So on the last day of April I got on an airplane and went to Florida. Oh, I didn't go alone; NO NO. I took my best friend on the planet along. He is also known as my husband. So we got on the plane with no incidents, flew 7 1/2 long hours and landed in Orlando. Have you ever BEEN to Orlando and used the Disney's Magical Express?? Lemme tell ya, they got it goin' on!!! This sweet lady, who I'm sure get's paid a LOT to do what she does, is holding a sign that says "Disney's Magical Express" with an arrow. She didn't say a word....probably because she didn't speak a lick of English...but that's not the point. We followed the arrow down a looooooong hall to this isolated "terminal". All alone it stood, fancy, clean, well decorated and well staffed. It was 11 30 pm and there were 6 employees standing behind the counter just itching to help us out. The one we chose was an elderly lady from Brazil (every Disney employee wears their name and hometown on their badge). So they quickly gave us a printout with a UPC type code on it and sent us on our way down another long hall with several lines oulined by poles with velvet ropes to guide us. We made our way to small podium just inside a set of very clean, shiny even, sliding glass doors. Outside waited the sweetest old man who took our tickets, took our luggage, loaded it and escorted us onto this incredible tour bus. Let me tell ya, better treatment was not had by the president at his last engagement. These people are nice, helpful and willing to WORK! And they do it with a genuine smile.
We enjoyed the bus ride with about 4 other families, each being let out at their respective resorts. We were staying in a classy RV with my parents at the Fort Wilderness Campground. We were let out at the front where we were met by yet another sweet, genuinely nice worker. This time, a young red head from Minnesota. She asked my name, I gave it to her and she smiled the biggest smile and said to me, as though she'd known me all her life, "Laura, It's your birthday!!! HAPPY BIRTHDAY!! Here's a badge for you to wear so everyone knows it's you birthay" It was the coolest thing. Well then, she made a phone call, asked us to wait out front and within minutes a young man from Georgia welcomed us and asked if he could please get our luggage for us. He loaded it, and us, in a van and escorted us directly to the doorstep of my parent's RV; with a smile.
Par for the course was this first experience. EVERY single person at Disney was nice, caring, genuine and willing to WORK. I mean from the manager to the janitor. So, Im sure by now you're wondering what Im getting at. Certainly this is not just a sweet little talk about how great Disney is........haha. You know me too well. =0)
So, from the few days I spent in "The Happiest Place On Earth" I learned that Mr Disney was a trend setter. He was a visionary. He was a hard worker; and guess what? HE was successful. There is no doubt, one of the most successful men of our time. His dream and his vision was unmatched, and most likely still is. So from this vacation I took this: I have a solution for all that ails customer service in the US.
SEND EVERY SINGLE EMPLOYEE (no matter the fancy title or job description) TO ORLANDO, FLORIDA. MAKE IT MANDATORY THAT THEY COMPLETE WHAT EVER TRAINING SYSTEM IS IN PLACE DOWN THERE!! I'M TALKING TO YOU:
DMV
Hospital ER
Urgent Care Center
Any and All Government Offices
Call Centers at PG&E, Visa, US Bank, etc
Drive Thru workers at McDonald's, Starbucks and Wendy's, etc.
Let's take this country to a Disney training facility and teach them all how to smile and be genuinely happy....happy they HAVE a job, Happy they can do something to help another human.
Geez people......Can't we just S M I L E and do quality, fast, friendly work?!?!?!?
