A Spirited Perfect Ten

[englanddg]

Congratulations, you just passed your final exam to qualify as a Disney Resort hotel manager.

Distinguished hotels don't react to customer complaints; they act to prevent them in the first place.

Walt Disney World hotels used to be like this. Now staff (oops, I mean Cast Members) are trained to treat customers (oops, I mean Guests) like the opposing team. It's all about squeezing those pennies to improve margins.

Most service is reactive. It's rather common in the service industry, and even more common now that the managers who run the places tend to "crutch" on their 4 year "F&B Management Bachelor's" or "Hospitality Management" at a college rather than learning it working up from the bottom and building a pro-active mentality.

There is a skill to learning to see things always as a Guest does, and that skill is not taught at Boise State living off student loans and mommy's credit cards.

 

[Next Big Thing]

I just remembered this as well.
http://wdwmagic.com/attractions/mar...arrives-at-downtown-disney-starting-today.htm
Promoting the Wii U at Downtown Disney but then going with Universal for a real theme park deal. Let's not forget Epic Mickey being a Wii exclusive. Disney always did seem to have some kind of relationship with Nintendo so what changed? My guess is the same as yours which is that it could be the same reason why Rowling went with Uni. Could also be that Nintendo execs saw how much Uni put into Harry Potter and simply thought "these are the guys to trust our characters with."

Or it could have been that Disney didn't want Nintendo (Who says Disney even was in any sort of talks though?...)

I mean, the only possible place I could see Nintendo fitting within Disney is DHS and they aren't even willing to pull the trigger on a Star Wars expansion. It's better in Uni's hands and we'll see it come to life much sooner.

 

[englanddg]

Dredging up a phrase I'd use back in my corporate training/management days in restaurants...

Good service isn't when you refill the guest's drink every time they ask, that's just expected. It's when you bring them a refill before they HAVE to ask.

 

[Mike S]

Or it could have been that Disney didn't want Nintendo (Who says Disney even was in any sort of talks though?...)

I mean, the only possible place I could see Nintendo fitting within Disney is DHS and they aren't even willing to pull the trigger on a Star Wars expansion. It's better in Uni's hands and we'll see it come to life much sooner.

@WDW1974 has already corrected this and said Disney never approached Nintendo or vice versa. I really couldn't be happier that they ended up with Universal. It means we will more than likely be getting a great quality product here in Florida instead of a reskin of a 26 year old boat ride while Japan gets the good stuff.........

 

[englanddg]

Other things I'd teach them...little things go a long way.

For example, when hosting a B-day party, offer the adults coffee after the cake has been cut and the kids are off playing (this was Chuck E. Cheese, btw). No charge (it didn't cost us squat to make it compared to what they paid for the party, and we had to keep it "freshly made" by corporate standards throughout the day, and who goes to a pizza place and orders coffee...pretty much no one...so, most of the time the carafes got tossed as waste anyhow).

Don't ask the mother (and 9/10 the power structure of the party was Mom) what the kids want on their pizza, because 60% of the time they'll then start to fit into Mom Mode and collect the orders herself, and try to figure out why Johnny wants black olives, but hates pepperoni, and Suzy thinks Pepperoni is awesome, but black olives are nasty.

Rather, give limited choices as guidelines, but be flexible, and then deal with the exceptions individually. This sounds like reactive, but it's not, as it's happening BEFORE THE PIZZAS HAVE BEEN MADE. Take control of the situation. In fact, at the stores I ran, we did this in advance. If your party was on Saturday, you'd get a call from my Birthday Coordinator (a real position) on Monday and Wednesday (for those we couldn't reach monday night) and one of the questions she would ask (among a list of them) was "Have you thought about what type of pizza the kids may want? We recommend half cheese and half pepperoni."

And, if you have that stubborn kid who doesn't like pizza? (they do exist) Give them something else...free of charge. Just to put Mom at ease. Normally this was a hot dog...but every now and then we'd have a veggie or vegan kid (not kidding) so he'd get a free salad bar.

Doing all this up front "feeling out" meant that by the time the final party went down, we had it well under control. OUR control. So, by being proactive, we not only provided a better end product (the experience they really paid for), but we also saved ourselves a ton of headaches.

