CM's

[BrianL]

The only CMs I had an issue with were the ones directing traffic during the parade. I know it's a zoo and they have a lot going on, but they would give bad or unclear directions and then snap at you when you got confused. We're not all DL experts and I feel like they kinda liked correcting the bad behavior. Outside of that I found all the other CMs with which I interacted with to be absolutely wonderful.

 

[mommymermaid]

I was just behind someone in a restaurant who wanted to know if there was a loaf of sour dough bread available. The cashier told her where it was and that she would have to check. The lady screamed at her "you look for me!" The cashier was behind a counter, there was a line of about 12 people and she was the only cashier available, and the bread was in front of the counter on the side. The cashier went to check and brought back a loaf of bread, then the lady showed her 2 drinks and the cashier assured her that she had rung them up. The response was "...and don't forget my fruit cup!" The cashier had included that, and was told "Do I get a bag or are you just going to keep throwing things at me?" "Don't forget my spoons!" The cashier told her they were in the front. (I got out of line to get her spoons) Then the lady said "...and don't roll your eyes at me, I'm a passholder!"
I've been a passholder for the last 20 years and I would never treat someone like that. It made me realize how much these cast members have to endure during a shift. We also never know what happened before we walked up to the cast member. There is no excuse for someone to be rude to a guest, but it goes both ways. We are not entitled to talk to these people however we choose just because we paid an admission or have an annual pass. As far as being a "passholder," and bringing it up like she owns the company, she should be embarrassed. Like they say...karma!

This is truly disturbing. I cant imagine what makes someone think that they have the right to treat people in such a way.

 

[Snap Crackle Pop]

I think unless the CM is rude to you, complaining to Disney because they aren't "magical" enough is a bit of a moot point. They are not required to make magic for everyone.

 

[Sagginit]

I had mixed results when I was there. I was on my honeymoon and wearing a "just married" shirt the first day. Only one or two people batted an eye. We got a warmer reception from the lady at the car rental place lol. I was mostly annoyed that when we went to town hall just to get buttons they told us the happily ever after ones had been pulled for some unknown reason and gave us a celebrating one. We had a discussion later in the day about this with a friendly group of CMs as I think we were the last people in for a meet & greet at the end of the day (including Mickey which was hysterical as he just stood there nodding and making arm motions). The next day in Flo's V8 of all places the CMs there were shocked I didn't get a proper button and then found one for me, I think they actually took the time to pop over to a gift shop nearby since they were out. Oddly enough once we had an official one vs the celebration one that I had to personalize with a sharpie no one cared. I realized they were more interested in figuring out why the buttons were pulled than in me being on my honeymoon.

I think my main gripe is when I am spending additional money and the CMs have an attitude I get annoyed. Sure the person loading people into a ride can be robotic. If I pay to go to a sit down restaurant which we all know is overpriced and my server acts like I am a burden to them, then I am going to have an issue with poor service.

 

[AussieCaribou]

I just thought that I might lighten the mood a bit.

I called at midnight last night to make booking for Walk in Walt's Footsteps- we have always wanted to do it but we always miss out it seems. So I got on the phone right when the lines opened. Let's just say that my day hadn't been magical to this point (actually had a rather bad day at work, lots of stress in the house due to University entry testing, and was just worn out at midnight).

I waited less than a minute and a very lovely woman named Stephanie helped me book the tour. She was just so sweet and she had me smiling and forgetting about my day (and the price of the international call!!!). I wrote in to Disney to express just how magical my experience was.

Sometimes the pixie dust the CMs offer is just a friendly and efficient process.

 

[mikedoyleblogger]

Unless someone is actually RUDE to you, I think you should let it go. Contacting Disney is not really necessary IMO.

These people are in customer service. No matter how peppy you are in general, some days you're a little off for one reason or another. It's hot as Hades out there, you've got tens of thousands of guests going through your line every day and a good number of them are probably entitled jerks or screeching children.

I can't imagine standing (!) outside all day every day. Some people are only able to have drinks while on their breaks. If you are only able to have water and go to the washroom every 3ish hours, I can imagine being uncomfortable and not at your best.

Give them a break. As long as they're not nasty to you (something I've never seen and only heard whispers of in legends) just put yourself in their shoes and don't get upset if they're not grinning like a cheshire cat for 8 hours, 5 days a week. It's a hard job.

I totally disagree. Parks & Resorts CMs are held to a high standard specifically so that guests feel cared for while they're on property. If you're ready to act in ways that contradict the requirements of being onstage, it's time to go backstage and cool off.

 

[mikedoyleblogger]

I think unless the CM is rude to you, complaining to Disney because they aren't "magical" enough is a bit of a moot point. They are not required to make magic for everyone.

Actually, they are. And you definitely can report a CM who is phoning it in.

 

[Drcbelle]

I agree with some of you that having an expectation that every single thing is going to be "magical" is really setting yourself up to be disappointed. My comment (and I think maybe that of the OP) is that the general atmosphere has gone down a notch or two which in my mind indicates a problem with management or company culture. I could (and did) pinpoint at least 4 specific examples on my recent trip of things that would not be appropriate under the lowest customer service standards, much less the high ones that Disney has put upon itself. I definitely expect things to go wrong and not be perfect, but there are certain things (like employees arguing or especially a person breaking character in front of my children) that I think are not acceptable. Put several of those things together and that seems more indicative of a larger problem rather than one or two people having a bad day. We still had a great time and I will still go back again but like the OP said it's something I've noticed that was lacking on my last trip.

