Wow. My worst ever experience with a CM today

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Maybe the CM did ask politely more than once and was only able to get the OP's attention when the incident where OP became aware of the CM occurred. Someone who has been to the parks 80 times would know not to sit on the ropes and has no doubt not only seen CMs ask before, but also seen CMs ask more than once and eventually having to raise their voice to get a guest's attention.
 
I doubt the CM got in any trouble. Look at it from Disney's perspective......a guest was sitting on the rope (a Disney no-no) The CM said it was a rope not a ride. The guest said the CM had a tone. The guest said the CM jerked the rope. The CM said he merely held the rope to stabilize it and there was no tone. No witnesses except the guest's family who are biased. Anyone who works with the public knows that adults can get indignant when embarrassed by an employee who is just doing their job by pointing out that the guest is doing something wrong, especially if it happens in front of family and other guests. It comes down to your word against the CM.
Unless this CM had other notations of bad customer relations in his file, Disney would have no grounds to fire him.
 
Nope. CM was wrong and should be counseled or terminated. I don't care what you were doing wrong. That is not how you treat a guest. Disneyland is not boot camp. You don't get to yell at me if I break the rules. You treat me with respect and I will reciprocate. You can ask me politely and I will comply. I will probably even apologize. This thread is disturbing. I am shocked and appalled that anyone would think that the cm chastising you was ok.

I have been having problems lately understanding why adults seem to feel like they can show a lack of respect by breaking rules and flaunting authority, but when the authority responds they must show total respect and kindness towards the rule breaker.

You say "You treat me with respect and I will reciprocate", wouldn't respect mean that you were following the rules to begin with?

I'm not a goody-two-shoes and I've been known to break a rule or two in my lifetime (or thousands, if you include speeding) - if I was doing something against the rules that was potentially endangering others, sure it would be nice if Officer Friendly treated me with respect and kindness, but it wouldn't put my nose out of joint if they yelled at me. Heck, I'm the one that broke the rule, I'm adult enough to realize that can bring consequences.
 
Yup. I conceded that in my original post. I also raised the notion of proportional response. That is, having the response be in correct proportion to the infraction. If a cop pulls you over for speeding, he/she doesn't then get to smash your windshield because you were in the wrong. He/she explains, with courtesy and professionalism, why you were pulled over and issues a citation. I'll say it again: trying to make me fall off of the rope was inappropriate.

I didn't "cry victim." I complained about the overreaction of the CM, as I think any reasonable reading of my original post will show. Please don't mischaracterize what I said.

Every time I hear or see someone use the expression "proportional response" I think of this West Wing scene.

 


I've been to DL somewhere in the neighborhood of 80 times. My experiences with cast members have been overwhelmingly positive. Indeed, I posted a few weeks ago about an exceptionally nice interaction I'd had with one recently. When a CM goes out of his/her way to be kind/helpful, I always make it a point that the good people at City Hall are so informed. Kindness should always be recognized and rewarded.

Today, unfortunately, I had a particularly unpleasant experience with a CM while in line for Indiana Jones. I was sitting on one of the rope line dividers (admittedly, not the best idea). Rather than ask me politely to get off, he grabbed it, jerked it and essentially forced me off of it. He then said in a snide tone: "That's a rope, not a ride." I was astonished. That's horrible behavior for a CM. It's rude and, had I fallen as a result of his jerking, I wouldn't have complained to City Hall. I'd have complained to an attorney. In short, a response should always be proportional and, obviously, tempered with courtesy.

Upon exiting the ride, I asked one of the CMs at the entrance if I could speak with someone in charge. I could tell from the look on her face that something along the lines of "Great. Another butt-hurt guest with a complaint" was running through her mind. She said that I could speak with her (I had my doubts but told my story anyway).

I explained what had happened and she told me that the matter would be raised with the CM... even though I hadn't told her -- and she hadn't asked for -- the CM's name. I could tell I'd get no help from her so I thanked her and left. As I walked off, she called after me "You need to be careful." I was already upset. This spiked my annoyance into anger territory. Be careful of what? A CM who might push me over because he's upset about something I've done? Not at the Disneyland that I know and love.

I took my complaint to City Hall, where it was dealt with courteously and professionally, as I knew it would be. That CM is not qualified to interact with guests if he can't control his temper -- which, seemingly, he can't. I suspect that others who witnessed it may have also found it distasteful and rude.

I hope not but I have to ask: has anyone else had a similar experience?

It's common sense. Don't sit on the ropes. They are not chairs or couches or beds. They are not made for sitting. If I can get 4 year olds to not sit on the non-furniture items (including tables and counters), I don't see why an adult shouldn't know better.

As far as the CM, perhaps he is tired of telling adults...who should know better...to not sit on the ropes. Or cut in line. Or leave trash on the ground.
 
"Customer Service" means patiently explaining the rules and requests over and over and over to guests, without being able to control the guest's reaction. It is the same in retail, foodservice, and tourist destinations across the country. So if you cannot do that.... time to go job hunting in my opinion.
 
"Customer Service" means patiently explaining the rules and requests over and over and over to guests, without being able to control the guest's reaction. It is the same in retail, foodservice, and tourist destinations across the country. So if you cannot do that.... time to go job hunting in my opinion.

I'm sure there's a lot of varying degrees of what "Customer Service" is...

As I said early in the thread, there's 3 sides to any story... we have 1.
 


I'm sure there's a lot of varying degrees of what "Customer Service" is...

As I said early in the thread, there's 3 sides to any story... we have 1.

Yeah, I guess I only know what each and every one of my employers would do in a similar situation, which is to accomodate the guest because they are paying your salary. No manager I have worked for would encourage their employees to act however comes naturally, be rude or abrupt or condescending to a customer, etc. They'd "re-train" employees and try to get them to exhibit the best possible attitude in all situations, and would certainly side with the complaining guest, even if they personally found the guest annoying and the compliant not valid.
 
Yeah, I guess I only know what each and every one of my employers would do in a similar situation, which is to accomodate the guest because they are paying your salary. No manager I have worked for would encourage their employees to act however comes naturally, be rude or abrupt or condescending to a customer, etc. They'd "re-train" employees and try to get them to exhibit the best possible attitude in all situations, and would certainly side with the complaining guest, even if they personally found the guest annoying and the compliant not valid.

I just said there are varying degrees to the definition of customer service.
 
Since this thread is old and has descended into what appears to be an argumentative, personal attack on the OP, I am closing the thread to further comments.
 
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