Page 40 - Early Winter 2014

I like to think of the on-snow experience as the roller coaster, with everything else— Conclusion from the parking lot to rentals— In the Terrain Based Learning program we spend a lot representing the line for the ride. of time looking at PCE. I like to think of the on-snow experience as the roller coaster, with everything else— from the parking lot to ticketing to rentals—represent- Steven Tyler himself personally invites you to the show, ing the line for the ride. and has the band’s tour manager arrange for a “very On snow we have it easier in some ways: Our big car” to shuttle you and your group to the concert. guests are outside in the fresh air, and engaged in a Aerosmith’s limousine speeds off and you follow the fun activity where they’re moving around and learn- tour manager to the parking garage. Your car arrives ing skills. In that context there’s no reason we can’t see and off you go. The real ride is actually just starting. PCE numbers greater than 50 percent. I think we can all agree, the second ride sounds On the other hand, rental shops have it much more fun, and it’s not because the roller coaster is harder: Their primary focus generally is to move guests longer or faster. It’s because ride #2 turned Non through the rental process fast, focusing on Cycle Value-Added time into Customer Value-Added Time. But as we’ve seen, those mundane aspects of the time—while ride #1 is serving up 60 minutes of customer’s experience do factor into the overall PCE, boredom, frustration, and most likely sunburn. You and we should take a look at how we can improve can’t eliminate NVA time altogether, but you can them, just as Disney did. The goal is to add value, if increase the overall CVA time, making your process not magic, to every minute of our customer’s experi- and the guest experience more valuable (Figure 3). ence wherever possible. Waiting in line is unavoidable, but it doesn’t have to In the next installment, we’ll review how the feel like wasted time. Conversion Cookbook, Terrain Based Learning, and Let’s take this a step further and use our Process highly effective rental designs result in a higher PCE, Map to analyze the Process Cycle Efficiency of ride #2. and how that correlates to guest conversion. Until The result makes it easy to see why this resort, Disney then, try your hand at applying the Process Cycle World, is widely considered to be the best amusement Efficiency equation to any or all of your operations park in the world. It may be magical, but it also delivers for an honest sense of how effective they are—and a strong PCE. whether they add up to a fun, ideal, and valuable expe- rience for your guests. As a wise person once said, the 35 Minutes CVA / 67 Minutes CT = 52.2% PCE numbers don’t lie. n (world class levels) Joe Hession is founder and CEO of Snow Operating, It’s easy to look at roller coasters and leaders of a company dedicated to increasing industry conver- other industries as a case study for Process Mapping sion rates. Hession is a Lean Six Sigma Black Belt who and Process Cycle Efficiency. There’s no emotional achieved his certification while working for Intrawest. connection. No bias. But if we’re being fair to our Hession has leveraged these methodologies to create industry, ourselves, and to our guests, we need to the Terrain Based Learning program used by resorts ™ examine our process from parking lot to on-snow and throughout the country to simplify the process of learning back, and ask ourselves, What is our PCE? to ski and snowboard. Figure 3. Process Map for Magical Roller Coaster Ride Aerosmith Enter Coaster Wait in Line Experience Board Coaster Ride Coaster Exit Coaster 1-MIN 30-MIN 30-MIN 2-MIN 3-MIN 1-MIN BVA NVA CVA CVA CVA BVA 38 | NSAA Journal | EARLY WINTER 2014 w w w. n s a a . o rg NSAA Early Winter 2014 prepressed v5b.indd 38 10/29/14 6:08 PM