Ever have CM's take the Magic out of it?

[feathersmcgraw]

We only encountered the one less-than magic CM on our 2010 trip and that was at the turnstiles at DAK. Nothing really note-worthy apart from a general bad attitude and to be honest I was more disappointed than upset/angry as it was our first trip to WDW and everyone else had been amazing.
The thing that bugged me more was how people generally spoke to CMs. So many times I heard people say "get me the Dipping Dots" or "Gimme a pretzel" when they were being served ahead of me. Mostly (older) children if I am honest but if my children spoke like that I would be mortified!

 

[smartblnde]

We have encountered only 1.
My DS was 12 at the time and still wet the bed. A 12 year old doesn't just wet the bed just a little.
When housekeeping came in the next morning, I requested a full change of bed linens. She said she would just make the bed. I then repeated myself, nicely requesting both beds be changed, because my DS was right there, dying of embarrassment. She insisted on just making the beds. I finally had to SHOW her why. My son was mortified.
I know, not life or death, and really not rude, but still. The remainder of the time the sheets were changed if I left a note in Spanish 'cambiar, por favor.'. My son could not read it, so this worked well. : )

 

[butsy113]

I have been taking my kids (almost grown now ) since 2008. I finally took my DS to Crystal Palace because he has loved those characters all his life and we had the TiW discount. Our server was horrible. I told him that we had the TiW card. He said "I have to get my manager to approve it" and took the card. When he came back he brought the black book with the check in it. We had just sat down. We sat with empty drink glasses for at least 30 minutes (couldn't find him) and when he came around I asked for refills and he said "what both of you" I was so ticked off by then and to make it all worse Eyoree skipped the table and when he was brought back by he refused to sign the autograph book. I should have gotten the manager because since I used TiW the server got a $9 tip for the worse service ever. After this I stopped telling servers at the beginning of the meal we had TiW. DS said it was the worst dining experience we have ever had at Disney.

I'm sorry for the server; however, when we tried to get Eyore's autograph the handler said he couldn't because he can't grip a pen in the costume. I hope that makes you feel somewhat better about that part.

 

[wendylovesdisney]

I have noticed some decline in CM. I don't think it's inevitable, I think it's sad.

My story is my friend who went to Disney last year who got sick. She started feeling really bad, and felt like she was going to pass out, throw up. She ran to a trash can (it was an emergency) and a CM said, "not in MY trash can". So she threw up on the ground (much worse to clean up IMHO) and then passed out. They had to call for medical help. Geez. How magical is that?!

Still better then 6 Flags though.

 

[jkjs]

Sorry, but that CM was just doing her job properly. Your son did not measure up when she checked him the first time. I always feel sorry for these CMs since they take so much abuse from parents every day, all day long. And most rides with a height requirement do a second check before boarding the ride, so I don't see why you were surprised with that either.

I'm sorry you must have missed the point where I said the CM refused to remeasure my son. In my experience, CMs go out of their way to make sure a kid can ride a ride that they are tall enough for - telling the kids to stand straight and tall, etc. This CM was "one and done" and made no extra effort.

 

[bytheblood]

At Landscape of Flavors in AoA the staff at the Tandori Kitchen -- ALL of them -- were surley and rude to each other, to guests, everyone.

Was not cool.

We notice this about all of the people working in the Pepper Market. All of them are terrible and horribly rude.

 

[bytheblood]

I have to chuckle, because the people who wrap hair are not actually CMs, they are operating participants. They do not work for Disney, they do not get the same training as CMs, and their expectations are set up by their parent company.

While it certainly does not excuse the behavior as there are several awful CM experiences mentioned on this thread, I just had to throw that out there for perspective.

You are right, but guests still see this as "Disney" customer service.

About 15 years ago I purchased a nice shirt from the gift shop in the Contemporary Resort. We were staying there. Disney had recently started delivering your purchases to your resort room. As this was to be a surprise for my DH for our anniversary, I thought delivery was perfect. Except it never showed up. When I went back to the gift shop, they basically accused me of stealing! verifying my room # (which was correct), then stating with an attitude of accusation that I should not be surprised if men in suits are looking around my resort room, as they are security. Turns out it was delivered to the wrong room. I received a floral arrangement for my troubles.

We have shopped/browsed here on every vacation and have never encountered a happy or kind CM. I expect it, so it really does not bother me, but it must be the culture of that resort. We notice this at the Yacht Club as well.

