Is Customer Service Changing?

[FLkid]

i hope this is the right spot for this, I apologize that it's such a novel.




So I've been on property for a few days now and I've made some observations. Disney to me is the home of customer service standards, I am often blown away by cast members going above and beyond.


However, Over the last few days I have observed quite the opposite from a few cast members. It started our first day, Entering Magic kingdom.


We were not there at opening, It was a few hours into the day as we had breakfast that morning and took our time. As we approached the front of magic kingdom we witnessed two older male cast members at the magic band scanners we walked up to yelling loudly at guests to "keep it moving" "use all the lines" and "lets go people". They were literally yelling, like they were herding cattle.


It didn't bother me much, It just felt odd to hear it at Disney. Then I noticed the lady in front of me have a blue light show up when she scanned her finger, When I have had this happen a cast member has ALWAYS nicely asked to scan my MB and helped figure out the issue. Instead one of the same male cast members yelled "Use your same finger people, you have to use the same finger every time" he didn't even acknowledge this woman right in front of him that he was clearly referring to and yelling over. I didn't see how the situation panned out as I walked through right after.

I will note that there were not long lines, The park was already open. Again, just felt out of character and not a very magical feeling to walk into.




Then at Animal Kingdom the next day, We got in line at Flame Tree to order the kids hotdog meal. I heard the customer in front of us having a bit of a disagreement with the cast member taking the orders, Middle aged woman. I didn't think anything of it and it came time to order. We noticed it came with broccoli, and per usual we asked to substitute the broccoli for French fries. She told us that wasn't an option, We of course have never been told that ever at a location that served fries on property. I decided to not push it and said okay. I then asked for a side of cheese for the broccoli (They have cheesey pulled pork fries, restaurantosaurus also has chili cheese fries and will give you just a side of cheese) the lady sternly said "no we don't do that", I said I've done it before to which she repeated herself and told me I could order the pulled pork fries with cheese. So I said okay just give me the hotdog not the meal (which only saves you about $1) because who knows.. maybe policies changed for that specific location?


I had the little orange bird bracelet gift card you get at Flower & Garden Festival, I've accepted the fact that so many cast members don't know how to use it even though every festival Epcot puts on has one. (You Press the gift card button on the screen, Then you scan it with the scanner that every cash wrap has) you can't swipe it.


I handed her my bracelet gift card, she began to swipe it to which I said "Oh you have to scan that one it hasn't worked when they've tried to swipe it" to which she ignored me and told the other guy waiting in line "one moment". She continued to swipe the gift card, I thought maybe she didn't hear me so I repeated "if you have a scanner there's a barcode on the back". She told me "one moment" and proceeded to call another cast member over (which took a minute as they were assisting another guest) who told her.... you guessed it... to scan it. The lady acted like it was some type of revelation, That I hadn't already told her twice.



A few minutes later the customer behind me who placed an order asked to speak to a manager. It turns out he wanted to substitute something for his wife that he has done many times before and was told no. It states on the menu, (The one they hand you and the one above the ordering station) that substitutions are accepted. It specifically specifies which ones are accepted and ours qualified. It didn't bother me so much that this lady didn't know the menu substitution options, It is what it is maybe she was new. What bothered me was how she chose to approach the situations with a less than friendly or helpful attitude.



It was a very minor incident, and we didn't make a scene about it like the other guests, But it stuck with us.



On our 2nd to last day we switched resorts to a value where there was a cheerleading.. thing.. going on. Competition maybe? Anyways lots of different countries were represented and we expected a bit of a wait at the quick service but it wasn't a big deal to us as we stayed so full the entire trip. I waited in the pizza line in front of a group of about 6 girls from Taiwan (I read their jackets). If I had to guess I would say they were all around 12 years old. The middle aged male cast member who seemed to be taking his time in an already busy situation asked the first young girl what she would like, She pointed to the cheese pizza slice and he got it for her and she went on her way. The 2nd girl pointed at the pepperoni pizza, to which he got this irritated look on his face and said "so you want pepperoni?".


