Here Now. Is it just me or are cast members not as friendly?

[Planogirl]

I think that people in general are getting ruder overall and some CM's are probably getting caught up in that. People in general seem to be more demanding and more "it's all about me" which must get awfully tiresome for people that work with the public anywhere. Plus it's hard to get enough workers from what I hear which is probably why so many are doing double duty at WDW and other themeparks.

Besides if they talk to each other or don't sparkle at some point does it really affect the overall vacation? I don't think that it does.

 

[North of Mouse]

We arrived on Saturday and have sadly been pretty disappointed. A good number of the cast members have just seemed to be in a bad mood. We've also experienced quite a few issues and when we have asked for help or let a cast member know about something (always in a very nice way) such as a broken blaster on TSMM, we have been either brushed aside or passed off to another person over and over until we give up -- the cast members just don't seem to care much at all. This trip has been truly disheartening so far. Is anyone else experiencing the same? It didn't feel this way the last time that we were here (two years ago).

Won't go as far as saying it's just you, but we haven't noticed any difference in the CM's friendliness, helpfulness, or attitude.
Feel like there are many guests that get more rude each visit though - me'ism seems alive and well.

 

[kiford]

We certainly didn't notice any degradation of attitudes in December. In fact, I remarked to DH at one point about how many of the CMs we saw who were doing boring, repetitive jobs who still seemed to be pleasant, helpful and have a smile on their face. I just couldn't see myself being able to do that. And we had many who were incredibly friendly, informative, helpful, or hilarious (one of the bus drivers had the entire bus in stitches the whole drive). We had many who took the time to give us suggestions on better ways to get where we were going (i.e., using Disney transportation) and just taking the time to chat. Some stopped us at times when we looked like we weren't sure if we were in the right place to ask us if we needed assistance. I've always found the CMs to be very pleasant and helpful and this time it seemed to me that, far from being indifferent and uncaring, that attitudes were even better. Maybe it was the holidays but I had no reason to complain.

 

[larryz]

Mid January 2016 trip -- we found everyone but the parking crew to be friendly, cheerful and helpful. We saw a parking crew member snap at someone trying to find the passenger drop-off point at DHS... gave the driver attitude when a simple "It's right over there" would have sufficed.

 

[Islamom]

Okey-Dokey here ya go...The rude cast member incident I referenced above...First night on Vacay..we are getting ready to take the launch to the Poly to meet everyone at Ohana. We are told by the 50-60 ish year old CM" I may not be able to get you on this launch, we'll have to see!" I misunderstood him and followed the line until we got to the launch. He looked up and screamed at me so loud that everyone else in line behind me was completely shocked. I TOLD YOU NOT TO COME DOWN HERE! I TOLD YOU TO WAIT BACK THERE! He hadn't or if he did, I misunderstood him. I apologized, made a fast retreat & took the monorail with my husband & daughter. It wasn't necessary to yell at me...it was also embarrassing... and yes it never happened in the so called Golden Days of the 70's. It made me tear up & cry..it was totally uncalled for...BUT yes.....there were literally hundreds of polite & wonderful CMs...so I am going back...& I love WDW..but sorry...that behavior shouldn't be tolerated.

 

[ArwenMarie]

Okey-Dokey here ya go...The rude cast member incident I referenced above...First night on Vacay..we are getting ready to take the launch to the Poly to meet everyone at Ohana. We are told by the 50-60 ish year old CM" I may not be able to get you on this launch, we'll have to see!" I misunderstood him and followed the line until we got to the launch. He looked up and screamed at me so loud that everyone else in line behind me was completely shocked. I TOLD YOU NOT TO COME DOWN HERE! I TOLD YOU TO WAIT BACK THERE! He hadn't or if he did, I misunderstood him. I apologized, made a fast retreat & took the monorail with my husband & daughter. It wasn't necessary to yell at me...it was also embarrassing... and yes it never happened in the so called Golden Days of the 70's. It made me tear up & cry..it was totally uncalled for...BUT yes.....there were literally hundreds of polite & wonderful CMs...so I am going back...& I love WDW..but sorry...that behavior shouldn't be tolerated.

That stinks. I'm sorry that happened to you. He definitely should have communicated the message in a better way.

 

[Burnedout]

I love the concept that it must be the op... Really? Blame the victim much?

Many people have experienced poor service or rudeness. It isn't the norm luckily. The norm is happy, kind and helpful.

I also don't see blaming the cm's attitudes on the vacationers. You don't get to be crabby when you are hired to be cheery. Attitude is a part of the job description. We all have job descriptions for which we are responsible for. If we don't we lose the job.

