Everybody has a story. Here's mine.
It was July and we were at the Walt Disney World Resort in central Florida. We were staying at the Contemporary Resort, one of the original hotels that opened along with the Magic Kingdom on October 1, 1971. I had planned most of our week as far as which days in which parks and even had dining reservations covered for most of the days we were there.
One afternoon, we arrived back at the resort tired but happy. And hungry. Not knowing how the day would pan out after a trip to Blizzard Beach, we had no specific plans for dinner. I strolled over (believe me, in the mid-Summer Florida heat, I was in no hurry) to the concierge desk where Kacy, a Disney College Program intern, waved me over and asked how he could help me. I admit I was showing off a bit (please don't let your eyes roll out of your head on this one) by telling him I had almost everything planned for our trip except for dinner on this particular evening. I told him I knew it was the last minute, but, would he be able to make us reservations somewhere on property. His response in the next two words spoke volumes.
"Of course."
In other words, why would I think otherwise? That's what he was there to do. It was his job to help me.
I've devoted a blog to this but it is worth repeating. From that moment, I resolved I was going to learn all I could about the Disney way of customer service.
Those two words led to the discovery of many books written about customer service and the Disney way of creating magic. Specifically, one book was by Lee Cockerell, former Executive Vice President of Operations for the Walt Disney World Resort. Creating Magic: 10 Common Sense Leadership Strategies from a Life at Disney introduced me to the Disney Institute, the professional training arm of Disney. And this is where the journey took its next step.
I have worked in jobs where most of the time, the focus was on the customer. From my first job I have been blessed to work for . . . leaders and innovators.
I hope I can be the same.
D
