Originally Posted By dagobert >>>I know I don't spend as much time at the Disney parks as many of you but the only time I would say I feel ignored by CM's is when I line up by myself for character pictures.. Especially if there isn't a straight line to stand in.. Kids who turn up 5 minutes after me get their pictures taken first.. It gets really frustrating.. Just because I'm old enough to know it's not really Mickey doesnt mean I should have to let every kid go in front of me.. Though I have had a lot of exceptional CM's go out of their way to make sure I get a good picture it's the one time when I feel I am overlooked!<<< What? That's happening at WDW now, too? When we have been, we loved that we had to queue in a designated area and CM made sure that there was no pushing. Pushing is the everyday situation at DLRP. I hate when parents think their children are more important and start pushing to get their kids to the first row. Sometimes there's total chaos.
Originally Posted By EmmaJayne ^^ Sorry that was actually at DL.. most times there is a queue but last year Jessie and Woody were out and the CM was letting them pick who came next.. it was disastrous.. I found the characters at DLRP difficult as well, often one minder between characters but one of my favourite character moments ever happened at the studios park at Paris.. a family were pushing a severley handicapped girl around in a wheelchair, I say girl but she was probably mid-20's.. Scrooge McDuck went straight up to her and bent down to hug her and she patted his beak.. it sounds so simple but I seriously tear up thinking about it.. it was just a lovely moment and if anyone deserved to get extra time with a character it was her and her family. Daisy Duck on the other hand I swear was running away from me!! And the Evil Queen from Snow White was out and the mob around her was so unbearable I just gave up.. I found the CM's at DLRP mostly pleasant though.. not as over the top as the DL staff.. but I'm with you, sometimes their friendliness seems very forced and fake, I'd rather someone be genuinely polite than seem trained to be happy.
Originally Posted By dagobert >>>but I'm with you, sometimes their friendliness seems very forced and fake, I'd rather someone be genuinely polite than seem trained to be happy. <<< That's exactly what I mean. I don't need the trained over-friendliness, just someone who is genuinely polite. That's a wonderful story with the characters and I'm glad these things still happen. Some guests can be so rude and it's great to see that the character-CMs are acting that way.
Originally Posted By u k fan I would never go to DLRP expecting to get lots of character photos anymore. It's a nightmare. I had a DLP CM finish his text message before serving me once! And I think it's definitely a cultural thing, CMs who are too friendly actually put me off. I have no problem with entering a store where CMs are chatting, but I would expect them to acknowledge me and continue any private conversations (not work related) once I've left. If they suddenly fawned over me I'd be off!!!
Originally Posted By HMButler79 After 6mos with teh Compnay in late 97-early 98 and recently 6years, this is how it goes. The Company and Traditions does NOT teach guest service. They just hope you will be polit and friendly. Traditions is ONE day at Disney University where they it's basically "History of Compnay, this is what we own, Mickey Mouse, now here's 2,000 ways to get fired". Complete corporate legal PowerPoint stuff. Then the respective CMs will have another orientation at thier location. At MK it's called Once Upon a Time, but it is basically a CM version of Keys to the Kingdom or Walk in Walt's Footsteps with work info thrown in. Then you go to OJT training. THATS IT. Back in 97 they went trough the WHOLE history of the Company, how DL and WDW got built. the history of WDW, mock guest service situations. It was amazing. Now it's "we hope you do a good job". So yes, CMs are trained to JUST DO the job they were assigned to do, as guest service (destroyed by The Basics) is non existant or secondary. Universal and SeaWorld have taken WDWs old training methods. And the managers help? HA! The managers are there to get you in trouble. Management does NOT want happy CMs. If they see your happy, that means your enjoying your job, which means your not doing your job the way the MANAGER, IN THIER MIND, would do it. So they have to make you miserable to keep you in line. This is why guest service has improved at UO and SW.
Originally Posted By FerretAfros >>I had a DLP CM finish his text message before serving me once! And I think it's definitely a cultural thing...<< During my day at DLP in the summer of 2000, I saw two of my most memorable CM encounters ever (and not for a 'good' reason). We always figured it was just the European/French way, and went along with our day. For the first, we were in the queue for Star Tours, in the area where everybody was getting grouped. We were standing in our assigned spot (near the back end of one of the rows), and saw a stressed out-looking CM walking quickly/jogging by, and under her breath she was muttering "Sheet! Sheet! Sheet" (say it with a French accent...that's not really what she was saying). We thought that was kind of funny, since everybody gets stressed out, even CMs. The second, more memorable, incident was in the queue for the Indy coaster. I think we had been given our row assignments, and were waiting for the rest of the rows to get filled. I guess there must have been some disagreement between the CM and a guest, because she decided to slap him in the face. Everybody around seemed a little surprised, but not really shocked, that this would happen. We were so stunned that we had absolutely no idea how to react. Needless to say, we made sure to behave ourselves for the rese of the day, to avoid the wrath of the CMs. : ]
Originally Posted By FerretAfros That said, those are by far the two 'worst' CM interactions that I can think of, and they were over a decade ago. On my WDW trip in January, I can't think of a single CM interaction that I would qualify as "needs improvement", and can think of several that really went beyond my expectations. While things may not have always been working at their full capacity, the CMs managed to make the best of it, and use the extra time to interact with guests. I've had other underwhelming interactions in the time since my DLP trip, but nothing that I'd really call 'bad'. Overall, the CMs do a very nice job, and there are several that stand out for really surpassing my expectations.
