CMs: The Good, The Bad, and "The Evil One We Do Not Speak Of"

Ok, this is a companion-thread to a previous thread regarding how to report good and bad Cast Members. I am compelled to start this thread based on my experience with "the evil one we do not speak of," fantastic Captain Joe, and my fellow-poster's Space Mountain CM experience.

Let's have the list of great and not-so-great CM experiences at WDW.

I'll start by reiterating how great fantastic BOAT CAPTAIN JOE is at PO. It was great, he repeatedly mentioned no moving seats while the boat was in motion. This little girl sitting right behind him was really hyper and kept moving around. Every time she got up, Joe would say something over the intercom, spray his water bottle on her seat, toss her a towel and have her "swab the deck." It was great! We all (including her parents) got a kick out of it!

Next?

TJ at Tower of Terror is by far the most "in character" of any CM I have ever seen at WDW. Anyone lucky enough to have him to load your elevator will have a great experience.

The moment that really stands out for me is from a slightly different perspective. I was a CM working in the Parking Lot at the Disney-MGM Studios back in 1997.

The normal routine in the evenings was that the big fireworks show "Sorcery in the Sky" would end (This is pre-Fantasmic! times) and the entire park would clear out all at once. This meant that all the guests headed out to the parking trams, boats and busses to head home for the night.

Well, one summer night it started raining heavily just as the SitS was ending and everyone was getting soaked while waiting in line for the parking trams. Most parking lot managers would usually come out if they were on duty at this time to deal with problems and to help keep the trams moving.

On this night, one manager in particular really stood out. He was dressed really nice (as all CM Managers usually are) with dress clothes, dress leather shoes and a nice shirt & tie. He wanted to help out so much that he grabbed another CM and went to bring up another tram to help with the crowds while they were getting wet.

Instead of sitting inside in his office doing paperwork or something... Instead of driving the tram where he would have stayed nice and dry... He decided to stand on the back and do the speil. (This would be the least desireable location because you get soaked and it gets really cold with the wind whipping...)

Anyway, he did this knowing he would totally ruin his nice clothes because he wanted to help out the crowd and do what he could to make the end of their day as nice as possible, yet he didn't want to ask his CM's to do something he wasn't willing to do himself.

Talk about having the right attitude!!!

I haven't worked down in WDW since the end of that summer of 1997, but I still consider that Manger to be a good friend of mine and try to keep in regular contact to this day!!

We had a good experience with Hastings at DtD Marketplace Guest Relations. He managed to get our old stamp tickets (which we traded for new tickets with mag strips) back to us in the mail... voided of course. He wasn't sure if he was going to be able to get them back to us and my Dad was raising holy hell with him. At the end we got everything straightened out and he gave us free passes to PI and told us to go have fun.

Scoop Sanderson. He acts and fits perfectly with the Main Steet theme.

Daisy from WWTBAM-PI! is a lot of fun. She is from Honduras, and my aunt started speaking with her in Spanish, and she gave us the Fastest Finger seat tickets.

Millie and Sue, who are Epcot resort area boat cpts., are very sweet as well.

Okay, I don't know any employee names, but here are the CM stories that stick out from our last trip (2 years ago). It's amazing to me that they stuck with me this long because they are very small touches.

1. On our first night there, let's just say we had a rough night. I was a WDW novice and things weren't going according to my rather shoddy plan. We wound up having dinner at the 50's Prime Time and the waitress there could tell we were frustrated. She had some fun with us in character, but she also sat down and talked with us like we were old friends. She gave us a lot of helpful tips about the parks and the trams (which were the source of our frustration) without making us feel stupid. My wife was really flustered when we took our seats and she was beaming by the time we paid the check.

2. We had 2 different operators at Tower of Terror and both were exceptional. On one particular time though, the ride broke down and left us hanging in the dark elevator shaft for between 5-10 minutes. (It felt like 10 but was probably only 5). The operator who unloaded us was so charming and in character that we accepted his offer to get right back on and ride it again. He took a massively scary (in a bad way) occurence and turned it right around.

