I don’t know about you but the level of customer service I receive can make or break my day. It doesn’t matter if I’m at the supermarket or at a restaurant, if I do not get decent customer service it can ruin my experience. Disney has mastered the art of customer service and it is just one of the many, many, MANY reasons my family and I enjoy going back year after year.
On each and every one of my Walt Disney World vacations, I can pick out an exceptional experience with a CM (cast member). On my last trip we stayed at the Grand Floridian. One of the CM’s happened to be a guy that I went to high school with. Granted, neither of us remembered the other but when I noticed his home town on his name tag we got to talking and it turned out we were in the same home room together! How weird is that?
But forgetting each other aside, I had mentioned to him that we were disappointed because we could not get dinner reservations at Le Cellier. It wasn’t a huge deal, but I was a bit bummed. Well, he got on the phone and talked to a bunch of different people and got us a reservation for dinner for three that night!
Several years ago we were in Disney celebrating my son’s 16th birthday. We were waiting for the Magic Kingdom to open and we were up near the front by the ropes by the lockers and stroller rentals when a cast member came over to welcome us. When we told her what we were celebrating, she reached in to her pocket and sprinkled my son with “magic” (aka Mickey Mouse confetti). And you know what? We had good luck all day! We walked on almost every ride without waiting and had an awesome day. Every time we look back on that trip that is the first memory that comes to mind.
On another trip, my younger son desperately wanted to meet Captain Jack Sparrow. We were having no luck in finding him and I happened to mention this to a cast member and she told us exactly where Captain Jack comes from for his meet and greets and what time to be there and my son not only got to meet him, he was part of the Pirate Tutorial and even helped another pirate set it all up!
And a final fond memory was on the trip where we celebrated my 40th birthday. I had on my “It’s My Birthday” pin and I was in the Magic Kingdom waiting for the rope drop so I could run to Space Mountain with my sister when a cast member walked over to wish me a happy birthday. He asked what my wish was for the day and I said that I always wanted to be the first person on Space Mountain. Looking back I should have asked for something a little more exciting but that CM raised the rope for me and my sister and then escorted us on to the first rocket of the day!
All of Disney’s cast members are just a wonderful group of people who are willing to go above and beyond what is necessary to make your trip a memorable experience. Now I’m sure there may be a grumpy CM every now and again but as for me, I’ve yet to witness it. From housekeeping to concierge, from ticket collector’s to characters, they deserve a great big hug just for all of the times that they went and did that little bit extra to make my vacation extra special.
I agree. The CM’s are something truly special. Sometimes after our Disney trips, we have gone to the local State Fair. I love the fair, but the juxtaposition of the attitudes of CMs and State Fair workers can be staggering.
Posts like this never cease to amaze me, as we have NEVER had anything remotely magical occur in our interactions with Disney CMs. Our experiences have ranged from downright repugnant to mediocre. Well, they have one more try left in April before we give up on Disney for good.
Does anyone have any suggestions for actually showing a cast member appreciation? A hug is great in theory, but I’m probably not going to hug a stranger :).
In the past I have actually written to the Walt Disney Company to praise a CM who has gone above and beyond in customer service and they respond! I’ve been told that the CM has been commended and the letter is placed in their employee files.