Dranth
Well-Known Member
This is a generous description.
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News Several character meet and greets to be cut at Walt Disney World as labor shortage continues
- Thread starter wdwmagic
- Start date
TrainsOfDisney
Well-Known Member
Most jobs are low skill. Not sure why fast food workers are frequently picked on.
MrPromey
Well-Known Member
What's microwaved at Breakfast now? I know we used the Q-ing ovens for just about everything in my day and they don't anymore but all the stuff you'd have expected to have been cooked on site, actually was before getting topped off, there.
mikejs78
Premium Member
First off, I'm not saying it's the labor union's "fault", nor am I disparaging the union. It's not, it's no one's fault, it just adds a lot of complexity to the issue and makes it not as simple as saying "Disney should just raise wages".
It's generally how unions works. I have a close friend who's an attorney for a labor union and I asked him about this - and he said that absolutely, any union would want to use the labor shortage and need to increase rates as a way to renegotiate wages for all their members. Disney just saying "I'll raise the rate for new housekeepers $5/hr" would violate the union agreements, so they can't just do it without a new agreement. The cost involved in doing that (involving lawyers) outside of a normal cycle may just be too much for Disney to contemplate even attempting. So it may not even be that the union refused or is blocking this, but that Disney didn't want the expense/hassle of renegotiating the contract prematurely.
Some evidence for this is that Disney is now in a negotiation for a new contract with the unions - and while Disney is offering a $1 a year for 5 years increase for all cast members in that particular union that represents hotel and restaurant workers, but offered additional increases for housekeeping, dishwashers, and cooks - three positions we know they are struggline with.
MrPromey
Well-Known Member
With that being unpredictable, how do you manage to get to work on time consistently without also sometimes being way too early?It’s more that some days it takes me an hour to get to my location after I’ve already parked at cast parking lot. I know every job involves a commute, but this job involves a commute after commuting
MrPromey
Well-Known Member
But what about White Castle's? Do you know how many they have to flip? They're tiny!
I know you're being funny but we're being nerdy so I'll just point out that they don't flip, either.
I know you're being funny but we're being nerdy so I'll just point out that they don't flip, either.
They (when I was younger) had a window that you could watch them assemble the burgers. I was entranced as a child.
CaptainAmerica
Premium Member
Salt and pepper in this yellow contraption. One shake is the perfect amount. When you have a crappy McDonald's burger, it's because the grill person was lazy and didn't bother to use it.
Quite the opposite, I'm defending fast food workers. Disney fans, in an effort to defend and praise Cast Members, often elevate "working at Disney" as some sacred calling that is far superior to a lowly McDonald's worker. I'm saying the opposite... All work is work, and as a customer (and a manager, and an employee), I expect everyone to perform their best at whatever their job happens to be. I don't buy the argument that working at Disney is inordinately difficult because Disney has high standards, because fast food is supposed to have high standards too.
Hot cakes, McGriddles, I think biscuits are a hybrid, burritos. I think there's an SOP to do folded eggs either way. I was the last cohort to make folded eggs on the grill using PWE before they switched to factory-packaged Spongebobs.
MrPromey
Well-Known Member
I guess it makes sense. The hot cakes and folded eggs were the closest things to requiring any real skill or serious coordination that I can remember.
We had a contraption that was supposed to spit out the perfect amount for the hotcakes on the grill but it sucked - always clogged and leaked so ours stayed in a storage closet.
Sirwalterraleigh
Premium Member
…I imagine they still do that, no?
Who do you think is working tusker house and chef mickeys?
MrPromey
Well-Known Member
Fast food's, certainly not difficult work but it's hard work.
I think it's easy for people who've never had to do it, to miss the distinction.
It's also one of the reasons I expect my son to have a part time job for at least some hours when he's old enough, even if he doesn't need to.
Maybe it doesn't build character but it builds appreciation, patience, and an understanding for the people forever on the other side of life's counter and in my case, knowledge about what happens when you deep fry a happy meal Barbie's hair and then bake her in a biscuit/apple pie oven.*
*disclaimer - I was an uninvolved observer and it happened after hours. Our findings will haunt my dreams forever.
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Sirwalterraleigh
Premium Member
…we had a good runOkay, this time I agree with @CaptainAmerica and disagree with you. That feels more right.
Sirwalterraleigh
Premium Member
There’s no such thing as “easy” food work as far as I can tell.Fast food's, certainly not difficult work but it's hard work.
I think it's easy for people who've never had to do it, to miss the distinction.
It's also one of the reasons I expect my son to have a part time job for at least some hours when he's old enough, even if he doesn't need to.
Maybe it doesn't build character but it builds appreciation and an understanding for people and in my case, knowledge about what happens when you deep fry a happy meal Barbie's hair and then bake her in a biscuit/apple pie oven.*
*disclaimer - I was an uninvolved observer and it happened after we closed. They filtered the fry vats every night but that might not have done anything to help with whatever was released from that hair - hard to say.
DisneyDreamer08
Well-Known Member
Same for us. Our last family trip was January 2020. Kids were 4 and 9. The 9 year old has always LOVED meeting characters. We got an offer prior to the trip, I think it was called kids meal deal or something like that. It was only for value resorts, adults paid full price for for the dining plan, kids were free. So really only a value for people like us with 2 adults and 2 kids. We did a character meal almost every day. It was by far the best part of the trip. It was really hot and humid for January and having an hour plus each day to sit in the AC and have characters come to us instead of waiting in a long, hot line was amazing.Now if you want to meet characters you must pay for a character meal for you and your family
I will be honest; character meals was our preferred way for our kiddo to meet the characters.
On our next trip this coming March my oldest will now be 12. So an adult in terms of pricing. I’m honestly not sure if we’ll do any character meals. If we do, we will likely only do one.
Dranth
Well-Known Member
This.
I did time at a Taco Bell, a sub shop on campus and as a cook at the Outback throughout high school and college and each of those would rank up there as some of the hardest work I ever had to do.
Disstevefan1
Well-Known Member
This may be a labor shortage but it could also be a cost savings move combined with a way to monetize character interactions.
When it comes to labor (and any costs savings related to that labor) its more than just the cast member in the costume, it’s the cast members who also support, like the cast members that escorts the character, the cast members who manage, fix, cleans the costumes etc.
The company can save a lot of money by eliminating a meet and greet they get NO money from.
When it comes to labor (and any costs savings related to that labor) its more than just the cast member in the costume, it’s the cast members who also support, like the cast members that escorts the character, the cast members who manage, fix, cleans the costumes etc.
The company can save a lot of money by eliminating a meet and greet they get NO money from.
It's temporary. Every time we've gone to the parks in the past few weeks, we see them training new character performers.
Several character meet and greets to be cut at Walt Disney World as labor shortage continues
Several character meet and greets to be cut at Walt Disney World as labor shortage continueswww.wdwmagic.com
Once they're trained, they'll go be back out.
castlecake2.0
Well-Known Member
Le
If I work a PM I know to just show up an hour and a half early to get to my work location on time, if I’m early I eavesdrop on break room gossip with my jumbo cookie from the vending machine
Tony the Tigger
Well-Known Member
Just like the much longer list we can all make of things that have been temporarily suspended over the last few years and have been making announcements of coming back daily.
Basil of Baker Street
Well-Known Member
This is 100% how I feel as well. Over time and by an large, humans suck and are unpleasant to deal with.