3. This is a bad one. We went to have some film developed on Main St. The CM could not have been less ineterested in us. She acted all put out that we asked her to have our film developed - which was strange becuase that's what she was there for. She must have been new becuase she seemed to have no idea what she was doing. Finally, she told us it would be ready by noon. We hung around the park until 1 or 2 specifically to make sure our film would be ready as we left the park. You probably see this coming, but when we got there, the film wasn't ready. In fact, they had lost it. Fortunately, there was yet another recovery when the manager found the film and offered to have it sent to our resort when it was done.

4. We had one final recovery story. One of our souveniers was supposed to be sent back to the resort (other than the pictures from the previous story). Once again, it was lost in the transition. The clerk at the gift shop where we were supposed to pick up the souvenier made us up a little certificate commemorating our honeymoon and assured us she'd find the missing souvenier. They had it later that afternoon. The certificate is just a cheap piece of cardboard with Tinkerbell on it and a message she wrote in pen, but it was a nice gesture and I remember it 2 years later.

i dont remember her name but my mom and i walked into a store on Main Street hoping to find some autograph books and pens. We found them, went to pay for them and were really happy with the CM working the resgister. she was such a nice person. as she was ringing everthing up she talked to us about the weather and rides and she was always smiling while she did it. when we left she told us to have a great day. she was such a great cast member!! :sohappy:

lebeau said:

Okay, I don't know any employee names, but here are the CM stories that stick out from our last trip (2 years ago). It's amazing to me that they stuck with me this long because they are very small touches.

1. On our first night there, let's just say we had a rough night. I was a WDW novice and things weren't going according to my rather shoddy plan. We wound up having dinner at the 50's Prime Time and the waitress there could tell we were frustrated. She had some fun with us in character, but she also sat down and talked with us like we were old friends. She gave us a lot of helpful tips about the parks and the trams (which were the source of our frustration) without making us feel stupid. My wife was really flustered when we took our seats and she was beaming by the time we paid the check.

2. We had 2 different operators at Tower of Terror and both were exceptional. On one particular time though, the ride broke down and left us hanging in the dark elevator shaft for between 5-10 minutes. (It felt like 10 but was probably only 5). The operator who unloaded us was so charming and in character that we accepted his offer to get right back on and ride it again. He took a massively scary (in a bad way) occurence and turned it right around.

3. This is a bad one. We went to have some film developed on Main St. The CM could not have been less ineterested in us. She acted all put out that we asked her to have our film developed - which was strange becuase that's what she was there for. She must have been new becuase she seemed to have no idea what she was doing. Finally, she told us it would be ready by noon. We hung around the park until 1 or 2 specifically to make sure our film would be ready as we left the park. You probably see this coming, but when we got there, the film wasn't ready. In fact, they had lost it. Fortunately, there was yet another recovery when the manager found the film and offered to have it sent to our resort when it was done.

4. We had one final recovery story. One of our souveniers was supposed to be sent back to the resort (other than the pictures from the previous story). Once again, it was lost in the transition. The clerk at the gift shop where we were supposed to pick up the souvenier made us up a little certificate commemorating our honeymoon and assured us she'd find the missing souvenier. They had it later that afternoon. The certificate is just a cheap piece of cardboard with Tinkerbell on it and a message she wrote in pen, but it was a nice gesture and I remember it 2 years later.

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The waitstaff at Prime Time is incredible, We had a waiter there who actually sat down and talked at our table. He had photo albums of WDW to show us. He asked us if he could help us with anything about our trip. We left him a 30 percent tip and then when we returned home I emailed a letter saying what a great job he did. He sent me an email back and remembered us because he mentioned some of the things that were discussed ! He also mentioned that he was a character in a parade but wouldn't say which parade or which character.It's CMs like him that make Disney special ! Way to go , Cousin Jason !