It didn't take a rocket scientist to know that's what the young girl wanted, She literally pointed at the pizza sitting behind the glass less than a foot from her. The young girl looked at her friends confused and it appeared only one of them understood English and she said "this one" pointing at the same pizza. He quickly grabbed her a slice and said "next". This guy seemed to get more and more irritated as each girl would either point to their food of choice or state the number it was listed under on the menu screen above us.


I understand language barriers can be tough but these girls were not throwing him through a maze with their orders. I knew exactly what they were asking for so there was no need for him to present such an agitated approach to them and give them prison cafeteria customer service. When it came time for me to order he was very short and to the point and I went on my way.



We also experienced several situations where younger cast members working at various shops/quick service locations would see us standing at the counter and would simply stand around and continue their non work related conversations until they felt like ringing us up or taking our orders. I didn't make a fuss during any of these situations, It's just not in my character (although my hot blooded Latina gf was ready to a time or two lol)



I expect a lot from Disney customer service, Because they set that standard in my previous trips. I kept thinking "maybe I'm just over thinking it or expect too much" but it happened over and over again.


We had fantastic service at the F&G kiosks, The UK pavilion. Heck even two of our gate guards were so spectacular! It just makes me sad to think Disney is falling short here, And I felt the need to share my experiences. It doesn't change my love for Disney and we already have two more trips in the works, I just hope this isn't the new norm

 

[dclpluto]

i hope this is the right spot for this, I apologize that it's such a novel.




So I've been on property for a few days now and I've made some observations. Disney to me is the home of customer service standards, I am often blown away by cast members going above and beyond.


However, Over the last few days I have observed quite the opposite from a few cast members. It started our first day, Entering Magic kingdom.


We were not there at opening, It was a few hours into the day as we had breakfast that morning and took our time. As we approached the front of magic kingdom we witnessed two older male cast members at the magic band scanners we walked up to yelling loudly at guests to "keep it moving" "use all the lines" and "lets go people". They were literally yelling, like they were herding cattle.


It didn't bother me much, It just felt odd to hear it at Disney. Then I noticed the lady in front of me have a blue light show up when she scanned her finger, When I have had this happen a cast member has ALWAYS nicely asked to scan my MB and helped figure out the issue. Instead one of the same male cast members yelled "Use your same finger people, you have to use the same finger every time" he didn't even acknowledge this woman right in front of him that he was clearly referring to and yelling over. I didn't see how the situation panned out as I walked through right after.

I will note that there were not long lines, The park was already open. Again, just felt out of character and not a very magical feeling to walk into.




Then at Animal Kingdom the next day, We got in line at Flame Tree to order the kids hotdog meal. I heard the customer in front of us having a bit of a disagreement with the cast member taking the orders, Middle aged woman. I didn't think anything of it and it came time to order. We noticed it came with broccoli, and per usual we asked to substitute the broccoli for French fries. She told us that wasn't an option, We of course have never been told that ever at a location that served fries on property. I decided to not push it and said okay. I then asked for a side of cheese for the broccoli (They have cheesey pulled pork fries, restaurantosaurus also has chili cheese fries and will give you just a side of cheese) the lady sternly said "no we don't do that", I said I've done it before to which she repeated herself and told me I could order the pulled pork fries with cheese. So I said okay just give me the hotdog not the meal (which only saves you about $1) because who knows.. maybe policies changed for that specific location?


I had the little orange bird bracelet gift card you get at Flower & Garden Festival, I've accepted the fact that so many cast members don't know how to use it even though every festival Epcot puts on has one. (You Press the gift card button on the screen, Then you scan it with the scanner that every cash wrap has) you can't swipe it.


I handed her my bracelet gift card, she began to swipe it to which I said "Oh you have to scan that one it hasn't worked when they've tried to swipe it" to which she ignored me and told the other guy waiting in line "one moment". She continued to swipe the gift card, I thought maybe she didn't hear me so I repeated "if you have a scanner there's a barcode on the back". She told me "one moment" and proceeded to call another cast member over (which took a minute as they were assisting another guest) who told her.... you guessed it... to scan it. The lady acted like it was some type of revelation, That I hadn't already told her twice.



