Writing this from Starkville, Mississippi where I’m on location for the filming of our very first Red-Carpet Customer Service Training Video, to become part of our training kit. I can’t begin to express how incredibly proud I am of the tool we’re going to have to help you train your team to roll out the red-carpet for your customers!

We’re having fun with the red-carpet theme for this customer service training, and each principle will be taught using different movie genres. For instance, we’re teaching how to treat customers like STARS:

Sincerely Welcome: Using a Wizard of Oz Parody

Take Note, and Adjust: In Film Noir/Sam Spade Private Eye Style

Act with Urgency: Mission Impossible/Bond style (HR approved, of course!)

Respond and Recover: 80’s Zombie Movie style (the Horror of upset customers)

Surprise and Delight: A movie musical

Quite honestly, there isn’t a more fun and effective customer service training tool out there! You can see some of the fun we’re having in these pictures here.

Having worked with my team (particularly our amazing Creative Director David Mendes) for a while to get ready for this week’s shoot, there are a few things I’ve learned from a leadership standpoint. These are some of the principles we followed to ensure a successful shoot and, ultimate, a phenomenal customer service training product!

PREPARATION IS KEY: There’s a number of steps that go into making a customer service training film and kit. Our Creative Director wrote the extraordinary screenplay, secured the composer and actors, designed and bought the costumes and props, and prepped to direct the actors in each scene. For a start. Our Countess of Curriculum, Chris Perillo, read the script and has spent her time on set preparing to write the facilitators guide that goes with the instructor-led portion of the customer service training. Our fantastic crew at Broadcast Media Group, created shot lists and blocking, designed camera angles, sets and light patterns. All of this was ready to go for production week. Because everyone did their part to ensure they were well prepared – this week is going smoothly. Preparation is key. 

IT’S ALL IN THE DETAILS: It’s the details that have been WOWing me throughout this process. Our Creative Director thought of everything! The Gogo Boots and the big earrings for the “Bond Girl” character. The butterflies on “Glinda’s” dress. The color red (my brand) shown throughout the video. The team at Broadcast Media pays careful attention to every shadow, every lighting choice, and each camera angle. This is the difference between a practitioner  and a master. Fortunately, we have masters working on our customer service training kit.  It’s the attention to detail that turns a good product or service into an extraordinary one.

THE RIGHT PEOPLE IN THE RIGHT ROLES: Speaking of masters, you’ve got to have the right people in the right roles! As the Founder & CEO of Red-Carpet Learning Systems, I am completely relaxed about the final result of all this work. Why? Because I know I have the best team on the job. Mind if I brag about my team a little? Our Creative Director’s vision is fantastic and every step he took throughout the process was designed to ensure the best product. His gifts and talents are perfect for this job. We have a fantastic crew! We found Broadcast Media Group when working on a customer service training video for another client. Now, I work with them everywhere – because they are absolute experts and professionals. They are the right people for the job. We carefully selected actors for this project and even brought a few down from Chicago. They’re making us laugh, think, feel and are perfect for their parts! Our Countess of Curriculum comes with a great deal of experience and made a point to be here for the filming so it can inform her work on the Facilitator’s Guide.

When you take the time to select the best team members and put them in their perfect roles, you (their leader) can relax and trust that all will be AWESOME!!! 

PRACTICE MAKES PERFECT: Chris and I had our own star turn, as we narrate the video. While both of us are used to being on stage, camera work is so very different. We entered the studio a bit nervous, but the more we practiced, the more natural our narration became and we really had fun! It’s good to get out of your comfort zone and remember that practice makes perfect. 

SOMETIMES YOU JUST HAVE TO SAY PRINT: On the other hand, is anything ever perfect. When you work with people who truly care about what they’re doing (like my team!!), you’ll find that they want to do one more thing, make one more adjustment, add just a little detail. That’s great! It means you’ve got passionate people on your team. However, sometimes you’ve got to be happy with the amazing work you’ve done and say cut, print and that’s a wrap! While there’s always more you can do, the world needs your brilliance. So do your best, get your work out there and move on to the next project! 

So, those are a few of my thoughts as we shoot our red-carpet customer service training video.

I hope you enjoy the photos!! Remember, our special discounted pre-order rate only lasts until Friday, February 12th. This is going to be a fantastic customer service training tool!!! I can’t wait to share it with you!!

Donna Cutting is the Founder and CEO of Red-Carpet Learning Systems, Inc. and the author of two books on Red-Carpet Customer Service. To order the Red-Carpet Customer Service Training Kit, click here.