
Most people that go to a Disney theme park have a good, sometimes great story to tell. In reading the book “Enchantment: The Art of Changing Hearts, Minds, and Actions” by Guy Kawasaki, I read a personal story in which the individual tells of a situation in which a Disney employee “enchanted him for life.” This prompted me to tell my little story from our very first trip to Disneyland. First, a little background. Our daughter had been wearing braces. The Orthodontist said she could have them off in time for the trip but had to promise to wear her retainer for two hours every day.
The big wow came about from a moment of panic. It was late in the day. As many families did, we grabbed a spot on the curb, to have a good spot for the “Main Street Electrical Parade.” We had dinner, which was probably hot dogs and drinks. Our daughter was dropping her retainer into the ice at the bottom of her mostly empty drink cup, getting it cold and putting it into her mouth. Street cleaners go up and down the street while the pre-parade show is happening. During they day they have brooms and small covered dust pans. Prior to the parade they have a garbage can on wheels. Near the beginning of the parade we gathered up all of our garbage and deposited it in one of these trash containers and off it went.
Of course you know where this is going. When we realize what has happened, the street cleaner is out of sight. My daughter and I race down the street to catch him. We meet a street cleaner but he’s not the right one. He says there is another just down the street and goes with us to catch him. Hurrah, it’s the one that took our trash.
I’m ready to start digging through the trash barrel right there on the street. The two fellows calmly say no we’ll go “back stage.” They take us into a staff only area and they go through the garbage and find the drink cup.
I have since learned that the strteet cleaners in Disney’s theme parks are asked more questions than any other cast member. For this reason they get a great deal of training on dealing with guests. One told me that he has met people from all over the world that he has helped, and he sometimes gets to visit them when he travels. Disney is a company that is a benchmark in terms of customer service. People work for Disney just to learn everything they can about how it’s done. You can of now go to the Disney Institute or just read their book “Be Our Guest: Perfecting the Art of Customer Service.”