A few minutes later the customer behind me who placed an order asked to speak to a manager. It turns out he wanted to substitute something for his wife that he has done many times before and was told no. It states on the menu, (The one they hand you and the one above the ordering station) that substitutions are accepted. It specifically specifies which ones are accepted and ours qualified. It didn't bother me so much that this lady didn't know the menu substitution options, It is what it is maybe she was new. What bothered me was how she chose to approach the situations with a less than friendly or helpful attitude.



It was a very minor incident, and we didn't make a scene about it like the other guests, But it stuck with us.



On our 2nd to last day we switched resorts to a value where there was a cheerleading.. thing.. going on. Competition maybe? Anyways lots of different countries were represented and we expected a bit of a wait at the quick service but it wasn't a big deal to us as we stayed so full the entire trip. I waited in the pizza line in front of a group of about 6 girls from Taiwan (I read their jackets). If I had to guess I would say they were all around 12 years old. The middle aged male cast member who seemed to be taking his time in an already busy situation asked the first young girl what she would like, She pointed to the cheese pizza slice and he got it for her and she went on her way. The 2nd girl pointed at the pepperoni pizza, to which he got this irritated look on his face and said "so you want pepperoni?".


It didn't take a rocket scientist to know that's what the young girl wanted, She literally pointed at the pizza sitting behind the glass less than a foot from her. The young girl looked at her friends confused and it appeared only one of them understood English and she said "this one" pointing at the same pizza. He quickly grabbed her a slice and said "next". This guy seemed to get more and more irritated as each girl would either point to their food of choice or state the number it was listed under on the menu screen above us.


I understand language barriers can be tough but these girls were not throwing him through a maze with their orders. I knew exactly what they were asking for so there was no need for him to present such an agitated approach to them and give them prison cafeteria customer service. When it came time for me to order he was very short and to the point and I went on my way.



We also experienced several situations where younger cast members working at various shops/quick service locations would see us standing at the counter and would simply stand around and continue their non work related conversations until they felt like ringing us up or taking our orders. I didn't make a fuss during any of these situations, It's just not in my character (although my hot blooded Latina gf was ready to a time or two lol)



I expect a lot from Disney customer service, Because they set that standard in my previous trips. I kept thinking "maybe I'm just over thinking it or expect too much" but it happened over and over again.


We had fantastic service at the F&G kiosks, The UK pavilion. Heck even two of our gate guards were so spectacular! It just makes me sad to think Disney is falling short here, And I felt the need to share my experiences. It doesn't change my love for Disney and we already have two more trips in the works, I just hope this isn't the new norm

Mostly all companies have their 10 percent including Disney

 

[Simba's Girl]

Maybe it has happened all along and you were just hyper-aware after the first couple encounters?

Eventually most of us will get to the point where we realize that the people who work at Disney are in fact real world people.

Kudos to you for not letting it ruin your trip.

 

[wilkeliza]

It is unfortunate you got a lot of bad CMs but since you are writting it here you will be better served by emailing WDW and letting them know when and where you experiences with CMs did not stand up to Disney's standard.

 

[Westcoastwild]

Hm.

It could be merely bad luck. It could be crowds (go anywhere during high season and you won't get the same experience you would when crowds are low and workers are less overwhelmed).

I noticed Wdw seems to have a higher proportion of ill trained CMs than California. I'm not sure if it's bad luck on my part or simply that the parks and resorts hire a LOT more people or that the system is just different. CP, for instance, means an extremely high turn over rate. But size of the resorts also effects customer service- like all the time on this forum you get people complaining about CMs that don't know every little detail. WDW is huge. If a CM gets yanked from, say, MK to cover a position at AK it's not really a department to department transfer which is hard enough. It's like a store to store transfer, where you're learning not just the job but also a whole new system.

 

[wilkeliza]

Hm.

It could be merely bad luck. It could be crowds (go anywhere during high season and you won't get the same experience you would when crowds are low and workers are less overwhelmed).