Our satisfaction cards were among the best in the company (which is partially what got me tapped to move to Corporate training), my profits were up (largely because we pre-suggested high profit items), and our extraneous spending (food for the adults) shot through the roof (mostly because I instituted group vs separate billing procedures, instead of lumping it all on a single check, and I'd do taste tests sample platters for the adults of the party if it was reserved with a large group of adults to whet their palate and get them to order more...

I'd also print out "coupons" that really did nothing but show the same deals we offered, and hand them out at the front door as people walked in, or to parties. Somehow, when people are using a "coupon"...they think they are saving money. Well, they are...but it's the same deal they could get any day.

Tee hee.

Ok, off soapbox, cause I could go on about this for a very long time, and I'll spare you all.

 

[Hakunamatata]

What is a social justice warrior?

Maybe sort of like a poverty pimp?

 

[englanddg]

Maybe sort of like a poverty pimp?

One type, yes.

 

[flynnibus]

I cannot fathom "no desire" to visit Universal.

Unless it's a really bad case of Pixie Dust.

Some people have preferences.. and want to stay in their comfort zone. I have extended family that have visited, and didn't find it to their tastes either... It's not 'universal'

But that's not to say there are plenty that still won't get any other entertainment in Orlando a fair shake, because they have been conditioned to think Mickey's house is the pinnacle.

 

[Disneyhead'71]

Disney definitely is iin the reactive mode. Do as little as possible and fling free stuff at the complainers.

 

[PhotoDave219]

Three just have a point of view that leans towards social justice warrior. Do you really like the one that used a mentally ill person to further a narrative through a made up story?

I'd really like to just ignore you.....

 

[englanddg]

Disney definitely is iin the reactive mode. Do as little as possible and fling free stuff at the complainers.

That's because people who haven't worked the front line, or see it through the jaded lens of a DCP and then come back after they "completed their education" in "Hospitality Management" don't understand the balance between the front end expenditure to be proactive vs the back end savings and boosted sales. I had more than one District Manager question the fact I spent 6 - 8 man hours of labor to pay my coordinator to basically sit in the office and make phone calls for our Fri/Sat/Sun party rushes.

But, I knew the results (and my top and bottom lines showed it if I was left long enough at a store to fully implement it...which a few times I was, but as my job was also to clean up rough stores, I often got moved once I got them halfway profitable again).

People don't spend money because they are offered an opportunity to do so...people spend money when they want to. And, when they are feeling happy, they tend to spend more. And, making them happy, and I don't mean content, I mean happy, is best when they have every reason NOT to be happy (aside from self-denial).

When you spend a half a years salary on a vacation, you have (rightfully) some rather high expectations...but, if you are going to Disney, you also have a nice little kitty of pocket change, and most likely a line of decent credit, that should be artfully tapped into (by any operator worth their salt).

Bands alone won't do it, but Bands with experiences do. And that's one where I think Iger and Company have it right, frankly, but Park Ops doesn't get it (at least at WDW).

This is why I think a lot of the old WDW fanatics have moved on to Cruises. The level of service you get on a Cruise is unparalleled to any pampering you get at WDW (which...you basically don't).

So, these people fracture mentally (myself included) into three groups. We expect Disney to deliver what they said they would, a world class experience at WDW. When we don't get that, we either crawl into a shell and pretend we did...while ignoring the failures? Or we critique them and move on? Or we begin to hate the brand and look for something less familiar, as with familiarity breeds contempt.

What makes me say "hey, sure, you can have that Plush you really want kiddo...vs looking at the price tag and saying...

A variety of factors. But, CMs and experiences certainly have a lot to do with them.

I think part of the issue with the way WDW is run now is that it focuses far too much on STANDARD industry practices, rather than innovating it's own to become unique.

And, love it or hate it, MDE was a move in the right direction. As was FP+, and all the myriade MM+ enhancements.

Forums like this one went through a heyday not just as a fan hangout, but also generated a lot of traffic from people in the know (previous visitors) sharing information with other visitors to make their trip more special. With WDW it was out of control (I can tick off board after board that had HUGE "trip planning" and "trip questions" sections, as probably could all of you...

With MDE, it's the first move Disney is taking to be proactive. Is it enough? I don't think so. But, it was a smart move (again, love it or hate it).

 

[Goofyernmost]

Here comes the hit squad

I'm curious which big name attractions being totally sad and miskept you're referring to. Other than the canaries on Mystery Mine, pretty much everything works as it's supposed to.
Weagle, Fire Chaser, and Mystery Mine are all recent, groundbreaking coasters, in many cases world-firsts in various ways.
I'm perfectly willing to put Dollywood's staff and counter-service food up against any Disney park in the country, and I say this having seen Disneyland last week.

