Great customer service is one of the key ways we can set ourselves apart from other people in the industry. Everybody wants (and expects) a great customer service experience. Pete Blank joins Monica on the show today to talk about his customer service background working for Disney. They share ideas about customer service through a discussion of the seven guest service guidelines Disney uses, and fit them into the real estate industry. Now that so much is available online to consumers, customer service in real estate has become that much more important. The face-to-face connection is something clients value and the way we present ourselves and our product contributes to the customer experience. This is similar to the idea at Disney that employees are always in “the show.” For real estate, this would involve staging, materials, etc. At Disney, they teach that the relationship between you and the customer has to be number one. Pete discusses a little bit about these guidelines and relates them to the real estate industry. The first one is to 1) Make eye contact and smile. This is perhaps a bit easier in the real estate industry as much of the contact is one-on-one, but make sure you’re always presenting a good front when you’re meeting with clients, or in a situation where you may be around potential clients. The second is 2) Greet and welcome each and every guest. This one is also applicable for when you are out and about. When you’re out in public in your community, it’s important to consider that you may be around potential clients. Note how you want to present yourself to someone who knows you’re in real estate but you may not be having a direct interaction with. You are your own brand. The next guideline is 3) Seek out guest contact. This one is related to the second guideline in the fact that you may always be around potential clients. In terms of real estate, so many people own homes or want to own homes. There is a general curiosity about the market. As an agent, you can try to share some market research when you’re out in public (in appropriate situations). This will help you be top-of-mind for people that you’ve helped previously or they’ve heard of you through this sharing of knowledge in different environments. One of the most important reasons is 4) Provide immediate service recovery. Pete shares a story about something he experienced during his time at Disney. What’s important here is if a client brings you an issue, we try to fix it with service first. Rather than offering a discount or some sort of bonus item during the time of the transaction with your client, we look for a way to placate the issue with service first. This will make your client feel valuable. These standards (the rest to follow!) are non-negotiable. Big businesses may already have these established, but if you are a solopreneur starting your business, take some time to write down some non-negotiable standards for yourself that you will use to serve your clients. Getting back to the guidelines, number 5) Appropriate body language at all times. As with any industry, when you see employees who look disinterested, this can skew your whole perception of the business. In real estate, this could you be how you look before you meet a seller for a listing. You don’t necessarily want to be wrapping up previous business when your new client shows up. Your body language should show your client that they are the most important thing during your meeting. Number 6) Preserve the magical guest experience. We don’t want clients to see the nitty-gritty of how things work. This would involved keep the “backstage” parts of processes out of the customer experience. Monica mentions that in real estate there is a line between letting the public know what you’re doing (how much time it’s taking, etc) and also sharing too much. The important thing is how you’re sharing this information. It’s okay to express the work you’ve done, but it’s not okay to complain about the pro