Chapek and D'Amaro continue the tradition of no bonus or Christmas gift for Disney's Cast Members

[Goofyernmost]

We can chat retail, burgers, mail room, or whatever you like. I'm NOT disagreeing that someone who is good at his or her job should be rewarded. Never said that. Never once. In fact, I've said and fully believe the opposite. People who are good and show skill should be rewarded. In your scenario, I would have promoted Hillary a long time ago.

The difference is that there has been a general comment in this discussion that EVERYONE, good or not at his or her job, should receive a bonus or a ham or some sort of something just because they are employed by a company. That to be employed, no matter how entry-level, no matter how skilled, no matter whether he or she stays late to go the extra mile or is a clock watcher who barely exerts the minimal effort at the lowliest job, that the mere fact that they were once hired by the company and have managed to retain that job, he or she should be compensated well. That's counter-productive to growth and excellence. Wanda does not deserve the same reward as Hillary. She just doesn't.

Everyone does not deserve a blue ribbon just for showing up. Corporations are set up to reward by merit, not existence. I agree with that.

It wasn't said that "Hillary" didn't make more money than her basically newbie co-worker. Promotions, especially in small companies are not plentiful and sometimes there is no place for someone to go upward. Or maybe Hillary just likes what she does and doesn't want the responsibility. In my career, I was amazed at how many times we promoted a particularly excellent bottom level employee only to have them crash and burn shortly after given increased responsibility. They just couldn't handle it. However, that doesn't mean that the lower level job was worth more to the employer than they were already paying that person. That is fact. The person needs to want to improve and most of the time improving means more responsibility that they cannot handle. Those people need to find their joy, it cannot be manufactured for them.

I knew this young lady, a single mom, that worked for a local fast food place. She is a very hard worker and is dependable to a fault. They have offered her supervisory positions and has turned them all down. She just doesn't want to be directing others. That's one side of her. On her mediocre salary she has usually managed to be able to provide some degree of normalcy for herself and her child (now a teen). One flaw though, not long ago she got an enormous, very well done, tattoo on her forearm of a deceased Rap Star that cost her $700.00. Not a month later she was hinting around about how she needed some money to pay some bills. Not everything is the fault of low income, some of it is either bad choices or lack of desire to take on responsibility. This is not true in every situation, but it is more common then one might think. It is not always the fault of the employer.

 

[John park hopper]

First, I apologize for the errors in the original post. I wrote from my phone and the cell keyboard and I don't get along.

I am not saying "Let's give everyone $60k a year". But, I do I think everyone who works 40 hours a week should be able to afford rent, food, and utilities. That is a bit off-topic. My post was more for employees receiving a Christmas bonus. What is wrong with at least a $50 gift card come Christmas? I mean come on. I know people don't do Christmas bonus's anymore, but give your low-paying workers something. When I first started in the corporate world (a very long time ago), I was working for a very cheap company. I am not going to provide their name because I am sure most people on this post would recognize the name. Anyway, on Thanksgiving and Christmas, we had a choice of ham or turkey. Picking up the turkey during the holidays would bring tears to my eyes. I also received these dining coupons that were like restaurant gift cards when employees went above and beyond. As a single parent, you better believe I went above and beyond. That was how we ate most of the time for the first few years (until I had experience under my belt and commanded better pay). It has been a long time, but I don't think I will ever forget how hard it was. By giving a little something for the holidays I am sure will go a long way.

I don't think it should be looked down upon if a ride operator moves up at stays with the parks if that is what they want (or simply can't find other work). There have to be managers somewhere in the parks. But now, with people acting insane, I can't imagine why anyone would. I personally would rather be doing just about anything else that is not in the customer service industry. People have lost their minds.

Sorry you are contradicting yourself---"I am not saying "Let's give everyone $60k a year". But, I do I think everyone who works 40 hours a week should be able to afford rent, food, and utilities." There are places (NYC, CA, Philly etc) in order to afford rent ,food, utilities it's going to take 60K or more and that is what you are advocating.

 

[eliza61nyc]

Sorry you are contradicting yourself---"I am not saying "Let's give everyone $60k a year". But, I do I think everyone who works 40 hours a week should be able to afford rent, food, and utilities." There are places (NYC, CA, Philly etc) in order to afford rent ,food, utilities it's going to take 60K or more and that is what you are advocating.

