Disney, Children's Place Still In Licensing Talks

[raidermatt]

That must a "store Policy" and not a company policy. My CM's are trained and encouraged to talk to the guests about their experiences and are knowledgable about passes.

Are, or were?

 

[We4mickey]

Anyone in our store can talk to guests about tickets. There is no company policy saying that they can't.

 

[Lewisc]

Disney kept the store on 5th Avenue (NYC). It's operated as a World of Disney store under the theme park division. I can't see Disney taking the chain back but if the NYC store is a sucess Disney could use this dispute as grounds to get WoD stores in other locations such as Las Vegas.

This story is really a non-story. I don't see Disney taking the stores back because the only thing they know about running them is running them into the ground. If Disney is making money from the licensing agreement (which you know they are), it makes no sense for them to take the stores back unless they want to close the entire chain.

 

[The PixNey Co]

Disney kept the store on 5th Avenue (NYC). It's operated a World of Disney store under the theme park division. I can't see Disney taking the chain back but if the NYC store is a sucess Disney could use this dispute as grounds to get WoD stores in other locations such as Las Vegas.

Disney stores were run by Disney Consumer Products, WoD Stores are run by the theme park division. Disney converted the 5th Ave store from a Disney Store to a WoD. In doing so, they turned it over to DCP. I agree that a WoD store in cities like Vegas, SF, Chicago, would work. But Disney would have to build new ones or do additional conversions. Perhaps Post St. in SF could be converted, but it's not as big as a WoD store. Vegas would need an entirely new store, as would a city like Chicago.

 

[mking624]

The new stores and disneyshopping.com have very poor customer service. I hate even to buy from them, because I never can rely on getting my item. Of course, noone ever wants to help you. Bad image for Disney

I'm sorry you've experienced poor customer service at some stores. Rest assured that this is not the case at all the stores. If you are experiencing problems with a particular store, request the phone number of the district manager and call in a complaint.

Don't even get me started on the whole TCP and Disney Store thing. My DD was a CM (seasonal) at our DS recently and due to the Store Policy, only Management was allowed to answer questions on the Park and Passes, etc. My DD knows more about WDW than the management team and had to bite her tongue when the management team was giving out incorrect info.

This is NOT company policy and what that store is doing is wrong. ALL cast members are to be trained selling park passes. Each store was given a binder filled with park info so that ALL CMs could read through it so they'd also be able to answer questions on the parks in general as well. Store policy cannot differ from company policy...they are one and the same. So if your DD was experiencing something different than what the company as a whole allowed, I most definitely would have had her speak up.

Passports, Disney Dollars and DVD's made no money for the stores.

The stores do make a small amount of money on DVDs (much like any other company selling a DVD). It's not enough to make a HUGE dent, but then again the stores don't really depend on DVDs for their profit, which is why the stores never carry a huge selection as does Best Buy, for example. Same with CDs. Disney Dollars make no money until they are actually spent, because they are are basically just an exchange of money when they are initially purchased...much like a gift card at any other store. Passports don't give us revenue, they DO, however give the stores payroll hours, which is pretty valuable to us, particularly during busy times.

Ripped carpeting, crumbling walls, missing panels on the wall, broken projector, are all problems visible at one of the stores here. The renovation has been put off several times. This news is good to hear, unless it means the demise of Disney Stores.

Trust me, these were problems before TCP took over. However, TCP was supposed to get on the ball with renovations/remodels and they only did a very small percentage of what they said they were going to do by now.

Are, or were?

The policy is that all CMs are to be trained. This was not a policy of the past. Every CM is to be knowledgable in this area. If they are not, it's either the fault of the CM for not paying attention in training (which we've had former CMs like this, fortunately they are former) or it's the fault of the SM for not training the CMs.

