Ever had a not so magical moment at Disney

[FierceAXboi]

I am curious ever had a moment when a castmember did not treat you right? It doesnt have to be at the park itself perhaps when calling there reservations department.

 

[Blueberry]

Yup...a CM was rude to me as I checked at World of Disney this past spring.

The guy appeared to be free and just sraightening things behind the counter, and I asked if I could check out there..He said to me, I will check you out when I am ready, when someone is busy they cannot always stop and deal with people who ask to check out!!!

I wrote a letter to World of Disney with his name, but he still works there he was there in September when we returned..However, I made sure not to check out where he was working!!!

 

[jay-nee]

My son was yelled at in Universe of Energy for standing in front of a door, our whole family thought he was speaking to this other kid. Believe me the CM could have handled it very differently. We were all so dissappointed. Plus, it really ruined a HUGE part of the day for my very, very sensitive son. What a jerk. I looked for him on the way out, but no where to be seen.

Thankfully, we meet plenty of great CMs during our vacation, but DS still remembers...

 

[luvtoall]

but the great employees more then make up for it.
I just flat brush off SORRY people...
I hate it when adults are bullies!!!

 

[Leota]

I think as long as Disney continues to pay people poorly, they are going to get some sub-standard service. They need to treat their employees a little better to get a better caliber cast member....
I have noticed a difference over the past 12 years that I've been going & it hasn't been for the better.....

Luckily for us, there are many Cast Members who love Disney & have high work standards that keep it a very Magical place. Kudos to those great CM's who keep the Disney Tradition alive & well.

 

[i like stitch]

We had problems with a couple of park photograpers last week---grumpy, pushy, and rude. That type of behavior won't sell pictures....

 

[tarheelmjfan]

Okay my disclaimer: I'm a huge WDW fan, and I definitely think it's the most magical place on earth. If I didn't I wouldn't force my family to go back so often.

I know I must be the only person on earth who thinks this, but I for one think WDW would be a much more magical experience if they would quit singling out a few people to have an over-the-top vacation memory, at the expense of the other millions who know they do it, and have been numerous times, but have never received that "special" treatment. That being said, I think the things like riding in the parades, etc..., could be a wonderful thing if it were reserved for the "Make a Wish Foundation", or something similar. Which by the grace of God, my family has never had to use. Why do I feel so strongly about this? Because my DS was once asked to participate in a parade. At the time, he was about 5, and a few of the kids were much older, including his cousin. They were supposed to set the table for Beauty & the Beast. Well the cast members had no control over the children, and the older children kept trampling over the younger children. He came back in tears, because he didn't even get one plate. He wasn't the only one. There was another little boy about his age who also came back to his mom in tears. Let's just say, she was a little more outspoken about her displeasure than we were, and they were scrambling to find a way to make a big deal over that little boy. Even since then, WDW lost it's magic for my son, and I have to force him to go. This could all have been prevented if they would just allow everyone to enjoy the parades, etc., in their own right, and concentrate on making sure that each guest had an equally magical experience. I know that my DH & DS would feel alot differently about WDW, if they would stop trying to make an extra special trip for an elite few. It seems to me that since we're all paying the same price to get in, we should all have the same experience. Rant over!!! Sorry, but that is my one pet peeve with WDW.

 

[SRUAlmn]

I TOTALLY agree. Having only been to WDW since the age of 16 and older, I have always felt a little 'less important' in the eyes of the CMS. We went the Christmas after my dad died in 1997. I was 16 and my sisters were 14 and 11. A CM walked up to me (I was apart from my family getting a drink) and said they were looking for a parade family. I took them over to my family and I was SO excited. This was a holiday boost that we needed! My 'family' consisted of my 2 sisters, myself, my mom, my grandmother, and my aunt. The CM took one look at us, and said 'we are kind of looking for more of a traditional family, but thank you.' We just stood there in shock. My mother wrote a long letter to Disney because we also had a comment made by a CM at Cindy's that we 'ditched all the men.' My mom said she didn't want to make him feel bad by saying 'no, they all died,' but she was a little offended. Anyway, she never heard back from Disney.

 

[SRUAlmn]

My boyfriend is pretty tall, 6' 5" and has a hard time sitting straight forward on some rides. We went on the backlot tour in MGM and were sent to the tram area with a fairly large group of people. The CMs were directing people towards which specific row to sit in, and a couple in front of us went to the row that we were directed to because it was in the front (I guess?) Well, the CM sent 2 more people over to that row (because they are supposed to fit 5 adults,) but we already had 4 in our row. My boyfriend was also turned slightly sideways because his knees didn't fit and were pressed really hard against the little wall in front of us. The people who were sent to our row told the CM that there was no more room, and she came over and started yelling at all of us that we didn't go to our assigned row and that we were being rude to take up a whole seat when it really should fit one more person. Then she turned to the couple who didn't fit and said that she would be sure to do something special for them because there day was disturbed by such rude & inconsiderate people. I started to politely open my mouth, but my boyfriend asked me to please not. I asked when we were done if there was someone in charge that I could speak to, and the CMs said all I could do was talk to guest relations at the gate. I was really mad!

 

[shellybaxter]

Originally posted by Leota
I think as long as Disney continues to pay people poorly, they are going to get some sub-standard service. They need to treat their employees a little better to get a better caliber cast member....

Are you willing to pay the extra needed to increase these sub-standard salaries to get the above standard service? I think correlating salary to performance is over rated. Did the CM know the level of expectation and the job when they were hired? Did they accept the job? Then they should perform up to the expected level, at the current salary.

