Great Visit but unfriendly TMs throughout parks

[Orangeandwild]

We just returned from our vacation and visited Universal and IOA for the first time in 2 years. Loved the rides and had a wonderful time BUT for the first time we noticed the BIG differnce between Disney CMs and Universal TMs in customer service and personality.

Over the years we have never noticed any differnce in employees and have been treated very well at both Disney and Universal parks but there was a real lack of courtesy and personality on the TMs part this trip. It was not just one person having a bad day it was everyone we encountered, except one man in IOA whom I bought an Express Pass from that seemed like it was a bother to answer a question or wait on us.

I am handicapped and I often have to ask about an entry point for a ride or how many steps to get into a ride car etc and all I got was one word answers and another could not tell me what i needed to know and did not even bother to ask anyone else.

The economy is bad I know and everyone is worried over their jobs and getting hours cut, but courtesy goes a long way in good public relations and I sure think that Universal needs to work on their Customer Service skills as happy guests will be returning guests. Right now most of them are acting like it is a chore to do the job they are being paid for.

When next we return to Universal we hope that they TMs have sharpened up their people skills a bit.

I know others will disagree with me, but I am very disappointed as Universal has parks we love and we hate to see them going downhill.

 

[A Mickeyfan]

WOW.. my last trip on Labor Day Weekend was sort of the opposite. I thought the TM's were very nice.. They never have a phony smile, that I will say. Any I spoke to were helpful and sincere. I guess you hit a bad day. I am sorry to hear that.

 

[pantherlj]

I have been thinking about this a lot and haven't posted but will now ....

It was my first US/IOA trip and I did notice a CM/TM difference but kind of expected it. Don't get me wrong, I didn't expect a bad experience at US/IOA with employees and didn't have one at all!! But, when I am paying $99 for a week there vs $250 for a week at Disney, I expect to have "better" treatment for my money.

For example - we stayed at a hotel for $60 on the drive down and I expected "less". I was pleased with the service but if I was paying $250 for the night, I sure would have expected a lot more!

To me, it felt like a pure volume of employees difference.

For the most part, there was "nothing". Not good, not bad, just kinda not there. CMs are everywhere at Disney. I got locked out of my locker at IOA and it took a long time to find someone to help me. At Disney, there were 4 CMs playing tic tac toe and bowling with my girls while I ordered lunch at Typhoon Lagoon.

On my daughter's actual birthday, she had on a birthday button and not one single TM said happy birthday at US or IOA (until she stuck out her chest really hard ). We celebrated at a couple of non disney park locations the day before with a birthday button (ie Poly resort breakfast, TL, DTD) and had lots of "happy birthday princess". I didn't need it at all but my daughter glowed. She loved the attention. It felt like there just weren't enough employees at US to have the time to stop and say Happy Birthday. Again, I didn't expect it - I did expect it at Disney. I think my daughter might have but I didn't.

Of course there are exceptions. One day at Blizzard Beach, I got rather upset while waiting in line at BB for lunch at the lodge while a (male) CM chatted away nonstop with fellow CM (female) instead of filling my order. On the other hand, at IOA, the TM at the Hulk told my 6 yr old all about the ball zone at US that I knew nothing about. He spent a lot of time chatting with us at it was really fun. All 4 of us had a BLAST at the ball zone and never would have gone there. The waiter at Mythos was awesome! The TMs at the Seuss train ride were loving their job (or faking really good LOL).

Having said all that .... I have highly recommend US and IOA to friends and coworkers this past week!!

 

[donaldduck352]

I hear this alot but never see it.I have never had A problem with any TM and I go ALOT thru out the year with my AP!!!

 

[Planogirl]

Wow, I also had the opposite experience this past June. Everyone at Universal seemed so nice!

Maybe they're all frazzled by HHN.

 

[SnowWhite2]

We just returned last week and I felt that the TM's mood had definitely changed since our last visit a few years ago. I also noticed a bunch of mid-aged men (over 35 but younger than 50) working the rides. Unless it was get out the managers and work them in the park day, I thought it odd. I would guess these folks have been laid off from "career" jobs or possibly bumped their way back into the theme park positions during layoffs. They were definitely too young to be retirees.

