Spirited News & Observations II -- NGE/Baxter

[GoofGoof]

There's a few problems with this thinking. It doesn't consider how much the raise in the cost of living would be offset by the raise in wages (as discussed before), how much more business would be generated by the raise in employee income, what else contributes to the cost of living (such as tax rates and access to and quality of public services) and other countires that have minimum wages around $10, but lower unemployement rates than the US (like Canada). You're argument makes sense from a simple, short-term business perspective, but that's also a major problem. This whole argument can't be broken down into basic either/or scenarios, especially when the numbers given aren't very well justified and given little context. I get what you're saying, but this isn't that easy an situation to solve.

Also, if I were offered an assistant manager position at $10/hr, I'd quit that job.

I have a friend who's wife is an assistant manager at Walmart and I can tell you she makes a whole lot more than $10/hour. Actually considering she has no college degree or specialized training she does pretty well. She started as a cashier making poor money but they do take care of their middle management a little better. She is salaried now and definitely works more than 40 hours a week so I guess it somewhat evens out.

Where I live I can't imagine anyone living on minimum wage. Even raised to $10/hour the cost of living is just too high. Maybe in some parts of the country you could do it. A national minimum wage makes no sense considering the vast differences in cost of living. It's not surprising that CA based fast food chains are paying employees higher than minimum wage since the cost of living there is so high.

 

[John]

but this isn't that easy an situation to solve.

Thats all I am trying to say. To say to..... just raise the minimum wage is just as speculative. At the very basics of the discussion if you raise cost there will always be a cause/effect of something like this. None of us really know. If it turned out negative.....you could never turn the hands of time back. With the economy as fragile as it is IMO its a bad time.

I have a friend who's wife is an assistant manager at Walmart and I can tell you she makes a whole lot more than $10/hour. Actually considering she has no college degree or specialized training she does pretty well. She started as a cashier making poor money but they do take care of their middle management a little better. She is salaried now and definitely works more than 40 hours a week so I guess it somewhat evens out.

Where I live I can't imagine anyone living on minimum wage. Even raised to $10/hour the cost of living is just too high. Maybe in some parts of the country you could do it. A national minimum wage makes no sense considering the vast differences in cost of living. It's not surprising that CA based fast food chains are paying employees higher than minimum wage since the cost of living there is so high.

I agree 100%....where I think there is a misunderstanding....and yes it maybe my fault. I wasnt talking about a store asst.manager. I know a Target asst. Manager and does very nicely. I am talking about a dept. manager or a shift manager at a fast food joint....or a shift mananger at your local convient store.

 

[John]

Wiki:


Classical economics argues that the quantity of labor demanded increases as the price of labor falls. Each firm must evaluate the potential to make a profit from each worker hired; if the workers cost less, then more profit can be made from hiring more workers at a lower price. Therefore, by setting a lower boundary to wages, a minimum wage law prevents firms from offering jobs below the minimum and increases unemployment. Research suggests a 10 percent increase in the minimum wage lowers low-skill employment by 2 to 4 percent and total restaurant employment by 1 to 3 percent.[73]
In Keynesian economics the perspective is very different. Although employers and workers set their wages in nominal terms, they are unable to predict the exact purchasing power of those wages. The value of the real wage can only be known "ex post" -- long after the workers have been paid. Neither unions nor government authorities know the real wage and can only approximate it by regulating the nominal wage. The real wage is the purchasing power of wages when adjusted for inflation, but inflation--the purchasing power of money and therefore of wages--depends on total levels of investment.
Investment, in its turn, depends upon consumption, and consumption depends upon the marginal propensity to consume (savings rate) across all income categories. In an "underconsumption" scenario, the transfer of income from entrepreneurs and rentiers (those with higher incomes) to the working class (via union wage agreements and minimum wages) can actually lead to an increase in total consumption and higher demand for goods--leading to increased employment.
However, the resulting higher price levels may spur several forms of political and institutional responses that blunt or negate this tendency. For one, inflation tends to transfer income from bond holders (rentiers) to wage earners. For another, entrepreneurs may, under conditions of oligopoly be able to blunt the effect of rising wages by using their market power to raise prices fast enough to prevent real gains among workers. And finally, the central bank may intervene to defend price levels by increasing interest rates, which will tend to curb investment and decrease the demand for labor.
Without choosing from among these perspectives, it is sufficient to say that minimum wage increases are unlikely to have a simple linear effect on employment. The interconnection of price levels, central bank policy, wage agreements, total aggregate demand creates a situation where the conclusions to be drawn from macroeconomic analysis will be highly influenced by the underlying assumptions.[74]

 

[Animaniac93-98]

Where I live I can't imagine anyone living on minimum wage. Even raised to $10/hour the cost of living is just too high. Maybe in some parts of the country you could do it.

