Does anyone have inside knowledge on huge lines for Guest Relations?

tissandtully

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
Was at MK on Saturday and GR was absolutely packed, they even had to open up an additional kiosk! Anyone with any knowledge if this is all guests complaining about MM+?
 

DisneySaint

Well-Known Member
I guess I'm "close" to inside knowledge having worked GR from 2007-2009, but I'll try to shed some light...

There are, I'd say, two things that take up 75% of a GR CM's job: dining reservations and Disney Show Translators ("DSTs"):

1) The amount of people making same-day dining reservations is enormous. Or should I say trying to make same-day dining reservation. 99.9% of the time all the restaurants are fully booked, especially in the Magic Kingdom where generally only something like The Plaza might be left. You will genrally spend 10-15 minutes with each party going through an exercise in futiliy as they insist you check for an open spot at Cinderella's Royal Table. It takes a long time to get into a guest's profile in the current dining system and it also takes a while to check every table at every time at every restaurant (which is what they want). The funny part is that you will do this for one family then have to do the exact same thing you just checked and already know is full for the next family "just in case."

2) Disney Show Translators allow foreign languge-speaking guests to hear attractions translated to their language. The renting of these devices is time consuming and involves paperwork, a deposit of $100 per translator, and an explanation of functionality - and this takes about 5-10 minutes.

...the rest of the time is spent on Disability things like GAC/DAS cards which can take as little as 2 minutes or as much as 10 depending on how much explanation is needed, Lost & Found (2-5 minutes), and answering questions like how to get places. I would say complaints and compliments account for less than 5% of the guests you see on a given day. Most complaints usually come in at night as people are leaving the parks and decide they are disappointed about something. While I'm obviously not there anymore to tell you if MM+ is a popular complaint, I'd doubt it. I found most park-related logistic problems guests past on to Guest Communications through letters. The most common in-park complaints were Cast Members, attraction downtime/refurbishment, or crowds.

Hope this helps.
 
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LucyK

Well-Known Member
Sorry to go all OT here...

@DisneySaint can you tell me a little bit more about the Disney Show Translators? Are they really helpful to the foreigner guest? Last year we skipped a lot of shows because my mom wouldn't understand them, would the DSTs help her? Do you know which shows/attractions offer the option of using them?
 

Bolt

Well-Known Member
Sorry to go all OT here...

@DisneySaint can you tell me a little bit more about the Disney Show Translators? Are they really helpful to the foreigner guest? Last year we skipped a lot of shows because my mom wouldn't understand them, would the DSTs help her? Do you know which shows/attractions offer the option of using them?
Soooooo many guests use them, it's insane.
 

tissandtully

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
I guess I'm "close" to inside knowledge having worked GR from 2007-2009, but I'll try to shed some light...

There are, I'd say, two things that take up 75% of a GR CM's job: dining reservations and Disney Show Translators ("DSTs"):

1) The amount of people making same-day dining reservations is enormous. Or should I say trying to make same-day dining reservation. 99.9% of the time all the restaurants are fully booked, especially in the Magic Kingdom where generally only something like The Plaza might be left. You will genrally spend 10-15 minutes with each party going through an exercise in futiliy as they insist you check for an open spot at Cinderella's Royal Table. It takes a long time to get into a guest's profile in the current dining system and it also takes a while to check every table at every time at every restaurant (which is what they want). The funny part is that you will do this for one family then have to do the exact same thing you just checked and already know is full for the next family "just in case."

2) Disney Show Translators allow foreign languge-speaking guests to hear attractions translated to their language. The renting of these devices is time consuming and involves paperwork, a deposit of $100 per translator, and an explanation of functionality - and this takes about 5-10 minutes.

...the rest of the time is spent on Disability things like GAC/DAS cards which can take as little as 2 minutes or as much as 10 depending on how much explanation is needed, Lost & Found (2-5 minutes), and answering questions like how to get places. I would say complaints and compliments account for less than 5% of the guests you see on a given day. Most complaints usually come in at night as people are leaving the parks and decide they are disappointed about something. While I'm obviously not there anymore to tell you if MM+ is a popular complaint, I'd doubt it. I found most park-related logistic problems guests past on to Guest Communications through letters. The most common in-park complaints were Cast Members, attraction downtime/refurbishment, or crowds.

Hope this helps.

Just what I was looking for, thanks! I would love to know percentage of MM+ complaints now. It seems crazy that people are wasting a good chunk of their day standing in a GR line.
 

DisneySaint

Well-Known Member
Sorry to go all OT here...

@DisneySaint can you tell me a little bit more about the Disney Show Translators? Are they really helpful to the foreigner guest? Last year we skipped a lot of shows because my mom wouldn't understand them, would the DSTs help her? Do you know which shows/attractions offer the option of using them?

Hey there LucyK,
Based on the popularity, I'd say so. I worked at Epcot which had the biggest benefit to the translators as it had the most things "translatable." Here is a link to an example of which attracions utilize the DSTs. I can't imagine going to Disneyland Paris or HKDL and not being able to understand stuff, so they'd be a must-have for me. Good luck! (And don't forget the deposit which can be held on a credit card!)
 

