At the Here We Are, Now What? blog, Terry Seamon talks about a speech he heard by Greg Taylor at Lee Hecht Harrison.  According to Taylor, the Disney World employees who receive the most training dollars are not the characters who entertain, the customer service operators, or the people who handle the park’s security.  No, it’s the maintenance employees, the groundskeepers, who get the most attention from HR. 

Why is this, you ask?  Simply put, because they’re on the front lines with customers every day, and no one has likely taught them the true importance of their role before.  The guy who sweeps the park might be an expert at keeping the concrete paths litter-free, but he also has to know just the right thing to say and do when a teenager comes off a ride sick to her stomach or a panicked older man loses his keys. 

Says Taylor: “One often hears patrons say, ‘I couldn’t believe how knowledgeable and friendly the groundskeeper was.  She was eager to answer our question, and was very well informed. Even though it wasn’t part of her job, she took the time to really help us.’”

The point is, offering this kind of help IS an essential component of the Disney groundskeeper’s job, and if you ever have the chance to interact with people external to your organization, it should be part of yours as well.  You might be a junior level employee with barely a full-sized cubicle to your name, but if you get an e-mail or a phone call from a customer, be a good steward of the company.  Be friendly, and see that the person gets the assistance he needs, whether it’s in your official job description or not.  Take that extra step to ensure your organization or group is perceived in a positive light.  It’s worth the time.