Magical Customer Service – The Disney Way” Webinar on May16th for only $49.00: http://tinyurl.com/7b75oco.

We are proud of our competitive advantage…a proven track record of implementing Walt Disney’s Dream, Believe, Dare, Do principles with organizations; 30+ years of experience in delivering excellent consulting, training and keynote presentations; an expert unbiased account of the development of both the cultures of Disney and Pixar; and affordable training for all.

Bill Talks with WGN Radio Host Bill Moller

 

http://www.wgnradio.com/shows/billmoller/wgn-billmoller-bill-capodagli-feb11,0,4870775.mp3file

Spring Fever in January is Contagious!

The leaders of The Disney Way implementation in Dowagiac understood very well the integration and interplay of Dream, Believe, Dare, Do in their cultural change efforts.  And, now, after a year, they are on DO!!!

As you envision a Dream, Believe, Dare, Do implementation in your own organization, think in terms of a holistic approach and never give up.  Dowagiac is a great role model for any community who aspires to live The Disney Way.

http://www.dowagiacnews.com/2012/01/11/spring-fever-in-january/

Make a New Year’s Resolution to Reinvent your Company’s Policy Manual

1. Remove any policy that does not add value to the customer, supplier or team member. Replace old verbiage with "work hard and be clever."
2. Review the manual for "rules" that hinder the delivery of exceptional customer service. If you ever hear, "We cannot help you because it is against our policy," send up a red flag. Change this verbiage to "Use good judgment."
3. Identify any policy that infers that you do not trust team members. Specifically, examine your expense reimbursement policy. One company decided to allow employees to issue their own expense checks. They had guidelines for tax documentation that were followed by all. The result was the elimination of most of the accounting approvals and a reduction in overall travel expense. We have worked with companies in which senior managers have multi-million dollar budgets and are responsible for hundreds of millions of dollars of product production, yet they need numerous approvals to spend $500 to attend a workshop. Why? That’s the policy!
4. Use the words "have fun" in your policy manual. Pixar’s John Lasseter said, ““We worked really hard, but we also had so much fun, and it showed up in our work. We’d goof off,
   we’d laugh, we’d work together, and we’d look at
   and give feedback on each other’s stuff. And the
   creativity just sort of overflowed.”

DISNEY WAY WEBINAR–“Creating Magical Customer Service–The Disney Way”

Success isn't magic. It's systematic. It comes from passionate leadership and relentless pursuit of a long-term foundation for excellence. Behind the scenes at Disney is where the real vision begins. Disney excels because of its dynamic commitment to guests and to cast members.

On Wednesday, February 15th (2 – 3:30 PM EST), Bill Capodagli will share enlightening secrets to turn your customers into "guests" and into long-term relationships. You'll see how to foster a fun team atmosphere for your employees - one that energizes their talents and ideas. You'll also see "wow" in action and come away with a renewed passion for the possibilities within your own organization.
Walt Disney’s four-pillared success credo - Dream, Believe, Dare, Do - will work for any organization, any business, any industry of any size. Understanding the hows and whys will allow you to tailor your own pathway to success. You'll also see how other companies have applied The Disney Way with amazing results.

What's worked for Disney can work for you. It's that simple. If you're ready to take your organization to the next level, exceed your customers' expectations, and build a dynamic team…REGISTER TODAY on our HOME PAGE!!

Creating Magical Customer Service – The Disney Way is the opportunity you've been waiting for!

Disney Way Changes Dowagiac Michigan–Review of 2011

Schools top local story

Published 8:49pm Tuesday, December 27, 2011

 

Dowagiac will remember 2011 as the year devoted to devising a five-point educational dream to reinvent the school system.
The goal since February has been to build a “one in 100” district for the 21st century that will drive a Dowagiac renaissance.

Months in the making, since “Disney Way” author Bill Capodagli immersed Dowagiac Union Schools, City Hall, Southwestern Michigan College and Borgess-Lee Memorial Hospital in the customer service principles of “Dream, Believe, Dare, Do,” Superintendent Dr. Mark Daniel Aug. 31 unveiled the Dowagiac Educational Dream.

The vision, which could take until 2015 to fully realize, started Oct. 17 with the administration move from the Wolverine Building into City Hall. The solution is to create three buildings housing five separate schools — a pre-kindergarten to first grade school housed in the same building as a separate school for grades 2-3, each led by an instructional leader/principal, an early education specialist and a math and reading development specialist. The two schools would share the gym, cafeteria, art and music rooms and support staff.
A second building would house fourth and fifth grades.

The Dowagiac Middle School campus, opened in 2005, would support sixth, seventh and eighth grades with a separate high school for grades 9-12, again sharing common areas such as the gym, cafeteria and Performing Arts Center.

Three buildings, Patrick Hamilton, Sister Lakes and Kincheloe, would join the Wolverine Building to jettison overhead and invest in energy conservation that would make the undertaking financially feasible when voters weigh in early in 2012.

