When Shakespeare wrote about all the world being a stage and all of us mere players upon it, I think he was on to something. When we talk about customer service and enhancing the teaching and learning experience, I think emphasis needs to be placed on that last word. It all boils down to the experience.

Let me give you an example: If you go out to dinner and the food is excellent, but the service is poor, how will you rate the evening? Won’t go back there anytime soon, right? But if the food is mediocre, but you receive a lot personal and pleasant service in the process, wouldn’t you be more likely to give the restaurant a second chance?

The same holds true for our campuses. You can run an excellent campus tour program, but one bad encounter along the way can leave potential students and their parents running for the parking lot. When visiting potential campuses, I advise parents and their children to get off the official tour route and do a little investigating. How would you rate the maintenance and cleanliness of classroom buildings? How are you treated by professors, staff, and students you meet by chance or stop to ask directions? How are the grounds maintained? All those impressions add up to your overall experience. And a 50/50 experience is not what I’d consider a positive one.

So how can you help change the experience at your institution? Walt Disney had a good idea. After building his theme park in Anaheim, he used to spend a lot of time walking around the grounds, asking customers what they thought of the experience and observing his employees as they interacted with guests. After observing an employee go out of his or her way to be friendly and helpful to guests, he would give that employee $5 and thank them for creating such a positive experience for the guests.

I’ll bet you can come up with even more creative ideas. Please share as we’d love to hear them!