I noticed Wdw seems to have a higher proportion of ill trained CMs than California. I'm not sure if it's bad luck on my part or simply that the parks and resorts hire a LOT more people or that the system is just different. CP, for instance, means an extremely high turn over rate. But size of the resorts also effects customer service- like all the time on this forum you get people complaining about CMs that don't know every little detail. WDW is huge. If a CM gets yanked from, say, MK to cover a position at AK it's not really a department to department transfer which is hard enough. It's like a store to store transfer, where you're learning not just the job but also a whole new system.

Most CMs do nit get pulled for park to park positions. Only CMs who are designated floaters do that often unless the CM signed themselves up to do it. If they habe they are suppose to familiarize themselves with the position they willingly took up.

I do think it is perception though. When I first went to DL I felt like I got the worst CMs ever. Waiters who wouldn't give us the time of day, quick service check out CMs on their cell phones, and attractions CMs who wanted to be anywhere but work. Next year totally different story.

 

[Westcoastwild]

Most CMs do nit get pulled for park to park positions. Only CMs who are designated floaters do that often unless the CM signed themselves up to do it. If they habe they are suppose to familiarize themselves with the position they willingly took up.

I do think it is perception though. When I first went to DL I felt like I got the worst CMs ever. Waiters who wouldn't give us the time of day, quick service check out CMs on their cell phones, and attractions CMs who wanted to be anywhere but work. Next year totally different story.

I was just hypothesizing based on my friend who was a CM. She worked in a few different locations based on crowds and weather. But even if you familiarize yourself with the general rules, stuff like substitutions would trip me up. You don't get asked about it every day and also, it may have been the previous CM who allowed it that was breaking the rules. How often to customer service people get told "but I swear I was allowed to do it last time"? Anyway...my point is that I think there a lot of factors that play into customer service at vacation destination like WDW.

I agree that a lot of it is definitely perception. I think a lot of it is mood- the "bad service" stuff that sticks with me was mostly stuff that happened when I was already tired and cranky.

 

[Accident]

It's kind of been getting better but after a hiring spike it does seem to get the too confident to shine...

Case in point, lets clean up monorail garbage by throwing it into the track..

 

[Shanti]

i hope this is the right spot for this, I apologize that it's such a novel.




So I've been on property for a few days now and I've made some observations. Disney to me is the home of customer service standards, I am often blown away by cast members going above and beyond.


However, Over the last few days I have observed quite the opposite from a few cast members. It started our first day, Entering Magic kingdom.


We were not there at opening, It was a few hours into the day as we had breakfast that morning and took our time. As we approached the front of magic kingdom we witnessed two older male cast members at the magic band scanners we walked up to yelling loudly at guests to "keep it moving" "use all the lines" and "lets go people". They were literally yelling, like they were herding cattle.


It didn't bother me much, It just felt odd to hear it at Disney. Then I noticed the lady in front of me have a blue light show up when she scanned her finger, When I have had this happen a cast member has ALWAYS nicely asked to scan my MB and helped figure out the issue. Instead one of the same male cast members yelled "Use your same finger people, you have to use the same finger every time" he didn't even acknowledge this woman right in front of him that he was clearly referring to and yelling over. I didn't see how the situation panned out as I walked through right after.

I will note that there were not long lines, The park was already open. Again, just felt out of character and not a very magical feeling to walk into.




Then at Animal Kingdom the next day, We got in line at Flame Tree to order the kids hotdog meal. I heard the customer in front of us having a bit of a disagreement with the cast member taking the orders, Middle aged woman. I didn't think anything of it and it came time to order. We noticed it came with broccoli, and per usual we asked to substitute the broccoli for French fries. She told us that wasn't an option, We of course have never been told that ever at a location that served fries on property. I decided to not push it and said okay. I then asked for a side of cheese for the broccoli (They have cheesey pulled pork fries, restaurantosaurus also has chili cheese fries and will give you just a side of cheese) the lady sternly said "no we don't do that", I said I've done it before to which she repeated herself and told me I could order the pulled pork fries with cheese. So I said okay just give me the hotdog not the meal (which only saves you about $1) because who knows.. maybe policies changed for that specific location?


