Cast members deserve better

[Unregistered]

Why are guest so selfish and mean to cast members? Granted, they did pay a lot of money to come to Disney World, but that does not give them license to demand everything that they want, let alone assult as cast member when they can't have their way. I think that it is very difficult to have to let someone disrespect you just because they want convenience.

Isn't there a better way that cast members can provide great service but keep their dignity entact?

[wilma-bride]

Welcome to the wonderful world off customer service :rolleyes: Unfortunately, there are a few people out there that, no matter what the situation or location, believe it is their right to be rude to someone who is getting paid to provide them with a service. Personally, I usually find that being calm, polite and rational gets you what you want much quicker and with less embarrassment all round - but I guess some people have still to learn that :sad2:

Having worked in a customer service environment before, if someone was rude or nasty to me I learned to tell myself that I knew nothing about that person or their life and that, maybe, whatever had gone wrong for them was the straw that broke the camel's back, so to speak. That is to say that sometimes people can have ahd a real bad day and something going wrong can just tip them over the edge. It's not an excuse for rude or aggressive behaviour but, by the same token, it can make it slightly easier to understand.

[calypso*a*go-go]

Isn't there a better way that cast members can provide great service but keep their dignity entact?

Are you referring to a particular incident in your post or just the treatment of CM's in general?

As far as people being mean...well, some of them just are and there really isn't much anyone can do about it other than try to remember that there must be a lot of unhappiness in that person's life to make them behave that way. :sad2:

[MadScouser]

As previous posters said, customer service is a tough enviroment, and as guests we need to ask ourselves 'How would we like to be treated ourselves'

I would guess nearly all of us want to be treated with dignity, respect, and a little humour / warmth.

Treat castmembers that way, and I am sure they will reciprocate in kind.

[Cee]

God bless every last one of them. They are a big reason why I love WDW so
much and keep going back. :love:

[eliza61]

[QUOTE=wilma-bride;18368411]Welcome to the wonderful world off customer service :rolleyes: Unfortunately, there are a few people out there that, no matter what the situation or location, believe it is their right to be rude to someone who is getting paid to provide them with a service. Personally, I usually find that being calm, polite and rational gets you what you want much quicker and with less embarrassment all round - but I guess some people have still to learn that :sad2:
[QUOTE]

My Dh & I went on a last minute trip this March, after the trip we jokingly called it the "Guest behaving badly trip".
1. Upon check in at the WL a young women (with small kids) was screaming, and I mean veins popping, face red screaming at the desk clerk because she was not given a free upgrade to a better view. Her justification was, that it was a slow time of the year and her friends had been here and alway got a free upgrade.

2. Dinner at Tony's Town Square in the MK. another young mother this time cursing and calling the cm foul names :eek: Why? She didn't make any ADR's and evidently had been to every TS restaurant in the MK and couldn't get seated without an hour wait. Once again the justification was, she should be able to get a decent meal without waiting "all Year" (her words not mine)

3. Soarin' at Epcot. Young women with very small child abusing the cm because the child was too small to sit in the seat and she was not allowed to hold the kid in her lap during the ride. Justification for acting like a park ape. " I paid a lot of money for this trip" :rolleyes:

Is there a clause in the confirmation that says if you do not get your way, you are allowed to act insane?
I am happy to say each cm acted professionally and courteously. God bless all of you who work in Customer service, some times John P. Public can be down right nasty.

