The Hong Kong Disneyland Papers

[Ming Pao]  February 18, 2005.

Hong Kong Disneyland will open in September.  Apart from accepting hotel bookins already, they have gone into the peak period of hiring new employees.  But the performers (which is how Disney calls its workers) have to fit the Disney look from head to toe.  The men cannot have the Nicholas Tse style of haircut that covers half the face, they cannot have the moustache style of Commerce and Technology Secretary Tsang Chun-wah and they cannot have Elvis Presley-style sideburns.  For the women, their nail polish are regulated, with black, gold and silver colors being barred and the currently fashionable flowerly styles too.

According to information, each hired Disneyland performer will receive a handbook on the Disney look which details the regulations from head to toe.  Not only the females are subject to a lot of regulations, but the men have detailed requirements as well.

The theme park requires that the male performers cannot have goatees or beards.  Moustaches are allowed, but they must reach the edge of the mouth on both sides although they cannot reach the lower lip.  Thus, Tsang Chun-wah would have failed.

As for the haircut for male performers, the hair must not cover up the eyes, the ears or the shirt collar.  Excessive long hair cannot be pulled back behind the ears, so that singer Nicholas Tse or Taiwan entertainer Zhou Yu-min's long hair are unacceptalbe.  As for sideburns, they cannot grow outwards and they cannot be wide below than above, which means that Elvis Presley's sideburns would be unacceptable.  It is currently fashionable to dye one's hair.  While Disney does not ban their performers from hair-dyes, it is not acceptable to have rainbow-colored hair.

As for the female performers, hair longer than the shoulder must be bundled up.  It is also not acceptable to go bald in the manner of entertainer Karen Mok once up a time.  If they have to wear uniform, then they must not have more than three hair clips which cannot be used for decorative purposes.  As for finger nails, they must be no longer than 6 centimeters, the nail polish must not be gold or silver nor the currently fashionable flowery patterns.  As for ear rings, they must come in pairs with only one ear ring allowed by the ear lobe.

For those female performers who do not have to wear uniform, they cannot wear necklaces.  Apart from a wedding ring, only one ring is allowed per hand.  They must not wear sneakers, sandals or western-style books.

All performers must have friendly smiles and make direct eye contact.  Unless they have approval, they cannot wear sunglasses.  All uniformed performers cannot carry mobile telephones or pages unless they have explict prior approval.

The Hong Kong Disneyland spokesperson said that the theme park requires workers who perform, sell merchandise or serve food to wear uniforms.  All other workers must be properly dressed as well.  But she added that Disney will not conduct daily inspections as in schools.  Instead, she believes that the workers will regulate themselves. 

將於9月開幕的香港迪士尼樂園，除酒店日前正式公開接受預訂外，亦將踏入聘請員工的高峰期。不過，原來各演藝人員（迪士尼對工作人員的稱呼）由頭到腳都要符合「迪士尼打扮」，如男性不可梳藝人謝霆鋒的掩半面髮型、不可蓄工商及科技局長曾俊華長垂至嘴邊的鬍子，亦不可留貓王式的大「滴水」﹔就連女職員塗指甲的顏色也要管，不可是黑、金或銀色，時下流行的花甲更一律禁絕。

據悉，每名迪士尼樂園的演藝人員，在獲聘後均會獲發「迪士尼打扮手冊」，當中仔細列出對演藝人員由頭至腳的打扮規定。別以為女性才會有較多的規限，即使是男性亦有仔細要求。

樂園規定所有男性演藝人員，不可留「羊咩鬚」及絡腮鬍（beard），鬍子款式也有限制，「二撇雞」必須伸延至兩邊嘴角，但不可留長至下唇，如曾俊華的便不合格了。

男性員工髮型方面，頭髮不可遮蓋眼、耳朵及恤衫領，過長的頭髮不可藏在耳後，如歌手謝霆鋒或者台灣藝人周渝民的長髮均不可接受。至於「滴水」方面，則不可向外傾或上窄下寬，故此貓王皮禮士利愛梳的「大滴水」便不可接受。時下流行染髮，迪士尼雖無禁止男女員工染髮，但漂到「五顏六色」便不行。

