Final Paper

Damanpreet Singh
July 14, 2010

Work experience:
1.Describe your position and work site.
Position: - I am working in a department called Disney’s Guest Connection
Services. There is a lot to learn in this department. This department deals with
every kind of calls that comes to Disney. When I say there is a lot to learn,
believe me it’s a lot to learn here because this department is not just dealing with
the calls from Disney but also calls from Walt Disney Company, located in
California and also from American Broadcasting Corporation (ABC). But the thing
that is very interesting to know is every time a guest calls to the front desk of his
resort that calls come to our department. But the guest thinks that he is calling
front desk. That is also the same case with housekeeping. So this department
acts as if we are working in the resort on front desk or in housekeeping. I am
learning the same things that a person working at front desk should know. We
can check the status of the rooms, arrange rooms from guests, check their
accounts, check their meal plans and working on the same soft wares that
people at front desk use. It was a little confusing in the beginning but now I have
settled down on the position well. In addition to this we have to deal with a lot of
guest complaints and need to have information about each and every Disney
resort. I am now front desk trained so I am able to do all the functions of a person
that works on front desk but sitting back there in the office.
The functions of my profile are:-
Giving information to guests about amenities in the room
Checking the status of the rooms
Assigning rooms to guests
Taking care of all guests complaints
Issuing them credit limits
Taking care of the accounts
Taking care of all their needs in rooms, for eg. Towels, TV etc.
Guest luggage
Ordering the extra thing if the guest need.
Assisting them with every kind of questions

2. Describe and evaluate your orientation and training.

Before starting my actual job I had training at my workplace for about 3 weeks, in
which many things were taught to us. It was the foundation of my work and the
trainers were just great. I enjoyed my training as I was learning new things in a
different world. After 3 weeks of training I was put on the phones. It took me few
days to understand and after that I really started enjoying my work. I
remembered the spiels and got to know and how to find things on HUB and work
on systems like DPMS. Our orientation period was the first impression that the
company could have left on us. Orientation period was very well organized and
just from that period I got the feeling that this company works little differently and
is very well organized. Just when we reached Disney, on the same day a small
introduction session was conducted and we were welcomed and given the keys
for our apartment. The thing that really impressed me during the introduction
period was the communication between different departments of the company.
Everyone knew in advance that I am the guy who does not have Disney look so
there was no one in the company who asked me about it. The orientation period
was divided in three days:

Day 1- Our first day was at Vista Way pavilion in which many counters were
located. Our pictures were taken for the id and all of our documents were
accessed. Disney Basics were told and our schedule was handed over to us for
the rest of the two days.
Day 2- We went to another college housing (Commons) and we had to do a lot of
paper work. Details were given on how to open a bank account and forms we
filled out forms for the social security number. Rules for the immigration were
also explained like what documents are needed while travelling.

Day3- We had to go to the Disney University on this day and our Traditions class
was conducted. On this day we were officially recruited by Disney and were paid
for this class. This class lasted for about four hours and we were explained about
the traditions of Disney. We were also given name tags. The History and work
environment of Disney was also explained.

After the orientation days of Disney, my orientation began at work. It was more of
on the job training. My trainer was very nice and helpful. Mt training was
scheduled for 15 days in which I was trained on using various software’s, how to
find things using different sources, how to deal with guests and many other
things. Tours were conducted and I had the chance to see all the different
properties of Disney and the theme parks. As this is the nature of my job, to know
everything about Disney so it was quite beneficial to have those kinds of tours. I
completed my 15 day training in 12 days and everyone was quite surprised and
happy to hear that. After the 12 day of training in the training room. I was trained
on the floor in which I had to deal with calls from all around the Disney. That
training was for about 1 week. My trainer was sitting right next to me and was
listening to all the calls.
Meet and Greet with:-
Leaders
Cast Members
Tour of the building
Hub
Xtend (Software)
DPMS (Disney Property Management System)
Spiels
Wake Up calls
Express Checkout
Difference in Value, Moderate and Deluxe Resorts
Disability awareness
Training on how to deal with hazardous chemicals etc.
Disney basics.

3. Evaluate the supervision you received at your work location. Did you
like or dislike their leadership style.

-My managers walked through each desk several times a day to see that
everything was going well. They always made me comfortable and gave the
chance to ask as many questions as I can. They used to evaluate me and
compliment me if I did something good. Yes, really like their leadership style.
They are so friendly and helpful to the other cast members and always happy to
give them suggestions and useful tips.

4. Was your role(s) what you expected it to be?

- Yes. I always wanted to be at front desk because I like to deal with different
types of people. When I came to know that I am a concierge I felt that my dream
came true.

I am really satisfied with my role because I have lots of things to be done for the
satisfaction of the guests. I love to help guests in solving their problems and I
deal with them very friendly so that they can remember me and my service. I like
to handle different guest situations and problems so I am glad to be this role.

5. In regard to your own experience, do you feel you went above and
beyond what was expected of you? If yes, HOW? If no, WHAT could
you have done?

