Cast members deserve better

[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.

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]

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 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

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.

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
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
There's just no excuse for rudeness from any guests, even between the guests in the parks or resorts 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 . 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!