Originally Posted By hayden I must add this was the only real problem area , At splash mt we kept having our picture ruined by hands and junk and I asked if we could sit in front so we could at the 3rd try get a picture of the 3 of us, they let us have a boat to ourselves and yelled at us to smile and wave as we went down.. So not all the cm are bad , generally we had a good time and if my grandson hadnt been with me I might have laughed off the cm at autopia but they scared my grandson and thats ALL IT TAKES TO GET ME GOING....
Originally Posted By PirateChick I work this attraction and I know the CM in question. As mentioned before working here can be very hellish and not everyones favorite thing to do. Many things probably led up to the event in question. I don't know if people on here know but there is a shortage of CMs right now at the resort. It was not always like that but last June they rolled out this new program called presenteeism which basically accounted for a lot of people to get fired or quit before they did get fired. This in turn led to shortages of CMs. There is more shifts then there are people to run the attraction. This causes people to get mandatory overtime. Mandatory overtime really blows... especially at auto. You got to think about it, you are out in the elements of mother nature. When it pours you get drenched and the umbrellas they do provide usually leak so they are not much help and by the time you can get your rain gear on it is usually to late to do you much good. In the middle of summer you are standing out there hotter then hell outside and in the station it is 10 degrees hotter because of the engines of the cars. This is not counting the fumes you have to breathe in during your usually 12 hour shift. There have been times when I have gotten home from a shift with my eyes bloodshot and burning and when I blow my nose the stuff that comes out is black because of the fumes and junk you breathe in over there. Auto is known as the black hole of tomorrowland. Once you get knowledge there you are never able to leave it ever. During a summer day there is 23 positions give or take one or two that are staffed and that does not include breakers. That is a huge amount. I thought that once I knew another attraction and have enough seniority to the point where they follow my preferences I wouldn't really see it but I was wrong. They are always understaffed and people constantly get pulled. The general consenses here seems to be if you don't like it leave. Trust me, a lot of people have tried getting out of auto because it is known for sucking the life out of people but it is not as easy as it sounds. It is extrememly difficult for that matter. Leads have also come up. I think the leads are great and most of them will judge fairly the situation but like regular CMs there is a high turnover rate. I have only been there for about a year and I have more seniority at the attraction then some of the leads we have now. That is kind of sad when you think of it. Am I condoneing what took place? No I am not because some of the things mentioned in the first post are true. The CM's we have gotten in the past 6 or 7 months really don't care about being there or want to be. When I am there I work because I am at work. When I am on track I watch my groups and am aware of my surroundings. Usually the new hires talk among each other about a party that happened that weekend, when their next break is, who is going out with who, when are they all playing in the park together and other stuff that should not be discussed while working. People say I have the mentality of the old school which is fading away. I say go ahead and send the complaint to City Hall if you feel you need to but remember what it is like to be in other peoples shoes. I was told that and live by it, especially now that we like in a "me" world.
Originally Posted By PirateChick "it was more than just one idiot, it was the whole crew." Forgot to add, thanks for the comment. I will let the crew know that no matter how hard some of us work we are still all known as idiots to people...
Originally Posted By SuzieQ sorry to hear about your experience. It is the polar opposite of what we experienced on Friday
Originally Posted By teddibubbles maybe off topic! Just my 2 cents My daughter worked on Autopia. She finally had a real break down. as I had listened to the horror stories from bad things on that ride, and higher up casting problems. namely the lack of management to CARE for what happenings to CMs or their high stress needs on needing to be replaced or just shifted to other attractions. there are many angry CMs on that ride!. as like when a CM gets hit with a car. they only stop the ride to make sure they are wisked away. then reopen! not heeding the whines of stress of CM do to their lack of voice to Management. nor do the CMs get "any say :. as to their feelings on ride managing problems. managements lack of respect to the fact that they are people too!. if one of us got hit. they would shut it down and investigate. but as long as they can whisk off the CM all is forgotten! I need to point of that the dept heads and up. wont listen to the leads nor CM there. and as with our daughter. its a stick to a HUGE stress casting or get out! even when she begged for other depts. she finally did leave/ she had no living. the fun of DL was gone as there was no real concern nor help. and they have CM that their job is to yell at people to not bump. as they stand watching kids get face hit on dash. if you stand there day after day. and see people get hurt. or things that could have stopped that.. but you have no voice . you couldn't take it . she Just couldn't take Autopia.
Originally Posted By SuzieQ ^ When did your daughter work there, Teddibubbles? I'm curious what regime was in charge at the time.
