Worst Cast Member Experience

[91JLovesDisney]

Do people still reply to this thread? I have one!
In January 2020, before pin trading was illegal, I was sitting outside Tomorrowland Light & Power Co and I spotted a cast member standing at a pin-trading stand somewhere in-between Space Mountain and the Skyway bathrooms, (under the tta somewhat). I walked over, took a quick glance at the pins, and then walked over to her to ask to see her pins. She was standing in front of the cart staring off into space, looking kind of depressed, and when I asked to see her pins, she didn't say anything, she just held them out without even turning to look at me.

There were no pins I wanted, so I said "thank you!" and she never said anything, so I walked away.

?!?!? I know that you can never be sure what these people are going through but if you're unfit to be friendly to people and act like an actual cast member, you shouldn't show up to work. Kind of ruined the magic that day a little bit.

 

[Giss Neric]

Do people still reply to this thread? I have one!
In January 2020, before pin trading was illegal, I was sitting outside Tomorrowland Light & Power Co and I spotted a cast member standing at a pin-trading stand somewhere in-between Space Mountain and the Skyway bathrooms, (under the tta somewhat). I walked over, took a quick glance at the pins, and then walked over to her to ask to see her pins. She was standing in front of the cart staring off into space, looking kind of depressed, and when I asked to see her pins, she didn't say anything, she just held them out without even turning to look at me.

There were no pins I wanted, so I said "thank you!" and she never said anything, so I walked away.

?!?!? I know that you can never be sure what these people are going through but if you're unfit to be friendly to people and act like an actual cast member, you shouldn't show up to work. Kind of ruined the magic that day a little bit.

Those types of people are everywhere and in every theme park too. It's definitely rude but I don't think it's a big of a deal for your day to be "slightly" ruined just by that. I just brush it off and move on to the next.

Problem is when one experiences a bad encounter with a CMs, they will automatically judge the entirety of CMs when they post reviews on yelp, facebook, or twitter.

There are so many reviews I have seen recently of guests calling CMs rude and you know their reasons are? Cause the CMs kept telling them to wear their masks properly constantly. LOL! I think that's positive cause they are doing their jobs then.

 

[Goofyernmost]

Quite a few years back there was a Disney Discussion site called "Laughing Place". At that time CM's were invited via a tread entitled "Stupid Guest Tricks" or something similar. In that thread CM's vented about the incredibly stupid things that the guests did and how it affected their attitude and mood. I'm not now nor have I ever been a CM so I can't start one, but it seems to me if it is OK for us to publicly point out "problems" with CM's it is only fair that CM's have the same right. I promise it will go south really fast, but it wouldn't hurt the occasional snowflake to be told that their behavior is less then desirable. I know that I discovered somethings while reading it that hit home and it became a learning experience for all of us.

 

[91JLovesDisney]

Those types of people are everywhere and in every theme park too. It's definitely rude but I don't think it's a big of a deal for your day to be "slightly" ruined just by that. I just brush it off and move on to the next.

Problem is when one experiences a bad encounter with a CMs, they will automatically judge the entirety of CMs when they post reviews on yelp, facebook, or twitter.

There are so many reviews I have seen recently of guests calling CMs rude and you know their reasons are? Cause the CMs kept telling them to wear their masks properly constantly. LOL! I think that's positive cause they are doing their jobs then.

I mean, it didn't ruin my day, it was just kind of more (and I know this sounds stupid) I wondered if I had like, done something to upset that cast member? I can't of what it would be, but maybe she was trying to be obvious she wasn't in the mood to talk to people and so I was annoying her. I don't know. On that trip I had had a few encounters like that and it just made me kind of self-conscious, like maybe I'm just an annoying person I know that's so stupid though. Even if I am an annoying person it's not really the CMs job to make it obvious. Also that was before the mask policy.

 

[danyoung56]

Quite a few years back there was a Disney Discussion site called "Laughing Place".

AFAIK Laughing Place is still going strong.

