Magnets have wonderful properties; one of the most amazing is they can both attract and repel.

In a previous post, I wrote about “Magnetic Personalities“. If you haven’t read it yet, I encourage you to jump over and take a look at it – it’s a quick read, and it will give some background to the rest of this post. Go ahead – I’ll wait…

What goes for magnetic persons also goes for magnetic teams – like the Guest Experience team at your church. Sometimes the very thing that makes you “attractive” may also be “repelling” to someone else. Your team may go by another name, you may have multiple teams, but I am willing to bet that if you are the leader of such a group, you are always looking for ways to improve how you do what you do. Are you ready?

Not so fast! Before you can improve, you need to know where you are – you need to establish a baseline measurement.

Here is a list of questions to assist you in identifying your present level of Guest Experiences. The list is adapted from a great book by Chip Bell entitled Magnetic Service. Answer “Yes” or “No” to each question:

1. Do your Guests believe your church listens to them more deeply than almost any other organization they can think of?
2. Do you anticipate Guests’ future needs so well that Guests feel you can practically read their minds?
3. Are Guests given an opportunity to participate in a different way than they would have expected?
4. Does your Guest Experience have such sufficient consistency such that Guests can trust it as being repeatable and not serendipitous?
5. Do Guests see your church as rather daring or gallant in this approach?
6. Do Guests think you and other team members in your church have more fun than most people?
7. Are Guests given a chance to learn a lot simply through their encounter with your church?
8. Do Guests witness you and others on your team perpetually improving service?
9. Is the interpersonal engagement with you so unforgettable that Guests think positively about it again and again?
10. Do Guests view their Guest Experience as special, distinctive, and not the usual “same old same old” approach?
11. Do Guests comment on how the church is almost always super comfortable to be a part of?
12. Do Guests feel completely free of dissonance and anxiety when dealing with your church?
13. Does your Guest Experience reflect a deeper destiny, vision or commitment to serve?
14. Is your Guest Experience delivered in a way that clearly reflects a wholesome and generous attitude?

How many honest “no’s” did you have? If you answered “no” more than three or four times, you have gaps to fill, holes to repair, and practices to start.

Congratulations! You now have a baseline measurement of your Guest Experience…

…where do you go from here?