The five points that, thanks to Disney storyboarding with focus groups, reflect beliefs of the school board, administration, faculty/staff, parents and community, include collaboration, differentiated instruction (students grouped by interests and their level of understanding to build upon their accomplishments and to engage them in learning), literacy and early childhood initiatives so 100-percent of third graders read at grade level), technology and Smart Boards and grade levels grouped together through all building transitions to encourage long-term relationships with faculty, continuity in extra-curricular activities (sports, clubs, arts) and student (opportunities for college credit at SMC).

Dowagiac’s new fall festival, Under the Harvest Moon, is well-received and coincides with the opening of Foodies Fresh Cafe.

Springsteen Realty merged with Cressy and Everett in February.
Cass County hired its third administrator, Charles Cleaver, after interviewing five candidates at the Council on Aging Feb. 12.

Chuck Clarke served in the interim when Terry Proctor left after two decades.

The “round house” on M-51 South was torn down.
Firefighters from area departments spent all day Jan. 23 batting a blaze which devastated Edward Lowe Foundation headquarters near Cassopolis. Fire March 3 destroyed the Glenwood landmark Drake’s Little Super northeast of Dowagiac.

Union High launched the 10th Interact club in Rotary’s 57-club District 6360 led by charter President Lauren Krueger Oct. 23.

Marissa Tidey was crowned Michigan Apple Queen for 2012.

Pokagon Band’s Four Winds Casino bet its second location, on Red Arrow Highway in Hartford, will hit the jackpot.

“Little Four Winds” opened Aug. 29, adding 400 jobs to Van Buren County from 12,000 applicants.

The New Buffalo location is expanding with another 250 hotel rooms in a nine-story tower, a multi-use event center and a Hard Rock Cafe opening this summer.

Dr. Nathan Ivey, Southwestern Michigan College’s first president from 1965-68, addresses graduates during the 44th commencement ceremony May 7.

Jimmy Keys, 31, was unanimous selection as Dowagiac Firefighter of the Year after losing his life in a Valentine’s Day crash in South Haven.

Deputy Fire Chief Dale Hutchings retired in June after 34 years with the city and was succeeded by Guy Evans.

Classic boat museum opens in Cassopolis. Cassopolis June 15 debuted a “destination” boat museum. Mahogany Outfitters Classic Boat and Auto Museum, 980 E. State St., contains room after room of vintage boats often trailered behind classic cars from the same year and fills the former Hayden-Beardslee Ford dealership.
It is a companion piece to the 1948 Sinclair gas station replica overlooking Stone Lake downtown which also grew out of Dr. Roger Pecina of Afdent dental clinics and his hobby.

Premier Tool and Die Cast Corp. plans a $3.2 million expansion in Dowagiac expected to create 179 jobs by resurrecting the former ICG plant across Paul Street as a new zinc and aluminum die cast and assembly operation, it was announced July 5.

Cass County Council on Aging conducted a $350,000 campaign for a Dowagiac Senior Center adjacent to City Hall.

Russom Park garnered $600,000 in state grants in December thanks to a cooperative effort between Dowagiac and Silver Creek Township.

Three of five Keeler Township board members, 26-year Supervisor Bill Kays and Trustees Don Blackmond and Patrick Daly were recalled Aug. 2 in a close election precipitated by their decision at the annual meeting to contract for five years with Coloma

Emergency Ambulance, which spelled the end of Sister Lakes’ service.

Dowagiac welcomed Belgium’s 58-member Maasmechelen Concert Band, which performed Aug. 9 in the Performing Arts Center.

SMC hosted a movie premiere Oct. 28 for Debra Tolchinsky’s “Fast Talk,” which makes debate a metaphor for the hectic pace of our lives.

Dailey Church in LaGrange Township turned 125 years old in August.

Leah Sovine is installed as Dowagiac postmaster Sept. 16.

Dowagiac author Michael Collins March 26 publishes his seventh novel, “Of Uncertain Significance,” and Sept. 8 receives the grand prize at the Deauville American Film Festival in France.

Eighty National Guard soldiers with “Charlie Company” (C Troop, 126th Cavalry) deploy to Afghanistan Sept. 24 after a farewell at Union High School.

Pollys Pets Adopts The Disney Way

“After traveling to Disney World and Disneyland several times since the middle of the 1980's I have always marveled at the cleanliness,
friendliness and freshness of the parks.

Owning my own retail stores I was amazed at how such a huge
organization can have so many staff on the same page. I have fewer
than 30 employees and have found it almost impossible to keep everyone on the same page or even in the same book!

I started reading as much about Disney as possible. Through my reading I discovered "The Disney Way". This book has helped to clarify and explain how Disney accomplishes such great customer loyalty and satisfaction. This book explains how customer satisfaction does not happen overnight and is actually one of the hardest areas of any business to maintain. This books not only explains the what customer satisfaction is it also show examples of businesses, not just Disney, putting their care programs into action. It has shown me that "The Disney Way" isn't just something that happens it is something that is constantly worked on and constantly being improved.

During these tough economic times I am finding that customers are what we need to be focusing on not just the price of a product. Reading this book, several times now, continues to remind me that we are in the business of pleasing our guests (customers). Almost all of our functions should in some way be geared toward that end. This is marvelous book that doesn't just show the "why's" but explains the "how's.” Great job!”

Steve Housley
owner, Polly's Pets
pollyspets.com