 

[Goofyernmost]

AFAIK Laughing Place is still going strong.

Could be but the last time I looked it was just a store and vlog type situation, however, the discussion boards were gone. That was a number of years ago though and I have enough ways of getting in trouble online so I never looked for it again.

 

[TotallyBiased]

Went in December just before the C19 stuff hit the fan a couple years back. Had a few negative CM experiences, though my wife is far more sensitive to it than I am. It was our honeymoon so she wanted lots of pics. So we're at AK walking over the bridge past EE and there's a CM with a cam. My wife all smiles walks up (she's outgoing and polite to everyone... except me, lol) and asks for pics. CM is busy chit chatting with another CM, very visually annoyed to be tending to her request. Got the pics, scans the wife's bracelet without even looking and continues chatting, didn't respond when she said thank you.

Another CM at AK who was handling access at extra magic hours asked her where she was staying. She didn't hear him and said, "I'm sorry, what?" He yelled at her. "WHERE ARE YOU STAYING." I chimed in and told him. He condescendingly goes, "Stick with him, at least he knows what's going on." That raised my eyebrow, but I wasn't about to let it bust my day, plus the queue for FoP was growing and it was a race against the horde. It got to her though and she still mentions it.

Beyond that may have been another one or two but those are the ones that stand out. Only other mentionables are the herders at HM screaming in your face to move forward and occupy all the space in front of you." Which I suppose is a job to be doing all day anyway. I'd probably be a bit on the aggravated side myself.

And then there's the bad guest experience I inadvertently gave a CM. Leaving MK after the light show, wife wants another set of pics. Stop on Main at a photog. "Thank ya sir!" to which they reply, "It's ma'am and you're welcome." Wife punched me. In my defense it wasn't intentional, and I apologized. But I imagine I had the same expression of stunned confusion Gene Hackman in the Birdcage when he found out Robin Williams and Nathan Lane where a gay couple.

Most of the others were decent to excellent. It's unfortunate that the bad ones tend to stand out in memories more than the good ones.

 

[-em]

Could be but the last time I looked it was just a store and vlog type situation, however, the discussion boards were gone. That was a number of years ago though and I have enough ways of getting in trouble online so I never looked for it again.

The LP boards lost their magic in 08/09 after some nasty issues and never regained their popularity.. a bunch of us tried a few years ago but it didn’t work..

I still miss it..

 

[Nunu]

I mean, it didn't ruin my day, it was just kind of more (and I know this sounds stupid) I wondered if I had like, done something to upset that cast member? I can't of what it would be, but maybe she was trying to be obvious she wasn't in the mood to talk to people and so I was annoying her. I don't know. On that trip I had had a few encounters like that and it just made me kind of self-conscious, like maybe I'm just an annoying person I know that's so stupid though. Even if I am an annoying person it's not really the CMs job to make it obvious. Also that was before the mask policy.

Nothing wrong with expecting courtesy and good manners from people, imho. Even if a CM is having a bad day, they should at the very least, acknowledge you.

 

[91JLovesDisney]

Another CM at AK who was handling access at extra magic hours asked her where she was staying. She didn't hear him and said, "I'm sorry, what?" He yelled at her. "WHERE ARE YOU STAYING." I chimed in and told him. He condescendingly goes, "Stick with him, at least he knows what's going on." That raised my eyebrow, but I wasn't about to let it bust my day, plus the queue for FoP was growing and it was a race against the horde. It got to her though and she still mentions it.

What on earth? That's so rude...

 

[Goofyernmost]

Nothing wrong with expecting courtesy and good manners from people, imho. Even if a CM is having a bad day, they should at the very least, acknowledge you.

I agree, but my point is that is a two way street. I'm not judging who is right or wrong in these situations, but let's make sure that we are dealing with CM in the same respectful manner that we expect to be treated. If you are acting in an exemplary manner just leave ones paranoia at home. These people don't even know you, they aren't out to "get" you in any form. The old saying that "for every action there is an equal and opposite reaction" is one of the truer way of determining and making common sense evaluations about the motivations of others. That said, there are some truly awful people in any group, be it CM or Guest.

