Jul 31, 2005
Disney On The Line
By RANDY DIAMOND
rdiamond@tampatrib.com
<TABLE cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=3 width="98%" border=0><TBODY><TR><TD>
</TD><TD vAlign=bottom>[font=verdana, arial, helvetica]Photo by: JAY NOLAN[/font]
[font=arial, helvetica]Kim Dudinetz takes a call at the Tampa reservation center, which is decorated with murals of Disney characters and movie posters. Employees are trained to know everything Disney.[/font]
</TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE>TAMPA - When Laurie Haynes tells people that she works for Walt Disney World, they always remark what a long commute she must have from her home in Lutz to the Orlando area.
Actually, she works in Tampa, only 14 miles from her home, Haynes explains, a surprise to many.
Haynes, the site manager for Disney World's Tampa reservation center, directs 700 employees who book every aspect of a Disney World vacation: air fare, hotels, park tickets and breakfast with Mickey Mouse.
The Tampa center opened in 1996 as Disney looked to expand its reservation capacity beyond Orlando and to a location that could serve as a backup in case the Orlando center was forced to close due to an emergency, such as inclement weather. (The scenario played itself out during last year's hurricane season.)
The company wanted to open the center in a market with a large labor pool but one that was not too far from Disney World, spokeswoman Kim Prunty said. The proximity to the theme park was essential, she said, because one of the benefits of working at the call center is free admission to Disney World for employees and their guests.
This less glamorous and somewhat low-paying (hourly wages start at $8.60) part of The Walt Disney Co. is in a warehouse-style building in back of a North Tampa office park.
However, for some employees, the idea of working for Disney is enough, even if it is in a call center with banks of cubicles. Painted murals of Disney characters and posters of famous Disney movies are designed to give some Disney spirit.
Employees are called ``cast members'' and are made to feel part of the Disney family. They are required to take a one-day seminar in Disney traditions, learning things such as politeness and the history of the company. They play a picture-card game designed to teach them the basics: Mickey came first, of course, followed by construction of Disneyland and, after that, Walt Disney World. The reservation agents are encouraged to share their first memories of Disney and how they were touched.
Touring Disney World and some of the 31,000 rooms at 32 resorts on Disney property that they will sell is part of their paid three-day training.
Haynes said the phone agents need to become experts in everything Disney.
The training isn't always necessary. Cast member Randy Franklin, who is in his 50s, has toured the four Disney World theme parks dozens of times and has eaten at all but two of its 200 restaurants. That was before he was hired in the call center seven years ago.
He equates a visit to Disney World as a day of fantasy.
``It's more than just doing this as a job,'' said Franklin, who has owned pet stores and had other careers and planned to work at the center just two years. ``I think I'm going to have to go through a 12-step program to get out of here. It's addictive.''
Reservation agent Christina Federico, who lives in Valrico, has used her cast benefits to visit Disney World 50 times in the past year with family and friends. Part of the fun, Federico said, is seeing guests enjoy themselves and thinking that she might have been the one who booked their vacation. ``This is what I can do every day for guests, is to bring that magic to them,'' she said.
`I Am Disney'
It's a fanaticism that Disney managers encourage.
The goal: to have the reservation agents sell a Disney World vacation with the enthusiasm and spirit of a true believer.
``I'm no longer Indria,'' Indria Owens said as she trained new reservation agents in Tampa on the positive spirit that they must exhibit. ``I am Disney.''
The new recruits are told they must smile as they speak to callers from around the world. Callers will hear the smile in their voice and catch the magical fantasy that is Disney World, Owens said.
Any step away from the world of fantasy could spell disaster - a lost visitor, Owens warned.
She told employees to be careful when putting people on hold - the mute button might not always work - and a potential vacationer could hear them discuss their personal problems.
``They do not want to hear about how you didn't pay your bill and they cut your lights off,'' she said. ``Guess what, all of a sudden they go back to reality.''
Both the Tampa and Orlando call centers take calls from around the world, routed depending on agent availability. The Orlando center is bigger than Tampa, with 1,200 employees compared with 700 at Tampa's campus, which takes an average of more than 9,000 calls a day. About half the Tampa center employees are part-time.
Incentives And Quotas
Unlike some of the other call center jobs in the Tampa area, Disney offers full- and part- time employees health benefits. An exercise room, a cafeteria and a discounted merchandise store are all located in the Tampa center.