On our last trip, we had a problem with the gift shop at AK near Dinoland. Their cash register kept saying that the transaction on our Disney rewards card (from the Disney Visa card) had not gone through, yet each time they tried, it ate up more of our rewards points. We didn't realize all our points had been eaten up (with no merchandise to show for it) until we tried to use the cards the next night at Downtown Disney. The guest relations person (wish I could remember her name now) at Port Orleans Riverside really went out of her way to contact the manager of the gift shop as well as the staff at Disney Visa. Eventually, the problem got resolved and we got our points back on our cards.

This past November-during the week of Thanksgiving-, we were on our Honeymoon.
For the actual day of Thanksgiving, we decided to avoid the parks, and instead to get massages/explore the resorts/have a carriage ride/have dinner at Ohanas.

Anywho, the lady who drove our carriage in Fort Wilderness was amazing.
Having been a CP, and also having worked long holiday hours in retail back home, I told her I understood how hard it is to work holidays, and I thanked her several times.
She was so passionate about her job and said she loved it, and was very cheerful. She lead pleasant conversation and overall did everything she could to make sure our half hour was enjoyable.
At the end, she tearfully thanked us and told us that guests like us make it worth all of the grumpy people she deals with, but we told her that CMs like her is what makes it worth going to Disney for.
It was a very magical moment :animwink:

Here's a cool pic of her that I took when my camera accidentally went off.
http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y118/carissa216/100_0275.jpg

sissa216 said:

This past November-during the week of Thanksgiving-, we were on our Honeymoon.
For the actual day of Thanksgiving, we decided to avoid the parks, and instead to get massages/explore the resorts/have a carriage ride/have dinner at Ohanas.

Anywho, the lady who drove our carriage in Fort Wilderness was amazing.
Having been a CP, and also having worked long holiday hours in retail back home, I told her I understood how hard it is to work holidays, and I thanked her several times.
She was so passionate about her job and said she loved it, and was very cheerful. She lead pleasant conversation and overall did everything she could to make sure our half hour was enjoyable.
At the end, she tearfully thanked us and told us that guests like us make it worth all of the grumpy people she deals with, but we told her that CMs like her is what makes it worth going to Disney for.
It was a very magical moment :animwink:

Here's a cool pic of her that I took when my camera accidentally went off.
http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y118/carissa216/100_0275.jpg

Click to expand...

Ya know, working customer service on the holidays really sucks. But what amazes me is how extra awful customers can be during the holidays. It's like the voulme gets turned way up. It's great when you get a costumer who appreciates the fact that you are giving up YOUR holiday to help make theirs better. I'm so glad that you had this experience. It sounds like it was mutually beneficial.

hcswingfield said:

On our last trip, we had a problem with the gift shop at AK near Dinoland. Their cash register kept saying that the transaction on our Disney rewards card (from the Disney Visa card) had not gone through, yet each time they tried, it ate up more of our rewards points. We didn't realize all our points had been eaten up (with no merchandise to show for it) until we tried to use the cards the next night at Downtown Disney. The guest relations person (wish I could remember her name now) at Port Orleans Riverside really went out of her way to contact the manager of the gift shop as well as the staff at Disney Visa. Eventually, the problem got resolved and we got our points back on our cards.

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I'd be interested to know who that PO CM was. Did she have a Middle Eastern accent? I'd be stunned if it were "the evil one we do not speak of" and maybe I'd change my position about her.
My GF had a credit card issue at AK also, but get this! She purchased something at a gift shop and during some confusion for some reason neglected to get her credit card back. Well, we were walking to the Tree when I get a call from a (407) area code on my cell. Turns out, the cashier CM told her manager, and the manager got my cell phone number from our room/package delivery request form! He told me he had the card, and we went back to get it! We were really relieved and impressed!!

lebeau said:

Ya know, working customer service on the holidays really sucks. But what amazes me is how extra awful customers can be during the holidays. It's like the voulme gets turned way up. It's great when you get a costumer who appreciates the fact that you are giving up YOUR holiday to help make theirs better. I'm so glad that you had this experience. It sounds like it was mutually beneficial.

