Disney ALA Pre-Conference

Each year as an executive board member of the Learning Round Table of ALA we meet throughout the year to plan and execute pre-conference and conference programs at the ALA Annual Conference designed to help library professionals learn more about staff learning and development.  This past year our round table worked to take advantage of our conference location by contracting with the Disney Institute to conduct their “Disney Approach to Quality Service” as a pre-conference event for ALA attendees.

The session was held at the Disneyland Hotel right next to the Disneyland Park, with ninety-six participants.  Based on Disney’s definition of quality service, “Exceed our guests’ expectations and pay attention to every detail of the delivery,” the two speakers shared the philosophies and daily practices that have made the Disney approach one many other organizations have tried to emulate.  Focusing on understanding the guest, Disney uses four compass points – Needs, Wants, Emotions, and Stereotypes – to guide their business and decision-making processes.

To help us see how this is practiced, all session participants were taken on a guided tour of the California Adventure Park at Disneyland.  The guide walked us through the entrance and explained why it is designed the way it is (there is a method to the madness!).  The guide also pointed out the special details and designs used in the attractions – no small detail is overlooked.  One example that was shared was in the gift shop for the Soarin’ Over California ride which has a clock and calendar on the wall with the date and time that the sound barrier was broken by a land vehicle in California.  Another example was the Enchanted Tiki Room at Disneyland.  Here birds with amazing animatronics perform dialog and songs for the guests – But what is amazing is the attention paid to make these birds look as realistic as possible – they appear to be breathing!  See for yourself in this quick behind the scenes clip:

Some great take-away points from the session included:

• Always have visual magnets to draw customers in – At Disneyland this is the castle!
• No excuse restrooms – Disneyland has some of the cleanest restrooms I have EVER seen and they get a lot of use each and every day!!
• EVERYONE picks up trash – No matter their position, if they see trash they are expected to pick it up!
• ‘No with Options’ is the motto – Say what you CAN do…
• All guests are treated with respect and dignity – Doesn’t mean the guest is always right, but they are always treated with respect and dignity.
• The environment leading up to the ride lets the guest see ‘what they are getting into’ before they actually embark on the adventure.
• Disney operates with 4 Quality Standards (in order of importance)
• Safety
• Courtesy
• Show
• Efficiency
• Employees are referred to as ‘cast members’ and Walt Disney in discussing the caliber of people who would be employed by his company stated, “They will be people who give, who like to bring delight to other people, and therefore gain pleasure and satisfaction for themselves.”