Trending blog post: "What it's really like working at Walt Disney World"

[GrammieBee]

Some observations.
I have opinions, but prefer to make no judgements as to why someone wants to, needs to or stays in a low paying job.
It really stinks if you are doing what you are supposed to be doing and superiors do not protect your back.
Unfortunately, many managers or superiors rise to their level of incompetence.
Any job involving day to day contact with the general public can be, and usually is, very stressful.
A rule is no rule at all if it is not enforced. People are free to ignore it.
If bad behavior is rewarded, you will only get more bad behavior.
If rules or standards are enforced consistantly and fairly,the vast majority of people will respect them.
Right or wrong, almost any business or corporation does not want to offend or lose a paying customer, no matter what their behavior. They want to avoid bad publicity and In this day and age there is also the possibility of a lawsuit.
Finally, If someone puts their hands on and pushes or knocks down a cast member, or anyone else, isn't that classified as assult? Isn't that a criminal offense? There is no way Disney or any other business should ignore or reward such extreme behavior. I am greatly saddened if they do.

 

[GrammieBee]

I think so but I can't remember. Alas, memberships are cheap If i recall.

Cheap compared to the mouse.

Definitely less expensive than the Mouse.

 

[PhotoDave219]

Definitely less expensive than the Mouse.

Im not sure that restaurant even exists anymore.

 

[GrammieBee]

Im not sure that restaurant even exists anymore.

Don't know. We haven't been there for a few years. I'll have to check.

I checked. Recently remodeled and open to the general public as are all of the other restaurants in the various Smithsonian buildings. Members do get a discount.
It will be just as crowded as eating at WDW.

 

[stevehousse]

It often kind of does mean that very thing. It is a mistake to believe that the quality of the education is the same at your local community college as it is at the leading colleges, in my opinion.

Sometimes, people get paid big money because they are very, very good at their jobs. It's hard for people in 'normal' jobs to understand that some C-level people deserve the big bucks and perks, but that's the way it is. It is simple supply and demand. These individuals are in demand and if they weren't paid 'well', then they would go work for someone who is willing to pay them 'well'.

I believe you should definitely check out the documentary "Ivory Tower" and you might change your view about that...it's bogus what universities are doing to kids, no matter how good or bad you are at that kind of job. Its just gross.

 

[PhotoDave219]

Don't know. We haven't been there for a few years. I'll have to check.

I checked. Recently remodeled and open to the general public as are all of the other restaurants in the various Smithsonian buildings. Members do get a discount.
It will be just as crowded as eating at WDW.

But for just a $19 membership, you get 10% off. $75 gets you 20% off.

 

[GrammieBee]

But for just a $19 membership, you get 10% off. $75 gets you 20% off.

Got to end this. We're so far off topic it's ridiculous. The discount I mentioned is on the food.

 

[Phonedave]

"we have the power (and the obligation) to stand up for the CM, in turn praising their actions. Because then the manager will have no choice but to "reward" those who disapprove of the other guest's actions. If enough of us do so, we may be able to change the culture from rewarding bad behaviour, to rewarding good behaviour."

To me, what TerminatedWeasel says is the #1 thing of value from this discussion - forget about whether this particular CM had an axe to grind, was legit or somewhere in between. Each of us can make such a huge difference starting the very next time we're in the parks by remembering this thread and supporting a deserving CM. I hate seeing guests rewarded for being nasty -.

It's not often that a post that contains italics, underlined and bolded text makes a lot of sense, but you thoughts outshine the formatting.

I agree. But here is the problem. It is in human nature to complain. How many times when you have an excellent day at WDW do you stop at guest relations on the way out and say "just want to say, everything was awesome. No, nothing in particular, just wanted to say thanks". But, find one rude CM, or some other perceived slight, and its "I want them fired!". Think about a restaurant or a hotel. Have a bad experience and you can bet there will be an online review posted. But have a good time, and maybe 1 out of 10 people will post about it.

My wife and I had a pretty dismal dinner at a local chain restaurant the other night. They had just opened and were clearly working out the bugs. We pointed out the number of things they did wrong, but were very polite about it. We didn't demand anything (other than to fix the orders) but the Manager came over, apologized, comped about $30 worth of items, and gave a whole speech about how damaging a bad review can be, and asked us to please give them an other chance (he gave us money off our next visit).

Now I was not about to go blogging this experience, but I was impressed that the manager understood the impact an upset customer can cause. As I said, we were not complaining loudly, we were not demanding anything, and we were not screaming or yelling. We simply said "that is not what we ordered" twice, and then once questioned what beans were doing in the bottom of a french onion soup (in other words, tell your kitchen line to use a separate ladle for each soup next time). But he understood that upset people complain, and happy people don't say anything.

So, while I think it would be great for people to complement people who do their job well, for some reason, people tend not to do so.

