Disney Contracting Out

[tjkraz]

Edit: I would love to belive what you believe. I long for the days when I had full confidence in WDW and DVC.

It's not so much that I do have full confidence in all of their decisions--rather I just accept the fact that there's nothing I can do to change it. I'm not saying this to you specifically, but I see a LOT of people in the "Disneyana" community who get caught in this downward spiral thinking that Disney can do no right.

It REALLY chafes me when people play the "Walt would never have done that" card, but that's a discussion for another time.

(Besides if Walt had lived longer, "Walt Disney World" wouldn't even be 4 theme parks, 2 water parks and dozens of hotels. The Orlando suburbs would instead be home to a "futuristic" city resembling the model on display in TTA and all of this discussion would be moot. )

Believe me, I'm not looking through rose-colored glasses when it comes to things like Stitch's Great Escape or the impact the dining plan has had on WDW restaurants (my current HUGE pet peeve.) But you're also not going to find me in the crowd of folks who lament how great Expedition Everest's theming could have been if Imagineering had gotten even more money to spend. Puh-leeze!

As for this topic, assuming MousePlanet is correct and these are largely positions that will not be interacting with guests, I don't see the harm. Even major corporations contract with outside firms to handle specialized services like accounting (audits), equipment repair, facility landscaping, even legal services. If McDonald's or Ford or Chase (organizations who probably have many more outsourcing relationships than Disney) had made a move like this, it wouldn't even be remotely newsworthy. But the scrutiny under which Disney operates--at least for this audience--is totally unique.

 

[sjdisneywedding]

I agree with TJ, for one thing, many of the people concerned about the outsourcing and complaining have not even experienced it.

I am sorry I value many of the opinions here but until I experience something for myself, my judgement is still out.

If I find the new service to be unacceptable I will certainly let the proper departments know, until then I have no reason to predetermine it's lack of success.

I dont think it really matters if we have experienced anything to date from Disney outsourced workers. Every comment in this post is speculative. The debate is only based on best guesses, do you think outsourcing will be good or bad!

Im not going to just say ohhh its Disney and its their company, Im sure it will be fine. I hate the idea of outsourcing, from my experience it doesnt just stop with one group of employees it starts to trickle down everywhere. In addition, I have never seen it save money company wide. The money saved from these positions tends to be magically reworked in the system to find its way to some high paying new position, such as managing liaison for outsourced employees.

Of course this is just my opinion, but thats why I tend to not like outsourcing

 

[sjdisneywedding]

It's not so much that I do have full confidence in all of their decisions--rather I just accept the fact that there's nothing I can do to change it.

come on, thats too easy. Feeling that you cant do anything about it is not reason to like or dislike an idea.

 

[Mickmse2002]

Somewhere along the line "outsourcing" has become the devil in industry. Companies have a fiduciary responsibility to make as much money as possible for the shareholder (and I am willing to bet that many on this board with a 401K have Disney stock in their portfolio whether they know it or not). Disney doesn't exist for any altruistic purposes.....it exists to make money. If they can reduce costs without negatively impacting on guest service or customer satisfaction shouldn't they explore the option?

Just because people work for Disney doesn't mean they always sprinkle pixie dust.

 

[dumbo71]

Just because people work for Disney doesn't mean they always sprinkle pixie dust.

Well, they should. The "magic" is why many visit WDW yearly and why many of us bought into DVC. That "magic", whether real or imagined, is what sets WDW apart from the competition. Without that WDW becomes another Universal, a place with no soul.

Tkraz has some very valid points. I'm willing to judge WDW and DVC by the end results just as I always have. I'm just a little nervous.

 

[Mickmse2002]

Well, they should. The "magic" is why many visit WDW yearly and why many of us bought into DVC. That "magic", whether real or imagined, is what sets WDW apart from the competition. Without that WDW becomes another Universal, a place with no soul.

Tkraz has some very valid points. I'm willing to judge WDW and DVC by the end results just as I always have. I'm just a little nervous.

I understand the "magic". I agree that is why many of us have purchased DVC and continue to go. I would argue that the "magic" is facilitated to a great extent by the loved-ones you have with you and the joy of being together in a "magical place". I was only pointing out that I have seen many cases of less than "magical" performances by WDW CM's and that outsourcing in this capacity may not necessarily detract from the "magic" of WDW.

 

[tjkraz]

come on, thats too easy. Feeling that you cant do anything about it is not reason to like or dislike an idea.

I know this is a nit-pic, but it's more than just "feeling" that we can't change the situation--we truly are powerless. There won't be any letter writing campaigns or boycots. There won't be any protests. Perhaps the only thing that could change the situation is via a grievance filed by the union, but even that is out of our hands.

Like I said, I just get a little frustrated with the "Disney can do no right" attitude. It's probably just the nature of the Internet more than anything. One person is frustrated by annual dues increases...the next doesn't care for cuts in service (like lower pool temps)...the next doesn't want outsourcing.

You can't please all of the people all of the time.

Back to this topic, use of the word "outsourcing" is so inflammatory that it doesn't help the debate. EVERY business technically "outsources" with other vendors...it's a question of doing it when it makes sense.

For instance, how many large companies have their own landscaping crew on staff to care for the grounds surrounding their building? How many have snow removal equipment and staff? How many retail business have their own armored car staff? How many have their own night security staff on payroll? How many companies handle equipment repair internally?

I've worked at companies that used coffee services, vending machine services, office supply services, cleaning services, window washing services, payroll services, and so on.

Those are duties that are technically "outsourced."

In this case, this company called BAGS has already been handling Disney's DME baggage for over a year. Disney apparently felt that the quality (and cost) of their work justified an expansion of their working agreement.