Service has gone down.

[eliza61nyc]

Yes I had a great time. If you read my original comment it was about me noticing a decline in service gathered from my current experience & my past experiences at Disney World. It was just an observation my family & I had & so I asked if anyone else had experienced the same.

Ok so to answer your question.
No, when my family and I were the in April and then again in August the cms were wonderful.
No, not everyone could answer all my questions but they smiled, apologized and directed me to a place that we were able to get more information.
The food service cms were equally great. They took our order and said "thank you" and "have a nice day". The photopass cms were equally fine. They took our pictures even using my camera when i asked.

 

[Shouldigo12]

My expectations were high because in my past trips my experience was stellar.

glad we finally agree

Do you think maybe your expectations were a bit too high? I'm not saying you shouldn't expect good service when you go. But you also can't expect every CM to be great. Theres going to be the new people who don't know what they're doing yet, the people just there for the paycheck, and sometimes someone whos just plain having a bad day. It's just impossible for Disney to not have some CMs like that.

 

[eliza61nyc]

My expectations were high because in my past trips my experience was stellar.

glad we finally agree

Hey you get no argument from me. Ive said all along, I'm a huge fan. Im proud of that. I've gotten exceptional quality on every trip.
Absolutely no reason for me to join the whine-fest. I actually think it upsets whiners ( not saying you do it a lot) more when everyone doesn't agree with them.
Again sorry you trip was less than tyou expected.
Vacations are too expensive to feel disappointed at the end of them

 

[analise]

Do you think maybe your expectations were a bit too high? I'm not saying you shouldn't expect good service when you go. But you also can't expect every CM to be great. Theres going to be the new people who don't know what they're doing yet, the people just there for the paycheck, and sometimes someone whos just plain having a bad day. It's just impossible for Disney to not have some CMs like that.

Yes as stated my expectations were high given my past experiences there. And yes all those things you mentioned are possible which is exactly what I experienced. My post was about just that. And my point being that before this last trip a week ago I had never experienced that. All the service was exceptional before .

 

[MinnieWaffles]

So apparently on this forum the views of those who go frequently are lesser then the people who probably haven't been in 5 years? Am I reading that right?

Weird hivemind here.

 

[xdan0920]

So apparently on this forum the views of those who go frequently are lesser then the people who probably haven't been in 5 years? Am I reading that right?

Weird hivemind here.

No. The views of a few mentally deranged are lesser.

 

[Kamikaze]

Do you think maybe your expectations were a bit too high? I'm not saying you shouldn't expect good service when you go. But you also can't expect every CM to be great. Theres going to be the new people who don't know what they're doing yet, the people just there for the paycheck, and sometimes someone whos just plain having a bad day. It's just impossible for Disney to not have some CMs like that.

Sure you can. But you can sympathize with a CM having a bad day. There is a noted difference between expecting great service from every CM and expecting perfection. A person's expectations can be to have that great interaction every single time, but they also have to remember that every person is human.

 

[Shouldigo12]

Sure you can. But you can sympathize with a CM having a bad day. There is a noted difference between expecting great service from every CM and expecting perfection. A person's expectations can be to have that great interaction every single time, but they also have to remember that every person is human.

Agree to disagree on this one. I think high expecations tend to lead to disappointment; better to go in knowing that while most will be great, a few won't.

 

[Kamikaze]

Agree to disagree on this one. I think high expecations tend to lead to disappointment; better to go in knowing that while most will be great, a few won't.

Thats the thing - this used to be the company (and theme parks) where great CMs and near perfection WERE the expectation. It really isn't that way any more, which is why guests notice changes. I don't know if its more evident if you visit less or more, but the more you go obviously the more interactions you would have.

 

[Shouldigo12]

Thats the thing - this used to be the company (and theme parks) where great CMs and near perfection WERE the expectation. It really isn't that way any more, which is why guests notice changes. I don't know if its more evident if you visit less or more, but the more you go obviously the more interactions you would have.

