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| A quick photo op with Marie and Clarice during Disneyland's Tinkerbell half marathon, several years ago |
I
can
hardly
wait!
(I get butterflies even thinking about it!)
Yes, I am a big Disney fan. I'm a Disney Nerd. A child at heart.
But my love of Disney is less about the mouse, and more about the house, i.e, the company.
I love the precision with which Disney consistently executes INTENTIONAL PERFECTION.
Through firsthand experience and research, here are service lessons I've learned from visiting Disneyland.
Everyone who works for Disney is committed to the magic.
Many years ago, I went to Disneyland's City Hall on Main Street, USA. (stop-- it's a thing!) to see if I could get a special note from Mickey Mouse himself for a five-year-old child I tangentially knew who was undergoing a heart transplant. His two siblings had already died from the rare defect.
The cast member (employee) said that Mickey Mouse was busy conducting the Fantasmic show across the park, and she'd see if you could get someone in touch with him.
I played along-- sure, I'd wait since Mickey Mouse was busy elsewhere. (Wink! Wink!)
And I did wait...
on one of the benches for about 15 minutes.
And then the cast member approached me in the waiting area with a signed hand-written letter from Mickey Mouse-- made out personally to the young boy.
It didn't matter that I was an adult. It didn't matter that I knew that Mickey Mouse was a shorter, thin human being in a big costume.
The cast member kept the magic alive. She was committed to the story and the brand. And I've never forgotten it.
What magic do you keep alive? Is it your company culture? Is it a family tradition? Is it your personal "brand"?
💗 PS: The boy mentioned above is 21 now! I just heard he has another heart transplant coming up- think happy thoughts for him, please. 💗