Rude guests (rant sorry)

[Bronson55]

Agree with your points about rude guests totally however I have one question for you and the other poster who referred to the rude ECU user as morbidly obese or fat, overweight. Has anyone on an ECU ever been rude , unsafe or obnoxious that wasn't in your estimation over weight? Just asking. It seems weight disgust labels frequently precede bad ECV people. Why not just say a rude ECV user did such and such without the condescending moniker? It takes credibility from your very valid point. There are many threads on bad ECV users and when the poster stoops to the stereotypical name calling it appears they are hiding resentment of having to walk instead of ride.

I am a Viet Nam vet with a 100% disability rating by the VA. I walked as best I could up to last year at WDW and did everything possible to avoid an ECV until I could no longer get around. Believe me I would do anything to avoid one. I deplore rude people in all forms and have the same disdain for bogus, rude and reckless and privileged abuser ECV users but never pass uneducated judgement on their need. I'm not sure if my weight passes anti ECV muster but I certainly added a few pounds when I could no longer use my gym membership. I am so appreciative of the overwhelmingly kind and compassionate guests I encountered but I had my share of looks and comments. I felt badly for my wife who had to hear them and man did I hate having to hold up folks waiting for a bus.

 

[Goofyernmost]

Agree with your points about rude guests totally however I have one question for you and the other poster who referred to the rude ECU user as morbidly obese or fat, overweight. Has anyone on an ECU ever been rude , unsafe or obnoxious that wasn't in your estimation over weight? Just asking. It seems weight disgust labels frequently precede bad ECV people. Why not just say a rude ECV user did such and such without the condescending moniker? It takes credibility from your very valid point. There are many threads on bad ECV users and when the poster stoops to the stereotypical name calling it appears they are hiding resentment of having to walk instead of ride.

I am a Viet Nam vet with a 100% disability rating by the VA. I walked as best I could up to last year at WDW and did everything possible to avoid an ECV until I could no longer get around. Believe me I would do anything to avoid one. I deplore rude people in all forms and have the same disdain for bogus, rude and reckless and privileged abuser ECV users but never pass uneducated judgement on their need. I'm not sure if my weight passes anti ECV muster but I certainly added a few pounds when I could no longer use my gym membership. I am so appreciative of the overwhelmingly kind and compassionate guests I encountered but I had my share of looks and comments. I felt badly for my wife who had to hear them and man did I hate having to hold up folks waiting for a bus.

I so agree with you. I, also a Vietnam Vet, not that it is relevant to this point, have been lucky that I am actually just feeling the effects of aging and not a disability caused by other means. I did have an accident about 7 years ago that I have recovered from to a 95% degree, but, at the time I had to use an ECV and hated every minute of it. If people only knew how much more effort it takes to be an ECV user then not. I was fortunate that my situation was only for a brief period of time and frankly, in my mind anyway, when I can no longer negotiate the parks on my own, I will stop going. Not that I care what others think, but, because it just takes all the fun out of it for me. Let me repeat, this is how I, personally, feel about it, not how I think everyone should.

I also take issue with the concept of ECV people intentionally running down people because of some perceived entitlement theory. I have seen many, many ECV incidents and only suspicious one was a bat-crap crazy old lady that felt the whole world should move out of her way. I drove a 44 foot bus through city traffic for a number of years, and honestly nothing was harder to deal with then operating the ECV. They tip over easy, they don't have brakes, the controls are counter-intuitive and people are always, always stepping out in front of you without looking and when THEY make contact with the ECV their immediate action is to turn around and blame the operator instead of acknowledging the fact that it was their own inability to pay attention to their surroundings and their own mistakes.

Every time I hear some jackhat complain about the ECV's I say a silent prayer hoping for their sake they never find themselves in a situation that will require the use of one. I know that one second I was walking down a flight of stair and a second later I was laying on the floor with a badly damaged knee joint area on my right leg and after months of rehab. was finally able to walk again without canes or crutches. It happens that fast. The residual affects of my injury are likely to be with my for the rest of my natural life. It has gotten back to as good as it's going to get. One's life can change in a heartbeat and it is a rude awakening.

 

[Bronson55]

I so agree with you. I, also a Vietnam Vet, not that it is relevant to this point, have been lucky that I am actually just feeling the effects of aging and not a disability caused by other means. I did have an accident about 7 years ago that I have recovered from to a 95% degree, but, at the time I had to use an ECV and hated every minute of it. If people only knew how much more effort it takes to be an ECV user then not. I was fortunate that my situation was only for a brief period of time and frankly, in my mind anyway, when I can no longer negotiate the parks on my own, I will stop going. Not that I care what others think, but, because it just takes all the fun out of it for me. Let me repeat, this is how I, personally, feel about it, not how I think everyone should.