Zummi Gummi

Pioneering the Universe Within!
Perhaps most frustratingly is that when the line is long, a cast member will come out to triage the line. This is for the guests' benefit- many of them can be helped elsewhere and don't need to be in the line. And yet, even when told this, many guests will stubbornly refuse to leave the line because they seem to think GR has some special cache or ability to make things happen.
 

DisneySaint

Well-Known Member
Perhaps most frustratingly is that when the line is long, a cast member will cone out to triage the line. This is fir the guests' benefit- many of them can be helped elsewhere and don't need to be in the line. And yet, even when told this, many guests will stubbornly refuse to leave the line because they seem to think GR has some special cache or ability to make things happen.

This is something I personally took the initiative to do when I was there! I'm sure it's part of the normal operation now, however. And indeed many times people "prefer" to stand in the line. For example, on New Years Eve obviously every restaurant has been booked for months and we even have an A-frame sign out to that accord, but they insist on waiting to check "if anything's opened up." (It never does - do a walk-up!)
 

LucyK

Well-Known Member
Hey there LucyK,
Based on the popularity, I'd say so. I worked at Epcot which had the biggest benefit to the translators as it had the most things "translatable." Here is a link to an example of which attracions utilize the DSTs. I can't imagine going to Disneyland Paris or HKDL and not being able to understand stuff, so they'd be a must-have for me. Good luck! (And don't forget the deposit which can be held on a credit card!)
Thank you! Can you tell me if I lose the deposit if I return them on another day? If we're going to EPCOT 3 times could I rent it one on say Monday and return it on Friday? Or will I have to rent one each day we'll be there?
 

amzgirl

Member
I was leaving the park at around 1130 on Saturday and the GR lines were the longest I have ever seen, by far. They were stretched all the way out to bag check, I kid you not. And I go to GR regularly for our GAC/DAS, never in all the years I was going did I see a line like that. So I was wondering the same thing. I did notice a large amount of tour groups from overseas (I assume) arriving as I was leaving, so I think the translator hypothesis is a good one. I wonder how many of those things they have...
 

EvilQueen-T

Well-Known Member
We ended up in the guest relations line 6 or 7 times over a 3 day weekend because of a magic band that was only partially functional and a problem no one was able to resolve (unfortunately). Each encounter with the cm took a minimum of 10 minutes. Frustrating but I'm sure I'm not the only one whose had this kind of problem and has added to that lines wait time.
 

RonAnnArbor

Well-Known Member
I'm also going to add that I believe many of the people in line were there to deal with wristband problems -- I've gone now four times on wristbands, and not one of them has worked properly with FP+...BUT, that would not be all of the people in line -- its most likely a combination of the three things...Dining reservations, translators, and wristband problems....
 

GymLeaderPhil

Well-Known Member
Guest Relations has tripled it's responsibilities since last January. RFID tickets, MagicBands, Park Entry, MyDisneyExperience, FastPass+, Service Centers, Regional Kiosks, DAS Cards, MemoryMaker, Credit Card Guarantees for all Restaurants, and more. It's a perfect storm of policy changes and intangible issues with technology that is operationally unstable. Couple that with the fact that their existing faculties were not expanded and that they are relying on iPads with lackluster applications, they are struggling on even the slowest days. There are no quick fixes.

You then have Cast Members and managers who are reluctant to change with the times to learn these new things. They haven't seen a significant raise based on the responsibilities they have taken on. They've also tripled the number of Cast Members on hand. These brand new Cast who don't have the level of training to effectively or efficiently solve challenges.

Then factor all of the negative things that have taken place this year... poor planning for most Limited Time Magic events, Annual Passholders not getting plastic cards, FP+ limited to resorts, then only same day FP+ for most, Downtown Disney, Candlelight changes, Frozen characters, and Monorail downtimes. Then the normal declining of degrees and standards slipping while the prices increase. Add in an ever growing population of non-domestic and non-English speaking clientele with very different cultural backgrounds too.

I hope this answers your question.
 
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Bolt

Well-Known Member
I'm also going to add that I believe many of the people in line were there to deal with wristband problems -- I've gone now four times on wristbands, and not one of them has worked properly with FP+...BUT, that would not be all of the people in line -- its most likely a combination of the three things...Dining reservations, translators, and wristband problems....
Four times? Wow. I've used MagicBands with my family and friends on five occasions now and never had an issue that I couldn't solve myself.

To be fair, the teams are getting smarter and the technology is adapting. The app roll out this last week was amazing, moves so quickly. Additionally, January is truly the REAL first month of this as it went FULLY online (no paper at all). So gripe that it's been issues for a long time but the biggest leap was made. These cast members have no say in this process so bless their hearts for coming into work each day and getting a true challenge.

On a side note, I love hearing the guests complain that FastPass+ micro manges their day. Remember when you ran to an attraction? You were at the mercy of a time being dispensed. Being managed there, too. All I'm saying is that take it easy on the front line, they just follow instructions from leadership.
 

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