 

[anniemae]

Okey-Dokey here ya go...The rude cast member incident I referenced above...First night on Vacay..we are getting ready to take the launch to the Poly to meet everyone at Ohana. We are told by the 50-60 ish year old CM" I may not be able to get you on this launch, we'll have to see!" I misunderstood him and followed the line until we got to the launch. He looked up and screamed at me so loud that everyone else in line behind me was completely shocked. I TOLD YOU NOT TO COME DOWN HERE! I TOLD YOU TO WAIT BACK THERE! He hadn't or if he did, I misunderstood him. I apologized, made a fast retreat & took the monorail with my husband & daughter. It wasn't necessary to yell at me...it was also embarrassing... and yes it never happened in the so called Golden Days of the 70's. It made me tear up & cry..it was totally uncalled for...BUT yes.....there were literally hundreds of polite & wonderful CMs...so I am going back...& I love WDW..but sorry...that behavior shouldn't be tolerated.

I had a cm yell at me too! I was so embarrassed, but I guess it was my fault. This was years ago and we were on POTC and my son was about 3.5 at the time. He was scared after the drop so he scrambled on my lap, facing me with his head on my shoulder. He stayed that way the whole ride. Well when the ride was done and we were going up the ramp at the very end right before you disembark, the cm at the control panel stops our boat. He then points at me and yells at the top of his lungs "THAT CHILD CANNOT BE ON YOUR LAP!! PUT HIM DOWN IN THE SEAT NEXT TO YOU!" It was his tone that got me, you would have thought we were drunk and dancing on the seats through the ride or something. I quickly put my son on his seat and the cm started up the boat again. It was so silly because we were literally AT the disembarking station when he yelled. Since there are no seat belts or lap bars, I didn't see it as a huge deal to have him ride on my lap, but I do understand they have to follow safety rules and I was in the wrong, I just didn't realize it at the time. It's such a slow lazy ride (after the drop) I really didn't think of it as a safety issue to have him on my lap. Oh well, live and learn!

 

[palmtreegirl]

That's because people are getting more rude. The internet has caused people to feel more and more entitled. They read about people getting extra magic and go down and expect it to happen to them and when it doesn't they're grumpy and complaining. Think of all the extra magical moments that have been discontinued, there are so many. Greedy, entitled & rude people ruin everything.

 

[starjazz]

CMs are human beings. And they are people working in a service industry to try and please thousands of people every day, if not more. If one out of a hundred of them is having a bad day, or snaps, I can't say I'm surprised, nor would I take it personally. Some guy hollers at me on the road, I don't throw the entire town under the bus. It happens, and generally I feel worse for the poor guy than I do for myself, cuz whatever is going on in that person's head/life must be far worse than my vacation.

ETA: all of the above said, sometimes when it rains it pours. one bad experience, and now you're bummer-radar is in full effect tracking every little incident. i know how that goes, and it feels like the world is crumbling. sometimes you gotta ignore the crap around you, and enjoy who your with, enjoy the weather, enjoy that your not at your desk at work, and so on. sometimes i just say the serenity prayer and get on with vacation.

 

[ckmiles]

I think the masses do ruin alot of it for everyone- which is sad because everyone loses

 

[uofmfan2]

I've never had a negative CM experience, but maybe I'm not as sensitive about it as others are. I didn't visit WDW in this fabled golden age I often hear about, where every CM was a perfect pixie spreading dust in their wake. These folks work long hours for pretty crap pay, all so we can enjoy trips to our happy place. Maybe it's because I work with the public as well - I have pretty tremendous sympathy for the unimaginable amount of BS they have to deal with every single shift. I'm not saying it's OK for someone to be rude, or that CMs shouldn't try their best to uphold the principles Disney entrusts them with, but I'm willing to overlook a non-smiling face or someone whose demeanor belies how "done for the day" they are. And really, what is a front-line CM to do about a broken blaster in an attraction? What power do they have to fix such a thing? They could report it to their supervisor, who also can do pretty much nothing about it. You'd have to go pretty high up the chain before a refurb or even a repair could be scheduled, I'm sure.

Magic goes both ways - from guest to CM as well as CM to guest. I think too many expect to receive and are not willing to give, preferring to make notes in their 'everything is terrible' notebook.

Very well put!!

 

[mickeymom629]

We are here now (since Thursday) and every cast member we have come in contact with has been very pleasant and just as helpful and well-wishing as always, imo. We have been to Disney Springs, AK, E, HS, stayed as ASMu, AKV (Kidani), and BLT (as of today), and all cm's have been smiling/friendly/helpful. Granted, I haven't complained or pointed out something that was amiss...

 

[A Mickeyfan]

Here now and have experienced a rude CM each day, 2 days in a row. Yesterday at Pinocchio's Eatery the CM was telling us we couldn't bring the stroller in while we ate in event they needed room for wheelchairs. We were a party of 10 with an 8 month old who cannot sit in those high chairs. Excuse me, we are there now to eat. There's plenty of room, there are strollers on the patio already. Why can we not bring in the stroller? CM was rude when stating it. We were going to eat on the patio. CM finally realized we couldn't eat there unless she let the stroller in. Not like we had a toddler. Today we were in EPCOT at the Character Spot. Now we're actually from 5 different parts of NY & FL between us all. We had 3 cameras. CM said "next time, condense down to one".....seriously! !!! If he had us separate, he would have had more cameras. ..just needed to vent

 

[Jennasis]

Meh. Everybody has an off day. Though, if a CM tells me I can't do something I tend to follow instructions. There are places a stroller isn't allowed. Hopefully your trip will continue on a happier note.

