Disgruntled Guests?

[ladypage]

How is it dealing with disgruntled guests? Obviously, the guests come first, but how extreme do they take it? Will the managers ever stick up for you or anything. I mean, like at my current work, the customer can do no wrong, including when they throw things at us, which has happened multiple times by the same customer, but since he's the guest, they won't ask him to leave.

Please tell me they'll stick up for us a little bit if it really comes down to it?

 

[disneymegs]

If you didn't do anything wrong, they absolutely will stick up for you. For example, if a guest is mad that you told them they can't bring their huge double stroller in somewhere and they complain to the manager, the manager will explain that you simply told them that because it's the policy, etc. If you were just being a dud and didn't give a guest a wonderful experience, the manager will apologize and try to make the guest happy but they won't defend you most likely (not that they will say anything bad about you of course).

 

[MissRiss89]

My managers have ALWAYS stuck up for me when it comes to dealing with angry guests. The happiness of our guests is obviously quite important, and therefore, managers will most likely make suggestions how to handle challenging situations in a more efficient matter. In my experience, managers will always be on your side and be there to support you when handling difficult guests, as long as you are doing your job and following what you were taught to do in training.

 

[sephorachick]

Honestly I only ever dealt with 1 rude lady during my 2 Cp's. She was an idiot & let her daughter JUMP onto pooh ride before they had the safety guards....... That was only time I cannot control her kid or protect her u know? LOL I never got in trouble. Kill them with kindness!

 

[dairylives]

Sounds like you have a horrible current job. But yeah, I work at a huge tourist attraction in Michigan, and i see all kinds of terrible people. The usual rule of thumb is just to not give them a reason to respond. Most people are reasonable, and if they are looking for a fight, if you respond to them with kindness, they usually feel pretty guilty.

Most people that give you problems are people who are predisposed to having a bad attitude, and you can't really do anything about it except take care of them and move on and forget about it. Its not easy to do, but you'll learn how to do it.

 

[disneymegs]

Fortunately I have never had a guest be mad at something I did! *knock on wood* They are usually mad about a policy or someone else not telling them something before. Pour on the sugar and they're usually like "oh that's ok I know it's not your fault!"

 

[ladypage]

Ok cool. I am a pro at pouring on the sugar! Haha I figure I won't see nearly as many people like that in Disney, as we do here, but I am glad that if we do, I won't be by myself.

 

[disneymegs]

What is your role?

 

[Soarin08]

I'm sorry, I'm just going to be blunt. This is Disney. Not every single guest who comes in is happy and nice all the time. You will deal with more nice guests than anything, but there will be a fair share of jerks as well.

I did food service on both of my CPs and THAT is where a ton of issues lie, especially in full service (because some people are too dumb to realize that during peak period, if you don't have a ressie, you won't get a table). I had guests curse me, scream at me, and even twice throw their pagers at me used to let them know when their table was ready. My managers did stick up for me but the guests did not seem to care that their behavior was decidedly un-Disney.

I don't want to offend anyone, but if you think there won't be rude people at Disney... you might not be fit to work there. It's Disney. It's part of the real world too, after all. Just like there are rude people at Walmart, etc., there are mean and rude people who visit the World. You have to learn to develop a thick skin and not let it get to you. The good guests will far outweigh the bad; don't let the rude ones drag you down.

 

[disneymegs]

No one said there won't be rude people. There are rude people everywhere, especially at Disney when people don't get what they want. I was going to mention that food service has to be the worst, because a lot of things can disappoint a guest there. Very true with the thick skin, and also about the good outweighing the bad. Some guests are awesome and compliment you a lot!

 

[ladypage]

I never said I didn't expect rude people. Obviously, thos epeople are gonng to be everywhere. But I also don't expect it to be like my current workplace where my friend was injured because of a guest. Or that I was called the worst names I've ever heard of by a customer, and I got in trouble because I walked away and got a manager when she threatened me.

All I care about is that if it comes down to it with an angry guest that we can no longer help, someone will be there to back me up. I don't expect every guest to be the most amazing person on Earth, particularly since I'm QSFB, and I'm sure people will get frustrated, but I also don't want to be put in the situations that I am here.

 

[disneymegs]

I never said I didn't expect rude people. Obviously, thos epeople are gonng to be everywhere. But I also don't expect it to be like my current workplace where my friend was injured because of a guest. Or that I was called the worst names I've ever heard of by a customer, and I got in trouble because I walked away and got a manager when she threatened me.

All I care about is that if it comes down to it with an angry guest that we can no longer help, someone will be there to back me up. I don't expect every guest to be the most amazing person on Earth, particularly since I'm QSFB, and I'm sure people will get frustrated, but I also don't want to be put in the situations that I am here.

