"Mean" Cast Members

[TchaikovskyVCID]

We are in partial agreement. I agree with everything you've stated above except the part about the guest's responsibility. As sad and unfair as it may seem, the guest's only responsibility is to pay for admission and obey rules that are there for their safety. I think this is where a lot of CMs get bent out of shape. They believe guests should be held to the same standards of politeness as CMs. Out in society, where we are nothing more than equal members of that society, then certain implied rules of behavior do exist. As I stated earlier in this thread, however, this is a customer/employee (aka guest/CM) relationship. The same rules of society don't apply. Don't get me wrong, it would be more pleasant if they did. And for my part, I'm polite to every CM I encounter because I do believe they are human beings with feelings (although now I have more insight into what they are thinking behind my back). But it is inaccurate to say that behavior is the guest's "responsibility". Like it or not, it is the CM's job to continue being friendly even when the guest is being unreasonable. CMs who don't understand that concept and who think they are interacting like they would an equal member of society are just setting themselves up for frustration. The sooner you embrace this concept, the happier you'll be in your job...even when that rude guest is in your face, trust me. If you're unable to embrace the concept, you're in the wrong job. Simple as that.

Sadly and unfortunately, that is very true. Although, I was talking more along the lines of moral responsibility

 

[mkt]

No, I'm 16... EEEK! I'm 17! (my birthday just passed and i keep forgetting)

What i was pointing out is that people reading this forum shouldnt draw conclusions about CMs from it. It is, after all, the view of a few select people and doesn't represent the opinion of the collective cast.

Go backstage and ask. This isn't the opinion of just a few CM's.

 

[PhotoDave219]

When a guest attacks me, oh believe me, they're attacking me. SOME CMs here know what I do. And I think you'd sympathize with me if you found out what I do. And I don't take things personally when they attack me. I laugh at them and debate "is it worth calling security?"
Oh, and unless I really do feel pain, I'll finish what I'm doing, then complain afterwards.

Oh i dont envy what you do.... And ive heard the stories, its still disturbs me. Only saw one thing first hand...... I was on-stage myself at the time...

 

[TchaikovskyVCID]

If it's a personal attack, as you so steadfastly claim it is, then there must be something that you are personally doing to bring the behavior on. You may want to do some soul searching on that. I know that every time I personally had angry guests, I was able to realize that it was the company they were mad at, not me. You have made it clear that you KNOW they are attacking you personally. Do you not see the problem here with that mentality?

Unless they made what could be construed as a personal comment, something such as "YOU have done a terrible job" "YOU dont belong here," he has a very good point.

 

[Merlin]

I think Des Cartes (the author of "I think, therefore I am") also said that inquisitiveness and cynicism are the first signs of intelligence.

Des Cartes was a philosopher. Therefore you can choose how much stock you wish to put in what he had to say. If I were to wholeheartedly, and mindlessly, follow what he said, then I guess it would mean I have half a brain...I'm incredibly inquisitive, but I'm not cynical and don't really care for cynical attitudes.

The definition of "intelligence" I choose to follow, of course, is Webster's. Put simply, intelligence is defined as "the ability to learn".

 

[TchaikovskyVCID]

Go backstage and ask. This isn't the opinion of just a few CM's.

Ah, then in THAT case i could convievably go backstage and give the same argument to the CM's. The bad ones stand out, and on behalf of all the well behaved guests (and said guests' offspring) i would like to appologize. Not every guest is a whiny demon. Furthermore, the well behaved guests deserve appreciation on the part of the CM's.

 

[mkt]

I think the appreciation should go the other way. The CM's are the ones serving you, not the other way around. Let WDW Management appreciate your money.

 

[PhotoDave219]

If it's a personal attack, as you so steadfastly claim it is, then there must be something that you are personally doing to bring the behavior on. You may want to do some soul searching on that. I know that every time I personally had angry guests, I was able to realize that it was the company they were mad at, not me. You have made it clear that you KNOW they are attacking you personally. Do you not see the problem here with that mentality?

Dude. You have no clue here...... Clearly youve never seen or heard the stories about characters getting jumped in the parks. It happens, ive seen the bruises first hand.

And before you start judging others and making assumptions, i suggest you get off your high horse.... You need to get away from that mentaility; clearly when someone's punching you, they're personally attacking you.

 

[Merlin]

Sadly and unfortunately, that is very true. Although, I was talking more along the lines of moral responsibility

And I do agree with you wholeheartedly as it pertains to moral responsibility. The thing is, moral responsibilty doesn't apply here...but most of the CMs posting on this thread seem to think that it should. It is frustrating them that it doesn't. These are the people who never end up doing well in business, because they're unable to separate business from personal. The way Disney expects (and pays) you to interact with guests is business. What you (the CM) gets out of it is a paycheck and benefits. Your end of the bargain is that you won't snap at guests or be rude to them for ANY reason. Disney's end of the bargain is they pay the CM for performing that job and they stand behind their guarantee to the guest that the guest will get the quality entertainment experience they paid for. The guests part of the bargain is that they will pay admission and follow the stated rules. That's business. Getting frustrated and snapping at a guest is making it personal. Odds are, in most guest/CM altercations, the guest simply misinterpreted his/her part of the bargain, but it was the CM who made it personal.

 

[TchaikovskyVCID]

I think the appreciation should go the other way. The CM's are the ones serving you, not the other way around. Let WDW Management appreciate your money.

