Impressed by CM

[Disneytam]

I have been here at Disney since Saturday and will do a short trip write up when we get home but I just have to say how wonderful and patient the CM have been so far on this trip.How some of the guests treat the CM is sometimes a different story!

We walked into Frozen ever after at HS And took our seat.In the row ahead of us a man and his family had sat down smack in the middle of the row blocking the rest of the seats to his left.The CM asked him as they always do to move all the way across.He refused, just shaking his head no at her.She kept asking and he shouted I'm not moving at her. This was a big guy and no one could get past him in the seats so they had to fill the seats from the other side. I felt so bad for her but she kept smiling and kept seating guests.So far this trip the CM have been really top notch

 

[broncobill]

They truly have a difficult job at times.
On our last trip, we were way back by Tiki Hut, at night, in the rain, so there was no one else around. We were going into the Tiki Hut when I seen a guy just screaming at a CM. I do not know why, and I could not make out what the guy was yelling about. There was not another person to be seen, so I told my wife to wait. It was just the CM (man) and him. I was not going to walk away just in case that guy got violent. I really don't think he was that far off from doing something. Once another CM(man) arrived, we went in.
I just can't imagine what could get some one so upset in Disney.

 

[Klayfish]

Awesome!! Love to see threads like this. I feel exactly the same way about the CMs. To me, they're one of the things that make our trips magical. They're just awesome, even when some guests are total (insert bad word here). They're always happy to help, go literally out of their way to greet or interact with our kids, and are "in character" for the ride they are working. I love it.

And yeah, I feel bad for them when they get "guests" who are that ignorant...on more than one occasion I've helped out a CM who couldn't say what they wanted to say to a rude guest.

 

[yulilin3]

Unfortunately these things, and much, much worse occur on an hourly basis. Imagine working somewhere where you know that you will get yelled at, ignored, talked back to,on a daily basis and with that in mind you still have to keep smiling and do your job.

 

[rwdavis2]

I have been here at Disney since Saturday and will do a short trip write up when we get home but I just have to say how wonderful and patient the CM have been so far on this trip.How some of the guests treat the CM is sometimes a different story!

We walked into Frozen ever after at HS And took our seat.In the row ahead of us a man and his family had sat down smack in the middle of the row blocking the rest of the seats to his left.The CM asked him as they always do to move all the way across.He refused, just shaking his head no at her.She kept asking and he shouted I'm not moving at her. This was a big guy and no one could get past him in the seats so they had to fill the seats from the other side. I felt so bad for her but she kept smiling and kept seating guests.So far this trip the CM have been really top notch

I would have walked by him and accidentally stepped on his feet. But we found the CMs on our trip last month to be great no issues at all.

 

[3Gsandme]

We noticed a definite uptick in the quality of cast members on our last trip. My uncle and I had a conversation about it. We saw, and experienced, some great CM interaction

 

[pampam]

I feel bad for the CMs when they are ignored. The self centered atttitude that is becoming so prevelant today spoils it for so many well behaved guests

 

[mikepizzo]

I have been here at Disney since Saturday and will do a short trip write up when we get home but I just have to say how wonderful and patient the CM have been so far on this trip.How some of the guests treat the CM is sometimes a different story!

We walked into Frozen ever after at HS And took our seat.In the row ahead of us a man and his family had sat down smack in the middle of the row blocking the rest of the seats to his left.The CM asked him as they always do to move all the way across.He refused, just shaking his head no at her.She kept asking and he shouted I'm not moving at her. This was a big guy and no one could get past him in the seats so they had to fill the seats from the other side. I felt so bad for her but she kept smiling and kept seating guests.So far this trip the CM have been really top notch

When you notice a Cast Member that goes above and beyond, a good idea is to stop by Guest Services for that specific park and ask to leave an "Applause-o-Gram/Compliment Card". I believe they may get mentioned in their morning meeting for it, and from speaking to a Cast Member she mentioned that you could actually put the amount of "Applause-o-Grams/Compliment Cards" on your resume. So to leave one actually benefits the Cast Member quite a bit.

You don't have to go to Guest Services the same day that it occurs, it's better to know the date, time, location, and name of the Cast Member. They can go back and look at previous schedules. What we do is keep an ongoing note in our phones of Cast Members we've seen go above and beyond. Then the last time we are in that specific park, we go to Guest Services and leave all the cards for Cast Members from that park that we encountered during our stay.

Another option is to send an email to Guest Services when you get back home, but I feel like leaving a handwritten note is a little more personal.

