Disney: Positive thinking, practical results

Bruce Jones' most memorable day at work started with a breakfast with Mickey Mouse, Donald Duck and Goofy and 20 screaming children.

It ended with a phone call to someone's parents in then-Yugoslavia to break the news their daughter had been secretly married. This being Disney, it took place in front of an audience there for the evening's cabaret aboard the Empress Lily, an authentic recreation of a 19th-century paddle-wheeler boat.

It's certainly true that no-one does hospitality quite like Disney, whether you choose to measure that by quality or scale. So the company certainly knows a thing or two about how to achieve a consistent offer, to get even the most reluctant members of staff, perhaps only there for a summer job, on-board and on message. And vitally how to keep customers coming back for more.

Disney university

Underpinning the running of this vast operation is a training academy known as the Disney University. Staff are sent to the classroom before they're even able to ask 'Do you want fries with that?'

But being the shrewd, uber-entrepreneurs that they are, Disney saw an opportunity to train other companies' staff too. Since 1986 the hospitality bible according to Disney has been taught, through external training arm the Disney Institute, to businesses across the world keen for a bit of the Disney (money-making) magic to rub off on them.

Which brings us back to Bruce. Bruce is the programming director at the Disney Institute, which has again been invited by the National Skills Academy for Hospitality to deliver a series of seminars in London throughout September. Programmes on leadership excellence, quality service, inspiring creativity and the Disney approach to brand loyalty will run from September 13-17 at the Millennium Gloucester Hotel.

Bruce started off 22 years ago on the frontline managing a number of bars and restaurants at Disney, and, of course, is encouraging licensees to take part in the seminars.

What's in it for pubs?

But do pubs really have anything to learn from the theme-park and entertainment giant? The culture clash between the UK's no-nonsense pubs and even its high-end gastro pubs, and Disney's giant mice, ducks and dogs with perma-grins and a penchant for hugging and waving at anything that moves, would seem a large one. For example, Bruce didn't interview for his job at Disney, he auditioned.

"We've been known for nearly 60 years for our customer service," explains Bruce. "We think those who do something really well have an obligation to teach others.

"We're talking about a framework for arriving at great service day in, day out, regardless of the volume coming through your establishment.

"The ability for organisations to take and practically apply what Disney has learned over many years is pretty valuable stuff."

And the key to building that team spirit to deliver the service is that everyone has to be in it together, Bruce believes. "First and foremost we teach that service should be an organisational value," he says.

"It can't be just the host and hostess, or just the bartenders, just the chefs or the managers. Everyone has to do it, and it doesn't matter if you're in a larger organisation, if you're face to face with customers or you're the accountant.

"Everyone must understand that what they're doing contributes to each guest having the best experience of their lives. This is very important for us, this concept. What we have learned is that if we don't share that on the very first day of training people just don't understand the big picture."

Applying the insights

It is this intensive training that Disney has whittled down into a few pointers to share with UK businesses in September.

And with around 60,000 staff just at the Florida resort, you believe them when they say getting everyone to pull together to offer the best service possible, is vital. Although pubs have considerably fewer people on the payroll, it's vital for them too.

The trick to developing great staff members is to give them the power to make their own decisions, Bruce says.

"It allows everybody - whether they are on the front line in contact with guests or come up against a situation they've never encountered before - to apply our standards, which are safety, courtesy, show and efficiency," he explains.

"It results in a very flexible, adaptable, nimble workforce - one that's able to think about the philosophies and what we do and apply this decision-making tool to situations that come up."

It all sounds super. But is it a bit abstract? Are these really insights that other businesses can apply and make work for them? "We understand that sometimes it takes an artificial infrastructure to get the culture started but then, over time, people begin to do these things on their own and it simply becomes the way things are done," says Bruce.

"I used to work for a food and beverage establishment before coming to work for Disney and I often saw memos from management to say 'this will be the year of the customer'.

"But nothing ever really changed philosophically, or even tactically. You've got to build your values into everything you do."

Seasonal staff

Disney has certainly not been shy about that. And its ability to look on the brighter side of life seems truly unfaltering.

Seasonal staff can be a necessary nightmare for pubs, involving time, training and often keeping a close eye on what are usually teenagers in need of some extra cash rather than people that seriously consider a career in the industry.

But to Disney, these are very important people, and what's more, to seasonal staff the chance to work at Disney is an opportunity to get something valuable for free.

"All our facilities and products are absolutely necessary," says Bruce, "but what's going to allow your pub to differentiate itself is going to come from the people and the reason is that only people have heart.

"We have part-time and seasonal help and we have people that are part of our college programme who are maybe working as an intern for a short period of time. But we still invest in that training.

"We know there is no guarantee of lifetime employment any more and those folks, particularly the younger ones who come to work for us, they get huge value from learning these philosophies and standards and understanding these are lifetime skills that they will be able to apply in any business."

It's clearly working - in surveys among guests, the number one reason that people rebook to return to the resort is because of the service levels.

After just over an hour of speaking to Bruce, you get the impression that he's like a stick of rock - if you cut him open, it would say Disney right the way through. And, after 22 years in the job, what better endorsement could a company have?

The Disney seminars aim to prove that positive thinking can be practical thinking too. If attending, don't expect any singing rodents. Though I would like to think you'd get to take notes with one of those cool Mickey Mouse-ear pens...

Disney fast facts

• Walt Disney World resort in Florida is the largest single-site employer in the US with more than 60,000 employees - or cast members, if you're using Disney lingo - in 1,200 different job roles

• The daily population of the resort, of more than 200,000 people, makes Disney larger than 90 per cent of American cities

• It owns 348 food and drink operations and serves more than 60 million meals a year - that's enough to serve three meals a day to a family of five for 11,000 years.

• For more information and course booking details visit: www.excellencefound-disney.co.uk​