We still had a good visit and would go back again - loved, loved loved Rip, Ride Rock-It - the opressive mid-Aug heat in October might also have been a factor in the TM enthusiasm. I sure know I was wiped out from the heat and crankier than usual

 

[WWEDUDE]

I hear this alot but never see it.I have never had A problem with any TM and I go ALOT thru out the year with my AP!!!

Same with me!

Recalling my many trips this year, I can't think of a single instance where an employee was rude in anyway.

Perhaps it was an off-day?

(The employees at Busch Gardens on my past trip, well... thats a different story )

 

[damo]

We've never encountered a rude employee either. Actually, when we went in August we had guest services go way above and beyond what we ever expected when we had a question about our annual pass.

 

[*LittleMermaid*]

I have been thinking about this a lot and haven't posted but will now ....

It was my first US/IOA trip and I did notice a CM/TM difference but kind of expected it. Don't get me wrong, I didn't expect a bad experience at US/IOA with employees and didn't have one at all!! But, when I am paying $99 for a week there vs $250 for a week at Disney, I expect to have "better" treatment for my money.

For example - we stayed at a hotel for $60 on the drive down and I expected "less". I was pleased with the service but if I was paying $250 for the night, I sure would have expected a lot more!

To me, it felt like a pure volume of employees difference.

For the most part, there was "nothing". Not good, not bad, just kinda not there. CMs are everywhere at Disney. I got locked out of my locker at IOA and it took a long time to find someone to help me. At Disney, there were 4 CMs playing tic tac toe and bowling with my girls while I ordered lunch at Typhoon Lagoon.

On my daughter's actual birthday, she had on a birthday button and not one single TM said happy birthday at US or IOA (until she stuck out her chest really hard ). We celebrated at a couple of non disney park locations the day before with a birthday button (ie Poly resort breakfast, TL, DTD) and had lots of "happy birthday princess". I didn't need it at all but my daughter glowed. She loved the attention. It felt like there just weren't enough employees at US to have the time to stop and say Happy Birthday. Again, I didn't expect it - I did expect it at Disney. I think my daughter might have but I didn't.

Of course there are exceptions. One day at Blizzard Beach, I got rather upset while waiting in line at BB for lunch at the lodge while a (male) CM chatted away nonstop with fellow CM (female) instead of filling my order. On the other hand, at IOA, the TM at the Hulk told my 6 yr old all about the ball zone at US that I knew nothing about. He spent a lot of time chatting with us at it was really fun. All 4 of us had a BLAST at the ball zone and never would have gone there. The waiter at Mythos was awesome! The TMs at the Seuss train ride were loving their job (or faking really good LOL).

Having said all that .... I have highly recommend US and IOA to friends and coworkers this past week!!

On that price thing. Remember that Disney has four theme parks and two water parks and Universal only has two theme parks. The multi day multi park ticket prices can never be the same.

 

[damo]

On that price thing. Remember that Disney has four theme parks and two water parks and Universal only has two theme parks. The multi day multi park ticket prices can never be the same.

Actually that is not true. Disney's multi day park ticket prices should be less than Universal.

From the 2008 data, WDW attendance was about 46 million or about 11 million per park. Universal's attendance was about 11.5 million or 5.75 million per park. So instead of Universal's rates being half the price of Disney, it should be the other way around. Granted, Disney has a few more employees per park and longer hours but definitely not enough to warrant their prices being more than doubled for a 7 day pass.

If everyone purchased a $99 - 7 day pass at Universal, they would be pulling in $1,138,500,000 or $569,250,000 per park. At Disney, if everyone purchased a $275 - 7 day, non water park pass, they would be pulling in $12,742,000,000 or $3,185,500,000 per park. Hardly seems fair. Disney would be pulling in 5 times the amount. They certainly do not have 5 times the overhead per park than Universal.

If Disney charged $99/week they would be pulling in $4,554,000,000 or $1,138,500,000 per park which is still twice as much as what Universal is pulling in per park.