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Boy do I know :lol: As much of a thrill as I get from working busy times, I am always amazed at how much hate people can produce. I'm sure (well, I hope) they are good people outside of such situations, but how can you treat a person as if their existence doesn't matter? Its like they forget they are actually engaged in human interaction, and are only focused on getting what they want, no matter the cost.

Anywho, that's not what this thread's about Sorry for my little tangent there, haha.

Yes, it was a very beneficial experience for all of us.

Thunder Kz said:

I'd be interested to know who that PO CM was. Did she have a Middle Eastern accent? I'd be stunned if it were "the evil one we do not speak of" and maybe I'd change my position about her.
My GF had a credit card issue at AK also, but get this! She purchased something at a gift shop and during some confusion for some reason neglected to get her credit card back. Well, we were walking to the Tree when I get a call from a (407) area code on my cell. Turns out, the cashier CM told her manager, and the manager got my cell phone number from our room/package delivery request form! He told me he had the card, and we went back to get it! We were really relieved and impressed!!

Click to expand...

Nope, she did not have an accent. Not the "evil one we do not speak of!" She was a fairly short woman, who had been a CM in retail at one of the parks prior to going into guest relations, so she knew right away who needed to be contacted, and how to do it.

hcswingfield said:

Nope, she did not have an accent. Not the "evil one we do not speak of!" She was a fairly short woman, who had been a CM in retail at one of the parks prior to going into guest relations, so she knew right away who needed to be contacted, and how to do it.

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I'm glad your cc issue worked out--that's a really frustrating situation. And, I'm comforted to hear it was PO guest relations because maybe the rest of the team can straighten out the misguided "evil one." :lol:

its was summer 2002....my mom and i were at mgm studios, waiting for the ropes to drop at sunset blvd. Two cast members (male) form RNR entertained the guests (including my mom and I )......I of course wanted to ride RnR,......ropes droped at record time....im running to the ride.....the CM remembered me waiting to get in.......gave me a non experatioin to ride RNR anytime I wanted......Finding him again at the end of the ride, asked if i had enough fun to do it again...(duh of course!).....let me cut through the line and go on again........

Wish I could remember his name.....but he was super cool....... :sohappy: :sohappy:

WDWPrnces02 said:

its was summer 2002....my mom and i were at mgm studios, waiting for the ropes to drop at sunset blvd. Two cast members (male) form RNR entertained the guests (including my mom and I )......I of course wanted to ride RnR,......ropes droped at record time....im running to the ride.....the CM remembered me waiting to get in.......gave me a non experatioin to ride RNR anytime I wanted......Finding him again at the end of the ride, asked if i had enough fun to do it again...(duh of course!).....let me cut through the line and go on again........

Wish I could remember his name.....but he was super cool....... :sohappy: :sohappy:

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Lucky!!! RnR is my 2nd favorite ride!!

In June we had the chance to meet Mike, a monorail operator. He was workigng line at the TTC and I asked if we could sit up front for the ride to EPCOT. He got us up front, and then decided to take over for the ride. He was great.

Then there was the fake policeman at MGM who gave my daughter a napkin because she had a little Pooh on her shirt.

Or the entire concierge staff at the Boardwalk, who bend over backwards for their guests.

Bad: the concierge staff at the Polynesian who acted like we were inconviencing them by being guests. Also, when I needed something from a drugstore, the CM who advised that I should get a taxi to and from Wallgreens, instead of telling me about the drugstore that would deliver right to my room for five dollars and charge the whole thing to my room.

I cant seem to remember any. I hope to find a nice CM when I go in 3 weeks.