Walt Disney World has reached a serious milestone with Cell Solid Compliments. This shares that information, plus suggestions for the right way to recognize Solid Members simply through the My Disney Expertise app and intensive commentary about why you actually ought to make an effort to reward the Magic Makers. It’s a win-win!
Let’s begin with the information. Solid Members at Walt Disney World have acquired over two million Cell Solid Compliments submitted by appreciative visitors by the My Disney Expertise App. This accounts for a complete of almost 2.6 million Solid Compliments throughout Walt Disney World Resort and Disneyland Resort!
Should you’ve by no means submitted a Cell Solid Praise earlier than, a experience on Solid Member Andrew Rubin’s musical parking tram may encourage you to take action. Throughout simply the primary six months of his School Program, Andrew has acquired over 550 Solid Compliments! “After I get a Solid Praise, it jogs my memory that I’m making this parking zone as magical as I can,” stated Andrew. “If I can create magic in a parking zone, I can create magic wherever.”
From singing bulletins to creating his personal parking-themed variations of Disney songs, Andrew’s ardour for creating happiness has additionally made for some unbelievable visitor moments which are a supply of pleasure for his family and friends.
“Receiving compliments is superior, however I do that as a result of the visitor expertise is actually vital to me,” he stated. “As a parking forged member, I’m the primary and final particular person visitors encounter. I get to set the temper and meet the expectations that include a go to to Disney World.”
Walt Disney World visitors aren’t the one ones who take the time to go with the unbelievable Walt Disney World Solid Members – they acknowledge one another, too! During the last ten years, Disney Solid Members have exchanged almost six million (!!!) messages of gratitude utilizing RecognizeNow!, a digital device particularly designed for them.
The way to Depart Solid Compliments
The subsequent time a Solid Member makes magic for you, contemplate recognizing them for the nice work they do by leaving a praise on the My Disney Expertise or Disneyland Resort apps. We implore you to do that for the explanations mentioned under within the commentary.
To ship a praise, navigate to the underside of the My Disney Expertise app’s menu display and choose the “Solid Praise” button. Then select a optimistic sentiment from the drop-down menu. After that, enter the forged member’s first identify, hometown and click on submit!
Be sure that to spell the forged member’s first identify and hometown accurately so the forged member might be alerted, and so they can obtain their personalised recognition from their management at Walt Disney World.
One factor to notice is that you simply shouldn’t have to make Solid Compliments in real-time. Many readers have bemoaned the quantity of display time required at Walt Disney World nowadays, and there’s no want so as to add to that.
Merely write down or take a photograph of the Solid Member’s identify tag, and submit Solid Compliments later. You are able to do it on the finish of an extended day within the parks, and even after your journey ends. It’s a pleasant strategy to relieve the enjoyable recollections and magical moments that outlined your Walt Disney World trip!
(As a fast apart, it’s good to see the variety of Solid Compliments acquired by Andrew above. This confirms to me that the Cell Solid Praise really works and quantities to something. When this app characteristic first rolled out, it lacked the specificity it has now, and I used to be barely skeptical/cynical about it. This announcement makes clear that Cell Solid Compliments are each bit as worthwhile and useful because the quaint ones!)
Why You Ought to Depart Solid Compliments
Solid Compliments are important for inside recognition and profession development alternatives inside Walt Disney World. They make sure that the Solid Members who’re residing as much as Walt’s legacy and making magic for visitors are acknowledged and promoted, which is strictly what we should always all need to see. The cream rise to the highest.
Because of this, we’d advocate giving Solid Compliments not simply to Solid Members who go above and past so as to add a component of ‘leisure’ to a secular expertise, however those that ship extra straightforward-but-exemplary visitor service. I might hazard a guess that Solid Members like Andrew above and the servers at Whispering Canyon, for instance, obtain a disproportionate variety of Solid Compliments. Ditto the custodial CMs making attractive mop artwork.