Which is why I said before that I don't think people should be trying to, especially not a traditional middle-class lifestyle. But a higher wage would, in theory, help to pay for that "first start" in education, housing etc.

A national minimum wage makes no sense considering the vast differences in cost of living. It's not surprising that CA based fast food chains are paying employees higher than minimum wage since the cost of living there is so high.

There are sizeable differences in the cost of living between palces like Winnipeg and Vancouver (the most expensive place to live), plus commidities (like groceries) cost more in the territories way up north, so it's not as uniform as one might think. It is however, likely more so than the US, which is a point worth taking.

 

[WDW1974]

And a lovely Oscar Sunday to all MAGICal members. Alas, the Spirit isn't on the red carpet. He is home wearing a lovely Emmys tee and thinking that he'd like to do Oscar some day.

But he also has more information regarding the recent exec test of MM+ at DAK Lodge. Unfortunately, he can't tell everything he knows as to protect the source.

Let's start with the very bad. While some execs/management were able to check in with relative ease (they all did advance check in to begin with, but that didn't seem to matter), others -- including two big names in the fan community -- had nightmares. One had to go through the process over half a dozen times before the reservation held.

Now, some good: for the first day the MAGICBands did exactly what they were supposed to do (with the exception of tap to pay, which only worked internally at the Lodge and nowhere else).

And the bad: the bands were supposed to be coded to allow for every aspect of MM+ until midnight on the day of checkout. Unfortunately, the bands all assumed everyone was checking out at midnight on day of arrival and stopped working.

Some more bad: folks that weren't ever supposed to be part of the test got wind of it and attempted to insinuate themselves into the test. They were not successful.

Yet more bad: the tap to pay function never functioned across property for the length of the test.

Even more bad: some execs had issues with the itinereries they booked online being different when they attempted to pull up their FP+ schedule.

This fits in (sorta) with what has been happening -- what Disney has internally called 'software glitches' (they won't acknowledge this problem even exists and let's face it, who exactly in O-Town media is asking questions?) whereby people are logging on to Disney's site and pulling up the private info for other guests. And this is NOT a few isolated incidents, although no one knows to what extent it has happened. In other words, while it isn't the rule, it isn't the exception either.

 

[alissafalco]

If I log into my account and I find someone else's info, I'm going to call that person and tell them what's going on. I'm sure those people don't even know their info is compromised.

 

[WDW1974]

The problems at WDW right now are a result of wider problems in corporate and national politics. We can't hope to fix the problems without addressing the root cause.

The problems are more the root cause of blindly allowing companies to act as they please (again, in order to take a cruise you have to sign away any/all rights -- any cruise line can basically kill you without liability -- wouldn't it be great if we could kill people without any/all liability? especially with all the guns we have stocked up on for the upcoming zombie acpocalypse!) with sheeple somehow thinking that what's good for Big Business is good for them.

I have no idea where that thought comes from.

There is a political aspect, no doubt. But it's largely an economic one. Many Americans ignorantly confuse democracy with capitalism. They are not at all the same concepts and they work for largely opposite goals. One is for fairness and equality for all members of society, the other is to be able to take advantage of as many members of society as possible.

It is true, though, that WDW is simply a microcosm of what is happening in America. Ask yourself this ugly chilling thought, but if there was a terrorist attack on WDW or any tourist destination for that matter that killed travel and tourism, would Disney be seeking tax dollars because they're 'too big to fail?'

 

[Cosmic Commando]

Seems like MM+ and Avatarland are racing to the finish line like drops of pitch.

http://smp.uq.edu.au/content/pitch-drop-experiment

 

[WDW1974]

The turbo props are fine for the summer, but I wouldn't fly them in cold climates. Their slower speed on takeoff and landing makes them more likely to accumulate ice on the wings, sometimes leading to a stall. That (along with a poorly-trained pilot overriding a safety feature designed to keep the plane in the air) was what crashed Continental 3407 a few miles from my house.

