Trash cans: an essential part of the Disney experience.

Trash cans: an essential part of the Disney experience.

At his How We Work blog, Peter Bregman writes about how small changes in environment can result in big shifts in behavior. He describes a number of situations where relatively simple changes can transform the dynamics in an office or retail location. He cites the example of client who was contemplating sending a frosty receptionist to communication training. Bregman’s suggestion: why not simply remove the glass window the receptionist sits behind?

“To a larger extent than you probably realize, your environment dictates your actions,” Bregman argues. “In your company, think about what you want people to do and whether the environment around them supports the behavior,” he advises.

Disney has known and practiced this idea for decades. Famously, its “guestologists” solved the one problem that plagues any well-trafficked public space, which is trash. Looking beyond the obvious question of how to clean up the garbage, Disney sought to actually prevent in the first place the problem of guests tossing trash onto the pavement. The solution? A one-two punch of employee vigilance (every employee from top to bottom is charged with immediately disposing of even the smallest bits of trash, which creates a level of cleanliness that discourages guests from littering) and ubiquitous placement of trash cans. In fact, receptacles are placed every 27 feet, which means that guests are never more than a few convenient paces from a receptacle.

The lesson for experience designers (yes, that’s you, if you use your branches to market to customers) is that you have more control over the customer experience than you might imagine. You don’t need to make expensive changes, so long as they’re effective ones.

The key to changing customer experience and behavior is first understanding customer experience and behavior. Not in theory, but in everyday, observable reality. As you take out your notepad and pencil, here are some things to look for:

• Orientation -  How do customers orient themselves when they enter the branch? Where do they look first? What clues help them determine where they should go to fulfill their mission?
• Flow – How does the placement of hardware (desks, counters, signage, etc.) affect traffic flow?
• Proximity – How near or far are the essential tools (check writing station, pens, trash can, calendar, etc.) that customers need at each step of their branch experience?
• Obstruction – What or who hinders customers from fulfilling their mission in the branch? How do customers react to those obstructions?
• Interaction – How, when and where are employees interacting with customers? How do customers react?
• Recovery – What happens when service goes wrong (systems go down, long queues, etc.)? How do customers react? How do employees resolve the situation?
• The unexpected – What happens in the branch, good or bad, that is surprising or unintended? Why does it happen? How could it be discouraged, or (if desirable) encouraged?

Photo credit: mrkathika