From Impressed to Obsessed: 12 Principles for Turning Customers and Employees into Lifelong Fans

CHAPTER 14

Create Relevance

What time is the three o’clock parade?

Historically, that has been one of the most common questions fielded by Disney World “cast members” (employees) at the Magic Kingdom theme park in Orlando, Florida.¹ Why on earth would a Disney World guest need to ask that question?

The answer is, they’re really not asking that question. Even if they’re not explicitly saying it, what they often want to know is, When does the three o’clock parade get to me, where I’m standing?²

Disney World cast members are specifically trained to answer this question and others like it. They are educated in the art of looking beyond what a customer says and considering instead what the customer really means. That’s ultimately an exercise in ...