Grumpy girls and uninformed EVERYONE :(

[TrixieMaguee]

I just returned from my 3 day stit in California with my boyfriend and his friend Chris. Kevin (my boyfriend) and I visit Disneyland monthly, and were excited to take his friend along (who had not been to disneyland since high school... and Chris is now 31!) We packed up our bags, our mickey hats, pins and lanyards (like usual) and were ready for an awesome weekend in the 'regular season) Upon arrival on our first day (of our three day park hoppers) I noticed my lanyard ticket holder was starting to tear a little, I ignored it since I've been using the same lanyard for months. Naturally, after a few rides on Space Mountain, Star Tours and Buzz light year my ticket pouch was missing. Our still-hopeful threesome RAN to city hall to see if there was anything they could do. A grumpy blond said: 'we don't replace tickets ever. Here is a day pass since you are already in the park. NEXT!'

How rude! I know that it is plastered all over the park that they are not responcible for lost/stolen tickets, but she didn't even bother to direct me to the lost and found!

We retrace our steps, (since we still had TWO days left) checking the rides we boarded (Buzz, Space mountain and the VMK booth) Most cast-members were annoyed to check the rides with the exception of 'Stephanie' from VMK who gave me a hug, and her cell phone number and if I didn't find it she would 'take care of me'. Finally, a CM at Buzz (gloria??) told us, oh don't listen to the hotesses at City Hall, they are never happy to be there. Go to the AAA booth, or the Disney Travel Co since you are a part of the package, they can take care of you.

On our way out, a security guard in a tie and badge told us to go to Guest Services right out side of the park, and that they 'reprint tickets with recipets all the time'. We get to the booth, talk to the window girl, the supervisor and HER manager all telling me, THEY couldn't do a thing, but to make a claim at the lost and found in california adventure, and then head straight over to the Disney Travel Company and they would replace my ticket stat.

We take my new day pass to california adventure, and the ticket taker looks at me and says, 'This is for yesterday, nice try!' and rips my ticket. I (a grown adult mind you!) bursts into tears and my calm boyfriend explains the situation, the ticket taker get annoyed that a blubbering adult in braids is crying an ocean, that he hands me a ticket and tells me to not tell anyone. We ask around looking for lost and found, and apparently, its OUTSIDE of DCA not INSIDE as the Guest Services had told me.

We exit the park (much to my fear of never getting in again) and ask about the ticket. Nothing has been turned in, but I'm reassured that sweepers find tickets and turn them in all day; especially at the end of the night and not to loose hope; especially since mine is still (potentially) in the plastic lanyard case. SHE tells me again, to head to the Disney Travel Company with all my travel documents, and they would reprint my ticket right away.

I shooed the boys into DCA to go see Crush as I headed back to my hotel to get my papers. After an ART mishap ( a driver not showing up for his shift, and me left waiting at the hotel for more then an hour and a half) The new tram shows up with a converned boyfriend and friend in toe. They remain on the tram and we head to the resort again. Its 4:45 and the Disney Travel Co closes at 5:00pm. Kevin and I run FULL sprint across Down TOwn to Disney to make it in time, 2 minutes to spare. Nope. Nothing they can do, except sell me a new ticket. >_<

Has anyone else ever noticed how uninformed all the 'helpful' staff is? and how quickly they brushed me off as 'someone elses problem'. It took a lot of talking to convince me that the magic wasn't gone... and all I can say, is, I know Walt wouldn't have wanted it this way. Later, checking lost and found, and mentioning that our friend Chris's lanyard broke as well, she said 'Lanyards aren't for tickets; just fast passes. Only idiots would keep their tickets in there." (Thanks lady! Me and 1,000 other idiots and glad you're around to tie our shoes!)

I later managed to get a replacement in ways I was sworn not to repeat, reminding me that there are still people that believe in the magic of Disney.

Has anyone else had this kind of trouble with a lack of communication among cast members and leads?

*Trixie

 

[WatchinCaptKangaroo]

I'm so sorry! I would have burst into tears from frustration too!

What happend was unacceptable. You lost your tickets inside the park. The CM at City Hall gave you a day pass for the day before! How were you supposed to get back into Disneyland if you left?