Originally Posted By Kennesaw Tom Has anyone ever had a bad cast member experience on a Disney cruise? I'm guessing that is one area Disney has their act together....
Originally Posted By sjhym333 I agree the problem is poor training and poor management, but I also think poor pay has a lot to do with it. My son works in the local supermarket here in Orlando. He is close to home, works better hours and make more money than an attractions CM would with the same number of years in the company. Even our local McDonald's pays more than Disney. A friend who is a manager at EPCOT once told me "It really is a case of getting what you pay for. When you pay someone $7.65 an hour, you get someone worth $7.65 an hour."
Originally Posted By tashajilek Does anyone know if back when DL opened if they paid a fair wage?? From my understanding people were trained better and employees were happy and lasted much longer. Someone making $7 or so dollars an hour wont give a damn about losing their job. Ferret, i am so shocked that you witnessed a castmember slapping someone in the face. I cant see how something like that could even happen.
Originally Posted By Goofyernmost >>>"It really is a case of getting what you pay for. When you pay someone $7.65 an hour, you get someone worth $7.65 an hour."<<< I guess it's just the new age way of looking at things. I'll tell you how management looks at it. If all you are willing to produce is $7.65 an hour performance, all you will ever be worth is $7.65 an hour. In business, you pay for what you get. If someone decides that they will only give to the degree that they are paid, who needs them. If that is all you are interested in is your present pay, well there are literally hundreds out there that will come in an replace you, therefore, they don't care if you stay or not. Shocking, I know, but it is the way it is. Just so I don't get bombarded with the phrase "Disney apologist", I'm talking about any business. Apparently, McDonalds has a harder time finding people that are willing to flip burgers, so they have to pay more to get mediocre employee's. It still is far more prestigious to be a CM then to stock shelves and ask if people want fries with that.
Originally Posted By FerretAfros >>Does anyone know if back when DL opened if they paid a fair wage?<< I don't know for sure, but I believe they paid decent wages. Not a ton, but well above minimum wage. The closest modern-day example that I can think of is In-N-Out, which pays pretty well for a fast food place, but is also very intense work. It's incredible to walk into one of their restaurants and see over a dozen works scurrying around the kitchen like they're late for something; and this happens at all hours of the day, regardless of how many guests are in the restaurant. They aren't paying millions, but they do pay more and get employees who are more focused on their work. >>I cant see how something like that could even happen.<< To steal a line from Ratatouille: "We hate to be rude, but we're French." : )
Originally Posted By Kennesaw Tom Initially when WDW opened they had a much greater percentage of full-time employees to part-time employees as they do now. Also, back then even though you may have started at a lower wage, Disney had a reputation for promoting from within. That's why you have Disney execs that originally started off at Disney working rides/ attractions such as the Haunted Mansion. Or stars like Steve Martin who's first job was working in the magic shop on Main Street USA in Disneyland.
Originally Posted By HMButler79 Now it's 19yo interns who have NEVER worked for WDW carrying around a Blue ID. BLASPHEMY. And then they wonder why they have to get knocked down a peg by high seniority CMs and the Union. Also, it MAY be an MK thing because the park with the highest seniority is Epcot and maybe Studios too. I <heard> there were CMs that were at SSE and Imagination since Oct 1st 1982. Bellhop T.J. opened Tower didn't he?
Originally Posted By leobloom >> Traditions is ONE day at Disney University where they it's basically "History of Compnay, this is what we own, Mickey Mouse, now here's 2,000 ways to get fired". Complete corporate legal PowerPoint stuff. << You also forgot to mention the part when the Union representatives show up and mislead some CMs into signing up for the Union. They do a real smooth job explaning "right-to-work" to all the CMs who have been living in Florida for a few months.
Originally Posted By leobloom >> A friend who is a manager at EPCOT once told me "It really is a case of getting what you pay for. When you pay someone $7.65 an hour, you get someone worth $7.65 an hour." << And look at how much CM turnover there is. A lot of people who were hired for my attraction would work a couple of weeks and get terminated (or just decide to leave). But Disney had already spent money to train these people. Wasted money on CMs who are going to stay for a very short time. I was there six months full time. I'm amazed by anyone who isn't a retiree who can survive on the CM paycheck. It's not a job where you're likely to go from being an hourly CM to making a comfortable salary.
Originally Posted By leobloom >> I <heard> there were CMs that were at SSE and Imagination since Oct 1st 1982. << When I was there several years ago, there was a coordinator (a step *below* being a manager) who had helped open EPCOT. Incredible that she had been there for that long and had never been promoted to management. She was the best coordinator we had, too.
Originally Posted By leobloom Goofy, what you fail to realize is that people in Central Florida treat Disney like a McDonald's or Walmart job. Which is to say, it's NOT prestigious. Maybe if you're management it's viewed as a comfortable salaried position. But the hourly CM jobs are viewed as befitting high school students or social misfits. Disney, by paying such a low wage, has encouraged this view. They don't attract professional people anymore. They attract (for hourly jobs) people who are forced to be overworked in order to try to survive or (for management jobs) people who are among the phoniest group of incompetent brown-nosers and !@#-kissers I've ever witnessed.
Originally Posted By DDMAN26 In my trips to WDW(10) I've been very fortunate to encounter only the best service from the CM's.
