From the second I got to the door my experience began. Everyone was in character—from the person who scanned my ticket at the door all the way to the bartender.⁹¹ They all really cared about what they were saying. The bartender didn’t shrug his shoulders and halfheartedly list off the drink options. Instead, he said this is the beer I suggest and this is why I like it. It was like when you ask a waiter in a restaurant what they suggest you order from the menu.

When we entered the theater to see the show, the usher who led us to our seats was so happy to see us and also in character. The way he sat us down really set the tone—he was so funny. The most amazing thing about all of this care and attention to the entire experience was that Cirque du Soleil didn’t even need to do these things because the show itself is so incredible. I would see it again and again just for the show. What sets Cirque even more apart is that the company really understood the experience gap concept. It does not want anything to take away from the experience, not even a rude usher or two or the bartender to hurt it.

What took it to the next level for me, even after seeing Cirque shows multiple times since then, was when I mentioned how much I love them on Twitter. To my surprise, an hour later the actual Cirque du Soleil account on Twitter replied back! Someone was listening and the person replied! The rep tweeted back about how proud he is of the show and how great it makes him feel when others feel the same way. This was my first experience with a company that monitored social media and used it to engage with people in this way.

I really recommend you go online and check out the Twitter account @Cirque.⁹² You see a mixture of show announcements and customer service. The company replies to its customers about all kinds of things—from how to get tickets, questions about the shows, and to say thank you to fans. The company even replies to reviews that are not all positive, showing that someone is listening, and also that the company has a lot of confidence in what it does. Cirque uses its Twitter account to show how much it appreciates its customers’ business. Jess Berlin, who runs the Cirque account on Twitter, is someone I have gotten to know since that time. I’ve learned that she really does care about people having a great experience with Cirque. You need people like this in your company. You need people who will not only engage with others, but want to, because it shows.

I’ve now seen Ka four times in Vegas, paying the full price three of those times just so I could take friends or clients to show them the example of excellence; to show clients the lack of excellence gap in this amazing company. I even tested the company when they came to Toronto. I took my mom for her birthday to one of Cirque’s traveling shows. And just like in Vegas the experience was consistently at the highest level. In Toronto, the ushers were not actors in costume, yet it felt like they had a genuine concern to make sure that I had the greatest experience I possibly could with my mom, and I did.