[djblu883]

maybe all the Cm's need to get an extra ration of Pixie Dust!!! I've been on another thread where a man has been sooooooooooo angry about pin trading he went to City Hall when he didn't get his way...and he says he palns to keep going back and may cause some poor CM to loose their job over it...geeze louise!!!!!!!!!!! Public Service stinks and they try so very hard to make our vacatons the most magical time of our lives...Sad a few rotten eggs have to spoil things

[nicoleakr]

This is why I no longer work retail. I use to work in cosmetics for a company that give gifts with purchase. This free items seems to bring out he worst in people. That's why when I go to WDW I give the cast members the best treatment possible. I try to go out of my way to find a manager when the service was above and beyond (which most of the time it is) and let them know how good it was.People don't realize how wonderful the cast memebers are! Are last trip we took and went to sea world and the whole day my husband kept saying " Well you can tell we are not in Disney World right now"

[MomofCKJ]

Having worked customer service for 10 years (Marriott and Rockport shoe HQ) I can tell you you can catch more flies with honey than vinegar. I would always try to be fair and polite with the guests/customers but the ones that came to me for something nicely I went out of my way to take care of. With the others I did just what I could, never over and above.

With your examples there is a trend, young mothers. Sounds like they might have been overstressed and unfortunately took it out on an innocent CM.

Allyson

[micksterlee]

On our Easter trip to WDW we saw several people being rude to CMs. The big problem I saw was that in all cases the CM had to step back and let the rude guest have their way.If people who don't care how bad they treat other people get their way all the time the problem will spread.I know Disney does not want to argue and bicker with guests but if they don't start enforcing a few rules who knows where it will end.

[SnowWtch]

Unfortunately, most customer service people just have to take whatever the guest/customer dishes out. Rules are meant to be enforced but when you have someone yelling in your face or your ear you do whatever you can do to get them to stop.

I did the College Program at Disney in '96 and never had any really rude guests. I didn't encounter the torment of customer service until I spent 7 1/2 years as a customer service manager for several newspapers. Now that I'm a college financial aid advisor I find the abuse doesn't end it only changes faces. At least in my position now we can't break the rules because of laws and it makes those who are angry even worse. It's all part of the job. At least at Disney you usually had a chance to make things better even if you had to bend the rules sometimes. There will always be people who take advantage of rule breaking but the majority are pretty good about it.

[TheDisneyGirl02]

Sadly anybody in customer service will get treated poorly. I always end up in tears at least once a holiday season at the Disney Store because people are rude and inconsiderate. I treat people how I want to be treated and I guess I'm expecting too much from some.

When I was working at WDW, whenever a guest would complain about me taking characters away (I was a character greeter) we would joke around in the Tunnel by say, "OK...here is my name...make sure you spell it right when you got City Hall!" Never said that to a guest, but we would joke about it. :lmao:

[Hope73]

I just love talking to cast members. I love that may of them are retired older people. My kids really enjoy pin trading and I think it is great to talk to the workers. I have met some of the most interesting people. We recently took my aunt who is in her early 60's and had always been a working strong single women in a big city. I thin she thought that the workers world be sort ofl carney like and the cast members were one her favorite tinngs as well.

[LilBlackSheep]

What a shame that guests feel the need to act like that.

Every single CM that we came across on our trip had a fantastic attitude and treated us soooooo well. It was catchy and made us make sure we do the same. :)

[kribit]

We've only encountered one grumpy cm during our last trip and I could tell he was just plain having a bad day. It was a steaming 100 degrees and he was standing outside in AK with Lovebugs in his hair...I would have been grumpy too.

Guests being grumpy...that's a whole different subject. I would have to say the two episodes that I can recall well are

1) POR Gift Shop - Some rude, obnoxious, loser decided that the CM should march down to the local drugstore to buy aspirin for him because he was spending a fortune on his vacation and Disney should stock the BRAND OF PAIN MEDICATION he uses. Myself, my husband, and several other guests were just standing there in amazement that the CM was actually just taking it. Finally, the CM said "GET A CAB." He was so nice and I totally commended him on his patience with this guy. You know what he said..."it happens all the time, but I love my job." People are just plain losers.

