Caution: Mean-spirited monorail driver on board!

[TotalSnowWhite]

Just to give a little to the thread, we had a wonderful monorail driver!!!

He was full of information for my mom and I, as the kids spent most of the ride excitedly peering out the front window. He was very sweet to the kids and made a big deal out of presenting them (and us) with the licenses. I could kick myself for not writing down his name (I was sure I'd remember it) and writing to Disney about our great ride.

If you know him or his name, let us know!!

 

[nitsirk987]

They give out licenses?

 

[livndisney]

They give out licenses?

It is a Monorail "Co-pilot License"

 

[SyracuseWolvrine]

The monorail driver in your picture is Gary. Having worked with him (not in monorails), I'll agree with you that he's a wonderful example of what a Cast Member should be.

 

[TotalSnowWhite]

The monorail driver in your picture is Gary. Having worked with him (not in monorails), I'll agree with you that he's a wonderful example of what a Cast Member should be.

THANK YOU!! Is he still there? Would love to brag on him!

 

[Donnainnj]

I wonder if the "barking" monorail driver has a case of OCD and/or Tourette Syndrome.

I was thinking tourettes to.
Donna
Guess I should have read the entire thread and looked at the date before responding.

 

[swald91]

We encountered a nice lady in Aug...quiet-I wouldn't say rude by all means. The kids did enjoy it, but now that they have done it I wouldn't ASK just because it would be nice to give others a chance. (There are plenty of those out there! ) Like waking up Tink... Never knew about it until reading the threads here-then we had a BBB early morning & this lady who pushed her kids way up to the front -told everyone how she owned DVC & then once to the front acted like she didn't know why everyone was giving her a look?? Oh well. It's nice to be able to experience the magic Disney has-& then share it with others & hope they are able to have some too

 

[goofyernmost]

Wow, I know I'm not a "regular" DIS poster, but I do lurk every now and then, and I'm shocked about how rude people are on here now!!! This used to be a fun place to find out facts and chat.


I was simply agreeing with others how the monorail drivers were not "pleasant" and people are blasting me every way I turn.

First let me get a little pet peeve out of the way. Every time someone disagrees with you, they are not being rude. They have a right to disagree and tell you why. It is after all a discussion board.

Do I agree that bus drivers or monorail drivers should be less then cordial? Of course not. They should be willing and able to be friendly and greet everyone. In a perfect world, they would be engaging, funny, outgoing and competent, however, even Disney World is not perfect nor are the people working there nor are the guests that demand total perfection from everyone except themselves.

You may have a job that you are fortunate enough to be able to be 100% perfect in, but very few others do. Some have short comings like shyness with strangers that prevent them from being all that they can be. Should they be doing that job? Probably not, but they have to feed and clothe themselves and their families. If they possess the skill necessary to safely drive the monorail...I'm a happy camper. Do it unsafely and I don't care how much one can "chat" it up...I won't be happy.

I'm sure that whatever individual you ran into, if he or she consistently turns people off by their lack of friendliness, will not be working there for very long. If you complain, and if all that has been said is true, you should! Be sure that you are truthful in what you complain about. Don't read things into events unless you know absolutely for sure that it was the intent. Remember it's a vacation to you and a job (hopefully an enjoyable job) to them. Nothing wrong with complaining as long as it is legitimate and not just an entitlement issue.

Being in the busing industry I can tell you that bus drivers have a lot to deal with. They have to maneuver a 40,000 lb. vehicle to avoid pedestrians, other vehicles, listen to radio announcements, dodge pot holes, watch for red lights, stop signs, emergency vehicles, the speed limit and people that got their drivers licenses as a prize from a box of Cheerios. It's kind of hard to carry on a conversation and be "witty" when multi-tasking to that degree. And yet...some are able to do it.

 

[Disneydonnam]

Sorry to hear you had a bad experience. We had a great driver. Answered all the kids questions and was as pleasant as could be.

 

[bavaria]

Originally Posted by nitsirk987
We pay alot of money to be part of the DVC, and deserve great service.

First let me get a little pet peeve out of the way. Every time someone disagrees with you, they are not being rude. They have a right to disagree and tell you why. It is after all a discussion board.

And a pet peeve of mine is people who seem to think that they spend more and thus deserve more than others. I have read my POS on every DVC purchase I have made and nowhere does it guarantee the right to an effusive monorail driver, front car access, or special ability to awaken Tink, or any other perceived perk of ownership.

Everyone paid for their holiday, be it one day or one week, at a value or a deluxe, at Grandma's or at their DVC. Owning DVC has no bearing on this conversation and I am embarassed that owners tout their ownership as a reason to expect more.

 

[PrincessKsMom]

I think many people are disappointed because Disney, by their own hand, is in the business of selling magic. Everything is magical and pixie dusted etc. They sell it so well I think everyone expects it non-stop. I think it's a great concept, but you cannot go to Disney and expect everyone to be happy to see you! I agree that hellos and goodbyes should be exchanged, and if you get anything other than that, consider yourself lucky. I am a daily commuter and I would much rather have someone paying attention to their job, than chatting with me and putting me and everyone else in harm's way, even if unintentionally.

Maybe we should all make a conscious effort to be the givers of pixie dust and magic, rather than the receivers. Sort of a pay it forward type of thing. If every one of us brought a smile to someone's face or made their day a little more pleasant, wouldn't that be a wonderful thing? Don't expect anything in return, just do something nice for someone else, even if it's to just look in the eye of the person serving your coffee or filling your lunch order and say "thank you" and actually mean it.

 

[Leanne1977]

This is something we always loved to do with the kids, they used to really enjoy it.

But we had an experience a couple of trips ago and we haven't bothered to ride up front anymore.

