Steven P. BarrettWALT DISNEY WORLD KEEPS SHOWING THE REST OF US
June 24th 2008 01:41
EARLIER TONIGHT THE NBC NIGHTLY NEWS BROADCAST WITH BRIAN WILLIAMS CARRIED A FEATURE ABOUT UNITED AIRLINES TAKING SOME OF ITS (UNDERSTANDABLY) FRAZZLED AND WORN EMPLOYEES TO WALT DISNEY WORLD ON A LITTLE SIGHT-SEEING TOUR.
WELL, HEY, YOU MIGHT BE THINKING, THESE PEOPLE SURE PUT UP WITH A LOT OF GRIEF NOWADAYS, ESPECIALLY THE TERMINAL STAFFERS. WHEN YOU THINK ABOUT THE ENORMOUS AMOUNT OF COMPLAINTS THESE PEOPLE HAVE TO ENDURE DAY AND DAY OUT, WHO CAN BEGRUDGE THEM A TRIP TO WALT DISNEY WORLD, EVEN IF IT'S IN THE BEGINNINGS OF YET ANOTHER STEAMY HOT ORLANDO SUMMER.
BELIEVE ME, I KNOW WHAT THOSE ARE LIKE. AND THEY BEGIN RIGHT ON TIME WITH THE ONSET OF MEMORIAL DAY. EVEN IF YOU DON'T LOOK AT YOUR CALENDARS, THE NOTORIOUSLY LARGE FLORIDA "JUNE BUGS" WILL REMIND YOU WHAT TME OF THE YEAR IT IS.
HOWEVER, THESE FOLKS FROM UNITED AIRLINES DIDN'T GO DOWN THERE JUST FOR A SIGHT-SEEING JAUNT. THEY WENT THERE TO LEARN.
WELL, AU, GAWRSH, UH, HUH WHAT WERE THEY TO LEARN AT THE "MOUSE HOUSE"? "
WELL, GOOFY, IT'S LIKE THIS, AIRLINES ARE IN THE PEOPLE BUSINESS, JUST LIKE YOU ARE, AND WHADDYA THINK THAT MEANS?"
You're probably wondering how I, too, became such an "expert" in these things. Well, I used to work for WDW. When I was in college, I'd drive up from Miami-Dade where I was attending Biscayne College (now part of St. Thomas University) and work during the Easter, Summer and Thanksgiving Breaks. (My mom put her foot down for Christmas, an "imposition" that meant much more to me six years later during my second "tour of duty" at the "Mouse House.") During my first stint, I drove the Magic Kingdom Ferry Boats (cap. 600 souls) and Hotel Launches, (40 souls.) They took me off the ferries and put me on the launches.
No matter what they tried, guests invariably got the equal to an E-Ticket Ride, especially on windy days.
It was a great job for a college kid, and quite a change from the urban jungles of South Florida. Orlando was still a relatively sleepy Southern city -- but there were always parties and ways to enjoy oneself. (Back then, and perhaps still nowadays, if you want to see the South in Florida, you have to drive north of Orlando. From Vero Beach on down, it's all Yankees. Well, maybe a few native-born Redneck Crackers. But those folks were the ones I lived and spent the most enjoyable times with. Returning "back home" to the northeast was a very unpleasant "culture shock" after graduation in 1974.)
I later returned to work for WDW, only this time I found myself driving buses in the Fort WIlderness Campgrounds, working nights, driving people around the park, including one Christmas Eve. Boy, did I appreciate my mom putting her foot down six years before on that lonely night. It was the first and only time I'd ever spent alone on Christmas. Paradise is one thing, but family's quite another. Having to listen to a family that night with whiny kids complaining about not being back home for Christmas in Boston almost drove me through the bus's roof. And when you're from accent-less western Massachusetts, the last thing you want to hear is a horrible eastern MA accent, especially when it's used to complain about something that's not worth complaining about.
I'd left the Boston scene, a job with the Federal District Court, and a few others, and eventually made my way back South; but I couldn't escape my humanity--not even in Never Land.
Nonetheless, I have much to thank the Disney system of training its "cast members" how to handle such situations on that lonely night, and in countless other situations where I could've easily "lost it," much less ruined somebody else's day. (Well, my kids will tell you I can still pull that off when sufficiently provoked. But isn't that to some degree a "parent's privilege"?