2) MK Restroom - A wonderful older bathroom attendant CM had just cleaned and we know what a fantastic job they do cleaning - spotless. Some 30 something (pardon my expression) toothless wonder as my husband called her decided that the trashbarrel wasn't a good place for the THREE dirty diapers she was carrying around...the floor where the woman had just cleaned was a much better place to dispose. Now, what did that woman do to deserve picking up her crappy diapers? I politely asked the CM if there was anything I could do and I proceeded to tell her how sorry I felt that people were so rude. She said to me with a smile "it's my job." What a disgrace.

Ok - time for a glass of wine. :)

[calypso*a*go-go]

Some 30 something (pardon my expression) toothless wonder as my husband called her decided that the trashbarrel wasn't a good place for the THREE dirty diapers she was carrying around...the floor where the woman had just cleaned was a much better place to dispose.

I probably would have said something like this to T.W. (toothless wonder) -- "Oh my goodness, I think you just dropped a $20 bill over there." and would have pointed to the diapers. It wouldn't be much, but I betcha she'd return to the scene of the crime! Then I'd give the CM a quick wink. ;)

[jcc0621]

My mother is a seater at ARtist Point and she tells me quite frequently that guests will start yeling at her or her co-workers because:

1) They are told they may have to wait even if they have ADR. They don't understand that they can't tell people to leave if they are dne eating.

2) They need to have apropriate attire (busines casual, whihc you are told when you make the ADR)

Most of the men will just go back to their rooms if they are staying in the hotel and grab a golf shirt. If not, some will go to the gift shop and buy a golf shirt - No big deal, but every once n a while they will get the: I am paying good money for this vacation speech, Although my mom says it more the wives of these guys raising the ruckus as opposed to the husbands :eek:

[ohdisco]

I'm usually quite nice to any kind of sales associate/customer service rep, unless they prove they don't deserve my kindness. I remember more than one occasion at Disneyland where the cast members were snooty and rude to me because I didn't look like I needed an EVC. I remember at Peter Pan's Flight, the two girls working LAUGHED at me because I was frustrated about trying to back up out of Peter Pan's Flight. Finally, some kind man and woman helped me get my scooter out, but I was flabbergasted at how I was treated by the cast members.

Although, that trip also had the WORST Cast Member ever. I even remember his name: Nico. My cousin and I got to the Cinderella line too late, and the cast member with Cinderella told us that she would be in that EXACT same spot in one hour. My cousin and I stood for one hour waiting for Cinderella with two other families. When Cinderella came out, she was at the END of the little bridge area, and already had a crowd of people following her. We asked kindly if we could just get a picture and her autograph first since we had been waiting for her for over an hour. Then I get snapped at, "I don't care, you have to go to the back of the line". I asked, "Well, what if we don't get to see her in time; the line is really long." He again snaps at me, "Well, that's really not my problem is it?" He then went over and started talking smack to the other CMs about my cousin and I along with the other families that were arguing basically RIGHT in front of us! After we saw Cinderella and Prince Charming, we went straight to City Hall and filed a complaint about him. We also got 8x10 photos signed by Cinderella, which was a nice touch :goodvibes

[themudd4]

For every bad CM we have had I have had 10 awesome ones!