Oh I wasn't saying that like you thought there wouldn't be rude people

 

[ladypage]

Oh I wasn't saying that like you thought there wouldn't be rude people

Oh, I know! I'm just clarifying to everyone that I understand that. No worries! it wasn't aimed at anyone in particular.

 

[Joanna71985]

I deal with a lot of unhappy guests when in entertainment (especially when it comes to closing the lines), and I've also had some (but not as many) when at GMR. I've learned to try to not take it personally. And if you get upset, try to get offstage if possible

 

[thatcrazydisneygirl]

Disney is known for excellent guest service. The way that I have seen my managers deal with guest situations has always upheld that standard. The guests do come first. I have seen guests that were initially extremely rude and disruptive eventually be given special treatment. It's hard to explain. The managers want the guest to leave any situation with a positive feeling. Whether or not the person deserves to feel positively is another issue. A lot of times, managers will save their own butts and say one thing to a guest and pull certain strings in order to avoid escalating a potentially nasty situation. The following is an example:

A guest was completely rude and called me some awful curse words because I did not accept their invalid fastpasses. My managers were called and after much conversation with the guest and their family, the family was allowed to enter the fastpass line anyway.

I wasn't happy that the family still received special treatment despite treating me awfully. But, my manager properly accessed the situation and knew that the guest wasn't going to calm down. In order to make the guest happy and deescalate the situation, my manager made the decision to let them ride. What I did appreciate was my manager late pulling me aside and thanking me for handling the situation in a professional and appropriate manner.

 

[disneymegs]

One time, a mother was furious that she couldn't get inside of the World Of Disney before it opened. It was like 8:15 am and her daughter had an 8:30 am appt to get her hair done in the BBB. They were cold and expected to be let in before store opening just because the reservation center said to come early for the appt. She was so furious that everyone disregarded her outside and kept telling the managers how awful it was. They kept apologizing and saying they couldn't open the store early and she said "we'll be writing a letter". The manager basically nodded and walked away. Sometimes there isn't anything they can do because it's so absurd.

 

[ladypage]

That all seems fair enough to me. I do like that the guets comes first, because Disney wouldn't be nearly as special if that weren't the case. But I'm over all glad that it seems like managers will at least acknowledge that you tried, even if they needed to come by and fix the situation however they saw fit.

 

[aznchnxter]

I have got to say that working QSR is HARD when it comes to guest service. There are a LOT who get grumpy when they don't get something they want exactly as it is.

I was still training at Peco's Bills and I wasn't really warned that guests sometimes, right after the registers, jump into any line expecting their meals to come straight to them. So he was standing in line and the first part of his meal came out after we had called for his number a million times. The second came out shortly after and I didn't know that he was in the wrong line but I kept looking for him. I finally found him and he just started blasting me saying things like, "I don't even f****** want this anymore. My wife's food is cold and this is just unacceptable. I can't understand why it takes you guys so long to get to me and you can get everyone else around me food and just completely miss me." Something along those lines, anyways. My trainer was standing next to me trying to calm down the guest and telling me to ignore him and that things will get better. I shouldn't worry about him.
But the guest kept going. He's like, "This food is cold. I demand a different meal. I want my food cold. This is gross." I told him I would proudly get it to him. No problem. And then, all of a sudden, "Oh, you know what? Never mind. I don't need this. I'm just gonna eat it cold." I didn't know what to do. I just sat there and stared at him while my trainer just kept telling me to not sweat it. haha.
Even though that happened, it was the busy time so we had lots of guests and you'll quickly forget that something like that happened. Make sure you interact with the guests and not just shove their food at them. Try to make them smile, compliment them, their children or point out that they're celebrating. It's always about the guests. ^_^

 

[aznshents]

Something you will learn about being a Disney cast member:

People are absolute god damn idiots.













But it's OK. Because then there'll be the times where you make magical memories for folks that they'll remember forever, and it'll be all worth it. And I like it when guests get upset at me because I know I'm right, and I NEVER do anything wrong. My leads have come rescue me on a number of occasions from angry guests and I've never done anything wrong.

Also:
"Sir I'm sorry, you can't cross the road."
"My ice cream is melting..."
"Sir, there is a parade in the road. I can not let you cross."
"But my ICE CREAM is MELTING!"
"Sir. There is a parade. In the road." (points at parade) "You are NOT allowed to cross."
Guy: (runs off with his ice cream trying to find another crosswalk to be able to cross)
Me: *chuckles to myself*

 

[disneymegs]

Haha. The best piece of advice I got right before starting my fall 2010 CP was this: there will be so many times you want to talk back to a rude guest or just plain stick your tongue out at them, but even in frustration just keep a smile on your face and get through it.