Euro Disney
Euro Disney resort complex opened on April 12, 1992 in Marne-la-Vallee, France, Disney theme parks had built their reputations not only on the quality of the product but on the service delivery as well. Standards of service, park design and operating details, human resource policies and practices were integrated to ensure that the Disney "play" would be performed at a uniformly high level at each location. The reason behind this outstanding level of service was the establishment of "Disney University," where new employees were oriented to Disney's strict service standards, received continuous communication and training, and gathered for frequent recognition and social events. Employees were called "cast members," as they wore "costumes," not uniforms and were "cast in a role," not assigned to a job. When on the job, they were considered to be "on stage," with the highest priority given to satisfying "guests," The cast members had to meet stiff dress and grooming requirements as well.
The largest challenge to Euro Disney managers was to match this traditional level of customer service. The company encountered significant resistance in the hiring process, whictvrwas criticized by applicants, the press, and French unions. The key resistance point was the standard for grooming including a dress code, a ban on facial hair, a ban on colored stockings, standards for neat hair and fingernails, and a policy of "appropriate" undergarments. As a result, within the first nine weeks of operation, about 1,000 employees left Euro Disney, close to half voluntarily. In addition, the general conclusion was that the experience of visiting Euro Disney fell short of what people had come to expect from Disney. While some of this was due to attributes of the park, much of it was attributed to the fact that the "cast members" were acting like "real" people rather than "Disney" people. Adapting this people-oriented entertainment product to Europe was not as easy as the company thought it would be. Although the park had 12.4 million visitors in 2004, Euro Disney has had trouble making a profit and has had five changes of its CEO in nine years.
Disney learned from this experience. The opening of Disney's theme park in Hong Kong in September 2005, witnessed a park modeled exactly like the original one in Anaheim, California. Rather than making the characters "Euro" in nature, the "face" characters like Cinderella will be played by white actors who speak only English. Next is Shanghai in mainland China.
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