Hong Kong Disneyland Field Trip

[Source: http://news.takungpao.com.hk/paper/q/2016/0130/3275055.html]

We have visited the Hong Kong Disneyland on 27 October, 2017! It was a wonderful trip as we have the opportunity to go around the Hong Kong Disneyland Hotel and the Hong Kong Disneyland Park to learn about the daily operations and their service keys. Let's have a look of our experiences that day.

Daily Operation

Like the usual hotels, different departments, including front office, reservations, housekeeping, concierge, guest services, security and communications, have their own roles in the daily operations of Hong Kong Disneyland Hotel. Specifically, front desks will help with the check-in and check-out processes, up-sell rooms as well as offer services such as handling mail and faxes. After the check-out of guests, housekeepers will clean up the rooms. They are also responsible for the cleanliness of the public areas. When guests have any enquiries or needs, they could go to concierge and ask for help. Furthermore, when guests choose to stay on the executive floor for an additional fee, they are entitled to enjoy the royal treatment of the Kingdom Club, including complimentary breakfast and snacks in the exclusive lounge, personalized vacation services, bedtime stories with Disney Friends, etc.

[Source: https://disneyworld.disney.go.com/resorts/grand-floridian-resort-and-spa/]

Within the theme parks, cast members of different positions work together to create an excellent and memorable experience for guests. Some of them engage in the front-line guest services such as maintaining the attractions’ operations with safety and engage in the food and beverage operations, while some of them work backstage in the positions of product development and marketing. Moreover, some special services, foe examples, luggage valet service and storage lockers, first aid, package express and currency exchange are also provided to the guests in need.

[Source: http://www.thehonestapothecary.com/2017/06/17/if-disney-ran-your-pharmacy-part-1/]

Disney’s four keys to a great guest experience, including safety, courtesy, show and efficiency are perfectly performed throughout its daily operations, which will be explained in detail in the later part.

Facts & Challenges

First Priority: Children

Unlike normal business hotels, the target customer of resorts is family. Under most circumstances, parents would stay in the resort together with their kids and have fun together as well. In Disneyland resort, the goal of the staff is to make guests happy. But how can they achieve that? One of the senior managers in Hong Kong Disneyland Hotel told us that the key factor is children. Sometimes when the guests are dissatisfied with their service, they will put effort on making their children happy. For instance, Disneyland Cast Members may distribute some cute and beautiful stickers to the kids. They may also have some Disney Character look-alike performers to take photos with them.

[Source: http://www.scarymommy.com/disney-announces-seasonal-pricing-on-1-day-ticket/]

Which language is the most commonly used in the resort?

Do you know which language is the most commonly used in Hong Kong Disneyland Hotel? Perhaps you may think of Cantonese or English, but the correct answer is Putonghua (also known as Mandarin)! According to the senior manager, 7 out of 10 guests visiting Hong Kong Disneyland Hotel speak Putonghua. It is really unexpected! Therefore, Disneyland requires all the staff to speak fluent Putonghua. In the recruitment process, applicants will encounter a Putonghua test. The senior manager told us that it is one of the most difficult part in the selection process as many candidates failed the test.

[Source: http://conpetti.com/disney/?p=1409]

Extend your service for the needy

According to Disney Quality Standards, safety is the No.1 priority for the resort. Especially when the cast members encounter the needy people who would like to seek help, they have to think of a safe way to cater for their needs. The senior manager shared an unforgettable experience with us: one day an old woman wanted to go to the MTR station from the resort to greet her family members. In fact, the resort provides shuttle bus service to take the guests to the Disneyland entrance, and it just takes a 5-minute walk to the MTR station. Nevertheless, the senior manager worried about the safety of the woman as she might get lost after the shuttle bus ride. Also, the woman might find it difficult to board the bus as she needed to walk up some steps. Therefore, due to safety reason, the manager decided to arrange a reserved car to take her to the MTR station directly. The woman was deeply impressed by their extra service provided!

[Source: http://www.smalltownlaowai.com/10-reasons-hong-kong-disneyland-is-better-than-the-original/]

Service keys

To maintain Disney’s high standard of Guest services, which has achieved international commend. There are four main service keys designed by Disney to achieve their high standard, which is “Safety”, “Courtesy”, “Show” and “Efficiency”. These keys have been set up for many years and are proved to be effective in managing the brand and company. Therefore, these service standards are taught to all the cast members at Disneyland as well.

[Source: http://elsonna.com/disney-character-dining-disneyland/]

"Safety" is the most important and the first priority of the Resort. All of the cast members are responsible of making guests and themselves safe. They should pay all effort to sacrifice all other service keys to fulfil Safety in advance. For example, in the Hong Kong Disneyland Hotel, there are some safety nosing for stairs to prevent skidding.

