Can Shanghai Deliver The Disney Experience

I recently visited Tokyo Disneyland and it brought into stark relief just how difficult it will be for Shanghai to deliver a quality Disney experience.  The Shanghai Disney Park is scheduled to open in November 2015.  I have visited the two parks in the US as well as Hong Kong Disney so I should know what to expect of a Disney Park. Two areas that will be difficult for the Chinese to sustain are the cleanliness of the park and the cheerful environment for visitors. Here’s why.  

To the Chinese there are distinct divisions between public space and private space.  Thus in public space it is okay for your child to poop and pee in the street, gutter or over a garbage can.  It is okay to throw your waste anywhere.  Simply put, it is not your problem.   Thus I expect the park to need more than average cleanup. I hope there are plenty of employees around to direct parents to restrooms when their toddler needs to “potty”.   I also hope there are signs at the entrance that say diapers require on all infants but actually that is too much to hope. Therefore Disney employees should be prepared to clean up “Hazardous waste” daily. 

The next part of this problem is the person who cleans a public space.  Often this is an older person who has retired from another job. Because the retirement age is 50 for women and 55 for men, there are many middle aged people who must find work to survive.  Street sweepers make the minimum wage dictated for each area, about 1100 rmb a month.  This beats the 100-300 rmb that the government gives for retirement.   Each person cleans several blocks of street gutters and picks up trash.  Many supplement their income by separating recyclables. These people aren’t expected to work too hard and so don’t.  Disney will need to be especially careful about this ingrained attitude to hire good cleaning people.

The indoor cleaning people in China also need serious education about what constitutes clean.  The classrooms and offices at my university are really dirty.  Since windows are open all the time (to prevent disease) the fine grit from the pollution blows in.  I never saw anyone actually use cleaner in a bathroom, and I never saw anyone clear with more than a dirty rag and dirty bucket of water.  Many of the uneducated are afraid of cleaning products being bad for them and so won’t use any.  This is a concern in areas with a lot of people since antibacterial bathroom cleaners are important to contain the spread of disease.  When I had to do administrative paper work, I would walk from office to office for official stamps (chops) to verify my position, pay, etc.  Each office was covered in grime.   No one thought it was their responsibility to have a clean work environment.  Of course I brought in products from home and cleaned my office.  In my apartment building, the cleaning crew mopped and cleaned glass every day.  This didn’t stop residents from throwing things on the floor where they would sit for 24 hours waiting the next cleaning. However, a higher standard can be enforced, if the cleaner is trained and paid more.

In summary, Disney cannot assume that a cleaning person actually knows how to clean, nor how to use modern cleaning products.  Fortunately, in the three years I have been in China, more restaurants and stores are putting toilet paper in their bathrooms so I feel confident that Disney will help reinforce this new trend in China.

Second, the cheerful attitude.  In China, employees are trained to say welcome when you enter a store.  They will also follow you around to be helpful.  Something that makes westerners feel smothered but it makes the Chinese feel important.  Thinking you are important is part of the Chinese psyche.  (Thus VIP cards and programs are big.) The Chinese are famously bad at standing in a cue.  Before the 2008 Olympics, they had groups of volunteers giving cue training to Beijing residents.  I think part of the reason Chinese people have so much problem with standing in a cue is that they want to think they are too important for that. In an overcrowded country, you can see how this would make you feel special.  Along with this, it is part of the Chinese culture to talk down to

employees. It makes you feel superior.  I expect that the Shanghai Disney will need employees willing to enforce the “rules” consistently and not allow line cutting etc. All while keeping their smile.   The Japanese are a rule driven people so this is something they do very well.   We could count on exactly the same answer and behavior from each employee at the Tokyo Disney Parks.  The Chinese are also likely to raise a loud fuss if they think you have dented their dignity.  Disney should hire “behavior monitors” who can help people learn how to cue and also defuse conflicts.  

Chinese employees who interact with the public do not usually greet you with a smile. In general, people work because they have a work ethic, not because they love their job or feel rewarded by it. They will do the job and exactly that job. Which is why tipping is not part of the culture here. I’m sure Disney does cheerfulness training at other parks so should be prepared to handle this component of the new cultural challenge that China represents. 

While China is used to crowds, paying to enter the park and then getting in a 2 hours line is not a quality Disney experience.  Chinese are very money conscious and will expect value for their entry fee. I hope that reasonable crowd controls are enforced so that visitors can have a good experience.  If too many people are let into the park – in the name of greed, it will quickly get a bad reputation and discourage both Chinese and foreigners from visiting.