Thats all good 'n' plenty until you consider, the guests provide the money flow and therefore pay the CM salary, among many other things. On top of that, according to your philosophy, when I go out to dinner i should tip on the principal that I should be thankful the server put up with me, no matter how they conducted themselves. In my philosophy, I reward the waiter with a tip, and i reward the CMs politeness with my politeness. And I can safely say that I have kept to that philosophy (when it comes to CMs at least) 100%

 

[Merlin]

Dude. You have no clue here...... Clearly youve never seen or heard the stories about characters getting jumped in the parks. It happens, ive seen the bruises first hand.

And before you start judging others and making assumptions, i suggest you get off your high horse.... You need to get away from that mentaility; clearly when someone's punching you, they're personally attacking you.

My point, which I'm happy to continue making as long as necessary, is that if it's that bad, don't turn it into a war against the guests....find another job. If I had a job where someone was punching me or being physically abusive in any way, there's no way I would remain at that job. In fact, if I had a job where I felt I had to complain so much about a particular aspect of it, I would find another job. It's not worth it. Life is too short.

 

[mkt]

Thats all good 'n' plenty until you consider, the guests provide the money flow and therefore pay the CM salary, among many other things. On top of that, according to your philosophy, when I go out to dinner i should tip on the principal that I should be thankful the server put up with me, no matter how they conducted themselves. In my philosophy, I reward the waiter with a tip, and i reward the CMs politeness with my politeness. And I can safely say that I have kept to that philosophy (when it comes to CMs at least) 100%

With the minimal percentage of your money that the CM's actually see, following your same logic, you should have been lynched by many college program CM's years ago.

 

[wannab@dis]

Dude. You have no clue here...... Clearly youve never seen or heard the stories about characters getting jumped in the parks. It happens, ive seen the bruises first hand.

And before you start judging others and making assumptions, i suggest you get off your high horse.... You need to get away from that mentaility; clearly when someone's punching you, they're personally attacking you.

If someone is "attacked" they should have the guest removed. Period.

However, they make it sound like something that happens all the time. Maybe it's time for a job change. I can say that I've never seen a character "attacked" in all the time I've been at the parks. So, I have a hard time believing that it's a "normal" occurance.

 

[Merlin]

With the minimal percentage of your money that the CM's actually see, following your same logic, you should have been lynched by many college program CM's years ago.

So when you go into a job interview at Disney, does the recruiter hold a gun to the person's head and say, "You WILL accept this position at this salary."?

 

[TchaikovskyVCID]

With the minimal percentage of your money that the CM's actually see, following your same logic, you should have been lynched by many college program CM's years ago.

I'm gonna let Merlin tackle that one. Specifically because i didnt understand how thats the case.

 

[Merlin]

If someone is "attacked" they should have the guest removed. Period.

However, they make it sound like something that happens all the time. Maybe it's time for a job change. I can say that I've never seen a character "attacked" in all the time I've been at the parks. So, I have a hard time believing that it's a "normal" occurance.

Absolutely! A one-time, freak occurance is something that could happen anywhere. But Robynchic and many others have made it sound like this is a normal occurance. There's something wrong with a person if that's happening to them on a normal basis and they don't find another job.

 

[TchaikovskyVCID]

With the minimal percentage of your money that the CM's actually see, following your same logic, you should have been lynched by many college program CM's years ago.

No. Specifically because, I don't control the CM's salary, I am polite and smile and let them know they are appreciated to all CM's during the first interaction. Based upon wether they are polite or rude to me in return (or when they make the first move) they will get the same attitude in return. In fact, more often then not im more simply taken aback and nonconfrontational when a CM is rude to me. When they are polite to me I am always polite in return.

 

[mkt]

So when you go into a job interview at Disney, does the recruiter hold a gun to the person's head and say, "You WILL accept this position at this salary."?

They don't, however they do use other tactics to make it seem like more than it is. They also make promises of quick advancement to higher paying positions that are rarely every fulfilled. Disney is a master at making it seem like you are getting more than you really are... I remember when my ex-girlfriend was trying to quit Disney it took her almost 2 months of red tape and Disney begging her not to quit to finally do it. 2 months to put in a two weeks notice.

Disney may not be pointing a literal gun at you, but they are very good at making their lemons look like lemonade.

 

[TchaikovskyVCID]

They don't, however they do use other tactics to make it seem like more than it is. They also make promises of quick advancement to higher paying positions that are rarely every fulfilled. Disney is a master at making it seem like you are getting more than you really are... I remember when my ex-girlfriend was trying to quit Disney it took her almost 2 months of red tape and Disney begging her not to quit to finally do it. 2 months to put in a two weeks notice.

Disney may not be pointing a literal gun at you, but they are very good at making their lemons look like lemonade.

And whose fault is it that you fall for it?

On top of that, Instead of saying "BIOTCH YOU'RE GONNA WORK FOR US AND YOU'RE GONNA LIKE IT" they try to make it look nice and tempting for you. Making it look nice and tempting implies that you have a choice, which you do. Otherwise, why bother making it look like a good place to work.

 

[mkt]

If someone is "attacked" they should have the guest removed. Period.

I was attacked. And what did I get and what did the guest get? Lets see... I got fired, and the guest got their vacation comped. All because they guest lied when approached about the events, and Disney didn't bother to check the surveillance camera footage nor to verify the actual occurrences with witnesses.

However, they make it sound like something that happens all the time. Maybe it's time for a job change. I can say that I've never seen a character "attacked" in all the time I've been at the parks. So, I have a hard time believing that it's a "normal" occurance.

It is something that happens quite frequently. My situation is not uncommon at all in which a character is attacked by the guest and the guest acts innocent, and Disney sides with the guest. I can name at least 5 or 6 others to whom this happened to.... IN THE SAME QUARTER AS ME. Not just the same year, or same decade... same quarter.