When the Disney Institute came to town in late October, more than 300 area CEOs, CFOs, entrepreneurs, administrators and customer service agents rolled up their sleeves and put on their thinking caps — rather, their Mouse ears — to ponder the “Disney Difference.”
These professionals each paid $300 for a day of The Disney Keys to Excellence — Walt Disney’s management secrets. The Institute assures that the core concepts of vision, involvement, organization and change are applicable in any organization, regardless of the industry.
Cindy Lewis, executive director of the Stow-Munroe Falls Chamber of Commerce, which sponsored the event, says Disney is recognized worldwide because of the intense service training employees receive and the special Disney touch that exceeds customer expectations.
“It’s all about taking that extra step for customer service,” Lewis says.
“While we all know Disney is a huge corporation, I was surprised to hear them say they are much more high-touch than high-tech,” says Susan Hamo, president of the Akron/Summit Convention & Visitors Bureau. “It’s nice to hear that great ideas don’t necessarily have to have great price tags.”
The Institute teaches that decisions dictated by any corporate culture have a trickle-down effect on the customer, from employee selection and training to organizational communication, comprehension and concern. Not only is it critical to understand the values and behaviors of individuals in the organization, it’s crucial to comprehend the needs and expectations of customers, from product or service price, quality and features, to company performance and customer service.
Seminar facilitator Jeff Soluri said that, if anything, he hoped attendees would grasp his main message.
“The way to build relationships between your company and your customers is as much common sense and people effort as it is processes and systems. The key to success is being able to figure out what expectations are, and not only deliver on those expectations, but go beyond them.”
Brian Carney, executive vice president and CFO of Hudson-based Jo-Ann Stores Inc., says he was intrigued to learn that 68 percent of customers who leave a business do so because of indifference on the part of associates that serve them.
“We will adapt some of what we learned to our company,” Carney says. “That includes a commitment to recruiting and training, and continuously surveying our customers to measure their level of satisfaction.”
As Walt Disney once said, “There’s really no secret about our approach. We keep moving forward — opening up new doors and doing new things — because we’re curious. And curiosity keeps leading us down new paths. We’re always exploring and experimenting.”
“We’ve all been trained in the old business models,” Soluri says, “and although there are good things about top-down management, there’s a new generation of end-users and front-line people that is uniquely capable of coming up with new ideas to build better relationships.”
Creativity and innovation are significant in the process of building better relationships, Soluri says. Creativity is the production of new and useful ideas. Innovation is the implementation of creative ideas.
A company can maximize creative potential by seeking opinions from employees and customers. Those opinions can lead to ideas, big or small, that can satisfy employees and customers and boost profits.
Thomas Hilston, regional director of operations support at Ohio Edison Co. in Akron, recognizes the importance of involving front-line employees to generate new ideas.
“They’re really the people who create the impressions with customers,” Hilston says. “We’re going to re-emphasize our efforts in that area and involve our employees in creating an even more customer-friendly atmosphere.”
Jack Hayes says he was relieved to learn that a company guided by creativity and innovation can succeed and prosper, because those are the ideals upon which he founded Connecting Touch Therapy and Wellness Center Inc. in Cuyahoga Falls.
Newly inspired by the “Disney Difference,” Hayes says, “Now I will encourage new ideas from my staff and I will push the envelope when implementing ideas that seem a little bit too innovative, because if it can be imagined, it can be done.”
Joseph Prehodick, an Ohio Edison area manager, says he didn’t realize how a relatively simple new idea and the slightest alteration in service can dramatically impact the bottom line of a major corporation.
“The ‘Disney Difference’ is a whole attitude of understanding, stressing and accomplishing what is necessary for your business to succeed,” Prehodick says. “I work for a utility that has always emphasized customer service, but hearing about the Disney methods has given me some new and higher goals to achieve.”
Karen Hasley, human resources vice president at Kent Adhesive Products Co. (Kapco), defines the “Disney Difference” as “sincere respect for employees and customers, displayed in behaviors, not just in words.”
Lewis says she came away convinced there’s always one more thing a company can do to provide better customer service if people involved in the business will take time to come up with new, creative ways to please customers.
“That applies whether you’re a for-profit or nonprofit. Any business can take that information and run with it,” Lewis says, adding that the chamber will do just that. “We’ll be giving even more personal attention to our members than we already do.”
Stow Mayor Donald Coughlin says he wants to bring the Disney magic to the administration of a city. As for how he plans to do that, Coughlin proclaimed, “I’m packing my bags and going to Disney World!”