Inside The Magic Kingdom

BOOK SUMMARY
Inside the Magic Kingdom
Seven Keys to Disney's Success
By: Tom Connellan

This book is centered around a “gang of five” who spend a week at Disney World park to learn how Disney offers great customer service to millions of park visitors. Led by a tour guide, they set out on a walking tour of Walt Disney World with the opportunity to improve their customer focus.
CHARACTERS
• Bill Greenfield- a 58 year old commercial loan officer at a bank in the Northwest
• Carmen Rivera- vice president of sales at a leading distributor of heath care products.
• Judy Crawford- 28 year old who is one of the youngest team leaders in her electric utility based company in North Carolina. She is the cheerful one of the group.
• Alan Zimmerman- 38 year old who owns a fast-growing California-based software company
• Don Jenkins- trained engineer and site manager for a large auto supply manufacturer in his forties.
• Mort Vandeleur- the group's tour guide and a former cast member of both Disney World and Disney Land
SUMMARY
Throughout the tour the group of five are given seven keys or lessons that are contributed to Disney's success.
LESSON 1: The competition is anyone the customer compares to you. If someone else satisfies customers better than you, no matter what type of business, you suffer by comparison.
LESSON 2: Pay fantastic attention to detail. Example: The hitching posts at Disney World are stripped down and repainted every night. So, a company that will pay that amount of attention to a hitching post will pay that much attention to anything that comes in contact with its guests.
LESSON 3: Everyone walks the talk. Every time a customer comes in contact with your company you have an opportunity to create value.
LESSON 4: Everything walks the talk. Not only does everyone have to walk the talk but so does everything.
LESSON 5: Customers are best heard through many ears. Company listening to customers- as opposed to listening to itself.
LESSON 6: Reward, recognize, and celebrate. Recognize employees for his or her contributions and reward them. There is a correlation between employee satisfaction and customer satisfaction. People treat customers the same way they are being treated.
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