We had a lady driver who didn't speak a word to us when we got on even though we all said hello. It was complete silent the whole way. I quietly said to my then 7 year old that maybe he would like to ask the lady a question about her job. He thought for a little while and then asked her if she liked her job. Now I don't know about you but I thought this was a fine question from a 7 year old.

Her response? "What do you think, do you think I would do a job I don't like? Don't you think thats kind of a stupid question!"
We didn't know what to say and my son just looked at me like he had done something wrong.

We continued on in silence then at the end of the journey my boys said goodbye and was met with silence yet again. Oh and no monorail drivers licence.
I did email Disney about this when we got home as I felt upset that she belittled my little boy. I got the standard response.

 

[Disneydonnam]

[/FONT]

And a pet peeve of mine is people who seem to think that they spend more and thus deserve more than others. I have read my POS on every DVC purchase I have made and nowhere does it guarantee the right to an effusive monorail driver, front car access, or special ability to awaken Tink, or any other perceived perk of ownership.

Everyone paid for their holiday, be it one day or one week, at a value or a deluxe, at Grandma's or at their DVC. Owning DVC has no bearing on this conversation and I am embarassed that owners tout their ownership as a reason to expect more.

Great response

 

[jngwright]

This is something we always loved to do with the kids, they used to really enjoy it.

But we had an experience a couple of trips ago and we haven't bothered to ride up front anymore.

We had a lady driver who didn't speak a word to us when we got on even though we all said hello. It was complete silent the whole way. I quietly said to my then 7 year old that maybe he would like to ask the lady a question about her job. He thought for a little while and then asked her if she liked her job. Now I don't know about you but I thought this was a fine question from a 7 year old.

Her response? "What do you think, do you think I would do a job I don't like? Don't you think thats kind of a stupid question!"
We didn't know what to say and my son just looked at me like he had done something wrong.

We continued on in silence then at the end of the journey my boys said goodbye and was met with silence yet again. Oh and no monorail drivers licence.
I did email Disney about this when we got home as I felt upset that she belittled my little boy. I got the standard response.

WHAT???!!!! My son would have cried, and I probably would have too! What an awful thing for someone to say to a child (or an adult, FTM)

 

[edwardsfire]

LOL, ive never met a rude monorail driver.
Just when one things folks have complained about EVERYTHING......voila, we have another...

 

[TotalSnowWhite]

And a pet peeve of mine is people who seem to think that they spend more and thus deserve more than others. I have read my POS on every DVC purchase I have made and nowhere does it guarantee the right to an effusive monorail driver, front car access, or special ability to awaken Tink, or any other perceived perk of ownership.

Everyone paid for their holiday, be it one day or one week, at a value or a deluxe, at Grandma's or at their DVC. Owning DVC has no bearing on this conversation and I am embarassed that owners tout their ownership as a reason to expect more.

Technically, don't DVC owners, in the long run, end up paying less for subsequent vacations (pays for itself in 5-7 trips)? So, after trip seven, by that PP's logic, she should get the lowest service possible, as she won't have paid as much as her rack rate counterpart.

 

[LilyWDW]

Well there is only one solution... stop allowing people to ride up front. Then those who believe the driver should chat with them won't be disappointed and the drivers who wish to focus on their jobs would be happy.

I don't get it I guess. I would think that the JOB of the monorail DRIVER is to DRIVE the monorail. I would surely hope that their attention is fully on this task and not on entertaining some young child. Get me from point A to point B and I am a happy camper... slam on the brakes so you don't miss your stop and I am a sad camper.

 

[pilesoflaundry]

And a pet peeve of mine is people who seem to think that they spend more and thus deserve more than others. I have read my POS on every DVC purchase I have made and nowhere does it guarantee the right to an effusive monorail driver, front car access, or special ability to awaken Tink, or any other perceived perk of ownership.

Everyone paid for their holiday, be it one day or one week, at a value or a deluxe, at Grandma's or at their DVC. Owning DVC has no bearing on this conversation and I am embarassed that owners tout their ownership as a reason to expect more.

Everyone pays to visit the same disney and it doesn't matter if you paid for 1 day or have had APs since the year it opened, you are not more special than anyone else.

We have asked to go up front but haven't had the chance yet. Once I had a guy be very short and rude about it "NO" he barked instead of "sorry it's full" or any other thing. It was peak season and I'm sure he was sick of people asking all day so perhaps it was that but it bugged me.

Another time I was running to catch up with dh and ds, they were already in the monorail and it was about to take off, doors were still open. I said "I'm with them can you wait one second" I was like 3 steps from the door and he told me "tell them to get off" as he shut the doors! My son could have gotten hurt if he had tried to get off, my husband saw the door closing and held him back and they waited for us on the other side but I was not happy!

I'm sure they get tired of dealing with people after a while .

 

[MegaDisney]

Yes, of course the job of the monorail driver is to DRIVE the monorail! However, when guests are entering the front cab, the driver is not actively driving then, is he/she? No, they aren't. It won't kill someone to say hello or how are you, now would it?

And to the woman whose 7 year old was basically put in his place by that nasty old witch- I'm so sorry. I have a son that age and if anyone ever spoke to him that way after asking an innocent question they would regret it. I don't blame you for not saying anything- I'm sure you were shocked into silence and maybe even thought it was some weird joke? But I would have looked right at her and said "Does it make you feel nice to speak to a child that way? You're a nasty old witch and I hope you step in dog poo today" or something like that. Unreal.

 

[Disney1976]

Just got back this Saturday. We had the same guy It would be completely silent then he would make some sort of "sound effect." No words were spoken just sound effects. Looking back it makes me laugh but at the time it was a little creepy.

Just a thought, wondering if perhaps he had Terrets Syndrome. I had a friend in high school who had this, and he would make weird noises from time to time. He couldn't help it.