 

[Purseval]

Even if WDW had a $99 2 park pass I would go there, maybe even a $99 1 park pass. As it is we only go there when we have company who haven't been there before. We've been to Orlando 3 times this year and are heading down for the 4th time this Sunday, we haven't spent 1 day in a WDW park. DTD yes. Driving by WDW on the way to Universal yes. Parks? No way, it's not worth it.

As for rude employees, we have been coming to Orlando since the mid 1970's and haven't met a rude employee at any Orlando park.

 

[Rip]

Even if WDW had a $99 2 park pass I would go there, maybe even a $99 1 park pass. As it is we only go there when we have company who haven't been there before. We've been to Orlando 3 times this year and are heading down for the 4th time this Sunday, we haven't spent 1 day in a WDW park. DTD yes. Driving by WDW on the way to Universal yes. Parks? No way, it's not worth it.

As for rude employees, we have been coming to Orlando since the mid 1970's and haven't met a rude employee at any Orlando park.

We even lived there for 3 years and had APs to both WDW and UO and I can't recall ever having an encounter with a rude employee. We still make 3-4 trips per year, and our experience is the same as yours.

 

[Jonny_Duck]

I hear this alot but never see it.I have never had A problem with any TM and I go ALOT thru out the year with my AP!!!

I think if you go there a lot then you have less interaction with TMs as you would basically know what your doing around there. I don't go a whole lot but I pretty much know the procedure and which line to go to when I am a single rider and the fact that I am not allowed bags on certain rides etc.

I have very little interaction with TMs when I go. In fact only TMs that I seemed to even notice were the ones on MiB that I walk past 30 ish times a day.

There was one time when a kid "jumped" down on MiB.(Mother said he fell). The team leader was rather rude to the family. But I am sure that is a huge hassle.

He said since he jumped down and the track is so electrically charged that the whole ride had to be reset. He accused the kid of jumping down and said no way he fell. Which imo is true unless he was doing something wrong.

She got mad that he was calling the kid out in front of like idk 12 or so ppl that were there waiting to get back on the ride.

That is the only time I can remember that the TM def could of been a little nicer and handled things differently. But considering the TMs side of it... The kid made the ride have to be reset and caused a delay in idk 100 or so ppls vacation because of this kid.

I haven't had a whole lot of experience with the CMs at Disney. Last year during our 3 or so different vacation trips I saw nothing spectacular and nothing stuck out that I was overly impressed with. Nor was I disappointed with. I am there for the rides and the atmosphere.

Hakuna Matata = My vacation policy!

 

[donaldduck352]

I think if you go there a lot then you have less interaction with TMs as you would basically know what your doing around there. I don't go a whole lot but I pretty much know the procedure and which line to go to when I am a single rider and the fact that I am not allowed bags on certain rides etc.

I have very little interaction with TMs when I go. In fact only TMs that I seemed to even notice were the ones on MiB that I walk past 30 ish times a day.

There was one time when a kid "jumped" down on MiB.(Mother said he fell). The team leader was rather rude to the family. But I am sure that is a huge hassle.

He said since he jumped down and the track is so electrically charged that the whole ride had to be reset. He accused the kid of jumping down and said no way he fell. Which imo is true unless he was doing something wrong.

She got mad that he was calling the kid out in front of like idk 12 or so ppl that were there waiting to get back on the ride.

That is the only time I can remember that the TM def could of been a little nicer and handled things differently. But considering the TMs side of it... The kid made the ride have to be reset and caused a delay in idk 100 or so ppls vacation because of this kid.

I haven't had a whole lot of experience with the CMs at Disney. Last year during our 3 or so different vacation trips I saw nothing spectacular and nothing stuck out that I was overly impressed with. Nor was I disappointed with. I am there for the rides and the atmosphere.

Hakuna Matata = My vacation policy!

HAKUNA MATATA,great words to live bye!!!

 

[Purseval]

Good point about no interaction with TM/CMs the OP is handicapped and probably dealt more with the staff in a day than I have in 20 years. I did get accused of scamming for HHN tickets once about 8 years ago (long story) but in the end I got free HHN tickets for myself and my son. If they want to mistreat me like that I wouldn't mind a daily dose of abuse.