Originally Posted By SIR at X-S Tech Pirate Chick, how do you know, that you know, the CM in question? I don't think enough specifics have been given here to figure out who it was have they? I don't think you have to worry about the original poster thinking about others. He's thinking about his son. And about all the other guests who may have to deal with disgruntled Autopia CM's who think that because they have complaints about their job they can let their performance slip or take it out on guests. It may surprise you all to know, that there really are some people inthe world who don't let things get to them. Who, despite what kind of day they are having, can put their problems aside temporarily to get a job done right. This doesn't mean that they aren't emotionally effected like anybody else, but this "ME" society that Pirate Chick refers to is exactly the mentality that seems to think "I'm having a bad day so I can act out". I don't know if you're playing devil's advocate or not Pirate Chick, but to post how tough Autopia CM's have it, and then counsel Mr. Snappy that perhaps he should be a little more charitable or even tough skinned, sounds like you are not the type of CM I'd want to encounter when you are having a "bad day". I don't envy any CM right now, when hours are unbelievably long, and staff is short. I'm just saying, a guest letter to City Hall is a tool to get these problems fixed- the guests want the same things as you, more and better CM's.
Originally Posted By DVC_dad Well seeing it from both sides, I am curious... Is this the situation at WDW as well as DL? It seems to be that the complaints about the CM's tend to be heavily weighted toward DL specifically, and that furthermore, Autotopia seems to be among the worst from both the CM's view and the Guests' view. So is there anyone out there that can attest to being a CM at DL vs. being a CM at MK? Is it the same? And who is to blame for the problems at Autotopia? And what is a "ME" world? Is Mr. Snappy being unreasonalbe to expect a CM to treat his young son with dignity no matter WHAT is going on behind the scenes? I can somewhat surely say that if that CM were a father himself, he would have acted differently no matter WHAT he is going through while "on the job."
Originally Posted By trekkeruss <<It seems to be that the complaints about the CM's tend to be heavily weighted toward DL>> That's only because LP's readership is more heavily weighted towards DL guests than WDW guests.
Originally Posted By The_wicked_AP RE: #48 <a href="http://mb.laughingplace.com/default.asp?WCI=MsgBoard&WCE=T-74279-P-1&Refresh=0510110221" target="_blank">http://mb.laughingplace.com/de fault.asp?WCI=MsgBoard&WCE=T-74279-P-1&Refresh=0510110221</a>
Originally Posted By dsnymomi2 When you go for a job interview or even apply and find out what you will get paid, don't take the job if you are unhappy with it. There is no excuse that people can be rude on their jobs just because it's what they get paid. It's because so many people have lack of respect and common decency now a days.
Originally Posted By Kira <<<There is no excuse that people can be rude on their jobs just because it's what they get paid. It's because so many people have lack of respect and common decency now a days.>>> I couldn't agree more. I am working at a wage of 6.75 an hour at the Disney Store which is a 45 minute drive both ways for me (and at the moment half my paycheck is going towards gas just to get there) and even when I have people yelling at me for something that is out of my control I have held my tounge and continued to be paitent and listen to the guest and help them the best I can. Treating people with respect has absolutly nothing to do with how much or how little I am being paid. Being rude to a customer/guest because your having a bad day is only going to get rudeness in return and make your day worse. People feed off of eachother's attitudes, whether it is in disneyland or in your local wal mart. I'm sorry to hear that the child in this case was so upset by some CM's actions that it ruined the experience for him. I hope that "dad" takes the time out to write a letter to city hall and hopefully has a better experience in the future. =)
Originally Posted By trekkeruss I don't think this situation has anything to do with CM feeling entitled to be rude because of low wages. From what PirateChick wrote, long hours, tough working conditions, high stress and a lack of leadership lead to this unfortunate story. More money for those CM's on Autopia probably would not have made a beans worth of difference in this case.
Originally Posted By Kira ^^^^ but some in this thread have pointed out that they feel money would make a difference in attitude
Originally Posted By Mr Snappy <<I'm just a little curious....MrSnappy are you an Annual Passholder??>> LOL...No, I live in Kansas. I wish I could go that often ! I would like to address more of the comments on my thread, but this week I am traveling for business in of all places ORLANDO !!! I have to type on my work lap-top with a EVDO connection, so it's a bit of a chore.
Originally Posted By trekkeruss <<in this thread have pointed out that they feel money would make a difference in attitude>> I am inclined to believe it would help attracting more potential employees, and then Disney could be more selective about which candidates they choose, but ultimately it comes down to training and supervision.
Originally Posted By PirateChick Teddibubbles was right with everything she wrote. I know who it is because the name was mentioned in the first post and since I work the attraction and know that we only have one CM with that name it was kinda easy. To each their own. I just say that I personally follow what I posted and the word tough skinned was thrown in there and I guess it is true. Ever since I started working there I consider everything to roll off my back and it takes a lot to get me worked up. It also helps I work at the attraction because trust me, you work there and you get yelled at by guests all the time and most the time what they are yelling about is nothing that has to do with the CMs or attaction. Mostly kids not being tall enough to drive themselves.
