Why Can't They Clean Rides Better?

[MarkTwain]

You want the honest truth... because there is a good portion of the 3rd shift custodial team who only does what they need to to get by and then sleeps in breakrooms, watch TV, or waste time doing other stuff. My friends who open in the morning always talk about seeing a number of 3rd shift cast members sleeping when they arrive. Unfortunately, there aren't as many leaders at night and management won't ackowledge this is a problem, primarily because finding people willing to work 3rd shift custodial is harder.

Another honest reason is because attraction refurbishments don't occur as often as they should for many attractions. With less and less of an off season, there are more crowds with more extended hours and less time to work at night. Budgets also come into play for this too.

Other than that, attractions have opening checklist that not only ensure each morning that things are working, but also ensure that they are "show ready". Unfortunately, with most managers, show is not as high on their list. Paint scratches, dust, and other minor custodial or maintenance issues will not cause an attraction or vehicle to be taken out of service, will largely be pushed aside, or the opening cast members simply don't notice or care enough document or tell someone.

All of this.

I'm not an expert on custodial, but if I understand correctly they aren't required to be constantly working, only to respond to calls and clean assigned areas on a fixed schedules. Other than that there's no incentive to go above and beyond the checklists they're given (this sentence could be the modern Cast Member credo).

Attractions have the added problem in that they're not walkways, restrooms, or restaurants, they're effectively giant machines with potentially dangerous moving parts, and are viewed by management accordingly. Queues aren't cleaned often because it's difficult to send custodial into a queue filled with hundreds of guests without holding up a line or rerouting people. The rides themselves aren't cleaned because that would involve shutting down the ride and a loss in capacity.

As for overnight/opening procedures, for the most part the focus is just on getting the ride open the next day. Getting the ride open is priority #1, I've had to fill out ride opening checklists myself and they generally just consist of safety-related issues, making sure evacuation pathways are clear, work lights are functional, etc. Show checklists exist but they're not taken very seriously; no cast member wants to be the one to say "we're not going to open today because I wasn't able to check the box saying the ______ animatronic was moving." Sad but true.

 

[rob0519]

The whole point here is a standard of cleanliness and quality, both of which are expensive to maintain. They are non revenue producing activities which can and are being cut back until either or both start to affect guest safety or revenue.

Let's be fair about this though. It's not only the rides. It's the stores, the inside of the monorail cars, the inside of the buses, the hotels and other public areas around the resort as well.

 

[copcarguyp71]

Three pages and 42 posts (this is #43) on this topic. Prices increasing, crowds increasing, quality on a decided downturn and still many of us keep going back hoping for a renewed sense of value and magic.

Either we have some sort of mental illness or they are starting to put crack cocaine in the Dole Whips to keep us coming back for a fix (yes, I am kidding). I mean really, if we had a restaurant locally to our own homes that we had these issues with we all would have abandoned ship long ago but we are willing to habitually spend HUGE amounts of money and use our one trip a year with our family (at least for many of us) on a hope and a prayer that we see improvements in the things that continue to concern us despite knowing different from the forum.

I would love to know the psychology of this...really. I am not being facetious or smarmy but there has to be some actual way we are wired that keeps us going back. I know I for one hearken back to two trips, one in 1977 and one in 1996 that were just so memorable that I want to go and try to recapture the feelings I had for the parks at those times. I think that is what does it for me, what keeps me wanting to go back. Although we have made a conscious decision to not consider going back until 2017 to let some things work themselves out a bit i wonder how much of this can be attributed to the old adage "You can't go home again".

 

[Mouse_Trap]

Right, so a question I feel I have to ask after reading this thread.......to each person who is complaining about the levels of general cleanliness or trash around rides etc, have you:

1 - raised the issue with a CM in the nearby area?
2 - provided Guest Services with your complaint?
3 - followed up your dissatisfaction via letter/email etc to relevant department.

I am not saying for a minute that the current cleanlinesses is acceptable, not for a minute. But unless Disney is made aware of the problem, and that it's reinforced that people actually care about this then they are not going to make it a priority.

Yes it's a little sad this is the case, but that's life - if you think you can achieve the same results by spending less then you are going to take it. It seems to me that everyone here is complaining about the problem, I'm just not sure how many of these complaints are getting heard by the only people who can do something about it.

I don't want to turn this into a ....."the Disney of yesterday wouldn't have let it get to this....." kind of response, for whatever reason that not quite the culture of the current management so the paying public must find a different tactic for providing a response - find the avenue they do care about and use it.

 

[copcarguyp71]

Yes to #'s 2 &3....canned response phone call stating they were sorry for our bad experience.