I also take issue with the concept of ECV people intentionally running down people because of some perceived entitlement theory. I have seen many, many ECV incidents and only suspicious one was a bat-crap crazy old lady that felt the whole world should move out of her way. I drove a 44 foot bus through city traffic for a number of years, and honestly nothing was harder to deal with then operating the ECV. They tip over easy, they don't have brakes, the controls are counter-intuitive and people are always, always stepping out in front of you without looking and when THEY make contact with the ECV their immediate action is to turn around and blame the operator instead of acknowledging the fact that it was their own inability to pay attention to their surroundings and their own mistakes.

Every time I hear some jackhat complain about the ECV's I say a silent prayer hoping for their sake they never find themselves in a situation that will require the use of one. I know that one second I was walking down a flight of stair and a second later I was laying on the floor with a badly damaged knee joint area on my right leg and after months of rehab. was finally able to walk again without canes or crutches. It happens that fast. The residual affects of my injury are likely to be with my for the rest of my natural life. It has gotten back to as good as it's going to get. One's life can change in a heartbeat and it is a rude awakening.

 

[Bronson55]

Thank you...said much better than I could.

 

[Baldy]

Yesterday, I was in the grocery store, and this woman got in the express check out line with what was clearly not 15 items or less. What looked more like 150 items. Just small bottles and such. I went to another line, waited while the person in front of me checked out, checked out, and she still was only about halfway through her cart. A manager came over and told the woman it was an express checkout line, and she blew off the manager.

I'm convinced that people are just plain rude and that WDW brings out the worst of that behavior.

I feel for the OP. CMs are the best, and most importantly, they're human beings who don't deserve that kind of treatment.

At least the manager came out.
I'm not sure how much support CMs get in that respect when they call out rude or inappropriate behaviour (either towards them or between guests). From what I've heard and seen, it seems that "the customer is always right" and the CM ends up paying the price.
As long as guests continue to get what they want by causing a scene (or cutting in front of others), this behaviour will only continue.
BTW, I would like to thank all the CMs who put up with this on a daily basis and yet somehow manage to smile and give the rest of us that little bit of extra Disney magic.

 

[Ricky Spanish]

The phrase "the customer is always right" is one of the reasons I sold my franchise.
Many people take advantage of this corporate motto, whether they have a honest complaint or not.
I found that a majority of the time, people just wanted something for free.
My business sold "fresh fruit bouquets".
We sampled every case of fruit before we used it.
Not good? We wouldn't use it.
Why would we use bad fruit?
But still, we would get complaints from customers that the fruit was bad.
They wanted new product.
And, of course, we would give them a replacement "fruit basket".
And never hear from them again.

 

[GrumpyDude]

A compliment really goes a long way with most CMs. Last year my wife and I had just finished riding Jungle Cruise. The skipper just happened to walking out with us. We told her that she was one of the best skippers that we ever had (she was actually very average but that's not the point). She thanked us for telling her that and we could tell that she had never heard anything like that. I think we made her day and maybe she forgot about about the family the made her feel like dirt. Being nice to a person just trying to do their job goes a long way.

 

[GrumpyDude]

Probably the worst experience I've ever had with a moron guest was when I was about to watch Wishes one night and I felt this awful pain on my hell. I turned around and there was this morbidly obese woman on one of those stupid scooter chairs and she had ran in to my heel. So I just smiled and acted as though it was no big deal. Well then she looks at me and says "I was doing that so you'd get out of my way. I can't see over you". Seriously! I had been standing there for probably 5 minutes and she just pulls up behind me and runs in to me on purpose! I just sorta got this baffled look on my face and moved out of the way because it wasn't worth starting a fight over. Man I was irritated though! Disney is sort of a sacred place to me because of what it represents and the ideas it was founded on and I try to practice a certain "etiquette" I guess you'd say. I always try to hold doors for people, let people go before me at buffet meals, give up my seat for pregnant ladies, don't hold up the already long ride lines to stop and take multiple stupid selfies, and DON'T TAKE FLASH PHOTOGRAPHY ON DARK RIDES WHEN THEY CLEARRRRRRLY WILL EVEN STOP THE RIDE TO "REMIND" YOU ABOUT IT! I suppose being a CM would be something like working at an insane asylum where the inmates outnumber you. LOL!

A big fart would have been nice share with her at that point.

 

[GrumpyDude]

We did a split stay in Orlando. We stayed concierge level at an Epcot resort (of which, I will not name) and at the Four Seasons Orlando. We spent 4 full commando style days from rope drop to close at Disney Parks -- with a random break at the hotel to freshen up for dinner or whatever.

