Vikki and I were on vacation in Orlando recently, visiting the Disney Magic Kingdom. It was an interesting experience in Attention To Detail.`
I don’t think it was so much the Cinderella makeup kits for little girls and the Mickey Mouse shot glasses in the souvenir shop, or the music everywhere, or even the incredible service at every hotel, restaurant, and even on the shuttle buses that make up the “Magic” part of the Disney Experience.
It was something I’ve talked about before, but until now I hadn’t seen it create a billion dollar impression.
It was the language they use.
“In learning the art of storytelling by animation, I have discovered that language has an anatomy.”
No, it’s English all right, but they have special words for things that are different from the words the rest of the world uses.
I don’t know if you’re aware of it, but I noticed it when we arrived at Epcot Center – one of the Disney parks located in the center of Florida.
I saw a man push a utility cleaning cart through a door marked “Cast Members only”.
Hmmmm.
“Cast Members?”
The guy was a janitor.
So I asked a girl selling sodas from a stand about the Cast Members.
“Oh, yes sir,” she said, “that means all of us who work here.”
“You mean that all Disney employees are called Cast Members?” I said.
“Well, everyone who works here is a member of the Cast,” She said, “and all of you visitors are our Guests.”
That was amazing.
When I asked her if she meant “all Disney employees” she didn’t even repeat the word “employees.” She replied, “Well, everyone who works here–“
She didn’t use the word employee because it didn’t occur to her that working at this place made her an employee. She was a “Cast Member.” She had been selected to be part of a “Cast,” and she acted the part with all her might.
And I wasn’t a “customer.”
She had said, “All of you visitors are our Guests.”
I thought about that for the rest of the day, as I passed a number of doors that in an airport or almost anywhere else would be labeled “private” or “employees only” or “for official use.”
And at Disney, they were all labeled “Cast Members Only.”
And we customers are all “Guests.”
I guess it was better for that janitor to think of himself as a Cast Member. Could it be one of the reasons Disney amusement parks are so clean is because they are being kept that way for us “Guests?”
And I know that all of us “Guests” are treated incredibly well. Actually, we are treated just as if we really WERE guests.
Makes sense, doesn’t it? Wouldn’t you just automatically think of putting out a little more effort if your customers were considered Guests – and not just once in a while – but by everyone in your organization – from the CEO on down?
And what does it do to your approach to work if you’re a “Cast Member?”
Doesn’t it make sense that the label might invite you to consider your job a part of a big theater act, where every detail must contribute to the overall impression?
Another thing. Most of the things you can do at Disney are named either “Adventures” or “Dreams come true.”
That’s a lot better than “rides” and “movies”, isn’t it? Doesn’t it carry more fun in the words?
“The way to get started is to quit talking and begin doing.”
On the shuttle back to our hotel, Vikki and I were the last ones to be dropped off. We were sitting behind the driver, a lady with a deep Southern accent. I asked her why the seats in the front row across from us were marked “reserved.”
“Oh, that’s just for the folks who may have partial disability.”
There was a long pause, then she said, “See, we can’t call ’em handicapped anymore, ’cause that might make them feel they can’t have as much fun as other folks. So we gotta call ’em ‘Partial Disability’.”
“Wow, that’s interesting,” I said. Then I told her about the Cast Member and Guest thing.
She laughed, “Oh, yeah, that too. We were taught all that in training. And when I have to get some help with a wheelchair, I just call on the walkie-talkie for a ‘Passenger Assist.’ When I say that they know I have a wheelchair to lift and they send a strong guy over to me.”
Okay. I was so impressed I knew that I had to tell you about this.
Here’s one of the largest media conglomerates in the world, with major muscle in the worlds of TV, film and vacation resorts – and THEY care so much about what language their employees use that they spend a lot of money on training them.
And look at the difference between any Disney product and anyone else’s. Don’t you somehow expect the Disney thing to be a little more polished, and even cleaner and, well, more FRIENDLY?
“All our dreams can come true, if we have the courage to pursue them.”
So now you know. Even the language is important to an organization as big as Disney. They know it contributes directly to the bottom line.
Of course, not everyone is this smart – this advanced. Lots of people working for big companies won’t even answer their phones. And dealing with one of them when you’re their customer is not very fun OR friendly.
Most big companies are not as smart as Mickey and Goofy, I guess.
