We did a series on this a few years ago- but I think every now and then it deserves to be brought up again. All parks, zoos, entertainment venues struggle with guest experience. One bad experience, even if isolated, can become a narrative difficult to shake. Thrills and themed experiences do cost money but the little things that comprise that “undercard” can be as simple as a greeting and a smile by an employee.
Below is an including, but not limited to list of some simple things a venue of any size can do to improve their Guest Experience:
- Keep the park clean and well-maintained: Make sure that the park is clean, safe, and well-maintained.
- Ensure that the trash cans are emptied regularly– let’s face it, trash smells and it tends to attract flies, bees, and other wild life. Early in my consulting career I worked with a waterpark that emptied their trash just twice a day. Maybe it was staffing issues, maybe it was any number of reasons- but no one, myself included, likes barefoot entertainment walking on walkways you wouldn’t touch with a pair of gloves.
- Make sure the restrooms are clean– I’ll give a VERY brief pass here. Let’s face it, people are gross. As a male I can go into a park restroom that has ten urinals and just one toilet and it never fails- I make my way to the lone stall in the room (as some of us need to do from time to time) and someone with terrible aim decided to visit before and left their DNA sample all over the seat. Teens tend to leave other gifts there as well. And… it doesn’t take long to develop. Make sure you have thick-skinned staff keeping those areas in great shape.
- Free Wi-Fi*: Free wifi in 2023 is sort of a given, but notice the “*“. A decent park I consulted with had some issues with their internet connections inside their office but apparently had an even worse time with their park WiFi. The Manager I spoke with said that when he arrived at the park in the morning he had to always shift his phone to cell data instead of WiFi since it was horribly slow- in his words “someone else must be using it.” It you don’t have the resources to have a full fledged WiFi that will handle your crowds… go the route of not having it.
- Surprise & Delight: Most “freebies” don’t cost a ton but carry a lot of goodwill forward- “low cost, high perceived value.” Child’s birthday? give them an armband for two reasons: 1) free soft drink refills for the birthday boy or girl. Afraid of family taking unfair advantage of that… and they may- allow the armband 2, 4, 5, etc… punches on it. 2) All staff, from lowest to highest- when they pass by STOP and wish the child a happy birthday!
- Train your staff. Train them again and again, and again: Train your staff to be friendly, helpful, and welcoming to guests. A positive attitude and good customer service can go a long way in improving the guest experience.
- Make access to your venue information simple: Maps, brochures, and other “analog” methods are OK… they are still used- but with a little creativity and help you can create community partners to sponsor digital and interactive wayfinding methods inside and outside your venue. They can be used for analytics generation, point-of-sale, upsell opportunities, coupon distributors, bases of referrals, etc…
There are others that we will touch on in future articles.
#guestexperience #themeparks #zoos #waterparks #staffmatters