However, the majority of employees don't make more than $11 an hour, even with an incentive program introduced in 2004 to reward agents who meet sales quotas, said Dan Simpson, director of organizing for the United Brotherhood of Carpenters and Joiners, which unsuccessfully tried to organize Disney workers.
Last month, call center employees in Orlando and Tampa rejected joining the union by 79 percent.
Disney spokeswoman Prunty said the incentive system has resulted in an average 30 percent salary increase, with top performers averaging a 60 percent jump.
Simpson said that although Disney has a reputation as a family-friendly company, its incentive policy results in employees being fired if they don't meet sales quotas of about $1,000 an hour for any three months in a 12-month period.
``There have been long-time Disney employees who were good workers but have had several bad months and lost their jobs,'' he said.
Prunty said employees who had problems meeting sales goals have been offered coaching and extra training as well as other jobs at the theme parks.
Disney officials would not disclose how many employees were dismissed for not meeting financial quotas.
Prunty said cast members' rejection of union representation shows that they believe a direct relationship with their leaders is more beneficial than involving an outside party.
The call center always seems to be looking for new candidates. The Tampa center routinely advertises in local newspapers, including The Tampa Tribune, for available positions, and it recently concluded a recruitment drive.
John Boyd, a Princeton, N.J., consultant who helps companies find sites for call centers, said turnover at some centers can be as high as 100 percent a year because the jobs can be stressful and boring. Even successful centers - he puts Disney into that category - can have turnover rates in excess of 25 percent, he said.
Disney won't disclose its turnover rate.
Tampa resident Kelly Ly, who worked at the reservation center from November 2003 to July 2004, said only a few of about 30 agents in her training class still work at the Disney center. Some were fired because it was difficult to meet sales quotas, and others found better-paying jobs, she said.
Ly, who now works as a waitress in a Japanese restaurant, said she quit because it was difficult to sell enough to go beyond the then-$8.12-an- hour base wage.
Still, Ly said she felt proud working for Disney, saying the company creates magical experiences for people.
``It's not like telemarketing selling something that's not fair,'' she said. ``You're selling something people want.''
Reporter Randy Diamond can be reached at (813) 259-8144.
This story can be found at: http://money.tbo.com/money/MGB61UUESBE.html
Go Back To The Story
Disney On The Line
By RANDY DIAMOND
rdiamond@tampatrib.com
<TABLE cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=3 width="98%" border=0><TBODY><TR><TD>
</TD><TD vAlign=bottom>[font=verdana, arial, helvetica]Photo by: JAY NOLAN[/font]
[font=arial, helvetica]Kim Dudinetz takes a call at the Tampa reservation center, which is decorated with murals of Disney characters and movie posters. Employees are trained to know everything Disney.[/font]
</TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE>TAMPA - When Laurie Haynes tells people that she works for Walt Disney World, they always remark what a long commute she must have from her home in Lutz to the Orlando area.
Actually, she works in Tampa, only 14 miles from her home, Haynes explains, a surprise to many.
Haynes, the site manager for Disney World's Tampa reservation center, directs 700 employees who book every aspect of a Disney World vacation: air fare, hotels, park tickets and breakfast with Mickey Mouse.
The Tampa center opened in 1996 as Disney looked to expand its reservation capacity beyond Orlando and to a location that could serve as a backup in case the Orlando center was forced to close due to an emergency, such as inclement weather. (The scenario played itself out during last year's hurricane season.)
The company wanted to open the center in a market with a large labor pool but one that was not too far from Disney World, spokeswoman Kim Prunty said. The proximity to the theme park was essential, she said, because one of the benefits of working at the call center is free admission to Disney World for employees and their guests.
This less glamorous and somewhat low-paying (hourly wages start at $8.60) part of The Walt Disney Co. is in a warehouse-style building in back of a North Tampa office park.
However, for some employees, the idea of working for Disney is enough, even if it is in a call center with banks of cubicles. Painted murals of Disney characters and posters of famous Disney movies are designed to give some Disney spirit.
Employees are called ``cast members'' and are made to feel part of the Disney family. They are required to take a one-day seminar in Disney traditions, learning things such as politeness and the history of the company. They play a picture-card game designed to teach them the basics: Mickey came first, of course, followed by construction of Disneyland and, after that, Walt Disney World. The reservation agents are encouraged to share their first memories of Disney and how they were touched.
Touring Disney World and some of the 31,000 rooms at 32 resorts on Disney property that they will sell is part of their paid three-day training.