 

[dhluvsDisney]

We also found here that at Christmas time, many people were purchasing "mall gift certificates" which up until 2006 were paper, but are now in the regular gift card format. If you wanted to use it at TDS, you were completely out of luck. Because TCP did not upgrade systems, they were unable (and still I believe) to handle the mall gift cards. People were very angry, and they definately lost out on sales because of this. It's sad when they are using such an archaic system that it dates WAY back! TCP really needs to step up to the plate.

 

[DisneyFan09]

We also found here that at Christmas time, many people were purchasing "mall gift certificates" which up until 2006 were paper, but are now in the regular gift card format. If you wanted to use it at TDS, you were completely out of luck. Because TCP did not upgrade systems, they were unable (and still I believe) to handle the mall gift cards. People were very angry, and they definately lost out on sales because of this. It's sad when they are using such an archaic system that it dates WAY back! TCP really needs to step up to the plate.

This has nothing to do with TCP - the mall gift cert. are usually in the form of a visa/mc and if there is not enough on the card to cover the entire transaction the card will be declined unless the exact amount is entered. Maybe the person checking you out didn't know how to process the card.

 

[fairygodmother29577]

That is so true about the gift cards and KNOWING the exact amount on the card. Also if the store was having a problem accepting them then they should have contacted the mall office.

 

[mking624]

We also found here that at Christmas time, many people were purchasing "mall gift certificates" which up until 2006 were paper, but are now in the regular gift card format. If you wanted to use it at TDS, you were completely out of luck. Because TCP did not upgrade systems, they were unable (and still I believe) to handle the mall gift cards. People were very angry, and they definately lost out on sales because of this. It's sad when they are using such an archaic system that it dates WAY back! TCP really needs to step up to the plate.

This is not a TCP/TDS issue. There are a couple of things that need to be asked. Is this a general mall gift card (as in NOT sponsored by a credit card company)? Or is it a mall gift card that is done by a credit card company (i.e. Discover or Amex)? If it's a general one, be aware that not every store accepts general mall cards. If it's a credit card gift card for the mall, then the only issue would be if the balance on the card was less than the total amount of the transaction. If your gift card balance is more than the total amount, we simply swipe the card through as a credit card. If it's less than the amount, we need to know the exact amount on the card otherwise it declines the card since there is not enough to cover the transaction. Think of it as you credit limit...if you're going over your credit limit, many times a credit card will decline. Same with these gift cards...so we need to know the exact amount. This is how it is at EVERY store that uses a credit card gift card regardless if it's a mall card, a Best Buy Rewards card, a Cingular Wireless Rewards card, etc. We need to know that exact balance so we can enter it in properly. Without that information, we either have to call to find out your balance, or you need to find a new form of payment.

It has nothing to do with upgrading the systems...they system works fine because it accepts it as a credit card. The system is not archaic...clearly the employees were not trained. It's an incredibly easy process. And this process is exactly the same at every other store that accepts these cards.

Perhaps finding out the facts on how these cards work would be in order before accusing the entire company of being so out of date.

 

[Big Dipper]

This is NOT company policy and what that store is doing is wrong. ALL cast members are to be trained selling park passes. Each store was given a binder filled with park info so that ALL CMs could read through it so they'd also be able to answer questions on the parks in general as well. Store policy cannot differ from company policy...they are one and the same. So if your DD was experiencing something different than what the company as a whole allowed, I most definitely would have had her speak up.


The stores do make a small amount of money on DVDs (much like any other company selling a DVD). It's not enough to make a HUGE dent, but then again the stores don't really depend on DVDs for their profit, which is why the stores never carry a huge selection as does Best Buy, for example. Same with CDs. Disney Dollars make no money until they are actually spent, because they are are basically just an exchange of money when they are initially purchased...much like a gift card at any other store. Passports don't give us revenue, they DO, however give the stores payroll hours, which is pretty valuable to us, particularly during busy times.

