Disney Store Question

[TheDisneyMagic]

I know that in the US, your Disney Stores are no longer actually owned by Disney, does anyone know if the ones in the UK and other parts of the world are owned by WDC or do they have similar set ups?

 

[ThreeCircles]

I know that in the US, your Disney Stores are no longer actually owned by Disney, does anyone know if the ones in the UK and other parts of the world are owned by WDC or do they have similar set ups?

The U.K. and European stores are still owned and operated by TWDC.

 

[TheDisneyMagic]

Really, wow that is good to hear, Lets hope that these stay under TWDC power. I don't like the idea of the US shops not actually being Disney.

After having a quick look around, it appears that all of the European stores are owned by TWDC, but ones in US, Tokyo and Hong Kong are not.

 

[TheDisneyGirl02]

Really, wow that is good to hear, Lets hope that these stay under TWDC power. I don't like the idea of the US shops not actually being Disney.

It's funny you say that. I was just talking to my friend on the phone last night who works down at the parks. She was telling me how morale is so low sometimes because some of the CM's feel like they aren't appreciated. She said that the managers never thank them for a job well done. I think that's very unfortunate.

However, at my Disney Store where I am a CM, my manager ALWAYS thanks me for whatever shift I worked. I could have done a crappy job and they will still thank me. That is one of the many lessons that I have taken from the store and applied to my full time job. I always thank my employees at the end of every shift.

The lesson here is that although TDS may no longer be 'Disney', we are still appreciated in a VERY Disney-like way, that even some CM's don't experience at the parks.

TheDisneyGirl02

 

[MaryK]

Hmmm, I think the TDS Disney-like appreciation is dependent on the store. I worked at TDS for two years and the first year it was great. When we were sold (and I transferred to another TDS due to moving), many CMs, including myself, felt very underappreciated. There was a huge change in morale from when TWDC owned us to when TCP owned us. Perks were being taken away, limitations on the tickets were being given, even something simple like the service award pins were dropped. Our discounts were dropped from the parks, yet we still had to honor discounts for any and all TWDC employees, which many thought and still think to be unfair. I think one of the worst decisions they made was the have the sale closing date so close to Christmas (it happened near the end of November 2004) as many CMs were quitting right after that and it left many stores shorthanded for the holiday season. Our store had 4 people leave immediately after the sale and then people were leaving as soon as their trip was over (as long as you booked before the sale, your discount on the resort was still honored). I was one of those people (I left in September). I found out our manager left as well and the company I now work for, my DM's sister quit her position as a manager at another store and said she complained a lot about how TCP was treated TDS employees, particularly managers. A lot of frustration all around. I know many managers are struggling to keep their employees and what was once a very low turnover became pretty high in the course of only a year. I most likely would have stayed at TDS had it still been owned by TWDC.

I think appreciation should be there regardless of who owns what, but I can understand why so many managers are just so worn out...they're not exactly feeling appreciated either in many cases.

 

[Pioneer Hall]

Hmmm, I think the TDS Disney-like appreciation is dependent on the store. I worked at TDS for two years and the first year it was great. When we were sold (and I transferred to another TDS due to moving), many CMs, including myself, felt very underappreciated. There was a huge change in morale from when TWDC owned us to when TCP owned us. Perks were being taken away, limitations on the tickets were being given, even something simple like the service award pins were dropped. Our discounts were dropped from the parks, yet we still had to honor discounts for any and all TWDC employees, which many thought and still think to be unfair. I think one of the worst decisions they made was the have the sale closing date so close to Christmas (it happened near the end of November 2004) as many CMs were quitting right after that and it left many stores shorthanded for the holiday season. Our store had 4 people leave immediately after the sale and then people were leaving as soon as their trip was over (as long as you booked before the sale, your discount on the resort was still honored). I was one of those people (I left in September). I found out our manager left as well and the company I now work for, my DM's sister quit her position as a manager at another store and said she complained a lot about how TCP was treated TDS employees, particularly managers. A lot of frustration all around. I know many managers are struggling to keep their employees and what was once a very low turnover became pretty high in the course of only a year. I most likely would have stayed at TDS had it still been owned by TWDC.

I think appreciation should be there regardless of who owns what, but I can understand why so many managers are just so worn out...they're not exactly feeling appreciated either in many cases.

I completely agree. It really depends on the management. I went through a ton of managers at my store when I was working there (once the take over was complete). Our old district manager was great and would always thank us and encourage us. The new one, quite the opposite. She would push us until the end of our shift and we would be lucky to get a thank you (our store was the District Managers office store, so they were there at least 5 days a week so they were just part of the team). The SM that I dealt with for most of my time there was also not a very nice person. When it came to scheduling she was not flexible at all. Overall though most of the managers were pretty good, but there were some of course that I wondered how they got through the interviews.

As far as the original question...The UK and Europe stores are still owned by Disney. The japan and US stores are owned by seperate companies (I believe Oriental Land and Sea owns the Japanese ones...which prob is a good thing for them).

 

[MaryK]

I completely agree. It really depends on the management. I went through a ton of managers at my store when I was working there (once the take over was complete). Our old district manager was great and would always thank us and encourage us. The new one, quite the opposite. She would push us until the end of our shift and we would be lucky to get a thank you (our store was the District Managers office store, so they were there at least 5 days a week so they were just part of the team). The SM that I dealt with for most of my time there was also not a very nice person. When it came to scheduling she was not flexible at all. Overall though most of the managers were pretty good, but there were some of course that I wondered how they got through the interviews.

I completely understand about the DM. We had an excellent one at the one I used to work at (although he's no longer with TDS) and we had an excellent one at the store I transferred to...but again, she's no longer there. The new one that came on board after the take over was/is just rotten. NO ONE likes her, and that's saying a lot for some of the CMs. She was just horribly rude, it was beneath her to converse with any of us or the guests. She was also based out of our store. There was one time she came in with leopard print stilettos, black leather pants and this bright red TIGHT shirt that showed so much cleavage....we were all so embarrassed to have her there that day. I felt so awful for all the old DMs who really rocked.