I have had a total of 33 jobs in 17 years. I am a professional singer and actor. Did I plan on having 33 jobs in 17 years? Of course not, but life has been a crazy wild ride. I have worked at least 3 jobs or more simultaneously in addition to performing over the years. Each week, I will discuss one of my former or current jobs. My eighteenth job was cast member at the Disney Store in Times Square.
Interview
I moved to NYC on August 6th, 2016 and interviewed at several different places including the Disney Store. The Disney Store interview was a group interview. Group interviews are usually about an hour or more. During this style of interview, job candidates answer questions in front of all the other candidates. For the Disney group interview, we did some role play activities as well.
Hiring Process
I was hired, however, there was a snag with my hire date. Originally, I was supposed to begin working September 4th. My wallet was stolen the second week that I moved to NYC. and I needed my Driver’s License and SSN card to complete my I-9 paperwork. Finally, I got an an NYC ID and got another social security card in the mail. I officially started working at the Disney Store on September 11th, 2016.
Disney Store Experience
My uniform was very nice and the expense came out of my first couple of paychecks. The Disney Store in Times Square is an absolutely beautiful store on the inside and out. It seemed like a dream job, but it was my least favorite customer service job to date. I worked 7-9 hour shifts with an hour break and a 15- minute break.
Guest Interaction
The cast member has to be “on” the entire time, which can be exhausting after awhile. As a singer and actor, I perform for a few hours in front of an audience, but not for 7 or 8 hours. Since Times Square is a tourist area, most of the guests were from foreign countries and did not speak English. I would usually have to find another employee to translate for almost every guest that I tried to help.
Disney Guest Service
At Disney, you could not wait for the guest to ask for help. The cast member has to go up to the guest every single time that you see someone. I have worked in customer service since 2008 and learned that most guests want to browse on their own.
You should acknowledge a guest’s presence with a “Hello”, but unless they ask for assistance, they probably want to be left alone. Secondly, a Disney Cast Member has to use unique words and phrases related to Disney to describe everyday situations when interacting with a guest. It was called storytelling, I think.
Quitting
I worked at the Disney Store for only five months. Times Square is so crowded and most New Yorkers do not go to Times Square for this reason. The pay was $10 an hour, which was not enough money long term. The managers micromanaged the crew and the store was just so crowded all the time. In the winter, there was no heat in the store.
Sometimes, you would be assigned to work the front door which would be freezing. Cast members were given a company coat. The coat was not enough for the cold winds blowing through the door each time it opened and closed.
Eventually, I was hired at Trader Joe’s and gave two weeks notice to the Disney Store. I returned my uniform and name tag after my last shift. No, you are not supposed to keep your name tag, some people did, but I just returned it, lol. Your name tag has your favorite Disney character and it was super nice, but you have to give it back. Awww….