Magic...it seems to be slipping...

[CaptainShortty]

While we haven't been in the parks nearly as much as many of you here, I haven't ever encountered or observed a rude CM. I have, however, witnessed far too many rude acts by guests. Some of these acts are directed at the CM's and how the CM was able to keep their cool in handling the situation was beyond what I could do.

The CM's have always bent over backwards to help or answer a question or simply smile and say hello.

I will be in the parks Sept 19th and 20th and will keep an eye out for such things, but I am not expecting anything but more of the same, rude people who feel entitled and the poor CM's who have to deal with it. This trip I will have a small note pad so I can get the names of the CM's I encounter and make sure they are appreciated properly.

And it will be appreciated by those CMs more than you even know!! Thank you!!

 

[mrsdanalind]

rude cm's

I'm gonna agree with this. I have definately met some exasperated CM's who have just had bad days. But I have never met a flat-out rude CM.

I was trained to accept that the guest was not angry with me but with the experience (20 years ago CM here) and I have used it as a mediation point when working with clients. 98% of the time this works well and I can solve the issue in dispute with a lot less discord. There are the other 2% who will not work with me at all, which leaves me tired angry and very frustrated. The CM's who appear to be rude, or nasty usually have had to deal with a customer who will not work with her/him to resolve their issue or grievence and have magnified it out of proportion for what ever reason(tired crabby the kids being a brat.. what ever.) At some point we need to realize these CMS are people who may have gone above and beyond, but have been treated like dirt by the very guests that have complained. The one that ran into a guest, probably has had nasty comments, or looks, or been verbally abused by a guest while trying to pick up or move trash through out the park to dispose of it. The one who was rude to a guest on a ride,may have had to deal with demanding guests that do not need the "special break" that they think they deserve because they "paid for the right to" fill in the blank here. I've seen some of the most abysimal behaviour by supposedly "guests" that I would not allow from anyone. So before we castigate the cm's lets give the guests who should have been spanked as a child a go.

 

[puntagordabob]

I am not going to defend anyone who was mean or rude to you or to any Guest as there is no excuse for that from a CM, not ever.

That being said...as a Floridian I can tell you that summer here is like living on the surface of the Sun, only wetter.. and that THAT can put someone who is eternally happy into a BAD CRAPPY mood... This is NOT an excuse, but rather a partial explaination of perhaps some of the rude behavior.

Florida Winters are Golden! Florida Summers are NOT SO MUCH!

 

[The Rat King]

We had to use a wheelchair one time and were forced to use the alternate Test Track line. The CM who sent us there told us to go right away. When we got to the top where they put you on the ride, the attendent screamed (made quite a show) at us (particularly my wife in the wheel chair) that she wasn't ready to let wheelchair riders on the ride (she was very nonsensical)

Then she turned from us and started yelling at the wheelchair group behind ours even worse than she yelled at us. Needless to say someone else came over and put us on the ride and upper management had a field day with the event.

Another time before that I was in that cafeteria by tomorrowland (right by the car things, past the tea cups. Ride names fail me today) and while waiting for my wife who was using the restroom, someone threatened to kick my b*** (dont know if I can say that here. Hey, I'm new). He was across the room and shouted it at me because he thought I was checking him out allegedly and a bunch of workers heard him (as did a passing security guard who actually stopped and walked towards me) This continued for about 10 minutes and a bunch of guest were getting upset over the guy but not one guest nor any of the workers (or security guard!) did anything. I hadn't even said a word in reply to this guy. I asked the security guard if he was going to do something and he said unless the guy approaches me, I'll be fine.

*sigh*

I have nothing against the parks, but their CMs need better training. If they can pass the online part and the interview (which isn't a major interview, mind you) it doesn't mean they are right for the job by any means. Disney kindof fails in that respect.

At the same time, Ive met plenty of awesome CMs. So Its a select few I want to kick in the shins.

