Learn about Disney's "hospitality"
Faculty of Global Studies
September 1, 2017
On Tuesday, August 8th, nine students from Faculty of Global Studies participated in the Tokyo Disney Resort Communication Skills Seminar, a seminar program for schools run by Oriental Land Co., Ltd.
Disney's "hospitality" is a model for many companies.
In this program, students learn the communication skills that are essential for building rich human relationships within groups and organizations through the service approaches and efforts practiced at Disney Theme Parks. (From the Disney Academy official website)
The lecturer gave a clear and easy-to-understand lecture, incorporating his own experiences, on the code of conduct practiced by cast members (employees), customer satisfaction, the importance of communication, and other topics in order to meet the expectations of guests (customers).
Afterwards, the teams discussed and presented ideas such as why most visitors are repeat visitors and what points the cast members pay attention to in order to communicate with guests, which all seemed very exciting.
After the lecture, the students had the opportunity to actually tour the park to see the cast members' interactions and the facilities, which gave them the opportunity to think about Disney Resort's "hospitality" from a different perspective.
The cast members politely answered even difficult questions, such as "Is there a hidden Mickey nearby?" They didn't just say "Here he is," but also said, "It seems that there is a hidden Mickey in this attraction, but there seems to be some hidden XX as well! Please try to find them." They answered in a way that was more enjoyable than I expected, which I was very impressed with. I realized that the reason I want to visit Disney Resort again and again is not only because of the attractions, shows, and parades, but also because the cast members are so pleasant to deal with.
Masaka Misaki (graduated from Chiba Women's High School)
What made the biggest impression on me this time was "eye contact and body language." When passing cast members in the park and they greeted me, we would often make eye contact, and when riding an attraction, they would move their arms up and down as they said, "Please make sure to lower the safety bar." I think that by using eye contact and body language, we are able to communicate clearly to foreigners. If you use eye contact in addition to words, the other person will understand what you are trying to say. I realized that communication that is simple and precise is easy to understand and convey.
Ryota Kanno (graduated from our affiliated high school)
I felt that the cast members have a "hospitality mind" that is considerate and never abandons guests in trouble, but listens to them sympathetically and thinks together with them about the best way to help. I think this is because the cast members always value the happiness of their guests, making an effort to have a nice smile and to act with the safety of guests in mind in order to provide "feelings of happiness and joy" to guests. At this seminar, I was able to feel and learn about the "hospitality mind" from the cast members.
Airi Ogawa (graduated from Narashino High School)