Lessons From a Guest Experience Evangelist

In today's episode, we are joined by Josh Liebman, the Guest Experience Evangelist for ROLLER Software. Josh has worked for some of the top tourism destinations in the world, from Walt Disney World and Universal Studios to Ritz Carlton, The Four Seasons, and Coca-Cola. With nearly 17 years of designing experiences in this industry, Josh specializes in service standards, complaint resolution, and guest feedback. Tune in as we look at how customer needs and expectations have changed and what we can do to help them feel cared for, supported, inspired, and connected in a post-pandemic world. 

IN THIS EPISODE:

• [02:19] Josh explains what guest experience evangelists do and what it entails. 
• [08:12] How does ROLLER make the ticketing and booking experience better?
• [15:31] Josh shares an example of how to improve guest experience by eliminating administrative and functional elements through technology.  
• [18:09] Meeting customers' expectations is not enough. You should go above and beyond. 
• [25:30] Best practices to empower customer service teams. 
• [28:29] Josh's recommendations to recover from customer issues. 
• [32:30] The difference between being customer-centric and experience-centric.
• [38:20] How the pandemic changed the hospitality and tourism industry.

KEY TAKEAWAYS:

• Many jump straight to the solution when resolving customer complaints, but this makes it a transactional experience for the customer. When we think about the relationship aspects then we realize that it requires the experience and hospitality elements that lead up to the solution. 
• We need to address friendliness, being the hero, and service recovery again because those things might have been success factors in 2010 but in some ways, we are starting over in a different place where there is technology that can replace some of those interactions. There is a real need for companies to begin to focus on what customer-centricity is about. 
• When companies reopen after the pandemic, the first guests to come back are those that are most loyal. Companies need to acknowledge that the customers made a very intentional decision to do business with them and make sure that the guests know you are aware of that. 

LINKS MENTIONED:

Josh's Podcast: Attraction Pros 

Josh's LinkedIn Profile 

Josh's Podcast: The Guest Experience Show

BIO:

Josh Liebman is the Guest Experience Evangelist for ROLLER Software. With nearly 17 years of designing experiences in the hospitality, tourism, and attraction industry, Josh specializes in service standards, complaint resolution, and guest feedback. Working for some of the top tourism destinations in the world, including Walt Disney World and Universal Orlando, Ritz Carlton, Four Seasons, and The Coca-Cola Company, Josh's background includes leadership in operations, guest service communications, quality assurance consulting, consumer analytics, and guest experience training. Josh's guest experience philosophies, strategies, and tactics transcend all industries and if you want to dive deeper into his expertise he is also the host of two podcasts: The Guest Experience Show and AttractionPros.