I'm so glad you were able to get replacements. There is a little Disney magic left.

 

[Hollyster2]

I just can't believe you had so much trouble! I am so sorry you went through all that. I would have cried an ocean too. Glad somebody helped you finally!

 

[blackjackdelta]

We lost a 4 day PH in mid-august....City Hall said they do not replace them..security guy in very nice slacks, said take your voucher to Guest Services outside the park..they replaced the ticket on the spot...total time 2 hours...but you are right, many folks(CM)'s do not have a clue.

 

[TrixieMaguee]

We lost a 4 day PH in mid-august....City Hall said they do not replace them..security guy in very nice slacks, said take your voucher to Guest Services outside the park..they replaced the ticket on the spot...total time 2 hours...but you are right, many folks(CM)'s do not have a clue.

Did they replace your ticket? What voucher are you talking about? Guest Services told me no way jose!

 

[Disney Donna]

how unfriendly... there is no reason for such rudeness... I lost a 3-day pass one time on the tram going to Disneyland when they were just building DCA... I retraced my steps but couldn't find it... I hadn't even gotten into Disneyland yet... so we went to guest relations outside by the ticket booths and they told me no problem and called over to City Hall and I had my new 3-day pass within a half an hour... They were so kind and understanding... I hope you let someone know how "rude" some cast members were... that is not how Walt Disney would have wanted them to respond... I'm sorry you had a hard time getting another ticket.

 

[blackjackdelta]

They replaced the ticket. The voucher was the one we received from WDTC that had the ressie number. Deactivated the ticket we lost, replaced it with another PH and we were off. The most time took going back to the Hotel to get the voucher.
The people at City Hall had no clue, so I did speak with their lead. Nice but not helpful. Did not take no for an answer and security was a godsend...going back 6/06.

 

[eatmypixiedust]

My gosh! What a nightmare! I'm so sorry you had to go through that horrible ordeal! I would have burst into tears too! You're right, Walt wouldn't have wanted guests to be treated in such a fashion!

I never had any problems with tickets but I did have a bad encounter with a cast member this year on my birthday. My boyfriend and I always hang out at the park on my b-day and we were waiting in line to ride the new Pooh ride. It was a first for both of us and I was excited to see what it was like. When we got to the front of the line the cast member asked us how many there were in our party. We said "2." She then said: "If I seat you two in the back do you promise not to make out with each other?" I was really shocked and was waiting for her to say "Just kidding" but she looked annoyed and serious. Then after we were seated on the ride she turned to us and said "Keep your hands off of each other in there! Remember, we have cameras!" My boyfriend and I are both grown adults (I'm 25, he's 27) and we don't behave that way.

The next day I e-mailed guest relations and this was there reply:


Thank you for your e-mail to the Disneyland Resort.

The behavior you described is certainly not acceptable, nor is it indicative of our usual high
standards. The Disneyland Resort has always considered Guest courtesy to be one of the most
important elements of our operation. Hospitality is continually stressed to newly hired Cast
Members, as well as those who have been a part of the Disney team for years. Our goal is not only to
meet but exceed our Guests' expectations. Please accept our sincere apologies for the treatment you
received and be assured that the appropriate management has been notified of your experiences.

In the future, if you encounter any inconveniences/disappointments, please feel free to inform a
Cast Member that you would like to speak with a manager. You are also invited to visit City Hall in
Disneyland park or Guest Relations in Disney's California Adventure park to register your comments.
We are confident, when given the opportunity, our Cast Members can resolve your concerns with the
utmost professionalism and courtesy. It is our goal in any situation to provide outstanding service
to your family and exceed your expectations.

Again, thank you for taking the time to write. We hope you will have the opportunity to visit the
Disneyland Resort soon and trust your visit will be pleasant in all regards.

Sincerely,

Ryan Fabius
Disneyland Resort
Guest Communications

I'm not sure if that rude cast member was disgruntled for having to work 4th of July weekend or what the deal was. That was my first unpleasant encounter of all the many visits I've had to the park.