I mean, I still expect customer service to be great. That's part of their reputation, having great customer service. But nothing Will be perfect 100% of the time. And if you go in with the expectation that it will (even if you're understanding when it's not) I think that's just going to lead to feeling disappointed.

 

[eliza61nyc]

Thats the thing - this used to be the company (and theme parks) where great CMs and near perfection WERE the expectation. It really isn't that way any more, which is why guests notice changes. I don't know if its more evident if you visit less or more, but the more you go obviously the more interactions you would have.

The thing is, that is so "subjective". I mean what is "near perfection" what exactly do folks expect when they see a theme park cm?? when I go to a quick service place like pecos bills, I expect them to say hello, take my order and my money and give me a receipt. I expect the folks behind the counter to fill my order, smile and call out my number when the order is ready? I mean what more do you expect them to do?

At a gift shop, I expect them to say hello and smile. they do, when I bring my merchandise to the counter I say "do you give a dvc discount". they are friendly and either say yea or nay. again they ring up my purchases. Never have I been ignored, most of the time they will try and make ideal chit chat which I probably could do without.

Seriously, what exactly is a cm supposed to do? the ones loading me onto a ride say the people mover for example always say "watch your step" at the haunted mansion they ask folks to move all the way into the center of the room. some times I see this guy

Who has the creepy haunted mansion thing down, lol

but again what all are the cm's supposed to be doing that they are not? what do you expect from them in terms of service? are they supposed to walk up to you and say hello or something?

 

[Kamikaze]

The thing is, that is so "subjective". I mean what is "near perfection" what exactly do folks expect when they see a theme park cm?? when I go to a quick service place like pecos bills, I expect them to say hello, take my order and my money and give me a receipt. I expect the folks behind the counter to fill my order, smile and call out my number when the order is ready? I mean what more do you expect them to do?

At a gift shop, I expect them to say hello and smile. they do, when I bring my merchandise to the counter I say "do you give a dvc discount". they are friendly and either say yea or nay. again they ring up my purchases. Never have I been ignored, most of the time they will try and make ideal chit chat which I probably could do without.

Seriously, what exactly is a cm supposed to do? the ones loading me onto a ride say the people mover for example always say "watch your step" at the haunted mansion they ask folks to move all the way into the center of the room. some times I see this guy
View attachment 320121

Who has the creepy haunted mansion thing down, lol

but again what all are the cm's supposed to be doing that they are not? what do you expect from them in terms of service? are they supposed to walk up to you and say hello or something?

It doesn't really matter. Its whatever the interaction is. If its just handing you food, or taking your order or whatever. Obviously those are harder to screw up than a ToT or HM CM.

I'll say one thing - the people that complain about the WDW CMs on here would absolutely lose their minds over DLR CMs. Not that the DLR ones aren't doing their jobs, but you definitely see a lot more of them interact the way you would see employees at any business interact. Much more casual.

 

[eliza61nyc]

It doesn't really matter. Its whatever the interaction is. If its just handing you food, or taking your order or whatever. Obviously those are harder to screw up than a ToT or HM CM.

I'll say one thing - the people that complain about the WDW CMs on here would absolutely lose their minds over DLR CMs. Not that the DLR ones aren't doing their jobs, but you definitely see a lot more of them interact the way you would see employees at any business interact. Much more casual.

I guess I just think that inside the parks it's a bit harder to define what is exemplary service. In a sit down it's easier because it's more one on one with your server. In Haunted mansion your basic interaction with the cm is the guy/gal helping you load onto the buggy. At a hotel also it's much easier to say have an extended interaction with cms. the people at the desk, mousekeeping, concierge again more "one" on one where a detailed service is performed.
but on ToT how do you determine if the cm is "present" or not? lol unless some thing goes majorly wrong and you go flying out of the seat. (little levity to lighten the situation).

I would say for me, the park cm's are probably the ones that I least interact with long enough to say whether the service is good or not. lol, on soarin, they come out, ask how many in your party and then tell you to stand on a number then explain how to file into the room (starting with row one, followed by two then three...) and then go around and make you pull on the yellow tab. combined what is thqt 40 secs?

