When at Walt Disney World, are you a Guest or a Customer?

Guest or Customer?

  • Guest

    Votes: 70 56.9%

  • Customer

    Votes: 53 43.1%
  • Total voters
    123
  • Poll closed .
MKCP 1985

MKCP 1985

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
People employed at Walt Disney World (Cast) are trained that the paying public are to be referred to as guests, not customers. Disney then touts this training to the public so that they expect to be made to feel special in a way different than the way they are treated as customers elsewhere.

Because the words may conjure up images that are not so different to people, depending on where they are from, here are some descriptions of what each word means, from the same common dictionary:

Guest: a person to whom hospitality is extended, a person entertained in one's house and/or a person who is invited to a place or an event as a special honor

Customer: someone who buys goods or services from a business, one that purchases a commodity or service

I am genuinely curious to see what the voting public at wdwmagic.com thinks of this question: At your last visit to the Walt Disney World Resort, did you feel you were treated by the company as a whole as a guest or as a customer?

Thank you for taking the time to vote and to post your reason for how you chose, if you decide to do so.
 
U

UncleFastpass

Active Member
Hmm.. a very interesting question, as sxeensweet says you are both.A guest is supposed to be treated with hospitality etc...and is expected to act in a certain way according to customs and traditions of where they are.A guest doesn't necessarily have rights as they after all are a guest.A customer on the other hand does have rights, there is an expectation of quality for goods or services payed for.So another way of asking the question is when you go to Disney do you act like a guest or a customer?
 
WondersOfLife

WondersOfLife

Blink, blink. Breathe, breathe. Day in, day out.
UncleMike101 said:
Fixed it for ya.........;)
Click to expand...
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NelleBelle

NelleBelle

Well-Known Member
Let's see...my last trip to WDW was in 2010 and we still felt somewhat like guests (but compared to our trip to DL, DL by far had better "guest" service). And I know this comment belongs in the DCL forum, but when we took our cruise last Feb. the service we received was how one USED to be treated by Disney. For example, my husband mentioned to our steward that our son's b-day was the next day and when we returned to our room after it was made up, he had made a 3-tiered cake out of towels and given my son Donald Auaduck poster, signed by Donald. It reminded me that in some areas of Disney, there is still the old "magic" and you indeed feel like a guest. I don't hold the same expectations, though, for our trip to WDW this Oct. :(
 
DisneyFans4Life

DisneyFans4Life

Well-Known Member
When I think of a guest...I think of someone who isn't necessarily paying for something such as having someone as a guest in my home or inviting a guest for a round of golf. Last time I checked...Disney isn't letting me in for free...so I consider myself a paying customer that expects to get treated differently than a paying customer at your local Target.
 
Goofyernmost

Goofyernmost

Well-Known Member
I think that the fact that I paid money to get in would never allow my brain to think of myself as a "guest". It is a very rude host that would charge people for visiting them. I have gone only because I enjoy what I am paying for. I enjoy the fantasy. I enjoy the ability to get lost in time and for a brief few moments to feel like a kid again. I still do, so I am also addicted, however, the cost of attending is now a situation where I have to rob a bank to feed it. It always did amuse me that they use the word "guest" even if the circumstances did not fit any definition of guest that I have ever seen. Perhaps, they should do like the Master Tournament in Augusta and call everyone patrons, it would fit better.
 

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