MAINTAINING THE MAGIC AT DISNEY

by Larry Johnson

While I was working with Disneyland Resort Hotels this summer, I learned about Eric, a maintenance specialist who demonstrated whyDisney has such a great reputation for creating magical momentsfor its guests.

Eric was installing a generator into the ground in front of thehotel when a family approached him and asked directions to thetram stop. Eric began to explain how to get there which wasabout 200 yards away, but realized he was not succeeding in hisefforts because the family was from Germany and spoke little English.

So Eric stopped what he was doing and offered to escort the family to the tram stop. Nice touch. But Eric didn't stop there. During the trip to the stop, Eric discovered that the reason the family was at Disneyland was to celebrate the seventh birthday of one of the children. After leaving them at the tram stop, before going back to work, Eric went into the hotel and made arrangements with the concierge to have a bouquet of flowers, a birthday cake and a stuffed Mickey Mouse waiting for the little girl in their room when they returned from the park. Now that's going the extra mile and creating the magic that is Disney.

Eric's story is what I call a Great-Service Hero Story. It isone of many that is included in Disneyland's monthly in-housenewsletter. According to Alicia Loc, Disneyland Resort Hotel'sHuman Resource Director, publishing hero stories is a key factorin maintaining the magic at Disney. (1) It demonstrates thekind of "magic-creating" behavior that Disney values. (2) Itrewards those who engage in "magic-creating" behavior so they'remore likely to repeat it. (3) It keeps the whole issue of 'magiccreation" in the forefront of everyone's thinking

Question:

How are you publishing your Great-Service Hero Stories? What are you doing to make sure everyone in your organizationknows how important service is? How are you rewarding yourservice heroes? What are you doing to continually keep the Great-Service message in the forefront of everyone's thinking?

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