I'm happy you've had great experiences!

 

[ravenclawtrekkie]

I always tell people that if you want to know what it would be like to have invisibility as a super power, take a guest-facing job in a theme park.

 

[FastPasser]

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[yulilin3]

No need, it's fine. The good guests outweigh the bad guests by a lot. Bad incidents just roll off and disappear, done, forgotten. And there's some satisfaction knowing that they didn't get to you.

I'm glad you have found a way to let it just roll off. Not an easy thing to accomplish. I have a friend that works at MK as a train conductor, she called me crying because a "guest" shouted some ridiculous racial words. It's a hard thing to do and that is why I say a lot of please, thank you even if I'm not being helped by a particular CM.

 

[beesly]

Unfortunately these things, and much, much worse occur on an hourly basis. Imagine working somewhere where you know that you will get yelled at, ignored, talked back to,on a daily basis and with that in mind you still have to keep smiling and do your job.

I'm glad you have found a way to let it just roll off. Not an easy thing to accomplish. I have a friend that works at MK as a train conductor, she called me crying because a "guest" shouted some ridiculous racial words. It's a hard thing to do and that is why I say a lot of please, thank you even if I'm not being helped by a particular CM.

Customer service jobs require a LOT of patience! I worked at Starbucks in a highway travel plaza for a while and encountered a lot of rude people. I can't tell you how many times I was yelled at by customers because I made their drinks "wrong" (except they were really made correctly the first time, but people didn't specify their customizations at the register and assumed I'd know how they wanted their drinks, even though they weren't at their normal store). Since then, I also try to be extra nice to everyone and recognize exceptional service with comments to management.

 

[FastPasser]

.

 

[Klayfish]

No need, it's fine. The good guests outweigh the bad guests by a lot. Bad incidents just roll off and disappear, done, forgotten. And there's some satisfaction knowing that they didn't get to you.

I presume you're a CM. We have a family friend who is a CM also and she says the same thing. First, you get plenty of practice learning to let bad guests roll off, and it's satisfying to not let them bother you. But still, I think it's a damn shame. I won't be a hypocrite and say I've been Mr. Sunshine to every last CM I've come across, but even if I'm grumpy about something I try hard not to be "that guy" to the CMs.

I work in auto insurance claims...I can tell you I fully understand having to deal with people saying ugly things.

 

[Boopuff]

Great thread. I have a DD who is a CM and the stories! She's really on the "front line" she started in retail - my favorite crazy guest story - she was at a resort and was in the gift shop that sold alcohol. A young man came in wanting to buy some. DD followed protocol (and more importantly the LAW) by asking for his id. The guy went ballistic yelling and saying he was on vacation and he had his magic band why did he need an id? She asked for a manager, who told the guy he needed an id. He stormed off and returned later, waving his id around like a crazy person. - just nuts.

 

[yulilin3]

Practice, practice and more practice.

exactly, she's still there and working and is learning to let things slip off. That's why when people say that most of the college kids don't have the same CM service as old timers (not that I'm calling you that ) it's because they have probably never worked under these circumstances

 

[bumbershoot]

No need, it's fine. The good guests outweigh the bad guests by a lot. Bad incidents just roll off and disappear, done, forgotten. And there's some satisfaction knowing that they didn't get to you.

Not everyone can do that. It's totally a personality thing. I can still get somewhat worked up thinking about a lady I tried to help while at Amazon, who was utterly ridiculous. One of those phone calls when your coworkers start popping up from cubicles because they cannot believe what they are hearing and are wondering how you aren't screaming into the phone. Ah, good times. But NOT times that I can brush off. And neither can many. Websites like "stupid guest tricks" wouldn't exist if people could let it roll off like you can.

Great thread. I have a DD who is a CM and the stories! She's really on the "front line" she started in retail - my favorite crazy guest story - she was at a resort and was in the gift shop that sold alcohol. A young man came in wanting to buy some. DD followed protocol (and more importantly the LAW) by asking for his id. The guy went ballistic yelling and saying he was on vacation and he had his magic band why did he need an id? She asked for a manager, who told the guy he needed an id. He stormed off and returned later, waving his id around like a crazy person. - just nuts.

See, I have some empathy for the guy. Disney touts the bands as being all you need. Many of us here realize that it's one extra thing to have along with everything you used to carry, but that's not how they are described.

So this guy has listened to Disney advertising, believed it, and can't believe it's not true, that you actually do need to carry other things with you.

