A couple of weeks ago, I was going to West Palm Beach for a conference.  From Chicago, I could fly to Tampa, change planes and then onto West Palm Beach, or I could fly to Orlando, rent a car, and drive 2 ½ hours to WPB then drive back to Orlando after the conference and catch a flight home the next day.  I chose the latter for one reason only.  If I drove, I could stop at the Disney Store in Downtown Disney on my way.  By doing so, it cost me, an extra night in Florida $63, Car rental for 4 days $150, Gas $60.

I really love beautiful, heavy, expensive looking pens when I’m working.  It makes me feel super successful. I was on a mission.  I wanted to get a new Disney Pen, because the one I had purchased several years ago wore out, a few journals and a few gifts.  I found this beautiful pen.  This is no ordinary pen. This pen is fit for a Princess.  So much so that it has a crown on the top.  I bought 5 of them, one for myself and four for gifts to special women in my life.  And while the cost of each pen was $19.99, plus my added expenses, the value to me was so much more. I was able to spend a couple of hours in Downtown Disney all by myself.

Just one little problem when I got home.  Watch this three minute video I made yesterday and sent to Disney about my poorly designed pen.

I sent this video to 2 different places, not knowing where I should send it.  Within 30 minutes, I received a call from Lee in Orlando at the Disney Store Customer Service.  He had viewed my video, called me to get some more information, and was forwarding my information onto someone who can do something about the problem.  I had not even provided my phone number.  Lee assumed, correctly I might add, that I had probably ordered from Disney.com before and he found my phone number.

This is not unusual service.  Disney provides this kind of outstanding customer service to each and every one of their guests each and every time.  This is one of the reasons I love Disney.

There is so much to learn from Disney, and here is some of what I have learned from them over the many, many times, I have visited.

• I have learned about marketing, merchandising, customer service, company culture, detail, building a brand, innovation, how to treat your employees, but most of all, I have learned about creating an experience.  For it is in the experience where the value of your ticket is found.  Even in their free experiences, like Downtown Disney, there is tons of value to be found, if you just look around and take the time to notice it.

I sent the video to Disney, not to complain that I had been ripped off, because I wasn’t, but because I know they would not want to sell a pen that was not up to their high standards.

I was telling my husband about this, and he said, “My Company doesn’t even respond when someone complains on Facebook about a problem with a $100 product they purchased from us.” My husband is my business partner in our franchise stores, and he understands how important good customer service is.  It’s too bad the company he works for does not.

I would like to know, how would your company handle this problem?  How would you have responded to my video?  Or, would you have responded to my video?  Keep in mind; I have already given 3 of the 5 pens I purchased away as gifts.  I have one, and the last one was for a gift for a friend’s birthday next month, and I realize you aren’t earning the kind of money the Disney Corporation is, but I’m just wondering how you would handle this?