 

[brooker]

We just got back after spending 3 days at US, 2 at Wet n Wild, and one at SeaWorld. I can honestly say all personal were good at all parks. We are from Canada, and yet my 11 year old likes the Lakers in basketball instead of the Raptors, so in wearing his Laker jersey and Laker hat he got comments from some staff in a joking way about about how the Lakers sucked and you should be a magic fan. My son had a a good laugh with it. On the Dr. Doom ride one of the ride staff made a comment about it over the mic when we were sitting in our seats. I did not do Disney this time, but thinking back I do not recall any difference in employees in either park.

 

[Timmy Boy]

I think if you go there a lot then you have less interaction with TMs as you would basically know what your doing around there. I don't go a whole lot but I pretty much know the procedure and which line to go to when I am a single rider and the fact that I am not allowed bags on certain rides etc.

I have very little interaction with TMs when I go. In fact only TMs that I seemed to even notice were the ones on MiB that I walk past 30 ish times a day.

There was one time when a kid "jumped" down on MiB.(Mother said he fell). The team leader was rather rude to the family. But I am sure that is a huge hassle.

He said since he jumped down and the track is so electrically charged that the whole ride had to be reset. He accused the kid of jumping down and said no way he fell. Which imo is true unless he was doing something wrong.

She got mad that he was calling the kid out in front of like idk 12 or so ppl that were there waiting to get back on the ride.

That is the only time I can remember that the TM def could of been a little nicer and handled things differently. But considering the TMs side of it... The kid made the ride have to be reset and caused a delay in idk 100 or so ppls vacation because of this kid.

Yea, jumpers at attractions are a HUGE pain to deal with. When I used to work at MIB, we were required to push the lapbars down until they touched the person in the seat, to prevent excuses such as "oh he/she fell out" because if the lapbar was against them, they couldn't have "fallen" out unless they purposely tried to wiggle their way out of it.

If the loaders see someone jumping, or Tower sees them on the cameras watching the ride, they have to hit an estop to shut down EVERYTHING. It turns the power off to the ride, and to all the animations. The reason being is because the track the vehicle rides on is electric, and if you touch it, you will be electrocuted. The team leader and managers then have to go get the family of the jumper, reset the ride, cycle the ride, do a ride through again, then open back up, which would probably take at least 30 minutes. The good thing is that Universal takes no excuse if a family is caught jumping out of an attraction, and Security is called to escort them out of the park with no refund.

Almost every single ride at Universal with a lapbar type system has had jumpers, except for Rockit and Flying Unicorn and the Woody Coaster.

Storm Force - gets them all the time, almost every ride cycle where kids get out before it stops completely, causing the operator to hit an Estop, screeching the ride to a halt, causing the kid to fall over. Ahaha it's great.

Spiderman - yes
Ripisaw - YES! one of the main reasons made for the installment of lapbars.
Bluto's - Yes
River Adventure - Yes
Poseidon - The final scene, someone jumped over the railing to get a lost article, causing the show to Estop.
Cat in the Hat - gets them daily

Neutron - all the time
Twister - yes, someone jumped into the final scene, causing it to Estop. There are people standing there watching making sure no one intrudes into it, and 2 camers looking at that area as well.
Mummy - YES. Someone jumped out at the Scarab Room because they were scared.
Earthquake/Disaster - yes, into the final scene.
MIB - All the time
Simpsons - all the time
ET - occassionally

So the rule with jumpers, in order to prevent a liability against Universal, anytime a jumper is present, all power MUST be cut from the attraction. So that the person who jumped doesnt accidently step into the way of a ride vehicle and get hit, then soccer mom complains that they should have known the kid was going to do that and stop the ride... or something crazy that soccer moms b***h at. Then it's usually a long reset process, and it hurts people in the queue line who didn't do anything wrong. So that's why the team leader at MIB was a little bit rude.

 

[Jonny_Duck]

Yea, jumpers at attractions are a HUGE pain to deal with. When I used to work at MIB, we were required to push the lapbars down until they touched the person in the seat, to prevent excuses such as "oh he/she fell out" because if the lapbar was against them, they couldn't have "fallen" out unless they purposely tried to wiggle their way out of it.

