Customer Reviews

Lessons from the Mouse: A Guide for Applying Disney World's Secrets of Success to Your Organization, Your Career, and Life

5 star:		(14)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

When families visit Disney World, their attention is focused on the majesty of Cinderella's castle, the cultural experiences available at EPCOT Center, and the kids' eager dash to hug Mickey Mouse as he walks down the Magic Kingdom's Main Street, USA. Guests can forget that Disney World is an intricate corporation employing thousands of people who must pay attention to every detail of the park's operation. Without fanatical focus on customer satisfaction and an organized business model, Disney World could not be the fantasy destination for millions of tourists every year. In his new book, Lessons from the Mouse, Dennis Snow shares his experiences as a former Disney cast member, trainer, and manager. Along the way, he provides readers with wonderful advice that can be applied to any business or organization.

Snow develops each chapter of his book to serve perfectly as a step-by-step guide to improving customer service. Each lesson presented by the author begins with a memorable heading, my favorite being Lesson #3 "What Time is the Three O'Clock Parade? is Not a Stupid Question." (Read the lesson and you will learn that the questioner really wants to know when a parade will reach his particular vantage point.) Snow then dives right into specific examples from personal employment experiences at Disney World. In one chapter, the introductory story may be the way in which Snow delicately shared the bad news that Space Mountain was closed for repairs while another lesson may begin with the reminder he received from a guest to smile when doing his job. Snow also makes a point to take the lesson of each chapter and extend it beyond its Walt Disney World roots. Through the clear layout of bulleted points, Snow shares how his lessons can be applied to airlines, hospitals, sandwich shops and collection agencies. Finally, Snow ends each lesson with a distinct set of questions which members of any organization can discuss in order to apply the key points of the chapter to their specific needs.

Snow has an engaging and conversational tone to his writing. I easily can picture him leading a discussion in an auditorium filled with professionals. Therefore, I was not surprised to learn that Snow maintains a schedule of over one hundred speaking engagements every year. Readers will quickly sense the passion that Snow has for superior customer service and the effect that it can have on the success for any organization. As someone who often laments the lack of common courtesy amongst one another in public settings and the seemingly increasing absence of work ethic in our service industry, I found myself nodding in agreement with each piece of advice made in this book. The lessons should be common-sense essentials for a successful business but, as the author indicates through his examples, a basic discussion of these customer service details is long overdue in both boardrooms and break rooms.

Prospective readers should not be turned off by an assumption that Lessons from the Mouse is simply yet another self-help training manual for those in the business world. While the lessons are undoubtedly important to prospective corporate leaders, Snow's approachable style keeps the context engaging and relevant for any reader. I found myself relating to many scenarios described, if only from the perspective of a customer. Haven't we all gotten frustrated when a cashier cannot be bothered to stop her personal conversation while ringing up your groceries or when we cannot place our trash in a fast food restaurant's bins because they are already overflowing? If you have left the house and interacted with a fellow human who is somehow employed in a service capacity, you will be able to relate to this book. And, perhaps you will be challenged to think about how your own attitude may be affecting the quality of your outcomes.

What can you learn from a mouse? When that mouse has been delighting and entertaining hundreds of millions of people for decades, it turns out there is plenty to learn. Readers of any professional background will appreciate and enjoy the advice dispensed by Dennis Snow in Lessons from the Mouse. As a consumer, after reading this book I immediately took notice of the level of customer service I received from local businesses and recognized its impact on my overall satisfaction. Concerning my own work, I am now consciously striving to apply every lesson to my communication with clients. I am confident that each reader will find unique ways to use Lessons from a Mouse in their own lives. Whether you are a physician or a mechanic or a cotton candy vendor at Disney World, Mr. Snow's book is filled with relevant material and should be a must-read for employees and leaders in any field.

If you are in leadership and/or wanting to grow within an organization, this is the roadmap for your success. These are practical lessons that, when consistently applied, will yield tremdous growth in all areas of your life.

I have to disagree with some of the negative comments of this book. The author makes no apologies for the book being short (156 pages) - he even jokes about it at the end. What he does give you are 10 practical lessons that can be applied to any business. His job related experience gives you a behind-the-scenes (or "Backstage" from the book) peek of Disney World. I found his examples concise and easy to understand. For my MBA I have read countless business books who's authors delight in tech-talk and creating lessons and theories that often require further reading from other books to explain the principles - Mr. Snow keeps it simple and gives it to you straight. While some reviewers are quick to criticize that this book is non-technical (one reviewer wrote "for the novice"), I ask, does it have to be? Sound/simple lessons are often refreshing!
If you are sitting in a terminal waiting for your next flight - download the book to your Kindle - it will make your trip go by a little faster.

Practical + Helpful + Great examples using Disney as a backdrop + Easy read + Relevant = 5-stars.

I reluctantly had to read this book by
assignment from my boss but was really glad to have read it!! My team members all call our office Disneyworld because I implemented so many of the ideas. Who would have guessed?