-dave

 

[stevehousse]

I agree. But here is the problem. It is in human nature to complain. How many times when you have an excellent day at WDW do you stop at guest relations on the way out and say "just want to say, everything was awesome. No, nothing in particular, just wanted to say thanks". But, find one rude CM, or some other perceived slight, and its "I want them fired!". Think about a restaurant or a hotel. Have a bad experience and you can bet there will be an online review posted. But have a good time, and maybe 1 out of 10 people will post about it.

My wife and I had a pretty dismal dinner at a local chain restaurant the other night. They had just opened and were clearly working out the bugs. We pointed out the number of things they did wrong, but were very polite about it. We didn't demand anything (other than to fix the orders) but the Manager came over, apologized, comped about $30 worth of items, and gave a whole speech about how damaging a bad review can be, and asked us to please give them an other chance (he gave us money off our next visit).

Now I was not about to go blogging this experience, but I was impressed that the manager understood the impact an upset customer can cause. As I said, we were not complaining loudly, we were not demanding anything, and we were not screaming or yelling. We simply said "that is not what we ordered" twice, and then once questioned what beans were doing in the bottom of a french onion soup (in other words, tell your kitchen line to use a separate ladle for each soup next time). But he understood that upset people complain, and happy people don't say anything.

So, while I think it would be great for people to complement people who do their job well, for some reason, people tend not to do so.

-dave

It's reasons like this that Yelp should ceast to exist!

 

[dadddio]

I believe you should definitely check out the documentary "Ivory Tower" and you might change your view about that...it's bogus what universities are doing to kids, no matter how good or bad you are at that kind of job. Its just gross.

Right. Because CNN Films are known for their fair and accurate portrayal of the issues. <Insert eyeroll here>

 

[Bairstow]

Right. Because CNN Films are known for their fair and accurate portrayal of the issues. <Insert eyeroll here>

Want to back that up with a couple reasons and/or examples?

 

[stevehousse]

Right. Because CNN Films are known for their fair and accurate portrayal of the issues. <Insert eyeroll here>

Let me guess, if Fox News had done the documentary, you would think it was the greatest thing ever! LOL

 

[dadddio]

Let me guess, if Fox News had done the documentary, you would think it was the greatest thing ever! LOL

Why? I despise Faux news.

 

[dadddio]

Want to back that up with a couple reasons and/or examples?

Examples? Did anyone not think of Blackfish when you asked that question?

 

[stevehousse]

Examples? Did anyone not think of Blackfish when you asked that question?

But CNN had nothing to do with making the film, just releasing it. Doesn't matter who make a documentary, there are good and bad ones. Ivory Tower is about how awful the college tuition game really is and how we basically are bankrupting our youth straight out of high school and keeping them in debt for most of their adult life.

 

[Horizons1]

This is all very true. Disney is so large they don't care about their employees. Disney will collapse on itself eventually because of this mentality.

 

[yaksplat]

You also might have to move out of Detroit, Buffalo, or Pittsburgh.

Not sure why you're bashing Buffalo here. Six figure salaries are not hard to find with a tech degree and there's an extremely low cost of living. New builds are still under $120/sqft.

 

[SSH]

But have a good time, and maybe 1 out of 10 people will post about it. But he understood that upset people complain, and happy people don't say anything. So, while I think it would be great for people to complement people who do their job well, for some reason, people tend not to do so.-dave

Great points. I guess I'm that weird 1 in 10 lol. I post a review every time I've had a great experience...I actually tend not to post negative reviews at all....I write to the company privately first. Only if they don't respond, will I then share that lack of concern via a review. It's so ridiculously easy to give good feedback these days - I book a restaurant ressie through OpenTable and they email me an eval form the day after. Same with Orbitz and internet deal sites like Groupon/Living Social. It literally takes me a couple of minutes. I always fill them out because I rely so heavily on reviews myself when deciding where to go, I feel like I owe it to the folks who took time to review the place before me to pay that forward by submitting good reviews to encourage others to visit.

But I don't remember getting an emailed survey from WDW after each trip. Perhaps I did and can't remember. I used to see CMs doing surveys all the time when guests first enter the park. I think it would be great if they did some exit interviews instead - there's always a CM or two stationed by the exits. Maybe ask a few people leaving to mention any standout CMs, service pluses or any concerns they experienced.

 

[draybook]

Yeah, I make sure to do reviews of good things too.

 

[dadddio]

Not sure why you're bashing Buffalo here. Six figure salaries are not hard to find with a tech degree and there's an extremely low cost of living. New builds are still under $120/sqft.

Buffalo's an easy target if you've never been there (or were there during the transition from steel/manufacturing).

That being said, Buffalo is definitely on the way back up. Also, there are few places that I can think of that have such a diverse collection of things to see and do than Buffalo does. I've been gone for decades, but Buffalo will always be my home.