I was going to let it go...

Originally Posted By jonvn

The amount of money they pay attracts people of a certain level. Some will be good workers, many will not.

If you want a higher caliber person in a job, you pay a higher price for them.

 

Originally Posted By 550Deano

You get what you pay for....(low wage unskilled labor that is...)

 

Originally Posted By Pirate Mickey

There have always been rude and snotty CM's who think they are "too cool" to be working at Disneyland. So why are they there?

 

Originally Posted By lovetheland

Last October I visited WDW and DLR in the same week. It was my first visit to WDW. I noticed a HUGE difference in overall castmember attitude. the CMs at WDW seem much more thrilled to be there. The DLR CMs seemed much more indifferent. There weren't really any bad appples per say, just an overall feeling that they were just going through the motions.

 

Originally Posted By ChiMike

This issue is always funny when it comes up. How it's very subjective depending on one's perspective.

In trips, since roughly 2002 I have always had better overall experiences with the DL CMs

 

Originally Posted By NJ AP

Lovetheland ... we are East Coasters who used to only go to WDW, until we discovered the charms of DL. I agree with you, WDW is much more polished. For example, thanks to the magic of tunnels, you never see a CM from one area in another. The CMs in Florida are trained to treat guests as if this is the only time they will ever come to WDW, that each guest saved up for a lifetime for this trip. Our first couple of trips to DL we could not get over the little things we saw -- such as the time we saw Jafar walking to the DCA employee entrance in his full costume. Or seeing CMs wearing their outfits outside of DL and DCA and at the bus stop. Now we just smile when we see Mickey Mouse on the Main Street bus or Alice and the Mad Hatter on the Tea Cups.

It seems to us a larger percentage of visitors at DL are AP members, or day trippers. The atmosphere in DL is more casual and relaxed. Life at DL is less staged than at WDW -- and that's why we travel cross country.

One side comment (as people were commenting on the DL salaries) ... $10 an hour goes much farther in central Florida than it does in Southern California.

 

Originally Posted By ShivaThDestroyer

wonderingalice, you have to be talking about Stephanie. She is the sweetest person in the world and, like you, no visit to the park is complete until we have a ride in her 1903 Franklin.

 

Originally Posted By wonderingalice

^^Thanks Shiva! I'll be sure and check her nametag next time, but I'm confident you're right. (I'm terrible with remembering names - it bites getting older. *L* ;-)

 

Originally Posted By Dabob2

<The amount of money they pay attracts people of a certain level. Some will be good workers, many will not.

If you want a higher caliber person in a job, you pay a higher price for them.>

Not only does a higher salary attract better people, just as importantly, it tends to RETAIN them. Right now, as one of the CM's here pointed out, one of the problems is the tremendous turnover. People work at DL for a few months, discover they can make more elsewhere, and leave. So you constantly see new people with not a lot of CM experience.

Retraining is expensive; IMO, this another example of penny-wise/pound-foolish thinking. If they paid just a little more competitively, they might save more in the long run based on the savings on retraining.

 

Originally Posted By dzy76

If they paid enough to make a living and afford the cost of living in S. CA. I'd work there in a heartbeat. I'd love FL. but the humidity would kill me.

 

Originally Posted By ShivaThDestroyer

wonderingalice, I know what you mean. My memory isn't what it used to be either. As far as <it bites getting older>. It sure beats the alternative. ; )

 

Originally Posted By wonderingalice

^^That's for sure! *L*