Air Canada hires Disney to train its flight attendants.

[ellen82]

I think this is a really neat idea. I love the uniforms but whoa on the employees have to pay out of pocket for three years and minimum wage in Toronto?!! Although training at Disney would be great.

"Mr. Friisdahl said in addition to five weeks of safety and other training, Air Canada Rouge flight attendants will also spend at week at the Disney Institute in Orlando learning the in-and-outs of its customer service model.

“Disney is world-renowned for their customer experience in their parks, and the customer experience they provide to customers,” Mr. Friisdahl said, noting Disney also operates cruise ships and bus lines as well as their theme parks.


“They are providing the training. Our flight attendants are going right down to Orlando to the parks, they’re going to get hands-on training,” he said. “It’s almost like a live laboratory for training.”

But that Disney training will come at a cost for Rouge’s new flight attendants, who will have to commit $49 a month for three years from their pay cheques to cover a portion of those training cost at the Institute.

Disney is world-renowned for their customer experience in their parks, and the customer experience they provide to customers

If they leave before that term, they will be required to pay the remainder of the $1,764 owed. They will also be paid minimum wage during the six-week training session before their wages rise to $22.99 an hour for a minimum of 75 hours per month.

Annette Anand, Rouge director of inflight service, said in a memo to the new employees the decision to have the employees contribute to their training was something the carrier “didn’t take lightly.”

“We’re making a significant investment and in asking you to cover a small portion of the incidental cost, you’re also investing in your future,” she wrote.

All but three of the 150 flight attendants hired signed the terms of their employment agreement. The other three were unable to relocate to Toronto, the company said.


Tyler Miedema, 26, who was one of the new flight attendants modelling the uniforms in Toronto Monday, said he didn’t mind the lower wages he would be receiving or the different work rules at Rouge. He said he worked as an English teacher in South Korea, and as a waiter and in hotels before being recruited by the discount carrier.

“We’re really excited to have the Disney training,” he said. “I’m just excited to be a part of it.”

But the union representing flight attendants took issue with having the employees pay for the Disney training, and said it should be paid for by the employer.

“When an employee is living close to the poverty line in Toronto, who can afford to pay for Disney training?” said Michel Cournoyer, Air Canada Component of CUPE president, in an emailed statement.


Thoughts?

http://business.financialpost.com/2...ht-attendants-training-ahead-of-rouge-launch/

 

[Mike2023]

I think the idea is good, but I don't think its right to have the employee pay $1800 for training.

Disney is great and all, but this is nothing more then a publicity stunt to build positive PR with the new branch of a company that has a notoriously bad wrap when it comes to customer service.

The same training can be provided in Toronto at a fraction of the cost.

 

[Freesia123]

I see nothing wrong with it. Many jobs require a degree and pay less than $23 an hour. A bachelors degree costs a lot mother than $1800.

 

[MedicGoofy]

I'm on the fence about them having to pay. Sure, there are other ways of getting training, but having said that, what an amazing opportunity to be trained AT Disney. And they are getting paid for training, just have to actually pay for it. As well, it is a small amount coming off them each pay (really $50 is nothing).

And I think the wages they are getting is pretty good. Considering you don't have to have a proper college or university education. And while the article states that that pay is near poverty line in Toronto, they don't have to live in Toronto.

 

[fan1080]

Having to pay for your training, that you can't get anywhere else except through the employer, is wrong, and seems a little on the questionable side, imo.

And, if an employer wanted me to fork over $1800 for training, I would be looking for much more than the minimum 75 hours per month they are currently offering. That's less than 18 hours per week. Minimum 130 hours per month would be much better.

 

[DutchsMommy]

I dont see a problem with it. They pay it back via installments on their paycheque. It is an incentive for them to stay with the company. A real challenge is investing a ton of money up front to train employees just to have them walk after a month. You have to have some skin in the game IMO.

 

[Mike2023]

I dont see a problem with it. They pay it back via installments on their paycheque. It is an incentive for them to stay with the company. A real challenge is investing a ton of money up front to train employees just to have them walk after a month. You have to have some skin in the game IMO.

If you don't want them to walk after a month then pay them a competitive wage. My understanding is this will be on the lower pay scale for the industry. I would not be surprised if someone like west jet sneaks in and snags some employees.

My main reason for being upset with them paying for it is clearly Air Canada is using this to build positive PR. They could have just done this without all the media attention and I might feel different.