If the loaders see someone jumping, or Tower sees them on the cameras watching the ride, they have to hit an estop to shut down EVERYTHING. It turns the power off to the ride, and to all the animations. The reason being is because the track the vehicle rides on is electric, and if you touch it, you will be electrocuted. The team leader and managers then have to go get the family of the jumper, reset the ride, cycle the ride, do a ride through again, then open back up, which would probably take at least 30 minutes. The good thing is that Universal takes no excuse if a family is caught jumping out of an attraction, and Security is called to escort them out of the park with no refund.

Almost every single ride at Universal with a lapbar type system has had jumpers, except for Rockit and Flying Unicorn and the Woody Coaster.

Storm Force - gets them all the time, almost every ride cycle where kids get out before it stops completely, causing the operator to hit an Estop, screeching the ride to a halt, causing the kid to fall over. Ahaha it's great.

Spiderman - yes
Ripisaw - YES! one of the main reasons made for the installment of lapbars.
Bluto's - Yes
River Adventure - Yes
Poseidon - The final scene, someone jumped over the railing to get a lost article, causing the show to Estop.
Cat in the Hat - gets them daily

Neutron - all the time
Twister - yes, someone jumped into the final scene, causing it to Estop. There are people standing there watching making sure no one intrudes into it, and 2 camers looking at that area as well.
Mummy - YES. Someone jumped out at the Scarab Room because they were scared.
Earthquake/Disaster - yes, into the final scene.
MIB - All the time
Simpsons - all the time
ET - occassionally

So the rule with jumpers, in order to prevent a liability against Universal, anytime a jumper is present, all power MUST be cut from the attraction. So that the person who jumped doesnt accidently step into the way of a ride vehicle and get hit, then soccer mom complains that they should have known the kid was going to do that and stop the ride... or something crazy that soccer moms b***h at. Then it's usually a long reset process, and it hurts people in the queue line who didn't do anything wrong. So that's why the team leader at MIB was a little bit rude.

Thanks for that insight on the workings...Pretty interesting.

He jumped down before ride even started and before he was locked in. Idk why he would of done such a thing but he did.

The TM wasn't too bad rly but kids Mom overreacted I think when she dealt with him saying "call him out in front of these ppl". I mean there was like 12 ppl that she will never ever see again and I rly didn't care if the kid jumped down. I could see one of the kids I watch doing the same thing, kids don't always think before they react.

I would say daily is accurate on that ride too. Same with articles that get lost on tracks or idk what makes the ride stop each time but every day I go to ride that something goes wrong and ambush stops working,aliens stop popping up, eyes stop glowing, and then there are times with no exhaust to hit.

As you can see I take my MiB training very seriously! =)

 

[Kath2003]

Spiderman - yes
Ripisaw - YES! one of the main reasons made for the installment of lapbars.
Bluto's - Yes

WHERE? I mean, seriously, where is there to get out on that ride? I'm a good swimmer but I would never jump into that water!

 

[DeluxePrincess]

Spiderman - yes
Ripisaw - YES! one of the main reasons made for the installment of lapbars.
Bluto's - Yes
River Adventure - Yes
Poseidon - The final scene, someone jumped over the railing to get a lost article, causing the show to Estop.
Cat in the Hat - gets them daily

Neutron - all the time
Twister - yes, someone jumped into the final scene, causing it to Estop. There are people standing there watching making sure no one intrudes into it, and 2 camers looking at that area as well.
Mummy - YES. Someone jumped out at the Scarab Room because they were scared.
Earthquake/Disaster - yes, into the final scene.
MIB - All the time
Simpsons - all the time
ET - occassionally

So the rule with jumpers, in order to prevent a liability against Universal, anytime a jumper is present, all power MUST be cut from the attraction. So that the person who jumped doesnt accidently step into the way of a ride vehicle and get hit, then soccer mom complains that they should have known the kid was going to do that and stop the ride... or something crazy that soccer moms b***h at. Then it's usually a long reset process, and it hurts people in the queue line who didn't do anything wrong. So that's why the team leader at MIB was a little bit rude.

Wow. That is fascinating. I think if I worked there and some idiots caused disruptions on a daily basis, I would not be in a great mood all the time!