First off, I separated the coasters from the rest. The one that jumps out at me the most was an older ride called Blazing Fury. The kiddie area was basic and very shoddy looking. I guess due to the fact that it had a flying elephant ride and Teacups it must be on par with Disney. The thing was filthy dirty, rough and extremely non-entertaining. For what the park is, it is very good in that it has a local feel and as you said, the staff is excellent, but for the non thrill seekers, and the less then avid C&W fans it isn't a real fun place. The food was OK, but, nothing spectacular in my mind. It is/was a good place to visit once for me, at least, because, I cannot see the occasion to return and I'm only 4 hours away from it. JMHO!

 

[Cesar R M]

An excerpt from the Mary Sue piece on Marvel and girls. If you needed proof the execs in Burbank think Disney is a "girl's BRAND", look no further.
While working at Marvel post-acquisition, I saw a deck circulated by Disney’s Brand Marketing team. I’m prohibited from sharing the slides, but the takeaway is that, unlike the actual demos, the desired demographics had no females in it whatsoever. I asked my supervisor why that was. Ever the pragmatist, he said, “That’s not why Disney bought us. They already have the girls’ market on lockdown."

I’d entered the comics industry because I was a comics fan. It hurt to see so plainly that to Disney, people like me didn’t matter. My demographic was already giving them money anyway, with Disney Princess purchases. Even now, there’s no incentive to make more Marvel merch for women, because we already buy Brave and Frozen products.

This does not come as a surprise, really. Anyone who knows about branding and marketing can tell you how most gender-skewed business models work (and most businesses are gender-skewed). It starts when we’re babies. Blue for boys, pink for girls. Separate, but equal. Sound familiar?

Disney bought Marvel and Lucasfilm because they wanted to access the male market. To achieve this goal, they allocate less to Marvel’s female demo, and even less to a unisex one. They won’t be interested in changing how they work until consumers understand what’s going on.

this sounds exactly like that dbag CEO of Cartoon Network. blocking the excellent series of Young Justice and other great shows.. because girls started to loved these shows.

Why the hell these idiots feels like the women or girls liking your product is a bad thing?
capitalize on it!
almost feels like these guys have some serious misogyny issues, where they cant accept girls in their "exclusive manly macho clubs".

I still find ironic that theres so much throwing left and right on Black Widow.
Specially if Disney/Marvel claims that noone wants a Black Widow movie because "girl heroes" do not sell.
Did these guys even see the Hunger Games? or Lucy?

 

[Disneyhead'71]

I cannot fathom "no desire" to visit Universal.

Unless it's a really bad case of Pixie Dust.

What I have come to the conclusion of is that a lot of WDW fans are Brand addicts. When the person you quoted said that Universal doesn't interest them because the IPs they have don't interest them. I know that they aren't actually theme park fans. They are "Disney" fans. Their hearts light up when they see Mickey Mouse at Walmart. And they don't really care that a 3 star hotel costs $600/night while under construction because it's "Disney".

I, on the other hand, don't go to either resort because of the parent company brand or the IPs in the parks. I go because I like new exciting state of the art attractions and themed entertainment and luxury resorts.

 

[Cesar R M]

What is a social justice warrior?

Is an online reverse troll.
Who inflates every single bad thing and converts into fuel for their crusade.
They usually complain non stop but rarely do crap to improve the situations.

In tumblr and other social sites, you will see the person who will scream about racism cases.. but does nothing to help other than complain online.
And even those who were affected by the racism cases.. are annoyed at this "warrior" (because they are doing it for attention than for helping).
sort of a LOOK AT ME.. HOW ENRAGED I AM FOR THIS.. RAAAR!.

They appropriate the social movements for their own attention w**ring selves.

And yes, Deadpool is the next Marvel movie I'm really excited for.

After seeing the Ryan Reynold's Twitter.. I swear the dude IS deadpool.
they seem to be doing exactly what the comic would do.