Haynes said the phone agents need to become experts in everything Disney.
The training isn't always necessary. Cast member Randy Franklin, who is in his 50s, has toured the four Disney World theme parks dozens of times and has eaten at all but two of its 200 restaurants. That was before he was hired in the call center seven years ago.
He equates a visit to Disney World as a day of fantasy.
``It's more than just doing this as a job,'' said Franklin, who has owned pet stores and had other careers and planned to work at the center just two years. ``I think I'm going to have to go through a 12-step program to get out of here. It's addictive.''
Reservation agent Christina Federico, who lives in Valrico, has used her cast benefits to visit Disney World 50 times in the past year with family and friends. Part of the fun, Federico said, is seeing guests enjoy themselves and thinking that she might have been the one who booked their vacation. ``This is what I can do every day for guests, is to bring that magic to them,'' she said.
`I Am Disney'
It's a fanaticism that Disney managers encourage.
The goal: to have the reservation agents sell a Disney World vacation with the enthusiasm and spirit of a true believer.
``I'm no longer Indria,'' Indria Owens said as she trained new reservation agents in Tampa on the positive spirit that they must exhibit. ``I am Disney.''
The new recruits are told they must smile as they speak to callers from around the world. Callers will hear the smile in their voice and catch the magical fantasy that is Disney World, Owens said.
Any step away from the world of fantasy could spell disaster - a lost visitor, Owens warned.
She told employees to be careful when putting people on hold - the mute button might not always work - and a potential vacationer could hear them discuss their personal problems.
``They do not want to hear about how you didn't pay your bill and they cut your lights off,'' she said. ``Guess what, all of a sudden they go back to reality.''
Both the Tampa and Orlando call centers take calls from around the world, routed depending on agent availability. The Orlando center is bigger than Tampa, with 1,200 employees compared with 700 at Tampa's campus, which takes an average of more than 9,000 calls a day. About half the Tampa center employees are part-time.
Incentives And Quotas
Unlike some of the other call center jobs in the Tampa area, Disney offers full- and part- time employees health benefits. An exercise room, a cafeteria and a discounted merchandise store are all located in the Tampa center.
However, the majority of employees don't make more than $11 an hour, even with an incentive program introduced in 2004 to reward agents who meet sales quotas, said Dan Simpson, director of organizing for the United Brotherhood of Carpenters and Joiners, which unsuccessfully tried to organize Disney workers.
Last month, call center employees in Orlando and Tampa rejected joining the union by 79 percent.
Disney spokeswoman Prunty said the incentive system has resulted in an average 30 percent salary increase, with top performers averaging a 60 percent jump.
Simpson said that although Disney has a reputation as a family-friendly company, its incentive policy results in employees being fired if they don't meet sales quotas of about $1,000 an hour for any three months in a 12-month period.
``There have been long-time Disney employees who were good workers but have had several bad months and lost their jobs,'' he said.
Prunty said employees who had problems meeting sales goals have been offered coaching and extra training as well as other jobs at the theme parks.
Disney officials would not disclose how many employees were dismissed for not meeting financial quotas.
Prunty said cast members' rejection of union representation shows that they believe a direct relationship with their leaders is more beneficial than involving an outside party.
The call center always seems to be looking for new candidates. The Tampa center routinely advertises in local newspapers, including The Tampa Tribune, for available positions, and it recently concluded a recruitment drive.
John Boyd, a Princeton, N.J., consultant who helps companies find sites for call centers, said turnover at some centers can be as high as 100 percent a year because the jobs can be stressful and boring. Even successful centers - he puts Disney into that category - can have turnover rates in excess of 25 percent, he said.
Disney won't disclose its turnover rate.
Tampa resident Kelly Ly, who worked at the reservation center from November 2003 to July 2004, said only a few of about 30 agents in her training class still work at the Disney center. Some were fired because it was difficult to meet sales quotas, and others found better-paying jobs, she said.
Ly, who now works as a waitress in a Japanese restaurant, said she quit because it was difficult to sell enough to go beyond the then-$8.12-an- hour base wage.
Still, Ly said she felt proud working for Disney, saying the company creates magical experiences for people.
``It's not like telemarketing selling something that's not fair,'' she said. ``You're selling something people want.''
Reporter Randy Diamond can be reached at (813) 259-8144.
This story can be found at: http://money.tbo.com/money/MGB61UUESBE.html
Go Back To The Story