I work in childcare (at a top of the line facility- btw). Childcare worker salaries are LOW. But that doesn't give me the right to perform at less then my best. Those children and families need high quaity care in order to get a good start in life.

Low salaries shouldn't give CMs a right to be less then helpful, courteous, and magical, because that is what is needed and expected for them to perform their jobs. Granted, everyone has a bad day, and we should be tolerant of that. But come on, a check out clerk, behind the check out counter, that says "people" -essentially his customers - need to wait to check out until he is finished straightening up? That's crazy!!

Shelly

 

[reedycreek]

i posted this experience with a CM in a previous thread. during MNSSHP, we were dressed up as Fred and Daphne from Scooby Doo. A little girl in a wheelchair came up to my girlfriend on Main Street at MK and asked for her autograph, thinking it was really Daphne. My girlfriend signed it of course, and within seconds one of those managers with the earpieces came running over and scolded us for doing it. He said we should never sign an autograph again at Disney because it ruins the magic. I thought to myself, well wouldnt it ruin the magic for the kid if she didnt sign it? The way the guy told us too was very rude, and it bothered me the rest of the night.

 

[Terry S]

We had a not so magical moment about 5 years ago that neither of my childern have ever forgotten. During this trip my daughter was about 2 1/2 and she was a bit leary of the characters but was okay having her pictures taken with them as long as my 4 year old son was between her and the character. So all the picutres have the character, my son and then my daughter next to him. Anyway we were leaving the MNSSHP for the night and the big bad wolf was there so my daughter started to take her position next to my son and the big bad wolf started chasing after her, I told him that she didn't want to be next to him, but he continued to to run after her as she started screaming and crying in terror. This pretty much ruined what was a wonderful evening for us and the kids have brought it up ever since.

I just want to say, I am a CM and we are not perfect people, and we all have bad days once in awhile when we can not be the perkiest happiest people. But, there is no excuse for rude behavior or trying to scare a child.

 

[CarolA]

Most of my not so magical moments are caused by other guests....

 

[Gary M]

I agree with CarolA that most of the rudness comes from the other guests. The CM's have been great 99.9% of the time, but I'll never forget the nasty person at check-in at the Poly. A couple of bus drivers have had less than good days. etc.. After 31 on-site stays at WDW the bad experiences have been minimal.

 

[CarolA]

And of course your rude CM could normally be nice but just have gotten tired or had the guest from 'you know where' just before you.

I once saw a guest at OKW literally cuss at a CM since all of thier room requests were not met. The CM then waited on me and was very nice, but I have to admit I was worried. (I did tell the CM that I thought the prior guest was jerk and she just smiled!)

 

[WDSearcher]

Originally posted by shellybaxter
I think correlating salary to performance is over rated. Did the CM know the level of expectation and the job when they were hired? Did they accept the job? Then they should perform up to the expected level, at the current salary.

Thank you for that! As a Disney CM, I can state that I am NOT poorly paid, I do NOT receive a "sub-standard salary." Disney "minimum wage" is higher than true minimum, which is why so many come to work here. They know what is expected of them when they take a job, and they know how much they'll be making. It's not as though someone gets hired at Disney and is somehow surprised with the payrate or the work standards. It's made very clear when you apply.

If someone agrees to take a job at Disney, they are agreeing to be a Disney CM. They're not agreeing to only work as much as they think they should work for the amount of money they're getting. These people are adults. If they choose to not provide good guest service, it is THEIR choice to behave that way, regardless of how they think the company is treating them. If they don't like the amount of money or benefits they are given at Disney, then there are plenty of other places to work in Central Florida. No one is forcing them to be there.

Sorry for the rant, but the thought that you're somehow allowed to give sub-standard service because you don't like how much you're being paid is a huge pet peeve of many, many Disney CMs.

 

[suerob]

We checked into All-Star Movies one and had paid for a preferred room. When we checked in the CM told us there were no preferred rooms available and then just blankly looked at us like we were supposed to say "Okay, that's fine". I really had to get mad and make a scene before she called a manager and they "magically" found a room. Another time was when we were there last December and at the MK during the taping of the parade. The CM's are not so nice on that day. They tend to be a bit rude. It's okay though, I can handle a couple of not-so-magical moments as long as the majority of the trip is magical.

 

[Cleokitty]

Our "not so magical" moment came at the expense of a character. We were at Epcot when we came upon Jaffar from Alladin. Now, I know, he is a villain but really . . . to throw my DD's autograph book onto the ground after he signed it was completely and totally uncalled for! She was 7 at the time and CRUSHED. It ruined our entire day, not to mention that when the autograph book landed on the ground it wrinkled several pages that had already been signed. She cried and cried. I wanted to do some very un-Disneylike things to that character! But, I didn't. I just tried to console her as best I could. She still talks about that incident and how if it happened now, she would "call" him on it. (Guess we'll be skipping that area of Epcot this trip! )

 

[AladdinsPrincess]

When my DH and I were just married and lived in NC we saved and saved for our first Disney trip together and we were so excited! It was an awesome trip, but there's one little incident that makes me angry to this day...

We went right after Animal Kingdom had first opened and we were enjoying our first ever walk around the Tree of Life, admiring the carvings and the animals that had habitats around the tree. Suddenly this CM came out of nowhere and started giving us the third degree about what we were doing and where we thought we were going. I told him we were just walking around taking everything in and he said something like "oh, yeah nice cover" and was SO rude. Apparently, we were over by the exit of It's Tough to be a Bug so he thought we were trying to sneak in through the exit! The more I tried to laugh it off and deny it, the more he treated us like criminals. He was just so obnoxious. In a zillion trips to Disney though, that is the only bad CM experience we've ever had.