Providing a binder as a reference tool and providing actual training on selling theme park passes are two different things. TDS does not invest in the proper training for passes because they don't make much money on them. The amount of labor they receive is not really known. Some stores sell far less passes than others. I have never bought the labor piece of this. They can't train their employees on selling passes because some people have more questions than most employees can answer. Then again, there are many employees (formerly known as CM's) who are self-appointed "experts" on the parks and tend to waste too much time BSing about the parks when they are supposed to be doing a quick sale.

It's been a while since I worked in this type of retail, but don't stores make their money on the sale of the gift cards as opposed to redemption? Or is it more of a per company decision?

 

[mking624]

Providing a binder as a reference tool and providing actual training on selling theme park passes are two different things. TDS does not invest in the proper training for passes because they don't make much money on them. The amount of labor they receive is not really known. Some stores sell far less passes than others. I have never bought the labor piece of this. They can't train their employees on selling passes because some people have more questions than most employees can answer. Then again, there are many employees (formerly known as CM's) who are self-appointed "experts" on the parks and tend to waste too much time BSing about the parks when they are supposed to be doing a quick sale.

I'm just saying what the company provided to us. I didn't say the binder itself was the training manual. But yes, the stores DO provide training on selling park passes. What stores sell in passporrts in comparison to others has nothing to do with the labor hours. Stores have their individual goals based on prior passport sales at that store alone...not compared to what some other store sold in passports. If they hit that goal for the week, the store is allotted a certain amount of extra payroll hours. This comes in very handy if we are not making our budget for the week...so those extra hours both saves us frrom having to cut shifts for the week and allows us to give extra shifts to people (especially during this time of year when we're not given many payroll hours as it is). This week, for example, we made our goal and then some for passport sales...and we were given extra payroll hours as a result. VERY nice since our spring sale just started today and we've had a ton of people in the store. Whether or not you buy it doesn't really matter because you're opinion on it doesn't change the fact of it. For the record, our job is not to do a "quick sale." Our job is to provide customer service, and sometimes that customer service means answering questions about the park. When I speak to my guests about the park, I am not BSing. Speak for yourself only, please. Yes there are guests who have more questions than CMs can answer...the same is true for when you're dealing with a CM on Disney property as well. Guess what? Not everyone has all the answers in the world! Amazing revelation, huh? That doesn't mean we're not trained to sell passports. We are. And I do know what I'm talking about when I sell them. Now are some TDS CMs not knowledgable? Sure! But then again, there are CMs at CRO and WDW who are not knowledgable as well. And FYI, we are not "formerly" known as CMs....our actual job title is Cast Member.
You clearly have no clue what you're talking about. You may want to gain a little knowledge on this before speaking in ignorance.

It's been a while since I worked in this type of retail, but don't stores make their money on the sale of the gift cards as opposed to redemption? Or is it more of a per company decision?

Typically you see the revenue once the card has been redeemed. The reason being that the sale of the gift card is merely an even exchange of money...you pay me $20, I give you $20 in the form of a card. Not really a "sale" since product was never purchased...the money is still out there, just in gift card form.

 

[Big Dipper]

I'm just saying what the company provided to us. I didn't say the binder itself was the training manual. But yes, the stores DO provide training on selling park passes. What stores sell in passporrts in comparison to others has nothing to do with the labor hours. Stores have their individual goals based on prior passport sales at that store alone...not compared to what some other store sold in passports. If they hit that goal for the week, the store is allotted a certain amount of extra payroll hours. This comes in very handy if we are not making our budget for the week...so those extra hours both saves us frrom having to cut shifts for the week and allows us to give extra shifts to people (especially during this time of year when we're not given many payroll hours as it is). This week, for example, we made our goal and then some for passport sales...and we were given extra payroll hours as a result. VERY nice since our spring sale just started today and we've had a ton of people in the store. Whether or not you buy it doesn't really matter because you're opinion on it doesn't change the fact of it. For the record, our job is not to do a "quick sale." Our job is to provide customer service, and sometimes that customer service means answering questions about the park. When I speak to my guests about the park, I am not BSing. Speak for yourself only, please. Yes there are guests who have more questions than CMs can answer...the same is true for when you're dealing with a CM on Disney property as well. Guess what? Not everyone has all the answers in the world! Amazing revelation, huh? That doesn't mean we're not trained to sell passports. We are. And I do know what I'm talking about when I sell them. Now are some TDS CMs not knowledgable? Sure! But then again, there are CMs at CRO and WDW who are not knowledgable as well. And FYI, we are not "formerly" known as CMs....our actual job title is Cast Member.
You clearly have no clue what you're talking about. You may want to gain a little knowledge on this before speaking in ignorance.

