CM Attitudes

[Gru]

We just got back and there was a definite change in CM attitudes. Don't get me wrong, no one was rude, but the majority did not seem to be overly friendly. We are used to CM smiling and engaging guests. I witnessed one manager explaining to a CM at the exit of Splash that she should be smiling and greeting the guests as they exited the ride. We saw lots of CM standing around talking to eachother, most looking like there job was embarassing (Half heartedly waving to guests as the rides were about to start, etc.). The thing that made me sad was on Peter Pan. We have always had the CM wave their hands as if to "sprinkle" pixie dust to make the ship fly. We rode PP three times this past trip, they only "sprinkled" once. My daughter asked me how we were going to fly without the pixie dust.

On the other hand the few CM we encountered that had the "Disney Spirit" were awesome. Rob at HM was so into character - my kids had a ball interacting with him. There was also Connor at the CSR bus stop that was juggling and joking around - he made the 30 min. wait for the bus fun. Maria, our waitress at Mama Melrose was so friendly she stood out.

I wonder how much of the attitude change is lack of training and how much is due to society and a younger generation glued to their phones and not interacting with people in their daily lives.

 

[minnie mum]

That's the final straw. Time to roll out those next gen audioanimatronic CMs. Then we won't have to deal with those pesky humans and their unpredictable human nature. Plastic smiles and pixie dust sprinkles for everyone!

 

[Luvchefmic]

That's the final straw. Time to roll out those next gen audioanimatronic CMs. Then we won't have to deal with those pesky humans and their unpredictable human nature. Plastic smiles and pixie dust sprinkles for everyone!

 

[leebee]

We just got back and there was a definite change in CM attitudes. Don't get me wrong, no one was rude, but the majority did not seem to be overly friendly...

I wonder how much of the attitude change is lack of training and how much is due to society and a younger generation glued to their phones and not interacting with people in their daily lives.

This seems kind-of a leap, but I know what you mean. I think maybe it's a combination of things. It's the end of the spring/summer college program, so many CMs are tired, worn out, hot, ready to head back to school, maybe not feeling the love so much anymore. I also think that these CMs have had to bear the brunt of guests' dissatisfaction with the new FP+ system and might be burned out, or feeling betrayed by Disney (if they'd been going for years and thought they knew how the parks worked and what to expect… and then had to implement FP+). However, my husband teaches college/university students and he has said he sees a more entitled attitude in students today as compared to 5 years ago; it's more about "me" than ever before. Maybe all these things combined are showing up in the way some CMs treat guests.

 

[MaleficentRN]

I'm going to put it out there. Do you think we are starting to see CMs that are part of a generation that has poor social skills because of use of the internet? Facebook/Twitter/ texting is robbing people of their interpersonal skills. Is this part of the decline of Disney Excellence?
*waits for it*

 

[Luvchefmic]

I'm going to put it out there. Do you think we are starting to see CMs that are part of a generation that has poor social skills because of use of the internet? Facebook/Twitter/ texting is robbing people of their interpersonal skills. Is this part of the decline of Disney Excellence?
*waits for it*

No reason to duck, it may be part of it...maybe.. but I think the same can be said about the guests attitudes and social skills too.

 

[MouseMomx2]

FWIW, I can only remember a handful of times when we have been "pixie dusted" on Peter Pan's Flight, and I have been going to WDW since 1971.

 

[scoutie]

I teach teenagers, and I do not notice any issues with them not being social or engaging in conversation. I think that's a huge leap. I think the problem is people being rude over fast pass plus issues. I saw so many rude adults at Disney this time. One CM said she was called in to work on her only day off that week, and her next day off wasn't until the following Tuesday. I think it would be really hard for CMs to deal with rude people while being overworked. At AK, during a rainstorm, many people were crowded in a building waiting out the rain. A guy riding a scooter tried to go in, and a CM told him that it was too dangerous to drive a scooter in a crowd of people. The scooter guy snapped, "I don't care. I'm going in. If I run over a hundred people, so be it." And he drove in. That kind of thing would be irritating to deal with over and over as a CM.

 

[butterfly71076]

FWIW, I can only remember a handful of times when we have been "pixie dusted" on Peter Pan's Flight, and I have been going to WDW since 1971.

I don't think I remember ever getting "sprinkled" on Peter Pan.