In the meantime, there are way more Solid Members who much less visibly (or fully invisibly) make sure you’re having a terrific expertise. Present some appreciation for them, too! We’re not suggesting you make 1,971 Solid Compliments per journey, however even just a few could be larger than the common visitor and go a good distance in direction of Walt Disney World hitting 3 million Cell Solid Compliments by 2026. (That must be our objective!)
Solid Compliments are additionally a pleasant morale increase and break the cycle of entitlement and negativity.
I communicate from oblique expertise. Not as a Solid Member, however as a Sandwich Artist. For just a few years throughout highschool and the breaks throughout freshman yr of faculty, I labored at my hometown Subway. On the uncommon events when prospects would say one thing sort to my boss, it completely made my day–these individuals in all probability had no thought how impactful they have been. Clients being sort was optimistic reinforcement, whereas rudeness was the precise reverse.
To today, Sandwich Artist is much and away essentially the most demanding job I’ve ever accomplished. (I used to be additionally distinctive at it. Apologies for bragging, however to today I can execute a flawless v-cut and completely layer an obscene quantity of toppings in a footlong, and do it shortly. I’m simply 99th percentile for sandwich-making expertise.)
My expertise additionally taught me that the entitlement individuals suppose a $5 footlong purchased them was completely asinine. I can solely think about how a lot worse that’s with a $5,000+ trip. This is the reason I’ve written repeatedly that every one Individuals ought to work in a service trade so that they “study” the right way to deal with others.
You wouldn’t suppose that is one thing that really requires studying–that folks ought to simply know to deal with others with respect as a result of they’re fellow people and it’s the fitting factor to do. You’d be fallacious. Approach too many individuals contemplate the employees in customer support roles to be “beneath” them.
One factor I’ve observed over the previous couple of years is that we’ve acquired extra complaints about Solid Members from readers. And you realize what, portray with broad strokes, that is correct. As an entire, visitor service is worse now than it was in 2019. However there’s much more nuance to it than that.
The labor market is tighter now. That is very true in Central Florida, which is quickly rising when it comes to employment alternatives within the hospitality trade with out a commensurate improve within the labor pool because of quite a lot of actual world elements. That is exactly why the Disney Look was relaxed just a few years again–not no matter excuse Disney gave on the time. It wanted to occur to assist resolve staffing shortages. (It’s the identical purpose the Yankees are doing it now–to allow them to lose the World Sequence to the Dodgers once more.)
It was additionally a tough few years for Solid Members. They have been tasked with taking part in grownup babysitters and rule enforcers when well being security protocol was in place. On high of that, consider all of the extremely unpopular modifications made by Walt Disney World. Frontline Solid Members, who made none of these selections, bore the brunt of ever-increasing visitor complaints about these issues. Morale was the bottom we’d ever seen it in mid-November 2022, and it has taken time to rebound since then. However fortunately, it has.
At this level, the most important downside is visitor entitlement.
This isn’t a problem distinctive to Walt Disney World; entitlement is at an all-time excessive. We’ve witnessed numerous Solid Members subjected to grownup meltdowns at Walt Disney World and Disneyland. These occur for any variety of causes, however the underlying causes largely relate again to the sense of entitlement on the core of the Disney Parks Pet Peeves publish, or the stresses and pressures that many adults really feel when happening a Disney trip.
Many of those rants invoke the price of the “costly trip.” Unsurprisingly so. Friends pay some huge cash and have sure expectations in consequence. However I can guarantee you that Solid Members neither set these costs nor have any management about corresponding insurance policies, attraction upkeep, wait occasions, Lightning Lane availability, or any variety of different issues that upset visitors.
Once more, frontline Solid Members don’t make coverage–as might be apparent to anybody studying this. However visitors aren’t all the time as rational within the warmth of the second once they’re “cracking” beneath the stress of visiting Walt Disney World, Florida climate, and so forth.
I do know that is in all probability preaching to the choir, however it’s a small miracle that Solid Members are in a position to take care of belligerent visitors whereas basically turning into a punching bag. Not solely that, however as soon as the disagreeable interplay is over, the Solid Member is anticipated to renew their function as if nothing occurred, placing on a smile and going out of their strategy to be nice to different visitors.