[Source: Own]

"Courtesy" is another main service key in Disneyland. Cast members are responsible to notice the diverse nature of their guests. They should also respect, value and appreciate every guest as an individual, so as to serve them politely as well. For example, cast members have to be high alertness to aware Guests' needs. Whenever they found that guests are experiencing difficulties, they have to engage in it actively by providing help to them.

[Source: Own]

The third service key is "Show". To create a perfect show for all their guests, flawless and professional presentations and performances are vitally important. One of the serving standards is to make guests feel the fantasy and that they are really living inside a magical world. On the other hand, staff are required to maintain the work location clean, neat and organized. Therefore, it is not difficult to find cast members who are responsible for cleaning in the Disneyland Theme park. Besides of cleaning, these janitor-like cast members would also use their cleaning utensils, like the broom and garbage bin to act as their percussion instruments.

[Source: Own]

"Efficiency" is also indispensable in Disney service keys. Cast members need to work together as a team and keep communication channels open. Cast members have to manage event in efficiency, so as to avoid inconvenience to their guests, colleagues and partners. For example, Disneyland has launched an app to enable guests to check wait time of different attractions. In this case, they can better manage their time and enjoy adventures as more as possible.

[Source: http://www.thestorypedia.com/article/words-you-need-to-know-before-you-go-to-disneyland/]

Disney Differences

The popularity of Disneyland not only attributes to its exciting recreational facilities but also its differentiated management system and marketing tactics. Its success inspires many entrepreneurs and other amusement parks. Let's explore the Disney Differences together!

Seven themed lands There are seven areas at Disney, including Adventureland, Grizzly Gulch, Toy Story Land, Fantasyland, Main Street, U.S.A, Mystic Point and Tomorrowland. Each has its own theme and characteristics. To prevent visitors form confusing their features, the park separates each area distinctly with signs so that all the inscribed areas form a gap to one another. Within a themed area, visitors could enjoy its unique story. Moreover, there are attractions, shops and restaurants in each area with themed music and scenery. Visitors could thus have memorable experiences in these independent areas. This places a difference between Disney and other amusement parks which do not separate into themed areas.

[Source: http://www.chuguoqu.com/poi/poi-129/]

Flowers bloom

We could see that the plants at Disney remain in the flowering state all the time. This is because all these are originally planted in other areas outside until they bloom. After that, the flowering plants would be transplanted into the park. Yet, other theme parks plants directly within their own area. In this way, visitors may observe the sowing and germinating period. However, as a fantastic world, Disneyland believes that visitors must see the beauty of flowers all the time. Although this incurs considerable costs, it is one of the Disney’s insistence.

[Source: http://www.skyscrapercity.com/showthread.php?t=287402&page=16]

Cast member training

Unlike other companies, all employees at Disney are called "cast members" rather than workers. The management team at Disney emphasizes training and promotion opportunities of each cast member. It is believed that a professional training system could attract talents and also enable existing cast members to develop their potentials in the company. In order to enhance the service quality, all cast member must study at Disney University before working. They would learn different aspects, including entrepreneurial spirit, company milestones, language skills, etc. This reveals all cast members are well-equipped to provide the best service to the guests.

[Souce: https://www.expedia.dk/Hongkong-Disneyland-Hong-Kong.d6073738.Sev%C3%A6rdigheder]

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Learning Reflection:

It is definitely a treasurable opportunity and a memorable experience for us to visit the Hong Kong Disneyland Resort and Park! Before the visit, we have actually learnt about the “SERVICE” model of Disney in the lecture, which is a guideline for its front-line employees to ensure their service quality is up to standard. The model includes the following:

Smile

Eye contact

Respect and welcome all

Value the magic

Initiate guest contact

Creative service solutions

End with a “thank you"

[Source: http://www.giovisits.com/2013/11/comparing-walt-disney-world-disneyland_17.html]

​Apart from that, Disney has actually developed many other guidelines, standards and “magic words” to assist its staff in the daily operations. In the past, we always think that assuring quality and safety of rides are the most essential parts for a theme park. Although they are vital, the visit to Disneyland reminds us that it is even more important to maintain the service quality in every moment of truth. Since every customer contact will affect their impression towards the service and may influence the word-of-mouth and the viral marketing. Therefore, Disney has paid lots of effort in keeping its service standard to satisfy its guests. With this objective, it has become the world’s largest amusement park.

[Source: https://www.floridatix.com/orlando-guides/my-disney-experience]

In the hospitality industry, it undoubtedly involves a lot of customer interaction. Thus, service quality is essential and front-line employees play an important role. In the future, if we would like to pursue our career in the hospitality industry, we should keep this visit in mind and bear in mind that service quality is the first priority!

#Disney #recreation