 

[wizards8507]

It always ceased to amaze me when you'd see children in the parks screaming and crying because they're so exhausted and they're being dragged by there parents who are yelling something along the lines of, "We came here to ride Dumbo and we're riding Dumbo now! I don't care how tired you are." Like, you're here for your kids right?? If they're exhausted I think it's probably time to take a break.

Yup - you are describing the "Park Commandos". They are definitely there, and they WILL kill anything in their path (including their own children) to extract 110% value per day from their "vacation". The poor children....

http://forums.wdwmagic.com/showthread.php?t=601833

 

[CaptainShortty]

http://forums.wdwmagic.com/showthread.php?t=601833

A fantastic idea. I really like it. Still, the "Park Commandos" wouldn't use it. They're to busy getting their money's worth. No time for resting. But for the rest of the sane population I think it could be really successful.

 

[unkadug]

A fantastic idea. I really like it. Still, the "Park Commandos" wouldn't use it. They're to busy getting their money's worth. No time for resting. But for the rest of the sane population I think it could be really successful.

Of course you would have to reserve this nap time 180 days out.

 

[CaptainShortty]

Of course you would have to reserve this nap time 180 days out.

Of course! Along with your dining reservations, FPs, bathroom breaks and souvenir shopping time. :lol:

 

[Theme Parkitect]

Don't care. I pay $90 to stay at a Courtyard by Marriott and get nicer service than from some CM's at the Grand Floridian.

Well you pay even more for admission into the Park to eat at Pecos Bill. So why don't we all agree that EVERY CM should be polite?

 

[Computer Magic]

Not one single person is holding them to a standard that they can't reach.
I, and others, hold them to the standards that they set for themselves throughout the history of Disney parks.
They have, in many ways, fallen from that standard and it needs to be pointed out. To ignore it is to accept it, and that is not an option.

I'll once again use the analogy of being a parent (not that I am one...).
You hold your kid to a standard, be it in behavior, schoolwork, or whatever. If they fall from that standard, you point it out and hold them accountable. Not pointing it out, and not attempting to encourage them to rectify the situation is the same as condoning it.

Spot on!! I asked my wife if she wanted to return in March. She is not interested because the standards have lowered. I was sad her hear he say this. She doesn't frequent these boards or pays close attendtion to forums. Her prepective is strictly from return trips. I asked her what she sees as lower standards and she had a good list.

It starts with Flame Tree with the changing the cake and the fries. She loved this place and we haven't returned in several years.

All desserts are the same.

Merchandise. We use to need a second suitcase to hold everything. Our last trip, We are lucky to have one bag.

Then she moved to the quailty of food being lowered and a few restraruants we loved are gone, ie Italy and CS Mexican.

Some of her favorite attractions were closed for lesser quality attractions.

I'm disappointed that our favorite place up to 2005 has turned so quickly.

Seems I'm trying to find the magic on trips instead of the magic finding me. I seem to be hanging on to past memories and not generating new ones.

 

[bayoubelle]

I had one really bad CM encounter at DHS. It did not ruin the trip but the day was not as nice because of it. That said, I've gone 30 times since the early 70s and this was the only time I sent a complaint to guest relations. Overall, CMs are fantastic. One really big difference today is these jobs are looked upon as temporary for a lot of the CMs. Back in the older days, many of the CMs looked on their jobs as a career. If you know that you're going to stay at a job, hopefully for life, I think it colors the way you do that job. You put more into it. If, on the other hand, a job considered just some way to get money until something better comes along, you might not invest as much of yourself in the job. Disney has hired more of the second type of worker in the past several years and it shows. Those people who never experienced WDW CMs 100% committed to the job won't know the difference.

 

[Zummi Gummi]

One really big difference today is these jobs are looked upon as temporary for a lot of the CMs. Back in the older days, many of the CMs looked on their jobs as a career. If you know that you're going to stay at a job, hopefully for life, I think it colors the way you do that job. You put more into it. If, on the other hand, a job considered just some way to get money until something better comes along, you might not invest as much of yourself in the job. Disney has hired more of the second type of worker in the past several years and it shows. Those people who never experienced WDW CMs 100% committed to the job won't know the difference.

