It has been a MAD, MAD, MAD, MAD MARCH! So much has happened this past month that it is hard to find a place to start it all!
I have had so many visitors this month. My dear friends Shannon and Kristen surprised me the last weekend in February and came out for a long weekend! We had so much fun! It was a rainy weekend, but as any Disney pro knows, the rainier the weather, the shorter the lines! So, we basically busted through all 4 parks the whole weekend! It was great!
The last few weeks have been spring break, which is the busiest time in Disneyworld. I had quite a few visitors the past few weeks. Aaron came in with his co worker Lisa and her two daughters (who felt like cousins after they left, we had so much fun!); and Aaron’s awesome sister and her amazingly awesome friend Lori came in with her two adorable-beyond-belief daughters Charlotte and Molly. I absolutely LOVED spending time with them! Charlotte is such a smart and sassy 7 year old and Molly is the sweetest brightest 3 year old. They are such amazing girls. We had so much fun riding Toy Story Mania and Charlotte even got me playing in the play ground and going through the slides! (talk about feeling like a watermelon sliding through a straw!). Now, everyone knows I always have a cute kid quote, well this one comes from Miss Molly herself! We were having breakfast with the characters at The Grand Floridian and Molly was coloring. I asked her what her favorite color was, and she said “gray”. I said, “Wow, that is different! I have never heard a kid say gray! Why is that your favorite color?” and she says to me, “Because my Daddy’s hair is gray!”. I though that was the sweetest most heart melting thing I have heard in a long time!
One thing that began in late February was my Disney Guest Service class. My teacher, a former Guest Service Manager, teaches us all about using our Disney basics and a few schematics and “pixie dust” to solve guest related issues. Each week we have a guest speaker from different areas of Disney World come in and present us with a seminar on guest service. A few weeks ago, the Guest Service team at Hollywood Studios came and presented us with a power point presentation all about using our basics to go the extra mile. To explain the “Disney Service Basics”, I will have you look below and read them. These were created about 5 years ago to streamline service standards but also make Disney service exceptional above any other.
Cast member guidelines: "The Disney Service Basics"
"I project a positive image and energy."
Smile
Look approachable
Look happy and interested
Model the Disney Look
Keep conversations positive
"I am courteous and respectful to all guests, including children."
Make eye contact and smile
Engage in guest interaction
Treat guests as individuals
Greet and welcome each guest
Thank all guests and invite them back
"I stay in character and play the part."
Preserve and protect the magic
Provide excellent show quality and safety
Perform role efficiently by reducing hassles and inconveniences
"I go above and beyond."
Anticipate needs and offer assistance
Create surprises and Magical Moments
Provide immediate service recovery
What I love about this list is that it's collapsible; you can look at just the four headlines, but you can also identify key behaviors for each. I personally like "look happy and interested." There's much that could be said about the need for that particular behavior.
Also note that each of these areas begin with the word "I" in front of each statement—suggesting that each cast member should take ownership in doing these things.
As a cast member, it is our job to follow these service basics each day and use them as a guideline to solve problems and of course, to “make magic”.
A video was shown during the duration of that class that really had me have a whole new approach on customer service. Having worked in customer service during the duration of my “working” life (ages 16-present), it really opened my eyes to a new way of customer service. The video is called “Give Them The Pickle”. I encourage you to watch this video if you work in the customer service profession or know anyone who does. It really teaches you a lot about the value of customer relations and who really is the “boss”… the customer!!!
The video is about Bob Farrell, or Farrell's Ice Cream Parlours, which they opened in Portland, Oregon, on September 13, 1963. In 1968, with six stores, Farrell decided to franchise his concept. He appeared on the Merv Griffin Show, received the Horatio Alger Award from Norman Vincent Peale, and built the World's Largest Sundae for the Guinness Book of World Records.
In 1973, Farrell sold his 55 store chain of ice cream parlors to the Marriott Corporation, but remained as its spokesperson and developed a speech for new employees called Give 'em the Pickle!, based on a letter he received from a disappointed customer.
Since 1973, Farrell has been involved with the launch of several very successful restaurant chains. In 2002, he put his Pickle speech to video, followed by The Leadership Pickles!
Below is the link. See for yourself!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JJjf6ifg7U0&feature=PlayList&p=EE96101A0440C9EE&playnext_from=PL&playnext=1&index=32
The full video and books are available for purchase on amazon.
http://www.amazon.com/Giveem-Pickle-Bob-Farrell/dp/1880692333/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1270702445&sr=8-1
So many exciting things coming up, too! I will be taking 2 more classes this summer and looking forward to that, plus more family and friends coming out in the months to come. I got a lot of positive response from the story I told about Princess Ashley last time, and this time I have a story about Queen Lisa. In the boutique, we call all girls Princesses, all dads Kings, all brothers Princes (or Pirates, if they are acting so) and all mom Queens. It had been very busy in the boutique during spring break and we have been running late and behind quite often, which leads to very unhappy Princesses and Queens. On a busy Easter Sunday, I was up front handling reservations and fielding complaints of long wait times. With over a 30 minute wait, Queen Lisa came in with her Princess (whose name escapes me). Queen Lisa came in with a hat covering her newly bald head, wearing a smile ear to ear, and a Disney celebration pin saying “I’m Celebrating LIFE!”. When I told Queen Lisa of our wait time, her smile did not budge, she looked at me and her Princess, and sat down and looked through the hairstyle choices with her Princess. It was like her and her daughter were in their own world. Finally, after 45 minutes, her Princess’ turn was finally up. I walked Queen Lisa and her Princess to their Fairy Godmother and again apologized for the long wait time. Again, her smile never budged and she thanked me and they enjoyed their make over. Later, my friend, their Fairy Godmother, told me that Queen Lisa had just finished round one of chemotherapy. They had planned this trip a year ago, and nothing was going to stop her and her family from enjoying the time they had on this earth together. Even though I had just heard her story, it all made sense that a 45 minute wait to every other Queen and Princess was wasting time for other things to do, while Queen Lisa looked at that 45 minute wait as 45 minutes of precious time to be with her daughter, enjoying the time she had on this earth, and of course, celebrating life.
A few Disney things to check out….
This is a documentary that will be out within the next week about the Disney Animation Renaissance in the late 80’-90’s. “By the mid-1980s, the fabled animation studios of Walt Disney had fallen on hard times. The artists were polarized between newcomers hungry to innovate and old timers not yet ready to relinquish control. These conditions produced a series of box-office flops and pessimistic forecasts: maybe the best days of animation were over. Maybe the public didn't care. Only a miracle or a magic spell could produce a happy ending. Waking Sleeping Beauty is no fairy tale. It's the true story of how Disney regained its magic with a staggering output of hits - "Little Mermaid," "Beauty and the Beast ," "Aladdin," "The Lion King," and more - over a 10-year period.
http://www.wakingsleepingbeautymovie.com/
A new Disney Princess, could it be true? IT IS!!!!! A re-adaptation of Rapunzel called “Tangled”, starring the voice of Many Moore. Wiki also has some cool insight about the animation style of this upcoming film, too.
http://www.blogger.com/goog_1866004570
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tangled