I had the little orange bird bracelet gift card you get at Flower & Garden Festival, I've accepted the fact that so many cast members don't know how to use it even though every festival Epcot puts on has one. (You Press the gift card button on the screen, Then you scan it with the scanner that every cash wrap has) you can't swipe it.


I handed her my bracelet gift card, she began to swipe it to which I said "Oh you have to scan that one it hasn't worked when they've tried to swipe it" to which she ignored me and told the other guy waiting in line "one moment". She continued to swipe the gift card, I thought maybe she didn't hear me so I repeated "if you have a scanner there's a barcode on the back". She told me "one moment" and proceeded to call another cast member over (which took a minute as they were assisting another guest) who told her.... you guessed it... to scan it. The lady acted like it was some type of revelation, That I hadn't already told her twice.



A few minutes later the customer behind me who placed an order asked to speak to a manager. It turns out he wanted to substitute something for his wife that he has done many times before and was told no. It states on the menu, (The one they hand you and the one above the ordering station) that substitutions are accepted. It specifically specifies which ones are accepted and ours qualified. It didn't bother me so much that this lady didn't know the menu substitution options, It is what it is maybe she was new. What bothered me was how she chose to approach the situations with a less than friendly or helpful attitude.



It was a very minor incident, and we didn't make a scene about it like the other guests, But it stuck with us.



On our 2nd to last day we switched resorts to a value where there was a cheerleading.. thing.. going on. Competition maybe? Anyways lots of different countries were represented and we expected a bit of a wait at the quick service but it wasn't a big deal to us as we stayed so full the entire trip. I waited in the pizza line in front of a group of about 6 girls from Taiwan (I read their jackets). If I had to guess I would say they were all around 12 years old. The middle aged male cast member who seemed to be taking his time in an already busy situation asked the first young girl what she would like, She pointed to the cheese pizza slice and he got it for her and she went on her way. The 2nd girl pointed at the pepperoni pizza, to which he got this irritated look on his face and said "so you want pepperoni?".


It didn't take a rocket scientist to know that's what the young girl wanted, She literally pointed at the pizza sitting behind the glass less than a foot from her. The young girl looked at her friends confused and it appeared only one of them understood English and she said "this one" pointing at the same pizza. He quickly grabbed her a slice and said "next". This guy seemed to get more and more irritated as each girl would either point to their food of choice or state the number it was listed under on the menu screen above us.


I understand language barriers can be tough but these girls were not throwing him through a maze with their orders. I knew exactly what they were asking for so there was no need for him to present such an agitated approach to them and give them prison cafeteria customer service. When it came time for me to order he was very short and to the point and I went on my way.



We also experienced several situations where younger cast members working at various shops/quick service locations would see us standing at the counter and would simply stand around and continue their non work related conversations until they felt like ringing us up or taking our orders. I didn't make a fuss during any of these situations, It's just not in my character (although my hot blooded Latina gf was ready to a time or two lol)



I expect a lot from Disney customer service, Because they set that standard in my previous trips. I kept thinking "maybe I'm just over thinking it or expect too much" but it happened over and over again.


We had fantastic service at the F&G kiosks, The UK pavilion. Heck even two of our gate guards were so spectacular! It just makes me sad to think Disney is falling short here, And I felt the need to share my experiences. It doesn't change my love for Disney and we already have two more trips in the works, I just hope this isn't the new norm

We were there two weeks ago (Easter vacation) and received good customer service. Was every service person perfect? No. Some mistakes were made, some CMs were less engaged/sympathetic than others (some unevenness of customer service quality is going to occur at this pay rate, frankly), but overall, our needs were met promptly and respectfully, and often enthusiastically. There was plenty of magic & going the extra mile.

We definitely witnessed no yelling at crowds or customers as you described. What I did witness was multiple CMs stoically doing their duty as some guests were rather hard on them.

 

[dreiwhit]

We went twice last year, in February-March and November-December. On our first trip, I was surprised at how good the customer service is. I'm used to getting bad service, so I really noticed it.