No need to get personal here and assume I don't know what I am talking about. I had a CM who loved to talk about the parks as if he worked there. This was mostly when he was selling part passes. This is an example of what I meant when I spoke of some CM's BSing. I did not refer to you personally, and I'm sorry if you felt that way. Please don't accuse me of "speaking in ignorance". I am just stating facts as I knew them to be at the Disney Store several years ago. We had a company provided binder that our CM's were to to let the guests use to determine which passes were right for them.

I'm am also sorry if I was incorrect about the job classification of current TDS employees. I did not know that they were still referred to as "Cast Members". If you were offended by that, I apologize. But you aren't "Disney Cast Members" anymore? Right? Or do I still not have a clue?

 

[raidermatt]

It's been a while since I worked in this type of retail, but don't stores make their money on the sale of the gift cards as opposed to redemption? Or is it more of a per company decision?

The company profits from "breakage" (unredeemed gift cards), but I don't believe it's usually credited to specific stores.

On average, about 10% goes unused (that's not specific to TDS).

 

[dhluvsDisney]

This is not a TCP/TDS issue. There are a couple of things that need to be asked. Is this a general mall gift card (as in NOT sponsored by a credit card company)? Or is it a mall gift card that is done by a credit card company (i.e. Discover or Amex)? If it's a general one, be aware that not every store accepts general mall cards. If it's a credit card gift card for the mall, then the only issue would be if the balance on the card was less than the total amount of the transaction. If your gift card balance is more than the total amount, we simply swipe the card through as a credit card. If it's less than the amount, we need to know the exact amount on the card otherwise it declines the card since there is not enough to cover the transaction. Think of it as you credit limit...if you're going over your credit limit, many times a credit card will decline. Same with these gift cards...so we need to know the exact amount. This is how it is at EVERY store that uses a credit card gift card regardless if it's a mall card, a Best Buy Rewards card, a Cingular Wireless Rewards card, etc. We need to know that exact balance so we can enter it in properly. Without that information, we either have to call to find out your balance, or you need to find a new form of payment.

It has nothing to do with upgrading the systems...they system works fine because it accepts it as a credit card. The system is not archaic...clearly the employees were not trained. It's an incredibly easy process. And this process is exactly the same at every other store that accepts these cards.

Perhaps finding out the facts on how these cards work would be in order before accusing the entire company of being so out of date.

Well, it's highly unusual then, that they are the only place in the mall that cannot accept them at all. The CM's (which I know very well), specified that they cannot accept the mall gift cards at all and it was costing them business. I'll pop on by today and just see if anything has changed. I'm very curious know of the process itself. Bear in mind, though, this is in Canada not the U.S.,so the cards and processes may vary.

 

[Big Dipper]

The whole gift card thing is a bit confusing. If the mall sells them and the customers can redeem them at the stores, does that mean that the stores make the money? How does the mall make a profit? Perhaps the mall gets a percentage of the profit. This would make sense. No mall is going to sell a gift card and NOT make anything off of it. Malls pass down all of their costs to the stores. Whenever there is a mall promotion, tv or radio commercial, free gift card givaway, etc. it's the merchants who pay for it through their rent and their common area, marketing and other mall fees.