-Yes I think I went above and beyond and I did what was expected of me by
following the basics. During my work experience I tried to help the guests by
going above and beyond and serving them the best. I always wanted to make
each and every memory for the guest as memorable. I love to be friendly with the
guests so that they can remember even the short span of time they spent at
Disney world.

B. Learning experience:
6. Evaluate the Disney course(s) you took and compare it with other
college courses you have taken. Did the course(s) meet your
expectations? Why did you choose the course(s) you did? Who was your
instructor(s) and rate their teaching ability on a scale of 1-5 (5 being
high).

- I chose Guest Services and People Management. I liked this class, It was
different from other class I had before because it was dynamic, interactive, fun
and I really learned a lot about how to deal with guests and what created the
difference between other companies and Disney. This class was excellent, it
fulfilled all my expectations. Guest speakers had a lot of knowledge and it was
good to learn from people from so many different departments.

My instructor was Jennifer, I really liked her way of teaching .She had a control
over the class and time management was great. Updates were given by her
about what are the new things and how can you participate. Though Jenifer did
not had much opportunity to teach us but her energy and coordination was great.i
would rate the ability as 4.

7. Discuss the networking opportunities that you had and chose. What
did you learn from these opportunities to speak with professionals of
your interest? Was their value in this for you?

Conversations with Managers.

I learned that if you really want to achieve something, you have to be persistent
and work very hard. Most of managers started with the college program and with
years of efforts and real interest, they have reach to high positions in the
company.

8. What kind of cultural experience was this for you? Why? What did
you learn about other nationalities that you did not know previously?
Any surprises?

-It was a wonderful experience, because I have met people from all other the
world. I learned cooking, I learned few words in Spanish, I learned about culture
and living style of people from different countries. I really want to stay connected
with the people and the culture of United States and I hope to come back here in
the future. Probably when I first arrived — I was really scared of arriving here and
not knowing anyone. What surprised me was how quickly I felt at home here.
Since I have lived in Netherlands from the last four years in a multicultural society
that helped me in understand on how to deal with people and how to deal with
them but the thing that I really admire about Americans is that people here in this
country are so welcoming, friendly and willing to accept people with open arms. I
have a great respect for this country.

9. Discuss your living experience; did it meet your expectations? Were

your roommates from other nationalities? What did you learn from
living situation, living with others, sharing and accepting others?

-I met my expectations. I have lived with people from all over the world right from
Argentina to Scotland and each and every person or culture has given me the
opportunity to learn something new .
I learned to be independent, for example, to do my laundry, buy groceries,
cooking, cleaning, making good use of my money, etc.
I love the housing complexes at Vista Way, I don’t understand some of the
people complain but I love my apartment especially with the facilities like
washers, dryers.
10. Has this experience helped affirm your education choice? How so?
What is your college course of study? Does it give you an advantage in
the work place to have this experience?

-Yes, because like I’m having interest in management. I will meet people from all
over the world, with different cultures, speaking other languages, and I need to
have good management skills to handle all type of situations. I have learnt a lot
from this internship program and now I am confident to deal and communicate
with different types of people with different mentalities.

11. How does this experience help you return to college life and the
classroom?

-Now I am more flexible to handle various situations and I have gained

experience about my work, study and dealing with different diversities.

So I will be glad to share my experience with friends about everything that I have
learnt. I will feel proud that I have gained something different from my other
classmates.

12. How would you justify this opportunity as an educational experience

worth university credit?

- The Program is a work/study plan that allows you to gain real-world experience
as an intern at Disney¹s Florida resort and, at the same time, earn college credits
toward your UCC degree .I learned a lot about guest service on the WDW. Now I
understood why this company is well recognized worldwide. I think this is going
to be very helpful for me as a professional and I will be able apply the skills that I
have learnt on daily basis.

C. College program:
13. Would you recommend the WDW College program to other college
students?
-Yes, because is a great opportunity to learn about other cultures, learn to be
independent, making new friends and gaining work experience all at the same
time. This has certainly been one the best years of my life.

14. Were the expectations you had for the college program met?

-Yes. I got more than my expectations over here. I got such a friendly work
environment. I got really friendly and helpful roommates. I really loved working
here and I am really going to miss this all.

15. Did you participate in any volunteer opportunities? Was it a

valuable experience?

Unfortunately I never had the experience of doing any volunteer opportunity.

16. Conclusion:

I’ll never forget this experience. It has helped me in so many ways:

• I’m more mature. When I was in India, my only responsibility was to study.
Now I have to do so many things. (work, housework, budget, etc)

• This was my first work experience. I’m very happy that they gave me the
opportunity to work in Disney.

• I have new friends. My roommates and co-workers are great and I hope
we can keep contact after the end of the program.

• I will apply the Disney basics and guest service skills that I learned, in my
future jobs.

• I have developed plenty of valuable and transferable skills such as hard-

work, multitasking, patience or confidence, problem solver.

• This program has not just grown me professionally but as a person also.