Just when we think we’ve seen it all both online and in real experiences, something new and different pops up and catches us completely off guard. Today’s business news item is that the Walt Disney Corp. is working with Miami International Airport to improve customer service airline passengers receive frpm airport staff.

Wow! What a nifty concept.

For more than a century the folks at Disneyland and later Disney World have been wowing their customers with over-the-top friendly customer service. Now they hope to export their expertise to Miami airport employees, who historically have had extremely low approval ratings by the general public.

Will this novel approach work to improve the perception and reality that the skies may be friendly to fly, but the airports and their staffs are like little hells on earth with little or no focus on customers and their needs?

What do these two employment giants have in common? Both Miami International and Disney have their millions of customers stand in line. Disney is the master at getting long lines of happy customers to wait patiently and provide a little entertainment while waiting. Miami International’s in-line waiting program for customers is as positive an experience as nonsedated tooth extraction.

Both companies coordinate transportation services and parking. Both manage many restaurants, kiosks and specialty shops. Both employ armies of maintenance, security and customer personnel. Will the concept improve airport service? The jury is still out.

More than 400 Miami airport employees have attended Disney’s Mickey Mouse classes. In addition, store vendors and even government agencies have been involved. I would love to see the Internal Revenue Service plugged into this training equation.

Attendees are learning that while not every airline issue is their fault, it is certainly their problem. Having staff who can be quickly identified by their uniform and who genuinely try to assist the traveling customer with their issues goes a long way to satisfying the customer. The “I don’t care” attitude or “this is not part of my job,” or “this is not my table” just doesn’t cut it for those seeking to improve the services offered. The customer must be “wowed” as staff go out of their way to meet customer need.

Wowed customers are also the best advertising in the world, far more effective than the drivel that comes from Madison Avenue. Positive ambassadors informing their contacts and spreading the good word throughout the known world are worth their weight in advertising gold.

Conversely, getting the runaround at the ticket counter or in some other part of the airport experience can hurt business for years to come. Traveler road rage has been clearly documented at the nation’s airports, including the poor Newark airport employee who was body slammed head first into the floor several years ago and grievously injured. These terrible customer behaviors don’t seem to happen at Disney theme parks.

Other areas for airport customer service are being explored. These areas include training taxi drivers to better represent their companies and to become better ambassadors for their communities. Another concept being utilized at Fort Wayne Airport is to use volunteers to greet every arriving flight with a smile and a positive approach and to provide a baked cookie to each passenger.

Sure sounds a lot like the spectacular Bangor Troop Greeters working the domestic terminal arrivals. A simple cookie can go a long way to putting a smile on someone’s face as long as those with diabetes and those dieting can be accommodated in another positive method.

Will the Walt Disney-Miami International Airport training mean a better experience for the worn and weary airport traveler? Frankly, the jury is still out. The concept is a great one, and I hope a tired and shopworn airline industry might just catch a breath of fresh air. For those of us who are eternal optimists, the words and song of Jiminy Cricket ring true: “When you wish upon a star, your dreams come true.”

Here’s hoping!

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