Sometimes those of us who worked at Epcot’s Listen to the Land boat ride felt like ice cream police.

Walt Disney was always looking for ways to “plus” the guest experience. After Walt’s death, some rigidity crept into the Disney culture. The rules at Land boats, for instance, were clear. Ice cream could not be brought into the queue. But in what was surely a poor design decision, an ice cream shop was adjacent to the Boats queue entrance.

The result was a continuous foreseeable situation where a family would enter the queue while a father or mother went to purchase ice cream. Then, with ice cream in hand, he or she would approach us hosts and we would prevent them from entering the queue. Some argued. All were frustrated. The result was always the same: a trash can of ice cream cones. We front line hosts never considered a different approach. The rules were clear. We followed them.

In the 1990s, things changed. Parks Chairman Judson Greene refocused the organization on Walt’s plussing mindset. Suddenly anyone, at any level, could speak up. And they did. One of the things that got changed was that stupid ice cream rule. The company then had happier guests, less harried hosts and bigger ice cream sales.

I take three lessons from this experience.

1. No one knows customer pain points like the front line does.
2. If the organization is regimented, the front line may not share what they know.
3. If you want them to share, you have to engage, listen and take action on their suggestions.

Do you interact with employees? Do you ask them what can be improved? Do you praise and reward those offer suggestions? Most importantly, do you actualize them? You should. Who wants to be governed by the ice cream police?