And John, I can't figure out when the dynamics changed. Again I'm firmly in AARP-ville. We KNEW absolutely that some jobs were low paying and always going to be so. If you worked the ticket both at Coney Island ( lol pre Disney era) you knew that wasn't going to cut it no matter how many hours you worked. No, on the northeastern coast it's not happening. When did it change to everyone is entitled to a comfortable life at every job??
What then becomes the incentive to even want to do better. If I can consistently blame my employer for my not being able to pay the bills?

And here's the kicker, remember the push for 15 bucks an hour for the McDonald's workers? Well now they're again demanding more because of the recent inflation.

Do folks no longer evaluate their situation and say "this job isn't going to cut it, I have to do something different "

 

[lazyboy97o]

And John, I can't figure out when the dynamics changed. Again I'm firmly in AARP-ville. We KNEW absolutely that some jobs were low paying and always going to be so. If you worked the ticket both at Coney Island ( lol pre Disney era) you knew that wasn't going to cut it no matter how many hours you worked. No, on the northeastern coast it's not happening. When did it change to everyone is entitled to a comfortable life at every job??
What then becomes the incentive to even want to do better. If I can consistently blame my employer for my not being able to pay the bills?

And here's the kicker, remember the push for 15 bucks an hour for the McDonald's workers? Well now they're again demanding more because of the recent inflation.

Why won’t you tell us who is supposed to be working at Pecos Bill’s on a Tuesday in February?

 

[John park hopper]

I'm just speculating but I think it may begin with parents who give their kids everything and expect nothing in return. The parents my say no initially and the more the kid screams and carries on they (parents) give in. I was raised 1. we had chores 2. if we wanted something we worked for it i.e. summer minimum wage jobs , when it came time for me to drive I had to buy my own car and pay the insurance. I learned early minimum wage jobs would get me no where.

 

[John park hopper]

Why won’t you tell us who is supposed to be working at Pecos Bill’s on a Tuesday in February?

What are you talking about????

 

[lazyboy97o]

I'm just speculating but I think it may begin with parents who give their kids everything and expect nothing in return. The parents my say no initially and the more the kid screams and carries on they (parents) give in. I was raised 1. we had chores 2. if we wanted something we worked for it i.e. summer minimum wage jobs , when it came time for me to drive I had to buy my own car and pay the insurance. I learned early minimum wage jobs would get me no where.

You realize a lot of places won’t bother hiring people for the summer because it’s become so short in many places?

What are you talking about????

You don’t think working all entry level service jobs should pay enough to support a person, so who should be filling the role? Who is supposed to be working at Pecos Bill’s on a Tuesday? We’re not talking about a small FEC, we’re talking about a massive 24/7 resort.

 

[eliza61nyc]

Why won’t you tell us who is supposed to be working at Pecos Bill’s on a Tuesday in February?

Anybody who wants to?? I apologize I'm not sure I understand the question. Anyone who wants that job should absolutely do it BUT dont take it and then whine that Disney owes you a livable wage. Sorry not gonna happen and it's not Disney's fault. You take the job you accept it's an ENTRY level, lower end of the pay scale position

 

[PixarPerfect]

It wasn't said that "Hillary" didn't make more money than her basically newbie co-worker. Promotions, especially in small companies are not plentiful and sometimes there is no place for someone to go upward. Or maybe Hillary just likes what she does and doesn't want the responsibility. In my career, I was amazed at how many times we promoted a particularly excellent bottom level employee only to have them crash and burn shortly after given increased responsibility. They just couldn't handle it. However, that doesn't mean that the lower level job was worth more to the employer than they were already paying that person. That is fact. The person needs to want to improve and most of the time improving means more responsibility that they cannot handle. Those people need to find their joy, it cannot be manufactured for them.

I knew this young lady, a single mom, that worked for a local fast food place. She is a very hard worker and is dependable to a fault. They have offered her supervisory positions and has turned them all down. She just doesn't want to be directing others. That's one side of her. On her mediocre salary she has usually managed to be able to provide some degree of normalcy for herself and her child (now a teen). One flaw though, not long ago she got an enormous, very well done, tattoo on her forearm of a deceased Rap Star that cost her $700.00. Not a month later she was hinting around about how she needed some money to pay some bills. Not everything is the fault of low income, some of it is either bad choices or lack of desire to take on responsibility. This is not true in every situation, but it is more common then one might think. It is not always the fault of the employer.