I am not all too sure they take these complaints/letters seriously though as I get the feeling they think it is just people looking for reparations or freebies instead of just looking for improvements to be made.

 

[rob0519]

Right, so a question I feel I have to ask after reading this thread.......to each person who is complaining about the levels of general cleanliness or trash around rides etc, have you:

1 - raised the issue with a CM in the nearby area?
2 - provided Guest Services with your complaint?
3 - followed up your dissatisfaction via letter/email etc to relevant department.

I am not saying for a minute that the current cleanlinesses is acceptable, not for a minute. But unless Disney is made aware of the problem, and that it's reinforced that people actually care about this then they are not going to make it a priority.

Yes it's a little sad this is the case, but that's life - if you think you can achieve the same results by spending less then you are going to take it. It seems to me that everyone here is complaining about the problem, I'm just not sure how many of these complaints are getting heard by the only people who can do something about it.

I don't want to turn this into a ....."the Disney of yesterday wouldn't have let it get to this....." kind of response, for whatever reason that not quite the culture of the current management so the paying public must find a different tactic for providing a response - find the avenue they do care about and use it.

Yes to both #2 and #3. I even provided photographs. So I'm not just complaining here. I'm not looking for freebies either and I'm not sure how seriously anyone at TDO takes our complaints on this subject. I've gotten one or two standard, non specific thank you for your concern type letters. I won't be going there for probably another 12-18 months, so we'll see how things shake out. Until then, I'm going to officially stop complaining about anything WDW on this forum and concentrate on what I and my family like about the resort.

 

[Chef Mickey]

Right, so a question I feel I have to ask after reading this thread.......to each person who is complaining about the levels of general cleanliness or trash around rides etc, have you:

1 - raised the issue with a CM in the nearby area?
2 - provided Guest Services with your complaint?
3 - followed up your dissatisfaction via letter/email etc to relevant department.

I am not saying for a minute that the current cleanlinesses is acceptable, not for a minute. But unless Disney is made aware of the problem, and that it's reinforced that people actually care about this then they are not going to make it a priority.

Yes it's a little sad this is the case, but that's life - if you think you can achieve the same results by spending less then you are going to take it. It seems to me that everyone here is complaining about the problem, I'm just not sure how many of these complaints are getting heard by the only people who can do something about it.

I don't want to turn this into a ....."the Disney of yesterday wouldn't have let it get to this....." kind of response, for whatever reason that not quite the culture of the current management so the paying public must find a different tactic for providing a response - find the avenue they do care about and use it.

Yes to all 3. I have written several sincere letters outlining my concern with these very specific issues. I have always received personal phone calls back and had lengthy discussions on the phone with the Disney customer relations team. I have gotten everything from a Steamboat Willie stuffed toy and personalized letter thanking me for my concern and continued business to a $350 credit on my credit card without even asking for cash compensation.


I truly think disney is willing to listen and act on issues raised by guests who complain in a respectful and constructive manner. I will continue to do so and also give them praise where it's due. They certainly do many things right but I always like to do my part to remind them that discerning guests notice when things slip.

Ive also written to disney investor relations with regard to my investment and had great results as well.

 

[ParentsOf4]

I stumbled across an interesting Walt Disney quote that seems relevant to the topic:

"Everybody thinks that Disneyland is a goldmine but we have had our problems. You've got to work it and know how to handle it. Even trying to keep that park clean is a tremendous expense. And those sharp-pencil guys tell you, 'Walt, if we cut down on maintenance, we'd save a lot of money.' But I don't believe in that. It's like any other show on the road; it must be kept clean and fresh."

 

[Chef Mickey]

I stumbled across an interesting Walt Disney quote that seems relevant to the topic:

"Everybody thinks that Disneyland is a goldmine but we have had our problems. You've got to work it and know how to handle it. Even trying to keep that park clean is a tremendous expense. And those sharp-pencil guys tell you, 'Walt, if we cut down on maintenance, we'd save a lot of money.' But I don't believe in that. It's like any other show on the road; it must be kept clean and fresh."

This mentality is what truly made Disney a visionary and has made Disney great. The quality is second to none, but they are losing that in their DNA in favor of cost cutting. It worries me.

I do think they do a pretty good job, but not to Walt's standard.

And the parks are far from a gold mine, as Disney stated. I know they still make money, but it's a low margin business with huge fixed costs. We hate the $3 Cokes and $25 shirts, but there is a lot of expenses without direct revenue streams. No one pays for individual rides or the landscaping, but it's part of the experience.

I just hope they don't lose sight of what made them successful. It's hard to argue they have, but we can see it because we know what it was in the past.