 

[mikedoyleblogger]

I agree with some of you that having an expectation that every single thing is going to be "magical" is really setting yourself up to be disappointed. My comment (and I think maybe that of the OP) is that the general atmosphere has gone down a notch or two which in my mind indicates a problem with management or company culture. I could (and did) pinpoint at least 4 specific examples on my recent trip of things that would not be appropriate under the lowest customer service standards, much less the high ones that Disney has put upon itself. I definitely expect things to go wrong and not be perfect, but there are certain things (like employees arguing or especially a person breaking character in front of my children) that I think are not acceptable. Put several of those things together and that seems more indicative of a larger problem rather than one or two people having a bad day. We still had a great time and I will still go back again but like the OP said it's something I've noticed that was lacking on my last trip.

So...three years ago when George Kalogridis had led Disneyland Resort as president for three years and was just giving up the reins to Michael Colglazier in order to become president at WDW, my partner and I loved the show maintenance (except for the maintenance deferred due to the Cal/OSHA fines.) We remarked on it a lot. And when we visited WDW in 2013, we could not get over how bad maintenance and show were in the Florida parks (as in, orange traffic cones blocking off broken ride vehicles on the People Mover), and how unhappy Florida CMs seemed to be, both as compared to Disneyland. But Kalogridis has presided over WDW for the past three years. Last month we visited WDW and in terms of good show and friendly CMs, it felt like Disneyland used to feel to us three years ago--and much, much improved from the vibe we got at WDW in 2013. When Colglazier arrived at Disneyland in 2013, some bloggers wondered if he would have as positive an effect on the parks as Kalogridis had, or if he would just be a bean counter who would subsume show to budgetary concerns. My take after visiting WDW this year is that it really does come down to management. Disneyland had a good thing in Kalogridis, and now WDW has a good thing in him too. Colglazier, meanwhile, is pretty much Pressler/Harris, the second coming, with no sense of the importance of show. This was instrumental in our decision last month to purchase WDW APs instead of DLR ones.

 

[Winnowill]

Of all of the CMs I've encountered, most are unremarkable. The ones I remember are because of experiences I've had with them - and those are 100% positive. I have never had a negative experience with a cast member.

 

[Astylla]

I actually wrote an email recently about an incredibly short and abrupt individual on the phone with Disney Dining. I was pretty sure the Trick or Tea was sold out since online showed nothing but figured I would call anyway. Now I know how it is getting hundreds of calls about the same thing ( I work in a call center environment ) However it doesn't change how I treat each new guest.

I was basically told it was sold out and nothing available and when I inquired how that can be without checking just snapped at me " Well because people are camping those reservations at 3am" , okay no worries I thought it just was an unexpected trip so figured it wouldn't have hurt to call.
I emailed Disney and got a call this Sunday while at DCA ironically and the CM was so apologetic and kind even offered to check dates JUST IN CASE. There was nothing but it made me feel better that I was listened to.

The original CM had no idea but the reason for this trip is celebrating the Halloween season truly the first time in 12 years since losing my mom, so the rudeness actually hurt me emotionally. I always try to remember you just don't know why a request us being made and to try and be reasonable even if it seems bothersome.

 

[cats mom]

So...three years ago when George Kalogridis had led Disneyland Resort as president for three years and was just giving up the reins to Michael Colglazier in order to become president at WDW, my partner and I loved the show maintenance (except for the maintenance deferred due to the Cal/OSHA fines.) We remarked on it a lot. And when we visited WDW in 2013, we could not get over how bad maintenance and show were in the Florida parks (as in, orange traffic cones blocking off broken ride vehicles on the People Mover), and how unhappy Florida CMs seemed to be, both as compared to Disneyland. But Kalogridis has presided over WDW for the past three years. Last month we visited WDW and in terms of good show and friendly CMs, it felt like Disneyland used to feel to us three years ago--and much, much improved from the vibe we got at WDW in 2013. When Colglazier arrived at Disneyland in 2013, some bloggers wondered if he would have as positive an effect on the parks as Kalogridis had, or if he would just be a bean counter who would subsume show to budgetary concerns. My take after visiting WDW this year is that it really does come down to management. Disneyland had a good thing in Kalogridis, and now WDW has a good thing in him too. Colglazier, meanwhile, is pretty much Pressler/Harris, the second coming, with no sense of the importance of show. This was instrumental in our decision last month to purchase WDW APs instead of DLR ones.

This makes a lot of sense to me. During recent visits to DLR I've had minor CM related annoyances in several different areas.

At the parking structure we discovered we had a flat tire and we called AAA. The parking attendants refused to let the truck come to the level we were on because it was currently closed (and yes, they knew what was going on and that there were plenty of parking spots around us). The AAA guy had to park on a different level, drag his tools halfway across the garage, and then up and down stairs to get to us. What a pain!

On the ride side we were one of two groups that ended up without enough seats on Soarin', which in itself is no big deal as mistakes happen, but we were all taken out of the room and we had to wait for the next ride to load, and not only was there no apology whatsoever, the CM acted annoyed at us. Whatever happened, whether it was other groups making their own seating changes, or the loading CM just miscounting (my guess), it was not our fault. A simple I'm sorry would have been nice.

I've witnessed guests in retail shops waiting to be helped while CM's carried on personal conversations, several different CM's have made comments about the ridiculous price of merchandise they're supposed to be selling, and one CM who was trying to go the extra mile to be helpful was shot down by another CM she called to bring out more stock, at which point she told me he was a lazy liar. Bad on both of them, him for being a lazy liar, her for calling him out on it to a guest.

Are any of these terrible, earth shattering issues? No, but I don't think they're the level of customer service and show Disney prides itself on either. But I suppose if that level of CS and show isn't a priority with management, it's hard to keep it a priority with front line CM's.