Surveys have shown that, on average, a customer who experiences a negative service encounter will tell nearly twice as many people as he/she would have if the service experience had been positive. What do these word of mouth references look like? "The lines were too long," or perhaps, "You have to see the fireworks, they were outstanding!"

But have you ever heard, "That is some common purpose they have at Disney. The way they combine cast, setting and process in Poohs Hunny Hunt is a true testament to Quality Service!" Probably not.

Disney Guests are constantly surrounded by these components but, like many infrastructures, this is meant to be invisible. Instead, Guests view and evaluate the service supported by the infrastructure - they just dont need to know it exists.

To exceed customer expectations:

One of the little “wows” we like to surprise our Guests with is resolving a problem before they have to ask for help. We take the time and effort to study what our Guests need and want, along with their emotions and stereotypes. For instance, our Cast Members often recognize when a Guest is lost or looking for a restroom and know to approach him/her for help before he/she even has to ask.

Hire individuals that take an interest in others and genuinely care about making a difference. If you hire for attitude and train for aptitude, you are on your way to creating something special for all of your Guests.

What can your organization do to better anticipate and respond to Guest needs?

Front line employees are crucial to the success of your business as they interact directly with consumers. An unhelpful and ineffective staff will ultimately damage your organization’s reputation and could result in loss of business.

What’s the best way to measure the success of your front-line employees? At Disney we use a wide variety of techniques that are applicable to any organization.


What can you do to ensure and measure the success of your front line staff?

Giving back to the community through service and volunteering is valued and recognized at The Walt Disney Company. We believe that positive, helpful actions tell a story of who you are as a company and the behaviors your organization values.

Through our worldwide service program, Disney VoluntEARS, Cast Members are provided numerous opportunities to serve their community, like collecting and delivering toys, working to help children, preserving the environment and supporting arts and culture. Creating leaders in the community is central to developing leadership excellence within a company. Here are some practical ways to encourage and propel a culture of volunteering:


Building a service-oriented culture can take time, but with the right options and rewards any organization has the ability to move towards giving back on a consistent basis.

Storyboards originated at Disney Studios in the 1930’s and were, according to Walt Disney, invented by Animator, Webb Smith. As the story goes, Smith would draw sequential scenes for a new cartoon and pin them to the walls of his office instead of describing the plot with words. Walt, none too happy about the now blemished walls of his recently redecorated office, recognized the value in Smith’s design and ordered corkboards on which the sketches could be placed. Storyboarding soon became the standard for mapping out new cartoons and quickly translated into other areas of Walt’s business.

Today, Disney Imagineers constantly use this technique when designing a new show or attraction, and believe it or not, it can be applied to any step-by-step process involving your customer experience. The goal is to recreate the experience through the eyes of the customer, but that’s not to say that creativity should fall to the wayside. Use this opportunity to pin color swatches and photos, write out text, brainstorm thoughts and anything else that may be beneficial in improving customer interactions. The final product is a valuable insight into how an idea might, or might not, work.