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The Wonderful World of Customer Service at Disney (J. Jeff Kober)
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A chronicle of David Zanolla's advanced honors course, Communication Around the "World", including interviews, class reports, trip reports, and student essays.
MAR 21David Zanolla has returned with his students from their learning trip to Disney World, and now the class must end: no more lessons or lectures from David, but instead projects from each of his students, excerpts of which he requires them to publish here.
MAR 14 We arrived on Wednesday afternoon, and I'm just now getting time to sit down and write. So far, the first half of our trip has been a whirlwind. We've had a tour of the Disney University, met with an EPCOT executive, and toured EPCOT with Jeff Kober and Disney's Hollywood Studios with historian/author Jim Korkis. I also may... MORE
MAR 6 As the travel portion of our class approaches (we leave March 9), I'm racing to teach new content to the students. The last seven weeks have flown by, so it came down to me asking myself the question, "What are the key ideas and concepts that I want every student to know before we arrive in Orlando?" After thinking... MORE
FEB 27 With the travel portion of our class quickly approaching, the students are starting to get antsy (and so am I). I've been making it a point to expose them to other views on Walt Disney World and Disney design than simply those that toe the 'party line'. That said, while reading the transcript of a recent speech by... MORE
FEB 20 Our second item of discussion briefly focused on Jeff Kober's idea that some of Disney World's customer service practices become 'contagious', specifically the motto 'everyone picks up trash'. Fortunately, I was able to experience this firsthand at EPCOT during last year's class. A WDW executive was walking... MORE
FEB 13 I've been to the top of the Tower of Terror and to the bottom of the Living Seas. I was at Disney's Animal Kingdom a year before it opened, and at the Magic Kingdom in the middle of the night hours before it opened for its 25th Anniversary celebration. Working for Disney was the greatest experience of my life. But... MORE
FEB 6 My class of seven students has met three times thus far, with the first meeting primarily covering details about the travel program to Orlando and, as one student keeps asking, "Will anyone be forced to go on the Tower of Terror?" (The answer: It will depend on my mood at the moment - a mood easily altered by... MORE
JAN 30 When I went to college, they had nothing like this: an advanced honors course called 'Communication Around the "World"' that culminates in a trip to Disney World itself where students will attend seminars hosted by Disney experts Jeff Kober and Jim Korkis, participate in Disney-run events, and... MORE