You went commando for four days?

 

[Incomudro]

Agree with your points about rude guests totally however I have one question for you and the other poster who referred to the rude ECU user as morbidly obese or fat, overweight. Has anyone on an ECU ever been rude , unsafe or obnoxious that wasn't in your estimation over weight? Just asking. It seems weight disgust labels frequently precede bad ECV people. Why not just say a rude ECV user did such and such without the condescending moniker? It takes credibility from your very valid point. There are many threads on bad ECV users and when the poster stoops to the stereotypical name calling it appears they are hiding resentment of having to walk instead of ride.

I am a Viet Nam vet with a 100% disability rating by the VA. I walked as best I could up to last year at WDW and did everything possible to avoid an ECV until I could no longer get around. Believe me I would do anything to avoid one. I deplore rude people in all forms and have the same disdain for bogus, rude and reckless and privileged abuser ECV users but never pass uneducated judgement on their need. I'm not sure if my weight passes anti ECV muster but I certainly added a few pounds when I could no longer use my gym membership. I am so appreciative of the overwhelmingly kind and compassionate guests I encountered but I had my share of looks and comments. I felt badly for my wife who had to hear them and man did I hate having to hold up folks waiting for a bus.

Allow me...
Some portion of the human population will take advantage of anything.
For every one person with a legitimate need for something; mobility scooters, service dogs etc., there must be 50 willing to scam the system for their own selfish needs.
As for mobility scooters, there are people willing to eat their way onto them just so they don't have to walk anymore.
It's sad, but it's true. That's the way many people are.
Also...
Many people LIKE problems.
Many people like the attention that ailments bring, and would rather continue to engage in behavior that exasperates their condition, than do anything that helps the condition.

 

[KBLovedDisney]

There are people in this world who believe they have entitlements from their own problems that they actually created but in so doing push those problems and blame them on everyone else so they feel less horrible from their own situation.
Pretty much, I am going to make you feel bad for the stuff I did to myself by making society see my way.

Unnecessary drama.

Also, Common Courtesy is vanishing from this world and addressing one's own issues is becoming unheard of.

(I had to vent too.)

 

[Goofyernmost]

Allow me...
Some portion of the human population will take advantage of anything.
For every one person with a legitimate need for something; mobility scooters, service dogs etc., there must be 50 willing to scam the system for their own selfish needs.
As for mobility scooters, there are people willing to eat their way onto them just so they don't have to walk anymore.
It's sad, but it's true. That's the way many people are.
Also...
Many people LIKE problems.
Many people like the attention that ailments bring, and would rather continue to engage in behavior that exasperates their condition, than do anything that helps the condition.

I'm sorry, but, there is nothing about that entire post that is factual or even sensible. It was written by someone that has obviously never experienced having a need to use one and has some outrageous opinion on mankind that is just too far out to believe. If you were to say anything it would be that for every 100 that have a legitimate need there are at least 2 that will make an attempt to scam the system. No one eats their way, intentionally, into a situation where they can justify getting a scooter. That is just nonsense. So it's sad, but, what is sad is that you really think that is the way it is. You could not be more wrong if you tried.

 

[Michaelson]

I can only speak for myself, and my family, that we've been fortunate to go to WDW the past 4 years. We have thanked each and every CM we come across doing their job. I even made a point to thank every maintenance worker cleaning up a bathroom, telling them how much I appreciate their hard work. We waved to the ferry captain when we disembarked from the ferry for getting us safely across the lake. I thanked the girls at the Haunted Mansion gift shop who went out of their way to see if they could find a certain sized hoodie for a gift for my daughter....I could go on and on.....

Could I take the stand that I paid dang good, hard earned cash for our vacation and can act any way I want? Sure I could....I'd be wrong, but I could at least say it. These folks are working as hard as they can to MAKE my visit worth every penny spent.

Do we ever come across one having a bad day? Of course. Everyone has one on occasion, and I have always chalked it up to a momentary lapse. I have them all the time. So, it's not that HARD to just say 'thank you' to folks working at Disney. They're just people, but people who are working hard to make my family and MY day/vacation the best it can be. So far, they've been successful 4 out of 4 visits. I hope to see them all again next year....and I'll thank them then too.

 

[Disneyfan_76]

I'll be the first to admit that I was pretty rude to a CM at guest services during my last trip. I wouldn't have been had he not been the ninth CM that day that couldn't answer my question. Their standard answer was "we have this 1-800 number you can call to answer your question". If I hadn't already tried that I wouldn't be asking.