If they’re merely human and fail to shortly put aside these feelings so it doesn’t negatively have an effect on the experiences of different visitors, individuals take to the web and complain about Solid Members going downhill. I’ve seen and heard sufficient to have absolutely deserted my dream of a ‘retirement job’ at Walt Disney World. I couldn’t do it. I’ll return to creating sandwiches in comparative peace.
The purpose of all that is that if Walt Disney World followers need “higher” Solid Members, we have to be a part of the answer. To assist break the cycle of negativity and assist domesticate a optimistic suggestions loop as a substitute of a destructive one. It’s time to reverse the vicious cycle of decrease worker satisfaction and decrease visitor satisfaction.
Being sort and gracious to Solid Members is a method. Should you work together a lower than cheerful Solid Member, you can provide them the advantage of the doubt. You by no means know what their final interplay was earlier than you, or what else has occurred of their day. One factor our Solid Member associates who’ve labored in visitor relations pleasure themselves in is their potential to “flip” visitors from upset to happy; we might all embrace that very same perspective, in reverse. If not for kindness’s personal sake, do not forget that (selfishly!) you may catch extra flies with honey than with vinegar.
One other approach is taking just a few seconds out of our days at Walt Disney World to present Solid Compliments. Doing so makes an enormous distinction for that Solid Member’s profession, and possibly has an outsized affect on their morale. You’re in all probability NOT the viewers that should hear this–and it’s in all probability preachy, however I make no apologies for that. That is the fitting hill to die on. We will all be a part of the answer and assist Walt Disney World attain 3 million Solid Compliments in report time!
Within the wise-words of dearly-departed former CEO Bob Chapek, Solid Members are the “secret sauce” and the important thing to a terrific visitor expertise at Walt Disney World. He stated that round 99% of the optimistic visitor suggestions he acquired when working Parks & Resorts was about Solid Members. “You need to be sure that the Solid is on the middle of every little thing you do,” Chapek mirrored.
We don’t say this fairly often: Bob Chapek was proper. Solid Members are the center and soul of Disney–the individuals who breathe life into the parks, making them really particular locations.
We will’t level to a single second or journey that made us lifelong Disney followers. Included amongst these occasions have been a sequence of little interactions with Solid Members that left a long-lasting impression lengthy after our journeys have been over. We all know we’re not alone–the outsized affect of Solid Members might be why lots of you’re on this weblog within the first place.
The parks wouldn’t be what they’re with out your exhausting work and dedication. Solid Members carry the torch of Disney’s legendary visitor service are Walt’s most enduring legacy. “You possibly can design and create, and construct essentially the most fantastic place on the planet. But it surely takes individuals to make the dream a actuality.” Let’s all do our half to assist preserve that actuality alive, and get Solid Members to three million Cell Solid Compliments by 2026!
Planning a Walt Disney World journey? Find out about resorts on our Walt Disney World Resorts Opinions web page. For the place to eat, learn our Walt Disney World Restaurant Opinions. To save cash on tickets or decide which sort to purchase, learn our Ideas for Saving Cash on Walt Disney World Tickets publish. Our What to Pack for Disney Journeys publish takes a singular have a look at intelligent objects to take. For what to do and when to do it, our Walt Disney World Trip Guides will assist. For complete recommendation, the most effective place to start out is our Walt Disney World Journey Planning Information for every little thing you should know!
YOUR THOUGHTS
What are your ideas on the Cell Solid Praise characteristic? Will you be utilizing this liberally going ahead to understand the magic makers who add one thing particular to your Walt Disney World holidays? Ideas on our commentary or “objective” to succeed in 3 million Solid Compliments by 2026? Have any magical recollections made by Solid Members? Agree that they’re the center and soul of the Disney magic, and the true stewards of Walt Disney’s legacy? Listening to your suggestions is each attention-grabbing to us and appreciated by different readers, so please share your ideas under within the feedback!