I don't agree with it, but in general I think CMs deal with so many different personalities that they lose their own and become desensitized to the Disney environment.

 

[Vemnox]

Few years ago, my daughter was so super excited to finally meet her fav. Peter Pan. As we patiently anticipated our turn, she ran up to meet him and he proceeded to tell her "Now you know...I am not real....this is just pretend" Damage was done and her little heart was broken. Good thing the fairy god mother was the next character we met, cuz she really helped diffuse a tense magical disney moment.

There's something that has to be missing in this story. Was this during a MNSSHP or someone dressed in a costume (other than a Disney cast member)? This seems quite unfathomable.

 

[Vemnox]

Oddly enough, I consider CMs like any other employee. I don't really hold them to a higher standard or anything because, in the end, there just paid employees at Disney.

They, in my experiences, have provided me with outstanding service and have always been polite and kind, yet in all honesty, they're people, too, who work at Disney for their job.

This.

People tend to have this misconception that there is some certain DNA amongst Disney CMs which makes them all stellar representatives of the Disney product. The reality is, they are normal people just like someone working at McDonald's, a fancy restaurant, or in a big corporate office. They go home at the end of the day and have normal clothes, normal likes/dislikes, etc. It's a job.

 

[maxiesmom]

We notice this about all of the people working in the Pepper Market. All of them are terrible and horribly rude.

Did not experience that AT ALL on our trip this past March. They were all friendly and helpful.

I have to wonder (and I don't mean this as a reproach of the PP) how many guests who find the CMs rude go out of their own way to be nice. How many guests wait for the CM to say Hi instead of saying Hi first. How many people say Please and Thank You when speaking to anyone working on Disney property.

Maybe we are not being payed to be nice, but as human being is it that hard to be nice first, and not wait until someone else is nice to us?

 

[jtowntoflorida]

I have to wonder (and I don't mean this as a reproach of the PP) how many guests who find the CMs rude go out of their own way to be nice. How many guests wait for the CM to say Hi instead of saying Hi first. How many people say Please and Thank You when speaking to anyone working on Disney property.

I may be a huge Disney-fied dork, but when I stumbled across a CM who seemed less-than-chipper, I absolutely went out of my way to make eye contact, give them a smile, and ask them how they were doing today. In every. single. case, they lightened up (at least for me).

I think that so many people go into Disney with a huge sense of entitlement, and it shows in their interactions with CMs sometimes--expecting CMs to make their vaction 100% completely magical. But guests are responsible for Disney magic, too. As the saying goes, you catch more flies with honey than with vinegar. Yes, you're going to come across the occasional jerk or person who is having a bad day that you won't be able to overcome with a smile, but a little kindness is never a bad thing, IMO. You don't know what the other person is going through.

 

[RoyalMom]

We were just there and the only rudeness we had was when DD was trying to meet Duffy and her handler announced he was going on a cookie break just as it was our turn. When I asked why she hadn't let people in line know how long Duffy would be there, she got pretty snotty and said he'd be back in 5 minutes. He was and we waited but I thought she could have handled it a lot better, like they did in the past when they managed the timing process better.

We had a similar experience... except both DDs reeeeally had to go to the lavatory. We waited until Duffy returned and BOTH of them - during the picture - let it all out. all over Duffy's feet, and the floor of the little pagoda.

Soooo sorry to the people in line behind us, but a little advance warning about breaks might have helped us plan potty breaks better...

 

[GrahamOrlando]

For the most part, Disney is a wonderful place to work, filled with wonderful people, but sometimes guests seem to forget that Cast Members are ordinary, everyday people like themselves. Guests expect the best - the full Disney treatment, but alas, real life has a habit of kicking even the jolliest of Cast Members up the butt.

There's never any excuse for rudeness, but I do think that very high expectations are unfairly put on Cast Member's shoulders.

Despite the "atmosphere" of working at Disney, it can be an extremely hard job. The schedule is demanding and Cast Members put up with so much unpleasantness from irritated guests on a daily basis.

Working for the mouse doesn't negate real world problems - death, relationship issues, money worries and so on. There's only so many times you can be shouted at for trying to do your job properly. I've seen Cast Members reduced to tears many times at the end of their shift, both emotionally and physically drained.

