If had to give myself a numerical rating on a scale of 1 to 10, I would give myself an 8. The reason for an 8 is because nobody is perfect and no matter what there is always room for improvement. Even when you think you have something down, there will be new changes within your job that you will have to adapt to. Therefore, you can never be perfect, but you can be great, and honestly I think I have done a pretty great job. When I first started there were many new things for me to learn and as I have continued I have been getting trained in new things, such as new stores. Every time I have tried my best take in all of the information and have done a really good job of retaining it. I may have forgotten a few things at first, but with practice I was able to master most everything. The dynamic of my work location is very interesting, I interact with my managers and leaders every day that I am at work. This has put me out of my comfort zone a lot, but I have learned how to appropriately communicate with my leaders. They are there to help and are very happy to come to your aid whenever you need it. Honestly interacting with them is like talking to an equal which is a dynamic I thoroughly enjoy. When I am working, most of the time it is just me and another cast member of my level with me, sometimes I am by myself. This has led to me learning how to efficiently make judgments and decisions about different decisions that I think are how my leaders would have handled the situation. We want our guests to be happy and often times this involves helping them as fast as possible, I have become very good at getting my guests what they need as soon as possible.

I was surprised to find that one of the aspects of my internship that I think I thrive in is providing great guest service. Honestly, one of the aspect of my job that I was the most nervous about was interacting with guests. Now it is second nature to me. I love when a guest asks me a question, nothing is better than being able to provide them with the right answer and hopefully more help than they expected. One of my favorite times was when I was selling Pandora charms. Since guests took much more time than they did with other items, I was able to provide them with more assistance than normal and take the time to get to know them. I am excited that I just finished training to work at the Art of Disney because this is another setting where you spend more time with guests and have the opportunity to provide them with exceptional guest service.

The biggest career lesson I have learned so far is that it is extremely important to be a hard worker that is present and takes the time to thoroughly do everything. This is a concept that is exemplified by all of my leaders. None of them cut corners and are very detailed in their work. A lot of them started where I am now, and the reason they have been able to move up in the company is because of this dedication to their work. I strive to apply the same ethic to all of my work so that I can secure my future by proving myself. Whether it is securing a job with Disney or a great reference when I apply for something different later on down the road, if I work hard now it will help me secure my future.

Throughout my internship, I Have been able to work in many different aspects of Walt Disney World merchandise. I have worked in nine different stores and all four parks. I have also gotten the opportunity to work stocking shifts which have shown me a different side of merchandise and given me a new appreciation for what those people do. Disney gives cast members the opportunity to get involved in many different areas and to take on leadership when wanted. I have done my best to take every chance I’ve been offered to do those things and my greatest contribution is that I work extremely hard every time. When I see that something needs to be done I do it and I do it to the best of my abilities. I learned this work ethic from Disney and my fellow cast members and I am going to apply it to any job I have in the future. 

It's never goodbye, it's see ya real soon!

Art of Disney - The upscale art store that is part of Park Arrivals

I'm getting trained here next week!

My location includes six different stores so communication is an extremely crucial aspect to making sure everything runs smoothly. The Park Arrivals merchandise team achieves this by having coordinators during every shift. The highest position in our location is a leader, after the leaders come the coordinators. The coordinators manage all of the scheduling and are around to help us if there are any issues during our shifts. These issues could range from needing to contact the floor stocker to someone not showing up for their shift. The coordinators all have cell phones so we can easily contact them through an extension using the phone at our location. Through this, communication is easily achieved and successful. An aspect of communication where my work place could improve is in clearly stating expectations, especially when I first started. A lot of my experiences in the work place have been through trial and error, especially when understanding how the system that gives me my assignment works. Nobody every explained it to me and the first time I was on my own, I honestly did not know what I was supposed to be or where I was supposed to be. Now I have figured everything out and it is not an issue, but it would have been a lot better if I had known what I needed to do from the beginning.

As guests exit the park there are cast members who are facilitating surveys about their experiences. The best review we can get is 100 percent excellence. They have recently started posting the percentage of excellence in our work locations so we can see how we are doing. Recently it has been in the seventies. Most of this “excellence” derives from the customer service we provide our guests with. Therefore, the best way that I can be involved in my company’s success next week is by providing the best version of guest service that I can. My goal next week is to be very interactive with the guests and provide them with everything they need and more. This past week I got to start this a little by giving a family a photo album. They were a Make A Wish family because their son was ill and when they didn’t have enough cash to purchase the album I gave it to them. They were extremely appreciative and made me feel so great.

HOH or Heart of House stocks the stock rooms

The most recent difficulties I encountered was when I worked a stocking shift, which is called Heart of House or HOH for short. This shift was on my schedule and I figured it was just in my normal location, so I just went there and started unloading boxes. Soon I realized this was not the case and I had to go unload multiple pallets at four different stores across the park. This was frustrating because nobody told me how this worked, where I was supposed to meet everyone for my shift, or even what uniform I was supposed to wear. Despite this and the fact that I was wearing the wrong outfit, I gave this shift my all and put in very hard work. I ended up being told by the coordinator that I did a great job and that if I ever wanted to work HOH again to just let her know. Today I worked another HOH shift and I had multiple people tell me they heard I was a hard worker, which made me feel really good.

Note To Know:

Hard work does not go unnoticed! Even if someone does not verbalize their appreciation they will notice and take note that you are giving it your all. At the very least, you know you did your best and that your representing yourself in the best way, and you will feel great because of this!

At my job everyday can be different. Within my location we have six different stores that entail different kinds of needs and customer service. Throughout a shift, I have different tasks and positions that I take over. This can include stocking the floor, just interacting with customers, but most of the time I am on the register. I have had a few shifts where I am unloading packages in the stock room which is surprisingly fun. Through these different positions I have learned how to not only interact with guests, but also the importance of visual merchandising and the process of how everything finds its place on the floor. I think it is interesting and cool to think that Disney has people whose job is to design the layout of each store and these people strategically plan out the placement of each item.

Customer service is one the main pillars of the Disney company. It is the main goal that the guest leaves happier than they came, and that overall their experience is great. In training I was told many times that it is the customer service and the attitude of the cast members that motivate guests to come back to Disney and I try to instill that attitude in everything I do at work. Sometimes we can get recognized for great interaction with the guests and when we do, we get Four Key Cards that are added to our record and look very good to have. I am very happy to say that I have already earned two! When I am on the floor, I interact with guests all the time. I was nervous about this at first, but as I have gotten used to it I have realized how much I love interacting with guests. The hardest situation when interacting with guests is when they speak a different language. There have been multiple incidences when guests have spoken Spanish or Japanese to me and I have no idea what they are saying, but I try my best to help them and if I can I find a cast member that speaks their language.

This is what the front of the four keys card looks like!

Within my location we have many “Leaders,” these are our managers or boss. After interacting with many of them I have learned two important things. It does not matter where you begin in the company, if you work hard and try your best you can work your way up. I enjoy working in a company like this where there is great potential for everyone to succeed if they have the abilities and will to work hard. The other thing I have learned from them is the importance of treating everyone equally and kindly. All of my leaders are extremely kind and friendly and very helpful. They are constantly asking each of us if we need anything and how we are doing. It goes to show that being kind and caring is rewarding in the long run.

Note To Know:

If something is hard at first, don’t give up, keep trying. Soon enough you will realize that you had the potential and ability all along, as long as you keep trying!