I witnessed the decline
After reading these posts about TDS for three years now, I have come to a conclusion that I hope many of you will agree with. The
Disney Store was born in California - Glendale to be exact. Then came Pier 39 in San Francisco. Over the years, the company grew and grew to over 700 stores around the world. Then the demise began.
Some people have referred to TDS as part of Walt Disney's dream. That's simply not true. Walt never dreamed of over exposing his product by putting retail stores in every mall around the country. TDS was Michael Eisner's dream and over time, it became many people's nightmare.
As a twenty year old in 1987, I experienced my first Disney Store, the Pier 39 store mentioned above. It quickly became a dream of mine to be in charge of a store like that. A huge Disney fan working at a Disney Store, what could be better besides moving away from home and working at a Disney park?
My dream came true twelve years later when I became THE manager of that historic Disney Store. Unfortunately, it did not take long before the terror that I experienced began. Like when my grandmother died and my District Manager said I could not take 2 days off to be with my mourning family.
Disney is all about guest service, unless you are in upper management. Then then you are bigger and better than everyone else. Like when a D.M. talked openly to a group of managers about some of the "trailer park trash" that comes into the stores.
You would think that a company that goes out of it's way to create happy guests would do the same for it's castmembers. Instead, when my mother was diagnosed with breast cancer while my father was in the hospital having spinal surgery, my D.M. fought (unsuccessfully) to prevent me from taking a week off from work to tend to them.
I will give them credit for being focused and determined with their goals. Like when my D.M. enlisted the help of the Regional Director to bully me into working on a critical day of my mother's medical ordeal, that the D.M. had previously authorized me to have off. I was told that "the business" was more important than my family. In my response to those evil women and to my H.R. rep. I quoted Walt Disney's own line that I display at the bottom of these posts, and then took the day off anyway. I was promptly fired for "insubordination" shortly after my return to work.
Is mine an isolated incident? I don't think so. I have heard many horror stories about the Disney Store. But I have heard some great things too. From reviewing these many posts over the years, I am convinced that TDS was run much more poorly on the west coast than on in the midwest and the east. All of the positive messages that I read usually come from those other areas.
While TDS was born in California, it's true heart was back east. It's ironic that so much of the greatness of TDS was also in the midwest, which is where Walt Disney was born and raised.
I still have plenty of passion for the real Disney. I left a great company to work for TDS. My firing did not trigger my negative feelings towards TDS. When it is all said and done, I controlled my own destiny and allowed them to do what they did. In the end, I was able to return to my prior company which cares more about people (customers and employees) than today's Walt Disney Company ever will.
Here's to those Disney Store castmembers who have made so many guests so happy. And thanks to district manager, Mary Glesener and regional director, Grace Douglas. Two angry, bitter women (mercifully, now gone from the company also), who, by thier actions toward me, helped to make this former TDS castmember a much happier and more successful person.
Rest In Peace, Disney Store.
