Originally Posted by
writerguyfl
Later in my career, I worked at Disney. Like Ritz-Carlton, Disney has a reputation for excellent customer service. The Disney approach is more "folksy" and much more accessible by the general public. At Disney, everyone from the guest to the CEO were to be addressed by their first names. While I learned to operate in the formal Ritz-Carlton style, my personality works far better with the Disney approach.
In terms of outside companies looking to adopt a customer service philosophy, what is appropriate will depend upon the goals of that company. I'd guess that the author of the Fortune article probably enjoys the formal environment of a Ritz-Carlton. As such, he lauds that approach. A different person could interview a General Manager at a Disney World Resort and write a similar article with an entirely different set of principles on which to promote. Neither approach is necessarily wrong.
Your whole post was excellent, writerguyfl, but I found this point particularly interesting. I, too, worked for Disney and very much resonated with the corporate style and values! But you may be interested (dismayed?) to hear that even Disney has started to behave more like Ritz-Carlton. There was a realization (correct, in my view) that particularly at Disney's high-end resorts, the level of guest service simply wasn't up to the standard of other world-class hotels and resorts. Interestingly, the cruise line and Aulani did seem able to deliver, but at the other hotels and DVC properties the service just wasn't up to snuff. About three years ago Disney lured several executives away from Ritz-Carlton to rejuvenate their high-end resorts. Personally I haven't noticed any improvements.
And the other part of your post I wanted to jump off from is that Disney is another company seen as a benchmark in many areas, creativity and guest service among them. So much so, in fact, that the Disney Institute has been rather profitable in teaching many people from many diverse industries "the Disney way" of doing things. Just like you correctly pointed out, though, if the tarnish comes off the Disney brand (just like it does every time a guest has a lackluster, substandard Ritz-Carlton stay) then that reputation for excellence earned over the decades will evaporate much more quickly.