What you say might be true, but the fact is, Disney doesn't pay the majority of its staff enough to make it a career. When you're paying people barely above the minimum wage, of course they're going to be "looking for something.' You can't blame them.

 

[bayoubelle]

What you say might be true, but the fact is, Disney doesn't pay the majority of its staff enough to make it a career. When you're paying people barely above the minimum wage, of course they're going to be "looking for something.' You can't blame them.

True

 

[lighteningqueen]

As far as the rude CM's are concerned, there's no excuse for rudeness under any circumstances but at the same time I think that I can relate to their situation. I also work in a high stress, (relatively) low paying job and every week my department manager tells me that corporate is "cutting back". The retail store where I work is so short-handed that the store can barely function on a daily basis. Corporate expects the same level of productivity with fewer people in less time since our hours keep getting cut. One of the many problems with this business strategy is that we're unable to properly wait on our customers and our department looks shabby at times. All of this results in losing more and more customers to the competition and the store is in a death spiral. Meanwhile, corporate look only at the bottom line. All of this leads to horrible employee morale and sometimes tempers can flare. The sad thing is that WDW seems to be run in a similar fashion except for the fact that our store doesn't have a turnstile ticking tens of thousands of times a day.

All you said is so true..But what gets me, is all those corps and top dogs, would never cut their own salary,so that someone who really needs that job can stay. How can they make that much money and HOW can you spend that much knowing how many people just lost their jobs, while they go on fabulous vacations and eat really well and have a mansion to go home to.. Beyond me and then let their business slip in cleanliness and politness of the few employs they do have and work them to death. Has anyone seen what the top dogs of Disney live in??

 

[Testtrack321]

The description could have been fitting for Disneyland just a few years ago. Knowing a bit about the turnaround in Anaheim gives me hope that the same will occur in Orlando.

Which is why in May I went to DLR and possibly going to Universal in a few months instead of WDW. It's not about mission statements or standing my ground, it's that I want to pay money for things I enjoy and feel special at.

 

[the-reason14]

Which is why in May I went to DLR and possibly going to Universal in a few months instead of WDW. It's not about mission statements or standing my ground, it's that I want to pay money for things I enjoy and feel special at.

Thank you!! Finally someone who gets it. If you're not happy with things at WDW, then why continue to give them your money for a product that is supposedly deteriorating? I understand it's possible to have concerns and still have fun, but it's counterproductive to moan about the lost quality and then log on to disneyworld.com to plan your next trip.

 

[DeaverTex]

Years of soldiering have shown me that responsibility always resides at the top. It can't be delegated. It doesn't matter that the boss of an organization isn't the one who is supposed to replace the toilet paper in the men's room. What matters is that the boss is the one who is responsible for everything that the organization does or fails to do.

If the little things are falling through the cracks then the boss is the one who is responsible for dealing with the problem. Period.

 

[laxchik18]

Agreed.

As for the thread, it's very, very rare when I've seen a rude CM. The worst was waiting an hour for a pizza at the boardwalk and the manager popping his head out and saying, "Oh, I forgot about you." And then one of the CM's came out and lit up a cigarette and said, "Dude, you haven't got your pizza yet? That's *effed* up." :lol:

thats so funny, but in a sad way. sorry=(

 

[Goofnut1980]

Instead of getting mad or being rude back to a guest of even CM... Everyone is entitled to a crappy day, we are human. Instead, just smile at them... A positive gesture given to anyone many times a day will surely put them in a great mood all day. Don't they say... Kill 'em with kindness? Why get upset? It's Disney World!

 

[wvdisneyfamily]

My husband and I live by this one hard and fast fact. July is absolutely the most wretched, terrible, and non-magical time to be in Disney World. Our last July trip was in 2007. We were left with such a bitter aftertaste, we started going in June. We went last month and immediately remembered why July is so wretched. The guests that come in July are beyond rude. The heat and crowds are tolerable. However, the heat and crowds with the type of guest you find in July make for a disaster. So maybe, OP, your experience has to do with July more than declining magic.