This is over half disney's fault IMO. There are people on the dis who ask if we need to bring ID. Those poor people who haven't found the dis don't know otherwise, if they've just listened to Disney.

 

[disnut8]

Not everyone can do that. It's totally a personality thing. I can still get somewhat worked up thinking about a lady I tried to help while at Amazon, who was utterly ridiculous. One of those phone calls when your coworkers start popping up from cubicles because they cannot believe what they are hearing and are wondering how you aren't screaming into the phone. Ah, good times. But NOT times that I can brush off. And neither can many. Websites like "stupid guest tricks" wouldn't exist if people could let it roll off like you can.



See, I have some empathy for the guy. Disney touts the bands as being all you need. Many of us here realize that it's one extra thing to have along with everything you used to carry, but that's not how they are described.

So this guy has listened to Disney advertising, believed it, and can't believe it's not true, that you actually do need to carry other things with you.

This is over half disney's fault IMO. There are people on the dis who ask if we need to bring ID. Those poor people who haven't found the dis don't know otherwise, if they've just listened to Disney.

But in real life, do you ever not carry a photo ID?

 

[AngiTN]

I too wonder often how these CM deal with the guests today. Rudeness is a disease that is going to ruin society before anything else. The stuff I see when in the parks leaves me shaking my head. A favorite seems to be to pretend you don't speak English so you can break the rules

See, I have some empathy for the guy. Disney touts the bands as being all you need. Many of us here realize that it's one extra thing to have along with everything you used to carry, but that's not how they are described.

So this guy has listened to Disney advertising, believed it, and can't believe it's not true, that you actually do need to carry other things with you.

This is over half disney's fault IMO. There are people on the dis who ask if we need to bring ID. Those poor people who haven't found the dis don't know otherwise, if they've just listened to Disney.

Interestingly, since this came up here, last week I overheard someone asking a CM if they needed their ID to buy alcohol or if it was on their band. That CM said that it was on the band in that only bands belonging to someone over 21 could buy alcohol, that those under wouldn't go through. So the guest didn't need their ID. Now, I really doubted the accuracy of what the CM said but thought it was interesting to bring up

 

[kj2mom]

When you notice a Cast Member that goes above and beyond, a good idea is to stop by Guest Services for that specific park and ask to leave an "Applause-o-Gram/Compliment Card". I believe they may get mentioned in their morning meeting for it, and from speaking to a Cast Member she mentioned that you could actually put the amount of "Applause-o-Grams/Compliment Cards" on your resume. So to leave one actually benefits the Cast Member quite a bit.

You don't have to go to Guest Services the same day that it occurs, it's better to know the date, time, location, and name of the Cast Member. They can go back and look at previous schedules. What we do is keep an ongoing note in our phones of Cast Members we've seen go above and beyond. Then the last time we are in that specific park, we go to Guest Services and leave all the cards for Cast Members from that park that we encountered during our stay.

Another option is to send an email to Guest Services when you get back home, but I feel like leaving a handwritten note is a little more personal.

I'm happy you've had great experiences!

We did this on our last visit. We had a great experience when arriving to BOG, the CM really went above and beyond. The next day we were at HS and walking by guest services when we said wait lets put in a note for her. We walked up to the CMs outside and you could just see the sigh of relief when we said all we wanted to do was put in kudos for an experience we had the day before. We knew her name, what time she was working and where she was working so they brought her right up in the system so they could put our info in. It was really cool because I guess she was soo new that her picture wasn't in the system yet (they asked us if we would be able to recognize her, which we would, but in the end it didn't matter because her pic wasn't entered into the system yet). Glad we could let people know she was starting the job off great!!

I worked 10 years in retail and I tend to be overly polite when encountering employees....we used to call in our order for a work lunch once a week (before caller id) and the person who answered the phone would know who I was just because of my using please and thank you. Last week I received a Christmas gift I ordered and it was not done quite right. I had ordered an add on ($10) and it did not arrive with the add on. I emailed them, thanked them for sending the order but mentioned unfortunately the order did not come with the add on and was wondering if I could please have the $10 refunded. I got an immediate response and they actually refunded $15 for the trouble. I told my children it was probably because I was respectful to them in my request. Yes, mistakes do get made from time to time but it is generally possible to reach a compromise to correct the situation when both parties are respectful.

Keep up the great work CMs, especially during the holiday season when often times people can forget the little things can be the things that matter most (please and thank you come quickly to mind)!