至於一般女性演藝人員，頭髮長至肩膊便要束起，也不可如藝人莫文蔚早年般「剃光頭」。若需穿制服的話，則不可用多於3個小髮夾，而且髮夾不可作裝飾之用。指甲方面，不可留長過6毫米，甲油顏色不可是金、銀外，更不可塗時下流行的花甲﹔戴耳環必須「雙雙對對」，並只可在每邊耳珠戴一隻耳環。

其他毋須穿制服的女性演藝人員，則不可戴腳鏈，除結婚戒指外，每隻手只可帶一隻戒指，亦不可穿跑鞋、涼鞋或西式靴。

所有演藝人員除了要有親切笑容，眼神接觸亦重要，故除非獲批准，否則不可戴太陽眼鏡。所有穿制服的演藝人員，同樣在未經許可下，不可在工作期間攜帶手提電話或傳呼機等。

香港迪士尼樂園發言人表示，樂園有一套員工守則，負責表演、售賣商品或餐飲膳食的前線演藝人員，須穿樂園制服，其他員工亦須衣著整齊。不過，她補充說，樂園不會像學校般，每天檢查演藝人員的衣著，相信他們都會自律。

(Ming Pao)  February 18, 2005.

The workers at Disney theme parks all have smiling faces and convey the feeling of happiness.  The secret is believed to come from the "seven customer service guildelines."  Apart from instructing the workers that they must have the "Big Smile," there is another guideline that ensures that the customers will have a perfect "magical experience" is to bar workers from relating their personal or professional problems in front of the customers.

Disney has strict rules on the conduct of their performers.  While it is understood that "the customers are not always right, nevertheless they are always the customers" so one must not insult or argue with them.  In the Disney rules, only approved performers can accept tips from the customers, and they cannot actively solicit tips.  In their daily routine, the performers must obey the rules and regulations, and violations can lead to job dismissal.

The guidelines state that the performers must have the shining smiles of the Disney cartoon characters.  Each time that they make contact with customers, they must smile and make direct eye contact, and they must be sincere when they say hello.  The guidelines suggest that they use phrases such as "good morning," "welcome" and "may I help you?" to endear themselves to the customers.

Another guideline is that the performers should activiely make contact with the customers in order to establish communication.  They should seek out customers who require assistance, listen to their needs, answer their questions and offer help.  If they unable to provide the appropriate help, they should ask other performers for assistance.  Their body language, tone and outer appearance should express sincerity and friendliness, and they must sincerely thank every guest.

迪士尼樂園的員工，個個笑意盈盈，予人開心、歡樂的感覺，背後的秘訣，相信在於公園的「七項賓客服務指引」。指引教導員工，除必須具備燦爛笑容（Big Smile）外，原來為了保存賓客有完整的「奇妙」體驗，其中一條指引是﹕不應在客人面前談及個人或與職責有關的煩惱、問題。

迪士尼對演藝人員的個人操守也有嚴格規定。如每人均須明白「賓客未必永遠是對的，但他們永遠是客人」，所以絕不可侮辱賓客或跟他們吵架。迪士尼亦規定只有已獲批准的員工才可收取小費，更不可主動向客人要求賞金。在日常生活中，演藝人員亦要循規蹈矩，有任何犯罪紀錄都會被革職。

指引建議，演藝人員必須具備迪士尼卡通人物的燦爛笑容，且在開始或結束每次接觸時，都要面帶笑容及與賓客有直接的眼神接觸，當然還須全心全意與賓客打招呼。指引又建議他們可說「早晨」、「歡迎光臨」及「有什麼可幫忙」等語句，務求令賓客感到親切。

另一條指引是，演藝人員應主動接觸賓客，建立互動聯繫，主動找需要幫忙的賓客、細心聆聽他們的需要、回答問題及提供協助，如自己未能提供適當協助，可找其他演藝人員幫手。他們的身體語言、語氣、外貌均要時刻表現誠懇及友善的態度，並要衷心感謝每名貴客。