The Disney University staff are THE TOPS when it comes to preparing people for the worst, and I mean worst kinds of "crowd control," "strained personal dialogues," and "broken-down frank and mutual discussions," not to mention that famous line out of "Cool Hand Luke," -- "...a failure to communicate." Mickey doesn't allow it. Period. No excuses, either.
Nor should it tolerate any excuses for rudeness, ill-mannered responses, flip treatments and other anti-social behavior. (Well, we did enjoy watching the young women as they boarded the ferries. No further explanations necessary.) And occasionally we'd "adlib" on the microphones for the benefit of the guests. One blog posting couldn't do proper justice for the things I learned at Disney University or the day-to-day lessons I gained along the way.
So when I saw that segment on NBC earlier tonight, all I could say was "So?" but I was just being a wiseguy. I knew darn well United's staffers would come back with a better perspective concerning the craft of "human interaction." The place is that thorough,and so thorough indeed that all the hotels, and other related touristy businesses for miles around expect their employees to be no less polite and respectful.
Alas, some of us who went north and stayed there too long lost some of that "pixie dust" Tinkerbell manages to spread on all of us. Some 17 years ago, when my wife and I took our much younger kids to stay a week on the grounds (was THAT a sense of delayed gratification rewarded back in spades!), Ruth confessed she wished we held off on buying her father's old house and gave Florida a shot instead. "The people down here are so nice, polite and really treat you well." Being a smarta... I quipped "Dear, they're paid to be like that down here, this place would shrivel up in two seconds if the people here all had Boston manners." All fo a sudden I quickly reallized what a stupid thing I'd just let flow out of my mouth. The people down South are naturally a lot more friendly. And, of course, being able to count on that kind of an area where the people learn their manners before they even get into kindergarten, doesn't hurt Disney, either.
It doesn't hurt United Airlines. It doesn't hurt any of us. What does hurt us is cynicism. It hurts all around. Now if only the colleges and UMass/Amherst could send just send a quarter of their employees in this bucolic egghead theme park of Happy Valley, MA down to Mickey's University--hell, even this place might even be warmer in winter, no less!
Damn, I'm getting a little homesick for Walt Disney World all over again. Maybe it's that left over Pixie Dust I never got out of my hair anymore than I could get that Florida beach sand out of my toes..
WELL, HEY, YOU MIGHT BE THINKING, THESE PEOPLE SURE PUT UP WITH A LOT OF GRIEF NOWADAYS, ESPECIALLY THE TERMINAL STAFFERS. WHEN YOU THINK ABOUT THE ENORMOUS AMOUNT OF COMPLAINTS THESE PEOPLE HAVE TO ENDURE DAY AND DAY OUT, WHO CAN BEGRUDGE THEM A TRIP TO WALT DISNEY WORLD, EVEN IF IT'S IN THE BEGINNINGS OF YET ANOTHER STEAMY HOT ORLANDO SUMMER.
BELIEVE ME, I KNOW WHAT THOSE ARE LIKE. AND THEY BEGIN RIGHT ON TIME WITH THE ONSET OF MEMORIAL DAY. EVEN IF YOU DON'T LOOK AT YOUR CALENDARS, THE NOTORIOUSLY LARGE FLORIDA "JUNE BUGS" WILL REMIND YOU WHAT TME OF THE YEAR IT IS.
HOWEVER, THESE FOLKS FROM UNITED AIRLINES DIDN'T GO DOWN THERE JUST FOR A SIGHT-SEEING JAUNT. THEY WENT THERE TO LEARN.
WELL, AU, GAWRSH, UH, HUH WHAT WERE THEY TO LEARN AT THE "MOUSE HOUSE"? "
WELL, GOOFY, IT'S LIKE THIS, AIRLINES ARE IN THE PEOPLE BUSINESS, JUST LIKE YOU ARE, AND WHADDYA THINK THAT MEANS?"
SERVICE SERVICE SERVICE SERVICE SERVICE
My first boat
Official Watercraft Seal!
You're probably wondering how I, too, became such an "expert" in these things. Well, I used to work for WDW. When I was in college, I'd drive up from Miami-Dade where I was attending Biscayne College (now part of St. Thomas University) and work during the Easter, Summer and Thanksgiving Breaks. (My mom put her foot down for Christmas, an "imposition" that meant much more to me six years later during my second "tour of duty" at the "Mouse House.") During my first stint, I drove the Magic Kingdom Ferry Boats (cap. 600 souls) and Hotel Launches, (40 souls.) They took me off the ferries and put me on the launches.