This is a fairly good choice to add to your library, and although I am not quite as enthusiastic as Sarah Moore was about Dennis or his book, Dennis still does a good job of highlighting the key elements of why Disney works so well.

I felt that the first part (about 1/2 to 3/4 of the way through) was a bit slow... with some examples that seemed were added to fill up pages, because the point they seemed to be making, seemed a bit soft.

However, the last part of Dennis' book really shined and layed out succinct and helpful facts that anyone who is curious about how Disney works on the inside (backstage) will really gain a lot of insight.

No reflection on Dennis, but Lee Cockerell's book... "Creating Magic" does a better job, and it should because Lee ran Disneyworld and has roughly twice the experience that Dennis has. However, Dennis' book can serve as a great primer to Lee's. That would be my suggestion... buy them both, AND THEN READ THEM IN THAT ORDER!

I liked this book. It was kind of short. But it was easy to read and it had some good points to be made about how to be a productive and happy employee in a company that places a priority on branding its customer service with a postive rating. The book has the following 11 chapters:

0. Introduction
1. Never let Backstage come Onstage
2. "What time is the 3 o'clock parade?" is not a stupid question
3. Little wows add up
4. Have fun with the job no matter how miserable you feel
5. Don't be a customer service robot
6. Pay attention to the details - everything speaks
7. Never ever say: "That's not my job" - And don't even think it
8. Everyone has a customer
9. Figure out what ticks off your customers, and do something about it
10. Take responsibility for your own career
11. Conclusion

I think it is fair to say that the material covered in this book can be categorized as follows:

>>Be a quality control inspector (chapters 1, 6, 7, & 9)
>>Help build a brand for your company's customer service (chapters 3, 5, & 8)
>>Be a people person (Chapter 2)
>>Enjoy your job (chapters 4 & 10)

Since I found the book to be unduly short and almost not qualify to be called a book at all, I think there should have been more chapters that dealt with "Being a People Person" and "Enjoying Your Job." And there probably should have been another chapter thrown in regarding how to brand your customer service efforts.

If you like any of the following books, then you will probably like the instant book I have just reviewed. 4 stars!

"The Nordstrom Way to Customer Service" (ISBN: 9780471702863)
"The Starbucks Experience" (ISBN: 9780071477840)
"The Toyota Way" (ISBN: 9780071392310)
"Good to Great" (ISBN: 9780066620992)
"How to Win Friends & Influence People" (ISBN: 9780671027032)

My coworkers laugh at me but I read a chapter of this book every day. When I hit the end, I start all over again and I learn something new each time.

This book is sound, practical advice on applying success techniques to your organization, career, and life. I wasn't expecting much on the last part but I think it impacted that the most. Not that I look at my family or kids as employees but I think there is some great suggestions that can also be parenting tips.

Dennis - I especially took to heart the rule about discipline (pg 90) and that everyone should walk out with their dignity. I think this is a wonderful rule that should apply to children also.

I've read every other book out there on Disney Customer Service (and there are some very good ones) but this one helped bridge the gap from tools to reality.

This book should be given to any teenager as they are entering the workforce. Maybe then we wouldn't hear "that's not my job" anymore!

Enjoy!

Learningful, because it tells me again customer service is not rocket sience. It's just putting yourself in the customers' shoes, and treating him/her the way you want to be treated. However, everyday you can see it is not happening. The lessons in the book are a great resume telling how easy it can be. Another reason why it is an easy read, is the way it's written. Dennis is 'telling' the stories. But above all, it is a happy read. All examples, Dennis' gives of his own experiences, the business behind the magic, remind me of the time I visited Disney World and EuroDisney few years ago, living the magic.
It's a fun and good business book each service company should have in their library for employees to read.

I'm not in the habit of saying you should only have one book on a particular subject. There are hundreds of incredible books on customer service. Put me in the proverbial "desert island" situation with one customer service book and I'll take the "Mouse!"

Dennis Snow has crafted a clear, concise approach to customer service that can be installed in any business culture whether you're a solopreneur and you are your customer service department or you're running a major corporation. He's got the credentials to serve both ends of that spectrum.

Snow's "Lessons From the Mouse" should be common sense; but these sensible lessons are all too often either ignored or rejected in today's sometimes impersonal customer service climate. The author not only teaches us how to put the "personal" back into personal service, but he does so with a warm, engaging style based on his actual experiences "working for the mouse."

This isn't another book that hides behind a cute cartoon character in order to soften hard business lessons. Snow shares candid stories that show empathy for what we all face on the front lines of customer service. He delivers his message with a warm, engaging and often humorous style that draws you in and holds your attention. It's extremely well organized with a series of questions at the end of each chapter that invite you to apply each lesson.

If you're serious about delivering a memorable and magical customer service experience for your customers, "Lessons From the Mouse" must be part of your library.

Jim Bouchard
Author of THINK Like a BLACK BELT

Some helpful advice /

Maybe a bit too cheery /

A light easy read