Meet Chris Creason: Business owner, son, brother, friend, and Disney fanatic. I received this email from Chris last Thursday and immediately asked him if I could reprint his story. The bottom line is to pay attention to people; see when you can help. Underneath, you never know the impact your actions have on others. DO the simple stuff!!!
Beth,
Last year during the RSA conference the keynote speaker was a gentleman that had formerly worked for Disney for many years. Myself being a Disney junkie I relish new stories of how Disney conducts themselves, I have studied a lot about the Disney philosophy and how they train their cast members and I always love learning more. One of the things he spoke of is how the cast members are trained when they see a family taking a picture to offer to take one of the entire group, that way the entire family can be in the picture. I had heard of this practice in the past and had never given it much thought, but after hearing it again it was one of the things I took from the meeting and began working with my staff on when we returned home. Disney participates in so many programs like Make A Wish and other organizations and is the focus of so many first and final family trips, that their philosophy makes so much sense and can be such a gift for the family members left behind. To be honest I thought it was a nice gesture but I really didn’t get behind it in the Disney way. I viewed it more from divorce and that photo could mean a lot to someone one day.
Last month I was proven wrong not just once but twice, and both in one day. The first party of the day was for 4 year old Indy and like most of our birthday kids he wanted a party at the skating rink. However, Indy is not expected to live to see his 5th birthday, he has a brain tumor and is not expected to make it another year. Indy did not know how to skate and under these circumstances we bent our own rule and let Indy use his scooter. The memories that his family have of his last birthday party will be of their experience in our skating center and when they look back over the photos of that day, they deserve to have lots of photos of their family together with their son and not just the ones they took. Our second private party of the day was a 47th anniversary party for Donnie and Linda. Donnie has terminal cancer as well, and was not expected to make it past 2009. Donnie and Linda first met at a skating rink, all those years ago and their daughter, Joyce, wanted to have their 50th anniversary in a skating rink. Donnie’s health continues to decline and he is not expected to make it to see his 50th anniversary; so Joyce wanted to throw them a skating party while she still could. Both Donnie and Linda laced up a pair of skates and took to the floor, and once again the photos they have of that day will be so important to the family that will be left behind.
Needless to say, this is a practice that I now firmly stand behind and during my future training sessions I will bring this to my staff in a whole new way.
Chris Creason,
Manning’s Skating Centers
What small things do you do at your center to make a difference? Let us know in the comment section below!