Worst Two CM's: Wont mention names since don't wanna anyone to lose their job if the wrong /right person was to read this...
1. Luggage asst. @ POP. I was part of a fridge swap. We went to get the it from luggage asst. and the guy was flat out clueless. I just kept laughing because he would walk behind the wall (where I could still see him) come back around and tell me there was not one back there for me. After his 3rd time "not looking" he came back out and told me that there was only one back there and it was for a lady. (OK, I am not prim and proper all the time but all my curves jusitfy a full fledge woman!) He was just lying...everyone in line behind me even knew he had never looked. Anyway, I had to go back to the front desk for something else anyway, so while I was there I mentioned it to the CM at the front desk. She was great...called over there, talked to him, got so upset with him on the phone she walked me back over there and she grabbed him and walked him back in the back and then she returned within 60sec. said they will bring it write out to you...a different guy brought it out to me, and there was my name and check in date right there on the top of the box. WHO WOULD HAVE GUESSED!?
2. Same trip, this time was at Plaza rest. Our waitress was just plain ole RUDE! We were seated, she came out and mumbled the soups of the day...I asked it they had any appitizers and she pronouced..."I just told you what they were!" I was just kind of shocked...she had not said they were the appitizers just what soups they had. That put me in a bad mood right away, and my DH seen this and said calm down before she even left the table. She took forever to bring us our drinks. I was ready to go and my DH kept saying it will be alright...well I think she got upset becasue we were on the DDP and my DH was the only one that got the appt. and we all ordered lighter lunches so her tip wasn't looking very big and she just got more rude by the minute. My DD had slowed down on eating becasue she was waiting on a refill, the waitress just picked up her plate...I said she is not done yet and the woman just dropped the plate back down on the table. The bun flopped off her sandwich. Granted that was no big deal, but at the tie I was fumming. I said guess it is a good thing your tip is already figured in. Needless to say, I was rude back but was so disappointed in the entire meal and service. I have no plans to go back to the Plaza becasue of this!

Sorry so long...been a long day and I needed a good rant! :mad: :rolleyes:

Other than those two...I love my CM's. :love:

[Camicar]

Having been a CSM for several years, I could tell you stories! But I will suffice to say that having done that work, I am a different person.
1. I will go out of my way to be nice and complimentary to service people because I know that they need one really nice person per day to offset the mean jerks they are encountering.

2. If I see a customer abusing or mistreating a staff person I will go get the manager and insist that they do their job and assist their staff. Line staff simply are not paid enough to be abused, period. I will also add that I will make a comment something like, "In my experience, giving in to people like this is a long term mistake because it teaches them that if they behave badly they get their unreasonable way and it demoralizes your staff."

They can take or leave my advice, but I do say it because I saw the results of constantly giving into horrible people at my CSM job due to my boss who did that. When I became the boss, I made it a policy to do the opposite -- the more obnoxious you became, the less service you got and I had no problem escorting customers off the premises and often returned to an ovation from the other customers. What short-sighted managers fail to realize is that by giving in to jerks, they are not only demoralizing their staff, they are also enabling behaviors that make decent customers feel uncomfortable and erode their experience. These people are bullies and need to be dealt with as such -- I didn't give a bully my lunch money in elementary school and I'm not going to give them my self esteem now.

[Trishand5more]

I didn't give a bully my lunch money in elementary school and I'm not going to give them my self esteem now.

:thumbsup2

I totally agree! I would NEVER treat someone like that. Even when I've been so mad I could cry......I always try to remember that generally the person I'm dealing with isn't the one that made the rule (or whatever). I also HATE my children to see someone behaving badly and then getting positive results.....what on earth does that teach them? Be a BIG bully and you'll get your way! WRONG answer! We need more people to step in and stop that!

To EVERYONE in a service job......I tip my hat to you!

[TaylorsDad]

[QUOTE=MomofCKJ;18369631]Having worked customer service for 10 years (Marriott and Rockport shoe HQ) I can tell you you can catch more flies with honey than vinegar. I would always try to be fair and polite with the guests/customers but the ones that came to me for something nicely I went out of my way to take care of. With the others I did just what I could, never over and above.



Some times a person may just be having a bad day and one more little thing is all it takes to cause one to reach his/her breaking point. However, having been employed in an area where I dealt with people on a daily basis, I have noticed often the same people with the exact same attitude each and every time I deal with them. One time one lady appoligized for her rude behavior with the following statement."I am sorry I yelled and caused a scene last week over such a minor incident, I am really embarrased because you have always went out of your way to help me. The truth is this is the behavior that usually gets me the best results when I have a problem"
I told her it was okay, and I thought she must have just had a really bad day.
These rude and indignant individuals that constantly use this behavior are like pets -they respond to reward and punishment. As long as this behavior is rewarded they will keep doing what gets attention. "the squeaky wheel gets the grease".