 

[Ginarella]

What a terrible ordeal you went through just for a lost ticket! If I forget my annual pass, I know the ticket booth can give me a replacement ticket.

I hate it when CM.s redirect you to certain areas. This happened to me when I was trying to find out where and when I could get a confirmation about my 50th anniversary brick. They sent me on a scavenger hunt. No one could give me a straight answer. It just so happened the next few days I received a confirmation on it in the mail and where my brick was going to be located. Go figure, this always happens to me. I finally got my answer.

So the answer to question is yes, the CM's are not as well informed as I thought they would be.

BTW, I have a lanyard ticket holder thingy also, and I don't put my annual pass card in it anymore. Lessoned learned for me also.

 

[funnygarcia]

I can feel your pain with the un-informed cast members...
We got the run around when offered a special deal with AAA on converting hopper to AP.
CM at AP Processing center told us about the deal and said to go to ticket booth to get our $30 in Disney Dollars, we forgot to stop until almost closing- by then the ticket booths were closed.
Next day waited in line, spoke to one person.. he had no clue how to do it.. he directed us to another window.
The CM there claimed we must not have had our AAA card with us and now we were trying to get the "deal" as an afterthought.
We explained the AP processing CM said she would put something in our "file" and please scan our APs.
After another 30 minutes of hanging around the ticket booth a CM pushes $30 Disney Dollars thru window and waves us away.. no word on "sorry for the confusion" or "have a nice day" .

I'm guessing a lead decided to be "guest friendly" and ok'd the money.

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Another ticket disaster- handed my five passes on first day of our trip to gate CM, at the same time as she takes passes she grabs a schedule to hand to me.
She scans passes- tells us.. "you only gave me 4", I panic and say "No"

She gets a lead to check machine- not there..
I check my wallet, I check the ground, I am really panicking now.

Finally I spy it..

one tiny corner of the pass sticking out of the bin of schedules.

CM sees it and is about to rifle thru the schedules. I'm imagining the pass falling to the bottom of the stack and we will be there for hours looking for a small piece of paper.

I wave her hand away, carefully pick up the pass and tell her calmly " I gave you 5 ".

She shrugs and scans it without even saying "sorry" or "glad you found it".

Glad we switched to APs after that !!

 

[Brina78]

Wow, TrixieMaguee, I'm so sorry you went through so much trouble. *big hugs* No, I've never had anything like that happen before, but it's so awful to hear such a thing! I usually try to remember all the names of the CM's we encounter just incase we might run into one who's having a bad day and takes it out on us.

I'll have to say I've never dealt with a rude CM (yet!), but I did encounter a rather rude mother! My sister and I were in line for a ride and I noticed a kid behind us had a birthday button instead of a sticker. I thought that would have been better because a button lasts longer. I looked down to the kid and said, "Hey, you got a button! When I was here on my birthday, I got a sticker." The mother looked right at me and said in a snappy tone, "Why? Did you turn eight?" I pulled back a little to that and said, "No, I'm just saying I got a sticker and didn't know they had buttons." Her awful tone continued, "Well, we got his button at the Disneyland Hotel" as if they're high and mighty they stayed there! I shrugged and said I got mine at City Hall, but she didn't seem to care. I turned away and never spoke to them again. Later on, my sister looked at me and said, "Jeez, she acted like only eight year-olds can celebrate their birthday here. Anyone older is basically crap!" Oh, well!

 

[Califgirl]

Oh Triixie, I am so sorry this happened to you. There is just no excuse for that run around. Please contact Disney customer service and tell them that same story. The really sad part is that you lost so much time at the park on top of having to deal with such rude employees. I probably would have been in tears as well.
Did you know that you can fill out customer service reports on cast members at City Hall. I've done it twice, it has always been for nice things, but if I had a situation like that I would have reported the run around right then and there. And then filled out another for the cast member who still had the Disney magic and helped me.

As for the birthday button, Brina, the rude mother was correct. You can get a birthday button at the registration desk of a Disney Resort Hotel when you are staying there. If you are staying off site, or coming for the day, you can get the sticker at city hall. They also give you a birthday sticker if you do the 'Happiest Birthday on Earth' at Plaza Inn.