 

[Tony the Tigger]

Thats the thing - this used to be the company (and theme parks) where great CMs and near perfection WERE the expectation. It really isn't that way any more, which is why guests notice changes. I don't know if its more evident if you visit less or more, but the more you go obviously the more interactions you would have.

 

[FettFan]

The system...is down!

 

[Tony the Tigger]

Yaaaaawn

ETA: and...unwatch thread.

 

[networkpro]

So apparently on this forum the views of those who go frequently are lesser then the people who probably haven't been in 5 years? Am I reading that right?

Weird hivemind here.

If you consider the cyclic nature of the ICP and CP cast members (CP 6 months or extended to a year and ICP for a year at a time) who get stuck with the odd hours, worst locations there's variability on exactly which point in their CM experience you're going to interact with them. Earning their ears vs Seasoned in experience. Policies and procedures change all of the time so what you experienced one visit may be quite different the next because leadership has told them to do it differently.

Also guest memory has a lot to do with it as it can be imperfect. If you see the OP's posting history, you will observe that she remembered portions of Voyage of the Little Mermaid show in Hollywood Studios that actually were not present but rather in the ride The Little Mermaid: Ariel's Undersea Adventure in Magic Kingdom.

 

[larryz]

If you consider the cyclic nature of the ICP and CP cast members (CP 6 months or extended to a year and ICP for a year at a time) who get stuck with the odd hours, worst locations there's variability on exactly which point in their CM experience you're going to interact with them. Earning their ears vs Seasoned in experience.

On our recent trip last month, we saw a LOT of red "Earning my Ears" tags -- more than I can recall ever seeing before...

 

[thomas998]

Some thoughts - I moved down here a while back and as a Passholder go to at least one of the parks once a week, often more. I really haven't seen anything different CM or cleanliness wise over time. Sometimes its just the luck of the draw of who you interact with. IN fact, some friends visited last weekend and we found the CM's bending over backwards to help one of their children who is disabled. Sorry about your experience. As to MNSSHP - I think it gets overhyped here in these forums - Both it, and MVMCP were specifically designed to bring locals into the parks to spend money when after many years lots of folks sort of stop going to the parks. As such, they are now overselling them and packing in the crowds and making them less than magical since both locals and resort guests are crowding in. You can watch the parade and stage show streamed on various cable channels nationwide. There are folks that live stream them on facebook and other media sites - so you don't really need to come to a park to see them. I did attend last week one night with friends and we had a good time but found it way too crowded for a Thursday night -- but it is also the last week of passholder discount tickets. The lines for the rides were longer than I have ever seen them for a special events night - mostly because I think word was out to the resort guests that the locals go to party, not ride the rides -- so, now, oversold, the resort guests pack in the rides and its really not magical anymore like it was a few years ago when you could walk on anything during the party. Is it worth the price, well, heck no. But it depends on if you want to experience Halloween at night at the park, or if you want to meet your local friends and dress up in costumes for a night. In which case, the value of a ticket is debatable.

Very true. The special events used to really be great not because of the shows or parades but because they crowds were really light even when they were sold out it never seemed that crowded... but clearly they are selling way too many tickets now to the point that the special events aren't worth it unless you are real fanatic. If you're not going with young kids Universal's Halloween nights are more fun now than Disney's Halloween.

 

[Jon81uk]

M

no, I think it’s a thing to bring up as in decline in service. I’m sure guests have been littering since the beginning but the decline in cleanliness is due to cms not doing their job or less cms available to do the job. Either way, it’s still a decline in service.

I think general manners of the public at large have got worse, 40-60 years ago littering was a lot rarer and parents were more likely to tell their kids off for doing it and for many other aspects of misbehaviour. I think that general politeness has significantly changed since the parks opened and many people seem more entitled.


Also in terms of service, the pay isn't great for these roles and the turnover is high, Disney need to work on improving pay and conditions for CMs so they want to be there.