If Disney Store has the right or the option to "opt out" of a promotion, they may do so and then become part of the "participation may vary" or "at participating retailers" line that usually appears on these cards or the literature that accompanies them.

Disney Store is not going to lose any money or business by not participating in this. And I'm sure it wasn't a decision that they made based on the technical abilities of their cash registers. This is a business decision. When budgets are allocated to stores, the company may or may not decide to spend money on these things on a per store basis. After the budgets have been issued and the year has begun, it's very hard for a single store to go back and get involved in a promotion like this. In the majority of cases, corporate will not participate in a promo for a single specific store. Most malls are owned by different companies. Most customers will assume that any Macy's will accept the gift card that they got from the mall on the other side of town.

Just curious though. Does TCP accept these gift cards?

 

[fairygodmother29577]

Maybe this might help, when we opened our new we had difficulty accepting the mall gift cards. We conntacted the mall office and they had to get us set with Discover to accept their mall gift card. There are some gift cards that can be purchased at the mall that you may use any where just like a credit card, these cards need no extra approval. The mall gift card that can only be used in the mall needs to have stores be put on an appoved list through the mall office or the issuing company.

This may the reason why your store is not accepting the card, they should contact the office and let them know.

 

[raidermatt]

The mall takes in the money for the gift card, then pays the individual store when the gift card is used there. Similar to the way a credit card works. Most malls probably outsource the gift card processing/funding, so its not like a Mall employee is handling everything. Some are linked into the existing credit/debit networks and therefore need no extra programming on the part of the stores. Just like an AMEX or V/MC gift card.

As for how they might profit, they could get a small percentage of the sale. More likely though, they might charge a fee for the card (like American Express does). Or they could charge a monthly fee once the card has sold (also like AMEX does).

Most importantly though, the mall would benefit from the breakage. If 10% goes unused, they make quite a profit.

Regardless, if the store in the mall can't accept the card, it will most certainly cost that store some business. If you receive a Mall gift card and went to The Disney Store to use it, and they don't accept it, TDS loses the sale.

That's not to say it is or isn't worth it to them to accept it, but it is odd if all of the other stores in the mall accept it. TDS shouldn't be any different than all of the other chains.

 

[profdsny]

This is so interesting. MY elw worked at TDS from about 1994 to 03. What a difference. So many dumb decissions from corporate that really it's hard to begin. How about taking the snow globes out of the boxes and packing once they reached the store and selling them that way? So a guest who wanted to buy a $75 snow globe got it in a plastic bag. Want to guess how sales went with that great idea? It seemed like corporate, (what was the term? Home base? Can't remember) had no idea about stores or selling. Pressler and others ran that division into the ground.

 

[fairygodmother29577]

Well that might have been then, but today we don't take snow Globes out of the box. At least they learned from their mistakes. I realize a lot of people don't feel like the Disney Stores are a not a part of Disney, but I can tell you when a guest walks into my store we are Disney and it dosen't matter what is behind the sceens. The guest should not know there was any change. No matter if you are in a Disney Park or at a Disney Store we do our best to preserve the "Magic".

 

[Big Dipper]

This is so interesting. MY elw worked at TDS from about 1994 to 03. What a difference. So many dumb decissions from corporate that really it's hard to begin. How about taking the snow globes out of the boxes and packing once they reached the store and selling them that way? So a guest who wanted to buy a $75 snow globe got it in a plastic bag. Want to guess how sales went with that great idea? It seemed like corporate, (what was the term? Home base? Can't remember) had no idea about stores or selling. Pressler and others ran that division into the ground.

I agree with you 98%. The only thing that's not correct is your comment about Pressler and others. Paul Pressler made TDS the success that it was in it's glory days. That's why he was promoted to Disneyland in the first place. Of course he was not successful at the parks, but his success at the Disney Store was tramendous. It was the later management who screwed up that division especially those who ran the company from 1999 to 2001.