[MellaWDWnut]

Welcome to the wonderful world off customer service :rolleyes: Unfortunately, there are a few people out there that, no matter what the situation or location, believe it is their right to be rude to someone who is getting paid to provide them with a service. Personally, I usually find that being calm, polite and rational gets you what you want much quicker and with less embarrassment all round - but I guess some people have still to learn that :sad2:

Having worked in a customer service environment before, if someone was rude or nasty to me I learned to tell myself that I knew nothing about that person or their life and that, maybe, whatever had gone wrong for them was the straw that broke the camel's back, so to speak. That is to say that sometimes people can have ahd a real bad day and something going wrong can just tip them over the edge. It's not an excuse for rude or aggressive behaviour but, by the same token, it can make it slightly easier to understand.


::yes:: I couldn't have said it better myself.

[Teacher03]

I think some people just have a sense of entitlement, especially when they pay a lot of money. There are also just rude people in the world, who are rude and obnoxious all the time ( we have one in our family!)

I always try to go out of my way to thank any and all the CMs who have made our vacation magical. In all of our trips, I can only remember 1 cranky CM.

[Trishand5more]

My children were playing on the computer this morning. My message got posted again! {sigh}

:)

[Cdn Friends of Pooh]

I think some people just have a sense of entitlement, especially when they pay a lot of money.

I think you've hit it on the nose. We've seen our fair share of Guestzillas over the years and when they're having their meltdowns, be it to a CM or one of their family members, at some point they have to remind everyone within earshot how much money they're spending on the trip.

A perfect example was when we went to Boma for our anniversary dinner last year. We had 9:00 reservations but with a buffet they can't guarantee seating will be available at your reservation time. It's common sense but it didn't stop one guest from letting into a CM when his table wasn't ready when he showed up. It didn't matter that everyone else had to wait and that the CMs were very apologetic about the situation. He finally settled down and decided to wait...for a little less than 5 minutes. I know the timing because DW and I had a bet he wouldn't last 5 minutes. He was back up on his feet making another scene about, yep you guessed it, he had spent so much money to stay at this resort and eat here blah blah blah before he finally left.

As far as CMs go...there have been a few CMs here and there who clearly didn't enjoy their jobs but we've never encountered any who were actually rude or grumpy. We think they do a great job and on more than one occasion have really gone out of their way to do something special for us. My own thought is that it's the people who make WDW more than just another theme park.

[wifey]

We always try to keep in mind that you should treat others the way you wish to be treated by them with politeness and consideration:thumbsup2
When we get to WDW we smile at the CMs and somtimes strike up a conversation or two. They should be appreciated for their hard work and enthusiasm and going that extra mile to make peoples holidays special.. if we get a great CM we will make a note of them and leave our thanks and report it back to the relevant departments so that hopefully they will learn a reward for such excellent service:thumbsup2
There's just no excuse for rudeness from any guests, even between the guests in the parks or resorts:sad2: Patience seems to be a lost attribute to some people, they need to take the time to relax more and not be so tense and aggressive after all they are on vacation.

[ohdisco]

I don't know about WDW, but at Disneyland, there's always at least a handful of CMs that are downright rude or snotty. The ones I posted about were just the worst. I'm usually travelling (or am) with a handicapped person, and they always seem very annoyed by my group.

[irisbud]

Having been a CSM for several years, I could tell you stories! But I will suffice to say that having done that work, I am a different person.
1. I will go out of my way to be nice and complimentary to service people because I know that they need one really nice person per day to offset the mean jerks they are encountering.

2. If I see a customer abusing or mistreating a staff person I will go get the manager and insist that they do their job and assist their staff. Line staff simply are not paid enough to be abused, period. I will also add that I will make a comment something like, "In my experience, giving in to people like this is a long term mistake because it teaches them that if they behave badly they get their unreasonable way and it demoralizes your staff."

