NAILBA Perspectives - Spring 2018 - 9

department. With many boutique
firms in NAILBA membership, usually there are limited resources for
support staff, public relations and
or marketing personnel. How does
a small operation create a brand
associated with the highest level of
customer service?
LC: I am a one man show since I
retired from Disney. I run my publishing, consulting and speaking
business all by myself. I have no
employees. I answer the phone, I
negotiate the deal with the client,
I have communication with the client to customize my work for them,
I do the contract, I book my travel
and I promptly deliver the invoice.
My brand is me. People love working with me because I am highly
organized. I keep my promises and
I deliver above their expectations.
I published a book in 2014 titled,
TIME MANAGEMENT MAGIC . . . How to
Get More Done Every day. This book
teaches exactly how to improve
your effectiveness and efficiency. I have a few experts available
to do things I am not good at. I
have an IT computer expert, a website expert and a tax accountant.
I pay them well to take care of my
needs when I need them. They are
all independent contractors. I treat
them better than their other clients do and pay them well.
DL: Day in and day out, NAILBA
members must advise, consult, and
address some of the biggest challenges in a person's future. During
your time at Walt Disney World,
Marriott and Hilton, you interacted with all types of people from
all places around the globe at the
best of times and worst of times.
I'm sure our readers can only imag-

My personal philosophy is that the customer is
not always right, but they are always the customer.
ine what it must be like to interact with customers on a hot and
sweaty day in Florida, over a holiday break, waiting an hour to board
a roller coaster, all for their children. What has been your inspiration for creating great customer
service and customer experience
no matter the environment?
LC: My personal philosophy is that
the customer is not always right,
but they are always the customer. If you want to keep them, then
treat them well even when they are
a pain in the neck. I reminded all
Disney Cast Members that everyone has a problem you don't know
about and sometimes will become
unreasonable for an unknown reason. Our job is to get them back to
happy and satisfied as quickly as we
can. When a customer is yelling at
me or one of my employees, I just
remind everyone that they are not
upset with you, they are upset with
something else going on in their
life. Professionals perform their
role in the show no matter what. If
you are not professional, then you
are unprofessional. It is a choice
each of us makes.
DL: Many small businesses focus
on providing competent advice
instead of an actual client experience, how does a firm begin to
implement change?
LC: I would say they need to take
the time to write down what they
want the customer/client experience to be from start to finish and

then make sure they hire "Can Do
Positive People." Train them in customer service and hospitality. Clarify for them expectations for performance and then begin to enforce
the training and expectations. This
often includes getting rid of highly technical staff that have a negative, "Can't Do Attitude."
DL: In your first book, Creating Magic, you state "it's not the
magic that makes it work; it's the
way we work that makes it magic." How can small businesses
work the magic with clients experiencing very difficult situations?
LC: We all need the same thing when
we are experiencing difficult situations. We need someone who will
listen to us, give us advice on how
to get through the situation and
offer alternatives based upon our
personal financial situation. We all
need encouragement from time to
time. Encouragement is a powerful tool. Empathy is in short supply.
Professionals could give more of it
out. It is free.
DL: After a career with Hilton,
Marriott, and 16 years as executive
vice president with Walt Disney
World, how are you enjoying your
retirement? What advice can you
offer to an agency owner entering
retirement?
LC: I am loving retirement. I have
written four books. I have a thriving consulting, speaking and seminar business. I am making twice
as much money as I did at Disney.

I am traveling all over the world
doing my work which is not really
work for me as I really enjoy doing
it. It is my golf game. My wife travels with me when she wants to and
my clients applaud when I finish a
speech or workshop. When I play
golf, no one applauds when I am
in the woods looking for my ball.
My main advice is to have a plan
before you retire. Don't watch TV
during the day and make sure you
take care of your health, family and
finances. Everything else is secondary for me. My main job now is
teaching which is very rewarding.
My final advice is to get balance
between technical competency,
management competency, technological competence and leadership
competence. Do this and you will
thrive and not just survive.
Check out my website, http://
www.leecockerell.com for over 200
podcasts and 600 blog posts on how
to be a better leader, manager and
how to implement world class customer service.
DL: Thank you, Lee. On behalf
of the NAILBA membership, let
me express our appreciation for
your insights.

www.nailba.org 9

http://www.leecockerell.com http://www.leecockerell.com http://www.nailba.org

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of NAILBA Perspectives - Spring 2018