 

[Ellwood970]

I teach teenagers, and I do not notice any issues with them not being social or engaging in conversation. I think that's a huge leap. I think the problem is people being rude over fast pass plus issues. I saw so many rude adults at Disney this time. One CM said she was called in to work on her only day off that week, and her next day off wasn't until the following Tuesday. I think it would be really hard for CMs to deal with rude people while being overworked.

I agree with you I also think it is over fastpass + issues. I hope the Disney people see the confusion and are trying to fix it. It works fine for individual families but try to get fastpass + experiences for a extended group it is difficult.

 

[chuss]

It has to be really hard being in a job where you get all the blame and anger about things but have nothing to do with the issue people are so upset about. I can't imagine being a CM in the parks when MDE goes down, trying to have to explain FP+ issues and problems all day, etc. Especially in the summer heat!

 

[BuzzinDownToDisney]

Yup WDW never had any rude guests before FP+

 

[CAS239]

I saw the complete opposite of what your saying a couple weeks ago when I went. The CM's I encountered were probably the most friendly than any recent trip I've been on.

And I've never seen any CM pretend to sprinkle pixie dust on the PP ride.

 

[chuss]

Imagine being part of the 95%+ of guests who visit the parks who do not frequent boards such as this. Arriving, then trying to figure out what in the world FP+ is all about would make me frustrated as well. That's probably part of the issue, but I agree that there will always be rude guests with or without FP+.

 

[Ellwood970]

Yup WDW never had any rude guests before FP+

There were plenty of rude guests I agree, few rude CM before this change. the CM are getting a lot of the pressure from the change.

 

[WendyLovesPeter]

An extended member of our family was recently a CM at WDW. Listening to her and her friends talk...well it kinda brought reality to the CM "magic" for me. Some CM just "act" the disney role better than others. They talked about guests a lot as being stupid or rude. I'm sure they have their fill of challenging guest interaction but I found the conversations to be very smug and sarcastic. In all fairness tho I'm sure here are many CM who do love their job and want to make a difference

 

[Luvchefmic]

An extended member of our family was recently a CM at WDW. Listening to her and her friends talk...well it kinda brought reality to the CM "magic" for me. Some CM just "act" the disney role better than others. They talked about guests a lot as being stupid or rude. I'm sure they have their fill of challenging guest interaction but I found the conversations to be very smug and sarcastic. In all fairness tho I'm sure here are many CM who do love their job and want to be a difference maker.

I wouldn't put much stock in what they said. They were venting like we all do about our jobs from time to time. It's a great way to release things and then be able to go out and do it all over again.

 

[maarowak]

Even if you are the kindest and nicest person in the world working as a CM, I can see your niceness slip away very quickly working on Disney during all these changes, with so many rude people screaming at you.

I would feel overwhelmed working there. And thank you for the thread. I really really need to keep reminding myself to not set up myself for disappointment.

 

[Jennasis]

The recent changes to operations (MDE/FP+, sudden additions and subtractions of attractions, hours, shows etc) are probably affecting the front line folks who take the brunt of guests frustrations when they had nothing to do with the cause of said frustration. Getting yelled at for glitches, app malfunctions, magic band hiccups, lost FP reservations etc.

 

[cakebaker]

I've noticed a gradual decline in the quality of cm interaction and behavior over the years that we've been going to Disney. On this last trip, while no one was rude, I noticed that cm's interacted very little. Many times they were too busy talking to each other to interact.

I remember when the cm's were trained to act the parts on their rides- in particular it was hilarious to ride TOT because the cm's were so good at playing the characters- now it's nothing. We didn't even get direction to step to the middle of the room on haunted mansion this year- Just directing you where you go. It is a bit disappointing as it takes away from the ride itself.

Our best experience ever was when we were riding TOT and after we got off, for no reason whatsoever, a very grim elevator operator walked up and asked us to come with him. Without ever explaining why, and never breaking character, he quietly and grimly led us through corridors we had never been down. He was good enough that all us being adults, were actually a bit scared as to what was going on. Then we stepped out and we were back at the front of the ride and got to ride it again. Best....experience....ever.

That just doesn't happen anymore.

I understand guests can be rude, ignorant and obnoxious. It's part of the job and if you can't handle it you're in the wrong job. I lay the blame entirely at the feet of poor training, and it's too bad.