“Of all the things I have done, the most vital is coordinating the talents of those who work for us and pointing them toward a certain goal.” — Walt Disney
January has come and gone, but the goals you want to accomplish in 2015 are still at the forefront of your mind. If your goal is to create a stronger culture of service excellence, you won’t want to miss keynote speaker Dennis Snow at iFLEX this year. iFLEX will take place March 9-11 at Disney Coronado Springs in Lake Buena Vista, Florida.
Snow, author of “Lessons from the Mouse: A Guide for Applying Disney World’s Secrets to Your Organization, Your Career and Your Life,” built his career on customer service.
“My background is primarily with Disney,” Snow said. “I was with Disney World for 20 years starting out in the front lines, then working in management and managing Disney University for many years. The last 15 years, I’ve worked with companies on their customer service. I speak, train and consult on customer service.”
One important message impressed upon Snow while at Disney was people have plenty of options. Create a reason for customers to come to you instead of the competition.
“Products themselves — like rides [at Disney] or an oil change — are commodities,” Snow said. “People have a lot of choices on where they might go to spend their money. The way to differentiate yourself is the overall experience. For us [at Disney,] that certainly included the rides and the shows, but also the interaction with the cast members (note: all Disney employees are called cast members) and the processes you go through as a guest there. When you think about getting an oil change, certainly your customers are purchasing the oil change or whatever service they’re having done, but there are [numerous shops] within a short drive of where they live. It’s the overall experience you create in terms of the trust you build [with your customers], how easy it is to do business with you and the interaction you have with your employees. All of that factors into a customer’s decision to patron you over the competition.”
Stick out from the crowd; adopt an experience mentality.
“There’s a difference between doing what you do with a task mentality and an experience mentality,” Snow said. “Just about anything can be done with a task mentality, whether it’s putting people on rides at Disney or changing somebody’s oil. You can complete the task and be efficient. But, doing it with a task mentality brings you even with everyone else. At that point, it’s a transaction. When you think about it from an experience approach, you start thinking, ‘How do I add value?’ and ‘What are things we can bring to this experience that will differentiate us from the other competitors?’ That’s where you really start thinking beyond the task to the look of the environment, the interaction with employees and the explanation of the bill.”
What can iFLEX attendees expect from Snow’s keynote speech?
“The real message I’ll be focusing on is how to create an experience that drives loyalty,” he said. “I define loyalty as attracting customers in the first place, having them come back and using more of your services and telling other potential customers wonderful things about you. There will be three very specific takeaways they can immediately implement with their teams when they get back to their stores.”
Be ready for the incredible insight Snow will bring during his keynote speech at iFLEX. It will help you point your shop toward creating an environment of excellence and loyal customers.
Snow’s keynote speech is only one event happening at iFLEX 2015. Here is a look at the complete schedule of events, as of press time:
Sunday, March 8
1-4 p.m. AOCA Board Meeting
4-7 p.m. Registration Open
9 a.m. – 4 p.m. Managing Your Business By the Numbers
5-7 p.m. Committee Meetings
Monday, March 9
7 a.m. – 5 p.m. Registration Open
8-8:30 a.m. Prayer Breakfast
8:30-9 a.m. Attendee Orientation and Continental Breakfast
9:10-10 a.m. Making Your Customers Love You by Giving Stellar Service
9:10-10 a.m. New and Upcoming OSHA Updates That Affect Your Industry
9:10-10 a.m. Cutting-Edge Marketing Strategies
10:10-11 a.m. HR You Can Use! 5 Issues Keeping Business Executives Up at Night
10:10-11 a.m. Canister Oil Filters – Common Issues and Solutions
10:10-11 a.m. Time Refuses to be Managed: Manage Yourself Instead
11:10 a.m. – 12 p.m. Recruit Them Right, Retain Them Forever!
11:10 a.m. – 12 p.m. Win-Win – Increase Ticket Average with a Service That is Also Free to Your Customers!
11:10 a.m. – 12 p.m. Increase Profit 30 Percent in 30 Days
12-1:15 p.m. Annual Membership Meeting (lunch included)
1:30-5 p.m. Exhibit Hall Open
5:30-7 p.m. President’s Welcome Reception
Tuesday, March 10
7 a.m. – 5 p.m. Registration Open
8:30-9 a.m. Continental Breakfast
9 a.m. – 3 p.m. Exhibit Hall Open (Lunch included in exhibit hall from 12-1:30 p.m.)
Wednesday, March 11
7 a.m. – 12 p.m. Registration Open
8-9 a.m. Continental Breakfast
8-8:45 a.m. Exhibitor Meeting
9-9:50 a.m. Double Your Upsell Rate with Simple Scripts!
9-9:50 a.m. “To Service or Not to Service?” That is the Question
9-9:50 a.m. It’s Not a Fluid Change, It’s a Sea Change
10-10:50 a.m. Fired With Enthusiasm
10-10:50 a.m. How Online Engagement Can Help Grow Your Business
11-11:50 a.m. Millennials – Our Future Customers and Employees?!?
11-11:50 a.m. Getting Your Customer to Say “Yes” to Needed Fluid Services
12-1:30 p.m. AOCA Talk Live (lunch included)
1:45-2:45 p.m. Leading a Culture of Service Excellence: Dennis Snow
3-4:30 p.m. Closing Reception
Secure your housing reservation for iFLEX 2015 by Saturday, February 14 to take advantage of the iFLEX discounted room rate of $166 single/double accommodations at Disney’s Coronado Springs Resort.
Online registration is available at http://www.mydisneymeetings.com/aocaiflex2015, or contact the hotel directly at 407.939.4686 and mention AOCA to receive the group rate. These rates are only available by booking through AOCA and not available on hotel or travel websites.
Subject to availability of group rate rooms, guest rooms may be reserved at the reduced room rate fro the three days before March 7, 2015, and the three days after March 12, 2015 (for attendees wishing to extend their stays).
Also available in the above link is information regarding the free shuttle to and from the Orlando International Airport, discounted Disney tickets for attendees and their families, dining options, theme park hours, maps and more.
By booking your room at Disney’s Coronado Springs Resort, you help AOCA meet its contractual obligations to the hotel. Plus, you will enjoy the networking opportunities available with fellow operators and exhibitors at the headquarters hotel.