by Agnes Lee
Quick Summary
At ALA in Orlando this year, Agnes Lee attended OCLC's Symposium on Disney's Approach to Quality Service. She shares some of what she learned.
Just imagine Orlando in June, that is where I attended the ALA Annual Conference this year. In spite of the sweltering heat which encouraged attendees to stay inside the Conference Center as much as possible, the sessions I attended were worthwhile. The one session that stood out for me was OCLC's Symposium on Disney's Approach to Quality Service. Delivering great service is what I strive to do daily so I was hooked by the title of this symposium.
The presenter was Amy Rossi from the Disney Institute. She shared her own experience with Disney, beginning with a job at her hometown Disney store. Amy's passion for Disney and what it means to her is striking. Amy pointed out that libraries and Disney are both in the service industry. We both want to provide great service to our guests (or patrons). Disney achieves consistent business results by overmanaging certain details that many companies undermanage or ignore. And that, she said, is a key to what differentiates Disney from the rest. They leave nothing to chance, everything they do is intentional.
Amy went on to say that it is important to know the stereotypes about your organization, both positive and negative. If you know something is negative look for ways to manage it and make it a better experience. There are many things that are beyond our control, but working collaboratively to ensure that the obvious and not so obvious touchpoints are intentional goes a long way. We all want a good experience, something that creates good memories to share. Amy encouraged each one of us to focus on our own sphere of influence within our organization and things we have the power to change to make that intentional change happen.
Of course, I was at a magical place and with a sprinkle of fairy dust, anything might be just a tad easier.