I think there's a disconnect on what I and others have said. I've said that bonuses and extras should be performance-based. If your young lady doesn't want to advance, then fine. She would receive spot bonuses or other rewards for being a superstar. That's been my experience in business and something I've always practiced myself. I disagree with blanket rewards just 'cause.

For example, I had a hard-working assistant years ago who would put in far too many hours. I'd actually inherited him and had been told he was a lazy clock-watcher and probably needed to be fired. Instead, I encouraged him. In addition to bonuses and gift cards, I'd send him home early and give him days off now and again. I also made sure to give him credit for his work. He was a young guy in his first real job and took his role very seriously. I also sent him off to get extra training and encouraged him to attend career-related events. His absence hurt my day (he was my assistant after all), but I wanted him to know he was valued. That was almost 20 years ago and we still stay in touch. He's now a senior executive at another company and still talks about those days.

I doubt he would have had the same turnabout had he received a group bonus or turkey at Christmas.

 

[dreday3]

Does the Disney College Program help staff those jobs? (when it's fully operational)

Or does that not cover the amount of people needed? Probably not, but I'm not sure. I bet they count on retirees also, but one of the results of the pandemic is that they don't want those jobs either.

 

[lazyboy97o]

Does the Disney College Program staff those jobs? (when it's fully operational)

Or does that not cover the amount of people needed? Probably not, but I'm not sure.

Yes, the Disney College Program staffs some of those jobs but even when full the program it is not covering all front-line positions.

 

[PixarPerfect]

This ought to make a bunch of you happy:

Every DoorDash employee, from engineers to CEO, will make deliveries each month​

https://www.businessinsider.com/doo...-complains-about-one-delivery-a-month-2021-12

 

[larryz]

I've been cooking burgers on my grill all my life nice to know I am a burger specialist if I'd a know I would have put it on my CV

I think you mean to say "Thermal Infra-red Application Manager."

 

[Roy G. Dis]

You guys can quibble about whether or not mediocrity should be awarded while there are millions of hard working Americans slaving away at crappy jobs with low pay and it's their fault to expect anything different, apparently. Musn't hurt the feel feels of shareholder boomers of a different era!

 

[Cesar R M]

hogwash,
It is absolutely not elitist. No where did I say they don't have "value" but some jobs are valued at higher wages than others. I didn't make those rules society does. This golden utopia bull crap has never been reality. Yeah the burger flipper has experience IT STILL A HAMBURGER that does not take a lot to make and we are seeing that play out as many Mcdonalds are going to automation. Supermarkets are finding that out as more and more have self check out lanes. so yeah the cashier does have value, and it's about 10-15 bucks an hour. Yes there is a difference, my hamburger gets messed up, which happens all the time, life goes on. My surgeon messes up during surgery? the electrician some one hires to wire their home is going to get paid a great salary, 10 years experience pumping gas?? in fact, most states that job is gone because most people pump their own.

Maybe I live in a different world, the jobs you are talking about are going unfilled currently and they pretty much they are going on.
Once again I did not say they had NO value, they are being paid. Heck I went on Disney's website and payscales are all over the place. Resort bell service is starting out at $6.98. yes I am sure they are wonderful folks and they do have value as people but sorry I am not encouraging my child to make a lifetime goal of being a bellhop. and that is not Elitist

It does not matter how much automation is thrown at. You still need people to review these machines.
They can't keep the damn ice cream machines working properly.. can you imagine a fully automated place?
I remember one restaurant was like that "people were too costly, we replaced them all with screens and automated stuff".
They did not last a week as people wanted interaction and boomers need someone to scream their hate and be told how to use the machines.

Anyway as mentioned again and again and again. People are not asking to be paid more, they are asking to be paid THE SAME.
Purchasing power is not the same, they are getting paid less. And does not matter how many gymnastics are thrown to say that they need "to work harder". Because that is a fantasy. I posted real data on how almost (depending on states, as some even have up to 65%) 50% of all jobs are entry jobs with minimum wage. This is unsustainable.
And the people quitting their jobs and companies crying how "people are lazy" demonstrated that they are still needed.. be unskilled or not.
Very similar to how people complained about "immigrants taking my jobs in the farms". There was once scarcity of workers and tons and tons of produce went bad. And there are many products that still cannot be automated or are insanely priced.