Yes, but there was another factor as well. I recall that incident well.

And that's that commuter pilots are paid incredibly poor wages. I believe the co-pilot that barely had any sleep and was blamed in the NTSB report made some absurdly low salary like $21,000 a year. Again, this is the problem when you do NOT let the government come in and set basic rules and standards.

At least I know when I am about to board a UAL 777 to cross the ocean that my flight crew are making six figures and should be because of all the lives in their hands daily.

 

[WDW1974]

I guess the worst part of the system sharing your info with who knows how many people is you will not know it happened, unless TWDC notifies you or if the info is used for something bad. Just logging in and seeing your info does not mean your info has not been seen by who knows how many people. For those who think "its just an isolated incident or two", well thats is one or two too many (especially if it happens to be yours). I have logged in and mine is pulling the proper profile, but that does not mean someone else is not seeing the same thing. IMO Disney has pushed this out way to fast without proper testing, and yes I have deployed numerous types of electronic and data systems.

I can only tell you that Disney is aware of the problem, it isn't just a few very isolated incidents and that they wish we wouldn't talk about it ... not that it's going to wake up a lazy reporter like Jason Garcia or one of the O-Town TV affiliates.

Damn, I do look great on a red carpet!

 

[Cosmic Commando]

Yes, but there was another factor as well. I recall that incident well.

And that's that commuter pilots are paid incredibly poor wages. I believe the co-pilot that barely had any sleep and was blamed in the NTSB report made some absurdly low salary like $21,000 a year. Again, this is the problem when you do NOT let the government come in and set basic rules and standards.

At least I know when I am about to board a UAL 777 to cross the ocean that my flight crew are making six figures and should be because of all the lives in their hands daily.

Yes, I remember that now too. People literally commute across the country to fly commuter planes for basically minimum wage hoping that they'll land a gig with a "real" airline.

 

[WDW1974]

What might bug me the most about this is that when other big companies have "issues" safeguarding personal information they come clean and fess up about it, but with Disney nothing. In my mind this makes them less trustworthy than the typical big company at a time when they are asking for greater trust.

It simply bothers me because of Bob Iger's childish rant when Representative Markey had the gall to question him about privacy issues ... Disney can't even safeguard the basics now ... hell, it can't even get the system to work for a few hundred execs ... and yet, this is supposed to work for everyone.

BTW, supposedly APers will be receiving a letter at some point 'soon' is what I've been told, but that can mean anything from three months from now to late 2014, which asks more personal questions and then gives them options so they can choose their MAGICBand. That band will, theoretically, remain in use for as long as it lasts and it will be used as your room key anytime you stay at a Disney resort.

Oh, and in what seems like lawsuits waiting to happen, apparently your AP free parking privilege will be accessed by you swiping your wrist at toll plazas. One would hope it can read you from inside the vehicle or else I could see limbs flying off like during an episode of The Walking Dead.

 

[flynnibus]

Ah, unlike Beetlejuice you don't even have to call three times ... oh, and I'm quite good at what I do, but thanks for the advice.

You explictly tag me in a post and act like you drew me out of the woodwork? Please.. like many of the other things you don't understand.. I've been preoccupied for a few days and frankly there is little of interest here lately to post about.

Well, maybe instead of trying to do some work defending the Carnival Corp's rep, you could have researched this issues since it seems that NGE is nearer and dearer to you. There was a thread started either on this board or on General in the last 2-3 days that had people talking about similar issues. It was rather short when I last looked (only about two pages).

No wonder you constantly wander off the real meaning of something.. if the above is as specific you get about things it makes you wonder how you even end up in the same area code as the real stuff.

I don't care whether the risk is unique to MM+. That is corporate backpedaling if I ever heard it

You don't care because you don't really care about the facts or specifics - just your higher level slam campaign. The distinctions are important... well important to anyone truely interested in how/why and how to fix things. You're becoming the Fox News of WDWMagic... take a slice, understand nothing, but still rant about how this means so many other things.

Again, you're like the guy behind the curtain saying ''nothing to look at here, stay away!''

Can you name anything you've troubleshot and fixed yourself? You seem incapable of even recognizing logic - let alone follow it or apply it.