My main question is what happens after this first round of training is done? What happens with the next wave of staff or the replacements. Are they going to follow up with the same training at disney? I doubt it. What should have been done is the Management or a training department should have been sent down to disney for the same training to become qualified and come back with the tools needed to then train all future staff and create a customer service culture within the company.

 

[minnie mum]

My main question is what happens after this first round of training is done? What happens with the next wave of staff or the replacements. Are they going to follow up with the same training at disney? I doubt it. What should have been done is the Management or a training department should have been sent down to disney for the same training to become qualified and come back with the tools needed to then train all future staff and create a customer service culture within the company.

I completely agree with you on this point. And maybe some of the Disney training would then rub off on the rest of the Air Canada personnel. Heaven knows they need to do something about their abysmal customer service reputation.

I actually feel sorry for these new trainees. Crappy pay (compared to industry standard), uncertain hours, with the minimum hours less than half of full time, ugly uniforms, and on top of that they have to pay their employers back for their training?

And if this new el cheapo airline goes belly up in a year or two, then are they still on the hook for the rest of the training fees?

 

[lizabu]

I think Disney is great and all but requiring employees to go there for training and pay for it themselves is pretty stupid. You would think Disney isn't the only possible way to properly learn customer service. And $22 per hour sucks if you consider this is an airline. Traditionally people who have to uproot their lives and spend most of their time travelling far from home, family and friends are usually paid better than that.

 

[scrappinginontario]

I'm not totally against the idea of this, especially when the employee knows it's a condition going into their employment. It's like if I were to accept a job that involves travel which would mean time away from my family. It's a condition I either choose to accept or not. I feel $1,800 for Disney customer service training would be money well spent.

The one question I have is whether or not they would be allowed to put Disney Customer Service training on a future resume? I've heard anyone with Disney experience is often looked upon favorably when applying for employment elsewhere.

Now...to bring Canadian flight prices down to a point where they're competitive with our friends to the south. That would be great! I'd love to try out the new airline someday but so far my experience has been that it's just not cost effective to fly out of Canada in most cases. Too bad!!

 

[papertraveller]

When I first read this in the paper I thought it was a bit much to ask employees to pay for their own training.

Then I consulted a colleague who is a veteran of the airline industry, and he says it is a common practice because of poaching by competitors. As soon as someone is trained they are often approached by another organization looking to bring in someone fully experienced, in whom they have to invest little.

As a result, it's a way to ensure that the company gets some benefit from the training. Makes sense when you consider it that way.

 

[ellen82]

I have never had to pay for training but then again my training was never out of the office. I did have to pay for uniforms, etc. The cost is really steep but why not stipulate that you have to pay for training IF you leave after a certain point of time?

Air Canada customer service is pretty shoddy. I like flying with them internationally but I have been stranded in NYC for no reason (blue skys, etc) and they would NOT reimburse us and we had to change airports, etc etc with no cost covered. Every other airline that have had that happen to me have given me a airline credit, or some credit later..not from Air Canada! However, no sure if Disney training would change their policies on credits,etc which is horrible.

I actually dont mind the uniforms..but that is just me.

Does Disney do a lot of customer service for other companies?

 

[Lizziejane]

I can see both sides of the argument, however, I think they're wasting everyone's money. As someone else already suggested, they should send 3 or 4 people down to be trained, then bring it back to Toronto and put the new recruits through the drill on home turf.

While I know everyone goes on about Disney and their customer service - I honestly think the key to success for them is enforcing their expectations. If, as an employee, you don't consistently provide exceptional customer service - you're out.

Imagine if Air Canada fired an employee for having an attitude with a customer?! So I have visions of sending all these people down to Florida, they'll get the "know how" - but will anyone actually expect them to follow through?

 

[Zife]

I like the idea of Disney training, but I know this isn't a new thing. I've heard of other companies doing Disney training, and a company I used to work for sent the big shots down for some management training that Disney does. Like Lizziejane says, it's not about the training, it's about the follow-through. I have a funny feeling that AC won't uphold the Disney standard.

I'm not really in any position to talk about having to pay for training, but I look at it this way: I work as a Pharmacy Assistant. If you want to be a Pharmacy Assistant, you need to take a course. At your own expense. Want to be a Pharmacist? You need at least 5 years in university. At your own expense. You want to work almost anywhere other than retail? You need to have some kind of training, at your own expense, before companies will even look at you. At least this way, they have a guaranteed job after the training, with little upfront cost.