 

[Lady Hiss]

We are at WDW now. I can count on one hand the CMs who have been helpful, outgoing, and cheerful in the 10 days we've been here. We've encountered numerous CMs who didn't smile or speak when we said 'Hi' or smiled at them. Bus drivers, security (the Disney ones), attraction CMs, QS restaurant CMs, housekeeping CMs, etc. - it hasn't been just one group of CMs. Last night I felt like I was intruding when I waited for 3 CMs to finish talkng about weekend plans before one turned around to take my food order (which wasn't correct in the end). The manager stood nearby, engaged in his own conversation with 3 more CMs. I'm guessing management is a big part of the problem, and most likely the business of cutting costs while expecting too much of too few employees.

I've made note of the CMs who are cheerful and trying to add to the guests' enjoyment. I know the job is tough - I'd probably be in prison if I had to deal with some of the guest behavior they deal with. There was a great CM on POC yesterday who used his pirate voice as we disembarked from the boat. What a pleasant surprise - he made everyone laugh.

Lastly, I wish DISers would stop blaming the OPs when they state what they've encountered. It's arrogant and uncalled for. And 'oh, you're just expecting too much' or 'you need to make your own magic!' makes me just shake my head. It's Disney World and they're the ones advertising the magic - why shouldn't we expect WDW employees to be better than our local Six Flags ones?

Our trip has been fine and lackluster CMs won't ruin it. Neither will they enhance it.

Flame away...

 

[anniemae]

We are at WDW now. I can count on one hand the CMs who have been helpful, outgoing, and cheerful in the 10 days we've been here. We've encountered numerous CMs who didn't smile or speak when we said 'Hi' or smiled at them. Bus drivers, security (the Disney ones), attraction CMs, QS restaurant CMs, housekeeping CMs, etc. - it hasn't been just one group of CMs. Last night I felt like I was intruding when I waited for 3 CMs to finish talkng about weekend plans before one turned around to take my food order (which wasn't correct in the end). The manager stood nearby, engaged in his own conversation with 3 more CMs. I'm guessing management is a big part of the problem, and most likely the business of cutting costs while expecting too much of too few employees.

I've made note of the CMs who are cheerful and trying to add to the guests' enjoyment. I know the job is tough - I'd probably be in prison if I had to deal with some of the guest behavior they deal with. There was a great CM on POC yesterday who used his pirate voice as we disembarked from the boat. What a pleasant surprise - he made everyone laugh.

Lastly, I wish DISers would stop blaming the OPs when they state what they've encountered. It's arrogant and uncalled for. And 'oh, you're just expecting too much' or 'you need to make your own magic!' makes me just shake my head. It's Disney World and they're the ones advertising the magic - why shouldn't we expect WDW employees to be better than our local Six Flags ones?

Our trip has been fine and lackluster CMs won't ruin it. Neither will they enhance it.

Flame away...

This reminds me of one post (I don't know who posted it) that made me LOL. He (or she) said that some will defend Disney no matter what. They said that if Disney implemented a new policy of whacking every 5th guest in the knee with a lead pipe as they entered MK, some posters would blame YOU for being the 5th guest. Made me chuckle.

 

[jmv5010]

My wife and I were just at WDW from Jan. 21-25, and we didn't experience any issues with CMs. I was pretty impressed with how calm CMs were being after having to repeat themselves over and over for people to move to the end of the station while waiting for the monorail so more guests could get in line; having to tell guests to fill up all space at Haunted Mansion, ToT, Rock 'n Rollercoaster, etc., when they ask for all space to be taken; when guests are told to go to a certain row to wait their turn but go wherever they want; and having to repeatedly ask that parties keep up with the line to avoid backups. All the CMs kept smiles on their faces and were polite.

 

[Disney Khaleesi]

CMs are people, too. Customer service is very difficult, especially in their role. I always try to give benefit of the doubt. You had what, two unpleasant experiences with a Cast Member? Yet you aren't even thinking of the multiple other CMs you have seen throughout your trip, providing excellent guest service as you are accustomed to. There is always going to be a few bad apples in every bunch, it doesn't serve any purpose to dwell on it. Focus on the good instead of the bad. And to be entirely honest, it doesn't sound like those CMs were rude to you, just enforcing rules and offering suggestions that you weren't privy to.

 

[Love Tink]

You had what, two off-color experiences with a Cast Member?

Um, that would be a whole different issue.