So, are you saying the problem is the old systems? Or 'dirty' data? ... More to the point, isn't it Disney's responsibility to get it right from the start when handling people's private info? Or, like Carnival, is this just a $#it happens deal? It's nobody's fault?

It is their responsibility - but if you want to discuss why things happen.. you must actually understand what is happening.. not take end symptoms and just flail around. Problem solving is based on establishing what you do know, and growing outward from that into what you did not know before.

My comment about 'dirty data' is theory on why they are struggling with ADRs and identifying owners properly. The idea of profiles being crossed is something much more severe. That's why I said it would be interesting to hear what Disney is feeding their front line people in identifying and handling those cases.

Right. Safeguarding private information doesn't have anything to do with security

No - it's you continuing to talk about topics you clearly are uneducated in. Protocol is how things are done. A failure in a component is not 'breach in protocol' - it's a system failure, bug, or flawed design.

If you follow protocol - and the system still fails - it wasn't a 'breach in protocol' - it was a failure. Failure that may be found to be avoidable or even a mistake - but again... use the right terminology if you are going to be a critic.

Didn't they ever teach you 'know your audience'? It's better to say nothing at all than to keep mouthing off with bad info.

 

[woody98]

You don't care because you don't really care about the facts or specifics - just your higher level slam campaign. The distinctions are important... well important to anyone truely interested in how/why and how to fix things. You're becoming the Fox News of WDWMagic... take a slice, understand nothing, but still rant about how this means so many other things.

74 reports...... you decide

 

[WDW1974]

Whether or not it is unique to MyMagic+ is incredibly important because it determines the scale and extent of the problem. Something unique to MyMagic+ can be a relatively small hiccup in the translation of data from existing systems into the system. Something not unique to MyMagic+ suggests an even wider flaw that was present in the previous systems and is therefore not new, having existed for some time.

I never said it wasn't important, of course it is. I said I didn't care where the problem was. I don't. It shouldn't exist and should have been fixed. And since Disney IS aware of it (I know this for a fact) and is not simply shutting down online access for everyone, they are opening themselves up to all sorts of liability. ... I have heard that it is, indeed, a glitch from having different systems communicating with the new MM+ system.

Guess what? That's something that even someone like myself -- who still can't program my 1990s VCR!-- could see coming. That should have been ironed out by the techies long ago. So that it never could have been an issue when it went live. Guess what? It is an issue.

I also have not seen where it has been stated that entire credit card profiles have been visible. That would be a very serious issue as any system I have used does not even let me look at my entire credit card number, just the last four digits.

I believe that is correct. But you can do far more damage with someone's home address. phone number, email, name of family members than you can with one credit card.

 

[WDW1974]

Yep. Most people who scream for higher wages sign the backs of checks, not the fronts.

And shouldn't that be the case?

Isn't that common sense?

We live in a nation where many people feel there shouldn't even be a minimum wage.

Having no idea what you do or how much you make, how about we just cut your salary by 56% (just a number)? Too high? OK, how about a flat 40%? You still OK with that? Or would you have an issue if you made $1 less than what you are supposed to/have been?

 

[GoofGoof]

I believe that is correct. But you can do far more damage with someone's home address. phone number, email, name of family members than you can with one credit card.

I logged into my account and from the profile page my CC number is not showing, but all of that other info is. If someone logged in and got my page instead of their own they would have all of that info. I admit that I am not knowledgeable on IT and website issues, but this seems highly unusual. There is nothing technologically groundbreaking with the website right? How can Disney IT not get that right? Seems basic to me. All the issues with the swipe scanners and testing at AKL seems more expected since its new technology (new to Disney anyway). They already ran a website with customer accounts and log-ins including ADRs and room reservations without issue how is the new site different? Can anyone with more technical knowledge explain this?

 

[WDW1974]

While I appreciate your contributions, this thread isn't "yours." This is a public message board. Not closed. Many have opined and contributed including me. Am I not allowed to disagree or voice displeasure with the direction of a group conversation?

Well, Eddie Sotto starts a thread and we all follow what he wants to be spoken of in said thread and neither one of us has been an Imagineer this century. I don't tell people what they should or shouldn't talk about unless they're straying close to standards or feeding a troll, which doesn't help any of us.