 

[LuvtheGoof]

I'll be the first to admit that I was pretty rude to a CM at guest services during my last trip. I wouldn't have been had he not been the ninth CM that day that couldn't answer my question. Their standard answer was "we have this 1-800 number you can call to answer your question". If I hadn't already tried that I wouldn't be asking.

What was the question?

 

[Otterhead]

For every one person with a legitimate need for something; mobility scooters, service dogs etc., there must be 50 willing to scam the system for their own selfish needs.
As for mobility scooters, there are people willing to eat their way onto them just so they don't have to walk anymore.

While WDW is far too loose about who'll they'll allow to use a mobility scooter (I saw multiple instances of teenagers joy-riding them around on my last trip, running into people, crashing into storefronts), there's a very big difference between able-bodied guests paying for a scooter so they can be lazy and your insane accusation that people intentionally make themselves morbidly obese so they can use a scooter rather than walk.

Just so we're clear: you're literally saying that WDW guests willingly make themselves too obese to walk so that they'll have an excuse to use a mobility scooter.

 

[DisneyJeff]

While WDW is far too loose about who'll they'll allow to use a mobility scooter (I saw multiple instances of teenagers joy-riding them around on my last trip, running into people, crashing into storefronts), there's a very big difference between able-bodied guests paying for a scooter so they can be lazy and your insane accusation that people intentionally make themselves morbidly obese so they can use a scooter rather than walk.

Just so we're clear: you're literally saying that WDW guests willingly make themselves too obese to walk so that they'll have an excuse to use a mobility scooter.

Agreed. Anyone can rent a scooter and use it at WDW. I've seen ads that actually promote scooter rentals because there is "a lot of walking" at WDW. If I wanted to be lazy, I could rent a scooter for my next trip. I don't need to show any proof of a disability.

 

[Disneyfan_76]

What was the question?

It is kind of involved, but I will try to shorten it the best I can... basically I have an allergy to gluten, and need to be gluten free. This is a non issue with most of the signature dining in the park. However, I was getting a bit sick of the quick services having such a poor selection of gluten free options. You can basically have gluten free chicken fingers, or.....gluten free chicken fingers. None of the quick service locations in MK have gluten free buns. I'm not sure how this is possible since my local movie theater, bowling ally, zoo, etc. have this. The signature dining have both bread and buns. So, I was merely trying to find out if there was a quick service place in MK that had something besides chicken fingers, or had gluten free bread.
I was either rudely told to just eat whatever the single option was offered, or redirected to the info number. Which is an endless quagmire of 'press 1'. I looked up a couple of menu lists online but they didn't always reflect what was offered that day in regards to their gluten free options. The CM at guest services was less than helpful and basically told me to try the info number or just that, "every place has at least one allergy free option."
This was not an issue when I visited the parks four years ago. They used to have a great selection of food. I was trying to get information about the other parks since this was our first day and I didn't think it would be any trouble, as it wasn't in the past. Anyway, I got kind of rude because I was just trying to find something that I could eat that wouldn't make me sick. It just would have been nice if I could have been directed to someone who could have answered my questions, instead of being told to just eat the one thing we offer.

 

[larryz]

Agreed. Anyone can rent a scooter and use it at WDW. I've seen ads that actually promote scooter rentals because there is "a lot of walking" at WDW. If I wanted to be lazy, I could rent a scooter for my next trip. I don't need to show any proof of a disability.

Are they less expensive than Sherpas?

 

[jaklgreen]

I can only speak for myself, and my family, that we've been fortunate to go to WDW the past 4 years. We have thanked each and every CM we come across doing their job. I even made a point to thank every maintenance worker cleaning up a bathroom, telling them how much I appreciate their hard work. We waved to the ferry captain when we disembarked from the ferry for getting us safely across the lake. I thanked the girls at the Haunted Mansion gift shop who went out of their way to see if they could find a certain sized hoodie for a gift for my daughter....I could go on and on.....

Could I take the stand that I paid dang good, hard earned cash for our vacation and can act any way I want? Sure I could....I'd be wrong, but I could at least say it. These folks are working as hard as they can to MAKE my visit worth every penny spent.

Do we ever come across one having a bad day? Of course. Everyone has one on occasion, and I have always chalked it up to a momentary lapse. I have them all the time. So, it's not that HARD to just say 'thank you' to folks working at Disney. They're just people, but people who are working hard to make my family and MY day/vacation the best it can be. So far, they've been successful 4 out of 4 visits. I hope to see them all again next year....and I'll thank them then too.

Thank you! This is how we are too. We always greet the bus driver when we get on and thank them when we get off. Any cast member that helps us out or answers a question we also thank. We are nothing but polite too and have always been treated very well in return. Now other quests is another issue.