 

[Nunu]

my point is that is a two way street

100% agree.

 

[mergatroid]

Can I just point out that the majority of this post from 15 years ago would probably have gotten this thread locked if it were created in 2016? Apparently, this board was like the Wild West waaaaay back in '01.

Thought the same reading it, I suppose the last few years have changed the way we instinctively react to situations. Whilst it wasn't technically 'homophobic', it did read like the poster had a real problem with gay people in general. Again I'm not saying the post was homophobic but the way it was worded made it seem like the OP had made no initial effort to clarify the issue wasn't the guy being gay, but rather his behavior. I think today's posts on the subject would seem a lot kinder.

Hello
I was once a professional Intern for Disney at WDW. I had a lot of bad experiences. For example I was back stage at Typhoon Lagoon by the salt water filters when a man who worked in the area asked me to do something. When I said no the man took out a knife and told me to do it again. I ran for my life and the man followed me until I got to a area with guest in around. I informed my manager and he said he would look into it. A few days later I asked my manager what he did about the situation and found out that he had found the man but was not willing to do anything about it.

Sounds like this was a police matter rather than an internal colleague dispute?

 

[Club Cooloholic]

The Ariel pool at Art of Animation. My daughter had brought an inflatable lizard, he wasn't very big, we asked the lifeguard if it was ok, and he said sure. 10 minutes later he tells my daughter she has to take the toy out it's not allowed and he didn't say it in a nice way. I have no idea why, and the pool was empty. My daughter felt so bad by the way he had spoken to her(she was only around 5 or so) that she refused to go back to that pool again because she felt embarrassed.

 

[mergatroid]

The Ariel pool at Art of Animation. My daughter had brought an inflatable lizard, he wasn't very big, we asked the lifeguard if it was ok, and he said sure. 10 minutes later he tells my daughter she has to take the toy out it's not allowed and he didn't say it in a nice way. I have no idea why, and the pool was empty. My daughter felt so bad by the way he had spoken to her(she was only around 5 or so) that she refused to go back to that pool again because she felt embarrassed.

That sounds really unfair, did you not ask him why he'd done that to your daughter?

 

[Club Cooloholic]

That sounds really unfair, did you not ask him why he'd done that to your daughter?

I could only think maybe another guard or manager, came by and said something, which is totally fine I just wish he had said it a bit nicer.

 

[91JLovesDisney]

I could only think maybe another guard or manager, came by and said something, which is totally fine I just wish he had said it a bit nicer.

It's especially irritating because when you're younger that kind of thing really sticks... I think CMs especially should know to treat children with the same kindness you would an adult; you wouldn't yell at an adult like that.

 

[MattC]

I agree, but my point is that is a two way street. I'm not judging who is right or wrong in these situations, but let's make sure that we are dealing with CM in the same respectful manner that we expect to be treated. If you are acting in an exemplary manner just leave ones paranoia at home. These people don't even know you, they aren't out to "get" you in any form. The old saying that "for every action there is an equal and opposite reaction" is one of the truer way of determining and making common sense evaluations about the motivations of others. That said, there are some truly awful people in any group, be it CM or Guest.

100% agree.

Yeah, every time I think I’ve seen the bottom of the barrel in my line of work with customers, a new low is achieved by another. Too many people are simply out of control.

“The customer is always right.” That’s total nonsense.

 

[Tony the Tigger]

This didn’t age well.

 

[91JLovesDisney]

Yeah, every time I think I’ve seen the bottom of the barrel in my line of work with customers, a new low is achieved by another. Too many people are simply out of control.

“The customer is always right.” That’s total nonsense.

Right, right, but we've all stated scenarios where the customer hasn't really done anything wrong. I 100% agree that the guests should treat the CMs like the CMs treat the guest.