 

[Cesar R M]

There are so many creatives in the world...creativity is not a skill; anyone can be creative/s

This argument is almost as silly as blasting "millenials and current gen" for "taking useless titles like "communicator" when these kind of jobs are needed as everything goes digital now.
And technically yes.. anyone can be creative. But be Disney "style" type creative? who knows.
Because multiple communities (like art) are consistently producing tons of creative works... creativity is vast but also needs training to focus.

You are making assumptions everyone has aspiration goals to go beyond the skills they have and you are looking at it from a white collar perspective over blue collar. Let's move beyond the burger analogy and change it to retail to help you see my point.

You have Hillary and you have Wanda both in retail sales as clothing sales technicians. Their jobs are to ring up customers/fold laundry/and provide basic customer service. Hilary has worked in the store in this same role for 8 years, knows the in and outs, and because she worked this specific role so long she also learned by herself how to troubleshoot issues with the register and card machine. Wanda has worked this position for 1 year, she isn't good at folding clothes and due to the lack of longevity, everytime a customer yells at her she takes it personal. Its black friday, customers are angry and the register has stopped working. Which employee are you glad still works the floor and has value added in this situation? The one who has done this and only this for 8 years.

Specialist dictionary per webster: a person who concentrates primarily on a particular subject or activity; a person highly skilled in a specific and restricted field.

Is everyone good at everything? No. Last time I checked there are people horrible at plenty of things and one of them is cooking.

There are tons of people who take imitative everyday who don't want to be administrative which typically happens when you move up and solely want to focus on their current skills and improving those which does save you money and streamline things. Most labour extensive jobs are those who gain efficiency over time.

These thought process punishes those people and is probably why compared to the past why service, care, and quality of products in all aspects are so crappy these days.

Its screams screw passion, you shouldn't want to do this for life, its low class, its skill less, it's this, its that.

Reminds me.. isn't also initiative disregarded/unwanted in modern corporate?
I remember even bad stories of managers telling their ideas are unwanted and do what they should do, discouraging improvement.
Infact, the managers would take the idea for themselves later on.


Just like how employees once seen as "assets" are seen generally as liabilities for executives and wall street?

 

[Cesar R M]

??? The last thing businesses need is more regulations.
That is a good thing, it's called advancement. For example, We are never going back to typewriters so unfortunately that business went bust, the goal shouldn't be to artificially shore up these jobs through government intervention. The goal should be to get the people in those low wage jobs trained and qualified to do the next new thing.
My city did a brilliant (at least imo) thing with the federal covid funds. If you were a displaced server they gave out grants, not loans for them to go back to school in Healthcare fields. Yes, that means we have a temporary shortage and servers are not going back but more importantly a lot of them took advantage, recognized for the most part it will always be a badly paying industry and they took advantage of this opportunity abd are moving into high paying healthcare field.

All good, I don't want to beat a dead horse so I'll just say I was truthful with my kids when they got their first job. I taught them that every person deserves respect but certain jobs will not give you a comfortable life. You stay at a cashiers position in Walmart and in this city you will struggle and maybe it is "unfair" but again this isn't a Utopian future world.
I only knew one kid who did the college program at Disney, she did it to put it on her resume, she knew flat out Disney wasn't a great paying gig so she had no intention of staying.

In a perfect world this would work.
But we've seen many when both cases can be used to block advancement by the companies themselves.
Companies becoming gigantic monopolies and even taking money from government to "expand" their infrastructure and then using that money for executive bonus instead of giving customers better service (Comcast).
Didn't this also happen with the power companies that were hammered in Texas?

Also no regulations = more abuse, disregard of safety and standards.
The moment that regulations are dropped from the food industry or medicine.. oh boy..

I mean, even companies used to pay hush money to victims of defective cars than do recalls.

 

[ImperfectPixie]

And John, I can't figure out when the dynamics changed. Again I'm firmly in AARP-ville. We KNEW absolutely that some jobs were low paying and always going to be so. If you worked the ticket both at Coney Island ( lol pre Disney era) you knew that wasn't going to cut it no matter how many hours you worked. No, on the northeastern coast it's not happening. When did it change to everyone is entitled to a comfortable life at every job??
What then becomes the incentive to even want to do better. If I can consistently blame my employer for my not being able to pay the bills?

And here's the kicker, remember the push for 15 bucks an hour for the McDonald's workers? Well now they're again demanding more because of the recent inflation.

