Cover image: Jaimie Whitebread
Cover design: David Litwin (Pure Fusion Media)
Copyright © 2015 by Bruce Loeffler and Brian T. Church. All rights reserved.
Published by John Wiley & Sons, Inc., Hoboken, New Jersey.
Published simultaneously in Canada.
The Experience is in no way authorized by, endorsed by, or affiliated with the Walt Disney Company, Inc., Walt Disney World, Disneyland, or the Magic Kingdom. Walt Disney World and Epcot are registered trademarks of the Walt Disney Company. All references to such trade-marked properties are used in accordance with the Fair Use Doctrine and are not meant to imply that this book is a Disney product for advertising or other commercial purposes.
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ISBN 978-1-119-02865-9 (cloth); ISBN 978-1-119-02877-2 (ebk); ISBN 978-1-119-02867-3 (ebk)
Few companies truly understand the value of creating a great customer Experience – and no organization has ever done it better than Disney. More than any other vocational encounter, Walt Disney World left an imprint in my mind and on my life. As one of the original cast members at Disney World in 1971, and during my 25 years as a member of the management team, creating an Exceptional Guest Experience was the foundation of our culture, as it still is today. We set out to build the “Happiest Place on Earth” and to design an Exceptional Experience like no other company in the world. I felt honored to be a small part of Disney's success.
“We work while others (our guests) play” was the motto we lived as we created a destination for guests around the world looking to escape their day-to-day routines for a world of fantasy, family, and fun. As a manager in the Merchandise Division for Walt Disney World and later the Disney University, it was part of my job to help instill the importance of building an incredible experience for our Disney guests through encouraging the idealism of service above expectation. I've long felt that someone needed to write a book and reveal the principles of excellence used to build an Exceptional Guest Experience…and now they have.
In 1983, a number of key leaders from across Walt Disney World united to form a team that was designed to take the Disney Experience to the next level. Within that team was a young man who created a new position to assist in enhancing the service and presentation skills of the Disney cast. His name was Bruce Loeffler. Since that time, Bruce and I have worked on a number of projects while working at Disney as well as apart from Disney and have remained good friends over the past 30 plus years.
The principles presented in Bruce Loeffler and Brian Church's new book, The Experience, are an extension of many of the principles both Bruce and I taught during our years with Walt Disney World. What I found most beneficial in their book was the simplicity of the 5 “I. C.A.R.E.” Principles. It is so important that companies and every person within those organizations understand how each individual is responsible for the “Impression” they create, the “Connection” that is formed, the “Attitude” they possess, their “Response” in the face of trials, and how well they deliver on the “Exceptionals” of serving their fellow cast members (employees).