They can take or leave my advice, but I do say it because I saw the results of constantly giving into horrible people at my CSM job due to my boss who did that. When I became the boss, I made it a policy to do the opposite -- the more obnoxious you became, the less service you got and I had no problem escorting customers off the premises and often returned to an ovation from the other customers. What short-sighted managers fail to realize is that by giving in to jerks, they are not only demoralizing their staff, they are also enabling behaviors that make decent customers feel uncomfortable and erode their experience. These people are bullies and need to be dealt with as such -- I didn't give a bully my lunch money in elementary school and I'm not going to give them my self esteem now.

Camicar, this is a great way to handle these problems. I worked at a department store for a while, and while I mostly liked my job there were people who were just :headache: :mad: :sad2: . It sounds like you do a great job of handling them.
What a lot of people seem to miss is that those who are actually "serving you" (for lack of a better term) DO NOT make the rules. They have certain guidelines they have to follow, and there are certain things that they can and cannot do.
I think the WORST slogan for customer service ever invented was "The customer is always right". Sometimes they are just wrong on so many levels and in so many ways.

[perdidochas]

Why are guest so selfish and mean to cast members? Granted, they did pay a lot of money to come to Disney World, but that does not give them license to demand everything that they want, let alone assult as cast member when they can't have their way. I think that it is very difficult to have to let someone disrespect you just because they want convenience.

Isn't there a better way that cast members can provide great service but keep their dignity entact?


I think the great majority of guests are probably very cordial. I know I greeted cast members and treated them politely, and often thanked them profusely.

[clownchk]

I think the WORST slogan for customer service ever invented was "The customer is always right". Sometimes they are just wrong on so many levels and in so many ways.

I worked for acompany that altered this statement in their training manuals....they stated :The Customer is always right...as they percieve the truth".

It makes MUCH more sense that way!

[edaymond]

I very recently returned from my frist trip to WDW. Of course the entire time I was there I was smiling (how could you not?!) :); however the cast members, generally speaking, weren't very friendly. I tried to go out of my way to be nice to all of them (I do realize how their job can stink at times), but the niceness wasn't hardly ever reciprocated.
All that being said, no CM was particularly horrid - just kinda crabby.
Ah, well, maybe we picked a bad time to go. :)

[tony609]

Having been a CSM for several years, I could tell you stories! But I will suffice to say that having done that work, I am a different person.
1. I will go out of my way to be nice and complimentary to service people because I know that they need one really nice person per day to offset the mean jerks they are encountering.

2. If I see a customer abusing or mistreating a staff person I will go get the manager and insist that they do their job and assist their staff. Line staff simply are not paid enough to be abused, period. I will also add that I will make a comment something like, "In my experience, giving in to people like this is a long term mistake because it teaches them that if they behave badly they get their unreasonable way and it demoralizes your staff."

They can take or leave my advice, but I do say it because I saw the results of constantly giving into horrible people at my CSM job due to my boss who did that. When I became the boss, I made it a policy to do the opposite -- the more obnoxious you became, the less service you got and I had no problem escorting customers off the premises and often returned to an ovation from the other customers. What short-sighted managers fail to realize is that by giving in to jerks, they are not only demoralizing their staff, they are also enabling behaviors that make decent customers feel uncomfortable and erode their experience. These people are bullies and need to be dealt with as such -- I didn't give a bully my lunch money in elementary school and I'm not going to give them my self esteem now.

This ALL sounds really great BUT unfortunatley the reality IS different especially when you are dealing with the WD company. If I have a guest complaining, getting rude. I state policy, I then again state policy, and then and EVERYONE knows this all the guest has to do is ask for a corporate phone number and they will get there way. The company's ultimate goal is for the guest to leave happy....you can state policies until your face turns blue it doesn't matter. The company will tell you to do what is best for the guest. Right or wrong this IS the reality. So sure your above statement sounds great and all but bottom line is if you want to keep your job the guest is ALWAYS right!