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Trying Some Disney Attitude to Help Cure Walter Reed
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In another step, Walter Reed held a grand opening ceremony this month for its "Warrior Clinic," billed as "one-stop shopping" for recovering outpatients. Soon greeters will be placed on the first floor of the hospital to help new arrivals find their way around. And a concierge service will be established to help patients and families, said Sara Berschet, customer service director at Walter Reed.
Last week, nearly 200 Walter Reed employees sat through training by the Disney Institute, a branch of the resort and entertainment empire that offers seminars on what the company calls "the business behind the magic."
Clients often include institutions that have encountered problems because of poor service. "It almost always begins with the need for more service," said Bruce Jones, programming director for the institute, based in Lake Buena Vista, Fla. "What happens is somebody will say, 'Why not Disney?' "
Other government and military entities -- among them the FBI, the CIA and the National Reconnaissance Office, which handles the nation's reconnaissance satellites -- have trained with Disney, Jones said.
The Navy hired Disney about 10 years ago to improve its medical service, Mateczun said. Customer service ratings improved.
Disney is "sort of a benchmark on how to work with customers," Mateczun said.
The Washington Nationals hired Disney to give team executives and supervisors tips on how to keep fans happy at the baseball stadium that opens next month in Southeast Washington.
National Rehabilitation Hospital in Washington also has recently trained with Disney, according to Jones. He said about 20 percent of the institute's business comes from the medical industry. "It's a group that's decided to put the care back into health care," he said.
Walter Reed expects more than 2,000 workers to go through the four-hour sessions, which began last month and will continue through July.
Disney often encounters questions about its relevance to hospitals and other institutions. "People will joke about 'a Mickey Mouse operation,' " Jones said. "We generally have to inoculate against that with the audience."
Wednesday afternoon's training session at Walter Reed, held in a hospital meeting room decorated with Disney balloons and loaded with cookies and soft drinks, began with more than a little skepticism evident.
Donnelly, who started working for Disney in the summer of 1986 as a guide on Disney World's Jungle Cruise ride, warmed up the crowd. "We're going to kick it off today with what we call 'Sizzle,' " he said. "Here it comes!"