Do folks no longer evaluate their situation and say "this job isn't going to cut it, I have to do something different "

You're failing to take into account that the jobs teenagers did back in the 70s and 80s are now often being taken by adults - because there aren't enough "real jobs" (because there are 103,000,000 more people now), and that entry level positions are asking for ridiculous levels of credentials, and that the minimum wage hasn't kept up with inflation but cost of living has gone through the roof (gee, I can't imagine who influences cost of living and wages...here's a hint: generally the same group of people), or that Walmart and Amazon and other huge companies have put tons of mom and pop shops out of business (you know...businesses that actually gave a crap about the communities in which they were located), that corporations cannot be trusted to treat people fairly (don't forget...sweat-shops and child labor were things until we outlawed them - don't fool yourself into thinking corporations wouldn't still use those practices if they could), or that unions were painted as bad on purpose to serve the wants of specific people, etc. etc.

These corporations are posting BILLIONS in profits every year, and the same people who make the most money from those profits are the same people who have the most influence over the cost of living...they're having their cake and eating it, too, and it's not right on many, many levels and is unsustainable.

 

[Cesar R M]

What would you say about Walmart being a Federally subsidized company because so many of their employees don't make enough to even meet the Federal poverty level (which is also years out of date)?

And yet, these retail companies and Amazon themselves are the biggest earners in all time even during a pandemic.

Reminds me of how Elon Musk is b**g and crying about his 11 billion in taxes, when he has an effective rate of 14%, lower than almost every single person out there (maybe Trump)
11 billions he could get back in 3 days of a single PRIME day sales event... with the largest fortune known to man at 280 billion.
All while forcing his warehouse workers to die of severe weather because they had no permit to seek shelter during work hours. Or the infamous scandals of forcing them to pee in bottles to meet the deadline.

Many companies sure as hell can afford bigger salaries. They just choose not to because of Wall Street, Greed and because they can get away with it thanks to corporatism propaganda in politics.

Its like "Remember kids, when your poverty level employee who is about to get bankrupted and thrown in the streets asks for a raise, call him a socialism scum!"

We can chat retail, burgers, mail room, or whatever you like. I'm NOT disagreeing that someone who is good at his or her job should be rewarded. Never said that. Never once. In fact, I've said and fully believe the opposite. People who are good and show skill should be rewarded. In your scenario, I would have promoted Hillary a long time ago.

The difference is that there has been a general comment in this discussion that EVERYONE, good or not at his or her job, should receive a bonus or a ham or some sort of something just because they are employed by a company. That to be employed, no matter how entry-level, no matter how skilled, no matter whether he or she stays late to go the extra mile or is a clock watcher who barely exerts the minimal effort at the lowliest job, that the mere fact that they were once hired by the company and have managed to retain that job, he or she should be compensated well. That's counter-productive to growth and excellence. Wanda does not deserve the same reward as Hillary. She just doesn't.

Everyone does not deserve a blue ribbon just for showing up. Corporations are set up to reward by merit, not existence. I agree with that.

Noone is saying that everysingle person should have a bonus.
Everyone is saying that they could get incentives after a job well done, doing their best to push thru pandemic and negative working conditions or for having been loyal for the company after X years.

"Corporations are set up to reward by merit, not existence. I agree with that."
Except that is rarely served now... as mentioned before.. Corporate now takes all your efforts, your ideas, etc.. calls you a good job and the bonuses these create are moved to the top for executive bonuses. You will be darn lucky to get a raise. At most? a fruit basked or a one time bonus.

Infact, I've noticed more and more that you grow more with connections and friends than actual hard labour if you're on the bottom ladder.
Once you're in the executive level or managerial, seems to get much easier.


Kinda like the hilarity of "work hard, bill gates made his fortune from nothing". Except he got her mother in IBM's board and convinced them to invest.
Or the large loans from family members, inheritances other large starters did use for their business(yes, its not a guarantee of success.. but sure as hell gives you a huge headstart to your competitors)

 

[LaughingGravy]

Sorrry. I'm not seeing that in the poster's note. I guess we'll have to wait until they respond with further info.

Yup. If you wanted the bonus, you had to attend. That was said verbally by the part time "HR" person, the admin assistant to the pres. of the company. Add to that, that "notes" were taken and by a strange coincidence, more than once, someone who didn't attend was let go within the first quarter of the new year. "At will" employment, you know.