As I say, rudeness should never be pardoned, but it's always wise to remember that when a Cast Member doesn't smile or is isn't as friendly as you'd expect, please remember that there is a real person underneath the costume - and sometimes, even the friendliest of people can have a bad day at the office

 

[mgpan]

I enjoy a cup of tea after we've been in the parks all day, it relaxes me right before we turn in for the night. First night of course, tea and coffee packets in the room. Second night, wasn't replaced, so i called the front desk to see if they could be brought up, even volunteered to go down to desk and get them myself.

45 minutes later, tea shows up at door. Next night, same thing no replenishment, no big deal i call down, offer to come get it, and they say no we'll send it right up. I hear a very loud knock on the door, open it, the same cast member is there from the night before, he throws a bag of tea and coffee packets at me and says in a loud voice as he points one finger at me, "There, guess that saved your life." He never slows down and goes back to the elevator. I emailed Disney about it when they sent me a survey about our stay, no follow up from them. I've had better service treatment at hotels that were much less than $400 a night!

This year we're trying the Dolphin, hope the customer service is a little more hospitable.

 

[CraftyMommy]

I'm sorry for the server; however, when we tried to get Eyore's autograph the handler said he couldn't because he can't grip a pen in the costume. I hope that makes you feel somewhat better about that part.

That's crazy. I've gotten Eeyore's autograph several times.

 

[k5thbeatle]

We only encountered the one less-than magic CM on our 2010 trip and that was at the turnstiles at DAK. Nothing really note-worthy apart from a general bad attitude and to be honest I was more disappointed than upset/angry as it was our first trip to WDW and everyone else had been amazing.
The thing that bugged me more was how people generally spoke to CMs. So many times I heard people say "get me the Dipping Dots" or "Gimme a pretzel" when they were being served ahead of me. Mostly (older) children if I am honest but if my children spoke like that I would be mortified!

If you listen closely you'll unfortunately hear people talk in this demanding tone all over the country these days.

Like I said in a previous post in this thread, I am disappointed when I see/hear this but I hardly let it ruin my vacation.

 

[k5thbeatle]

This.

People tend to have this misconception that there is some certain DNA amongst Disney CMs which makes them all stellar representatives of the Disney product. The reality is, they are normal people just like someone working at McDonald's, a fancy restaurant, or in a big corporate office. They go home at the end of the day and have normal clothes, normal likes/dislikes, etc. It's a job.

True enough, but doesn't Disney pride itself as a level above all in the training of it's employees and their customer service? I know of two friends whose company spent a couple days in a training session for customer service put on by Disney. They hold themselves out as THE standard in this aspect from what I hear and read?

 

[foodrocksluver]

A few years ago my parents and I had gone into the MK at night. Turns out we got there right as the MSEP was making it's way down Main Street. I've been to WDW over 40 times, I know the drill about trying to keep things organized on the sidewalks so as to not cause a stop in the flow of traffic.

There was a CM in front of us, we were walking on the sidewalk on the Confectionary / Bakery side. People were walking by her, going into the park, and out, it mostly seemed like she was there to make sure people kept walking and didn't just stop in the middle of the sidewalk.

So we go to walk past her, much like everyone else was doing, and next thing I know, her arm shoots out, strikes me across the upper chest, she glares at me and says, "Don't even THINK about it!"

I was so confused. First of all, I couldn't believe this CM had actually touched me in such a way and second, I don't understand why other people were walking past her, but when it was our time, she just decided we weren't allowed to. The parade was still going on, traffic was still moving on the sidewalk, NOTHING had changed.

When we got into Tomorrowland, I told my parents what happened (there were behind me and are seriously oblivious to everything but where they are walking when the MK gets crazy crowded at night). I rememered the CM's name and seriously thought about going to City Hall to report her but she was an older lady, most likely overwhelmed by the insane amount of people around her, and let it go.

But I will never, ever remember how I felt when she yelled / put her arm up to stop me.

 

[maxiesmom]

True enough, but doesn't Disney pride itself as a level above all in the training of it's employees and their customer service? I know of two friends whose company spent a couple days in a training session for customer service put on by Disney. They hold themselves out as THE standard in this aspect from what I hear and read?

You can give people all the training in the world, but at the end of the day, they are still human. Treat them poorly and they may snap. I'd dare anyone to say they could be a CM day in and day out and never have a bad moment or two.

 

[baldy6060]

Last May it happened twice. One female CM at AK's train leaving Rafiki...Yeah, the guy wasn't listening but, wow! She really got mean and it didn't stop til the train left. Then a janitorial employee at MK near Casey's was complaining about the schedule and another employee loudly with 2 others. I realize any job is going to have this but it should be done behind closed doors.