 

[PhotoDave219]

Three hundred and twenty six years ago at the first Fuddruckers, Horace Menu named all the food items with whimsical names to make the locals feel like they were somewhere special. This, by the way, is how a ground beef patty became known as a hamburger (arguably the most whimsical menu item name and the one most likely to cause laughter. "Verily, there's no ham to be found anywhere!" more than one patron has been known to joyfully exclaim). Luckily, Horace was very virile as were most of his descendants (the horrible story of the affair, death, and childless marriage of Mathew and Lorinda Menu is so well known that I feel like there is no need to go over that ground) leading to the current situation of the Menu family naming so-called Menu items all over the world. Currently, at WDW, Phil Menu from Loistown, Kansas is in charge of the names.

Nicely done. Now do you have the recipie for Fuddrucker's buns?

 

[FigmentJedi]

Is an online reverse troll.
Who inflates every single bad thing and converts into fuel for their crusade.
They usually complain non stop but rarely do crap to improve the situations.

In tumblr and other social sites, you will see the person who will scream about racism cases.. but does nothing to help other than complain online.
And even those who were affected by the racism cases.. are annoyed at this "warrior" (because they are doing it for attention than for helping).
sort of a LOOK AT ME.. HOW ENRAGED I AM FOR THIS.. RAAAR!.

They appropriate the social movements for their own attention w**ring selves.

And don't forget, they'll tear each other apart if anyone in their circle makes a problematic mistake.

 

[Cesar R M]

And don't forget, they'll tear each other apart if anyone in their circle makes a problematic mistake.

or worse.
Start to fight with each other, fighting to claim who was the first, who was the "source" or the "start" of the movement in question.

Sorta like a fist fight of persons claiming they were THE FIRST to show THEIR ONLINE RAGE.

Congratulations, you just passed your final exam to qualify as a Disney Resort hotel manager.

Distinguished hotels don't react to customer complaints; they act to prevent them in the first place.

Walt Disney World hotels used to be like this. Now staff (oops, I mean Cast Members) are trained to treat customers (oops, I mean Guests) like the opposing team. It's all about squeezing those pennies to improve margins.

100% agree on this..
BE PROACTIVE.. NOT REACTIVE.

you see something falling apart? YOU FIX IT.
You do not wait for it to fall down and get complains!

Makes you wonder.. Do CMs and Hotel Mangers have to follow a recipe/checkbox instructional paper of cost cutting tricks written by the higher management?

sort of a checkbox paper with silly things like:
"Is the carpet moldy? a)fabreeze it! b) clean it.. c)change only when its falling apart and people getting ill (to prevent lawsuits"

 

[1023]

Hmmmmmm.....

I still find ironic that theres so much throwing left and right on Black Widow.
Specially if Disney/Marvel claims that noone wants a Black Widow movie because "girl heroes" do not sell.
Did these guys even see the Hunger Games? or Lucy?

Very astute... several "Heroines" have been featured in dystopian movies of late. The Divergent series latest offering is an excellent example. Disney brands are not without their "Heroines". Marvel just doesn't appear to be capitalizing on Black Widow as a "Super Heroine". Perhaps they look at previous female "Super Heroines' like Elektra (and Cat Woman) and think it's not a well supported at the box office.

I know that I would be keenly interested in a Black Widow movie. I am also interested in Captain Marvel, Wonder Woman, and many other super heroines. If Disney/Marvel chooses not to milk every dollar out of their IP, that's for them to defend on Wall Street. I think with their constant visits to the "Frozen" well after initially missing the boat shows that they haven't learned much at all and are destined to repeat history ad infinitum.

*1023*

BTW... The Ruffalo tweet is telling. He's not getting his "hulk solo act" either.

 

[PhotoDave219]

Hmmmmmm.....


Very astute... several "Heroines" have been featured in dystopian movies of late. The Divergent series latest offering is an excellent example. Disney brands are not without their "Heroines". Marvel just doesn't appear to be capitalizing on Black Widow as a "Super Heroine". Perhaps they look at previous female "Super Heroines' like Elektra (and Cat Woman) and think it's not a well supported at the box office.

I know that I would be keenly interested in a Black Widow movie. I am also interested in Captain Marvel, Wonder Woman, and many other super heroines. If Disney/Marvel chooses not to milk every dollar out of their IP, that's for them to defend on Wall Street. I think with their constant visits to the "Frozen" well after initially missing the boat shows that they haven't learned much at all and are destined to repeat history ad infinitum.

*1023*

BTW... The Ruffalo tweet is telling. He's not getting his "hulk solo act" either.

Well the cat\woman movie was so awful, PETA hated it.