THE MAGIC KINGDOM

I've just returned from a family holiday in Florida and our first exposure to the whole "Disney experience". We stayed at one of the Disney hotels and spent most of our days at one of the theme parks , and although my personal favourite was a park that Disney doesn't own ( Universal Studios) I was really blown away by the customer service excellence that prevails right across this amazing business. The courtesy, humour, and pride in their business shown by every Disney employee we met really added extra zest to our holiday. Critics may question the sincerity of the service - offering, but I never found it fake at all. On the contrary it made me reflect on how crucial it is for our customers to believe WE trust and believe in our building society, before we ask them to do likewise. A culture of service excellence is still elusive in many UK businesses and thats one reason why building societies have a fantastic opportunity to outshine competitor banks. I wont be asking my branch teams to wear Goofy hats but they'll get plenty encouragement to give every customer a warm welcome, a smiling face and a genuine interest in how we can help them.