Vanguard
No matter what they tried, guests invariably got the equal to an E-Ticket Ride, especially on windy days.
Would You Believe These Tix Were "Alternate Currency"?
It was a great job for a college kid, and quite a change from the urban jungles of South Florida. Orlando was still a relatively sleepy Southern city -- but there were always parties and ways to enjoy oneself. (Back then, and perhaps still nowadays, if you want to see the South in Florida, you have to drive north of Orlando. From Vero Beach on down, it's all Yankees. Well, maybe a few native-born Redneck Crackers. But those folks were the ones I lived and spent the most enjoyable times with. Returning "back home" to the northeast was a very unpleasant "culture shock" after graduation in 1974.)
Biscayne College-St.Thomas Univ. Miami, Florida
I later returned to work for WDW, only this time I found myself driving buses in the Fort WIlderness Campgrounds, working nights, driving people around the park, including one Christmas Eve. Boy, did I appreciate my mom putting her foot down six years before on that lonely night. It was the first and only time I'd ever spent alone on Christmas. Paradise is one thing, but family's quite another. Having to listen to a family that night with whiny kids complaining about not being back home for Christmas in Boston almost drove me through the bus's roof. And when you're from accent-less western Massachusetts, the last thing you want to hear is a horrible eastern MA accent, especially when it's used to complain about something that's not worth complaining about.
"Ft. Wilderness Mass Transit Authority"
I'd left the Boston scene, a job with the Federal District Court, and a few others, and eventually made my way back South; but I couldn't escape my humanity--not even in Never Land.
Nonetheless, I have much to thank the Disney system of training its "cast members" how to handle such situations on that lonely night, and in countless other situations where I could've easily "lost it," much less ruined somebody else's day. (Well, my kids will tell you I can still pull that off when sufficiently provoked. But isn't that to some degree a "parent's privilege"?
The Disney University staff are THE TOPS when it comes to preparing people for the worst, and I mean worst kinds of "crowd control," "strained personal dialogues," and "broken-down frank and mutual discussions," not to mention that famous line out of "Cool Hand Luke," -- "...a failure to communicate." Mickey doesn't allow it. Period. No excuses, either.
Nor should it tolerate any excuses for rudeness, ill-mannered responses, flip treatments and other anti-social behavior. (Well, we did enjoy watching the young women as they boarded the ferries. No further explanations necessary.) And occasionally we'd "adlib" on the microphones for the benefit of the guests. One blog posting couldn't do proper justice for the things I learned at Disney University or the day-to-day lessons I gained along the way.
So when I saw that segment on NBC earlier tonight, all I could say was "So?" but I was just being a wiseguy. I knew darn well United's staffers would come back with a better perspective concerning the craft of "human interaction." The place is that thorough,and so thorough indeed that all the hotels, and other related touristy businesses for miles around expect their employees to be no less polite and respectful.
Alas, some of us who went north and stayed there too long lost some of that "pixie dust" Tinkerbell manages to spread on all of us. Some 17 years ago, when my wife and I took our much younger kids to stay a week on the grounds (was THAT a sense of delayed gratification rewarded back in spades!), Ruth confessed she wished we held off on buying her father's old house and gave Florida a shot instead. "The people down here are so nice, polite and really treat you well." Being a smarta... I quipped "Dear, they're paid to be like that down here, this place would shrivel up in two seconds if the people here all had Boston manners." All fo a sudden I quickly reallized what a stupid thing I'd just let flow out of my mouth. The people down South are naturally a lot more friendly. And, of course, being able to count on that kind of an area where the people learn their manners before they even get into kindergarten, doesn't hurt Disney, either.
It doesn't hurt United Airlines. It doesn't hurt any of us. What does hurt us is cynicism. It hurts all around. Now if only the colleges and UMass/Amherst could send just send a quarter of their employees in this bucolic egghead theme park of Happy Valley, MA down to Mickey's University--hell, even this place might even be warmer in winter, no less!
Damn, I'm getting a little homesick for Walt Disney World all over again. Maybe it's that left over Pixie Dust I never got out of my hair anymore than I could get that Florida beach sand out of my toes..
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