I think your comment was utterly useless. It was like me joining a thread about 'what is the best character breakfast for my toddler?' and started attacking the topic because I don't have any use for toddlers at theme parks or character meals or, for the most part, breakfast!

You don't like the direction, feel free to drop in a point of your own or simply go to another thread. Your point, no offense, was like the typical complaining about 'the complainers' that always come up!

There are plenty of ways to give insight without lacing in comments about a current national political debate. It is obvious what side you come down on and while that is your business, disagreement with the approach shouldn't elicit a "get the hell out then" reaction.

I didn't realize I was talking about a current national political debate ... unless you're speaking of security, which directly speaks to aspects of NGE.

And I hope my opinions are obvious, I'd really hate if I had to explain them beyond what I currently do!

The very discussion of inequity is based in opinion and perspective. It isn't as black and white issue as you make it out to be. I'd be happy to explain my point of view, but I dont care to hijack a really good conversation about the state of the Florida Disney Parks with another post on minimum wage.

Inequity isn't simply opinion and perspective. Tell that to the homeless family in the park in Santa Monica as you speed by in your Range Rover or Maserati or S-Class Benz on the way to a Beverly Hills dinner that will cost $800 for three and you'll put on your AmEx Black. Some folks love to make things grey because the world indeed isn't black and white. But some things are pretty much etched. Just like the excuse that some always use on minimum wage, that if someone doesn't like working for that, make yourself better and more marketable and you'll be making $100K in no time. ... We are living in a society where class-jumping is, with few exceptions, a thing of the past. If you're born in a trailer park, don't expect much. ... I am sorry if that doesn't match your world view, but it is a reality that many of us see and realize. Even us faux top one percenters that still have hearts and souls.

 

[Figments Friend]

But Tony Baxter and Imagineers and thinkers like him were wrong, what guests visit WDW for is datamining/24/7 control and planning ... not for the best immersive family themed entertainment attractions in the business. ...

Heh...this reminds me of a great story once told by one of those Imagineers and thinkers.
Went by the name of John Hench.

His story was about the time he was hired many years ago to provide a short opening sequence for a film for a outside, non-Disney studio. At that time John was fully entrenched on various creative projects with Walt, and the story he told perfectly illustrated how *other* companies sometimes viewed their customers. He felt, as Walt did, that you should really LIKE your Guests/customers...and show that through your efforts and product. If you show that you LIKE your customers, they will respond positively to your efforts/products and LIKE you too. Both parties then have a happy relationship both as a business and a customer base.
John*s experience during his side project with this alternative studio made it clear that many organizations do not, and this usually leads to bad relations and poor business.

So the story goes that John was hired to film a short opening sequence involving a live eagle swooping down in front of the camera and landing on a rock. He was provided with a trained eagle, but the bird was too old for the stunt and stumbled on the rock once it landed. He filmed a few takes, and then played the footage for the studio reps.
At the showing , John thought the footage was not up to a good quaility standard, as the bird looked clumsy landing on the rock. After the film clip ended, he commented that he could do a better job of it, and make the eagle land in a better way to make it appear to be a conqueror in a reshoot.
The director right then and there said *No, do not even bother as the b******s will not even know the difference.*
This was his studio*s audience this guy was talking about....their customer base. He viewed them as Bs !

The comment surprised John and made him realize this studio could care less about the quality of their product and cared even less about the people who consumed it.
They did not LIKE their customers.
By not liking their customers, the product suffered and quality went out the window.
He felt it was important that businesses, particularly in entertainment, should LIKE their customers.

His story reminds me of some aspects of today*s WDC...and the currant thought processes going on these days within the Company.



Do the higher ups LIKE their customer base?
MM+ and all the NextGen stuff we have been hearing about seems to send some very mixed messages.


I would love to hear more about what Tony thought of all of this MM+ jazz....
Has anyone heard any more from him since he *left*?

I just hope he is not sitting at home, seriously depressed.

 

[WDW1974]

We aren't fixing anything on an Internet fan based message board.

Please. It's helping some of us with Klout.

And, you may choose to not believe it, but many important folks in the business do read here. They REALLY do. My good friend Georgie K has been a religious follower for many, many moons.

As to fixing things, well, I'm not sure ... maybe it's helping promote world peace via Pixie Dust.