Page 83 - Harnessing the Management Secrets of Disney in Your Company

64 The Disney Way

One of our clients, Illinois Power (currently doing business as Ameren
Corporation) is an exception, however.
In 1991, this company won the U.S. electric utility industry’s top honor,
The Edison Award, awarded by the Edison Electric Institute (EEI). In 2002,
they won the Edison Electric Institute’s Emergency Assistance Award for pro-
viding critical assistance to neighboring companies struggling to recover from
numerous tornadoes and a devastating ice storm. Their efforts to better the
company’s relationship with customers and improve service through employee
teamwork and empowerment have paid off. Illinois Power president and CEO
Larry F. Altenbaumer commented, “This award acknowledges their [employ-
ees] skill, professionalism, and willingness to work under tough conditions.
This is the same dedication and commitment our employees bring to provid-
ing safe, reliable service to our own customers every day.”
What really illustrated Illinois Power’s commitment to its customer-
first policy was the creation of a 24-hour customer center. Remember those
Denny’s commercials filling our living rooms with that serious voice echo-
ing, “If a restaurant really loved you, it would never close.” A service orga-
nization is a different animal, though. Being there for customers 24 hours a
day proves to us that Illinois Power’s commitment to customers is more than
just a line on the company mission statement.

Test the Welcome Mat

An innovative way to discover if you are doing a good job of pleasing your
customers is to turn your employees into guests. New employees of Four
Seasons Hotels are required to spend a weekend at a Four Seasons property
to experience five-star service firsthand. John Young, retired executive vice
president of human resources told us:

Orientation is probably the biggest single training program which
contains the necessary messages about our culture. It is spread over
the first three months of employment. There are seven stages of
orientation and the culminating event is the trial stay. Each new
employee has the opportunity to stay at one of our hotels as though
they were a guest—everyone from the dishwasher on up through
the organization. We just believe that’s so very important because
many of our people have not had the opportunity to stay in a five-
star hotel, and they just can’t afford to stay at our properties. After