However on our last trip, it took me a while but then I started to realize that the customer service wasn't as good as it had been before. Grumpy CMs, not friendly, etc. Even the CM portraying Alice didn't seem to be happy with what she was doing. It was noticible enough to be surprising. I wasn't looking for it, but I did start to notice it.

 

[maxiesmom]

As someone who works with the public in retail, I can tell you there is no easy solution. Do you keep the employees and try to coach them again and again and again or do you fire them and not have a replacement that is any better? Where I work we get scored on our customer interactions. And yet you will still see coworkers who can't be bothered to even say "Hi!" to customers. Who act like ringing someone up is an imposition.

It costs companies a ton of time and money to hire. And it seems to be increasingly harder to find people who want to give good customer service. Too many people want to draw a paycheck with the bare minimum of effort. And that sounds a lot like what the OP ran into.

 

[mom2rtk]

As someone who works with the public in retail, I can tell you there is no easy solution.

A good start would be not putting a hiring freeze in place in the busiest park in the world.

http://blog.touringplans.com/2017/04/26/long-term-wait-time-trends-walt-disney-world/

 

[AngiTN]

Mostly all companies have their 10 percent including Disney

What a perfect way to word it.

It is unfortunate when someone encounters mostly the 10% on a given trip. I think it's rare but can happen. I suppose it's no different than when someone seems to have bad timing with buses for an entire trip, reporting that they wait really long for every bus and someone else there at the same time says they never waited any. Both are right.

 

[1911]

I don't think this type of behavior is new.Our last trip 3 years ago,I was witness to similar things during the course of our stay.I was shocked when I saw cast members screaming at guests, more than a few condescending attitudes also.
if you encounter a bad cast member you can always fill out a card at guest relations same as you would for an exceptional one.

 

[AngiTN]

A good start would be not putting a hiring freeze in place in the busiest park in the world.

http://blog.touringplans.com/2017/04/26/long-term-wait-time-trends-walt-disney-world/

I think they are just incorrect. Whoever told them it was a hiring freeze was just incorrect. Everything reported isn't fact, which I'm sure everyone knows.
I saw A LOT, and I mean A LOT, of Earning my Ears tags last week. That is not a hiring freeze.
And when we were in the Utilitors earlier in the year we saw rooms full of CMs in training. Also not a hiring freeze. Or it was clearly over

 

[mom2rtk]

I think they are just incorrect. Whoever told them it was a hiring freeze was just incorrect. Everything reported isn't fact, which I'm sure everyone knows.
I saw A LOT, and I mean A LOT, of Earning my Ears tags last week. That is not a hiring freeze.
And when we were in the Utilitors earlier in the year we saw rooms full of CMs in training. Also not a hiring freeze. Or it was clearly over

Then you might want to message @lentesta and let him know a recent entry on the Touring Plans blog is incorrect based on your anecdotal observations in the park last week.

 

[marcyleecorgan]

Document, document, document! We had a running tally going on during our visit and were constantly updating WDW Guest Services with how everything was going during our trip.

Thankfully 99% of it was positive and involved giving LOTS of Cast Compliments but there were a few things we did have to report on that weren't as Magical as we would have liked. I don't think there was anything that stood out so terribly by the end of the trip that I even am able to recall, mostly I was trying to focus on being positive and NOT expecting Pixie Dust, thereby thoroughly enjoying the bits we did get.

 

[SaintsManiac]

I think it seems worse when you see it happen at Disney, because we don't expect it all. We had some really great CM experiences last trip, but I saw some bad stuff, too. We saw an older male CM being rude to guests at FOtLK. It was pretty shocking to me. I also wasn't too pleased with the front desk CMs at POR. I just have to roll on, though. It's too many workers to have them all be perfect all the time.

I will say I have had some awesome experiences with DisneyStore.com CMs. They go above and beyond to make things right.

I've worked in customer service for 20 years. I've seen the good, bad and the very ugly. Disney continues to be some of the very best along with Amazon.

 

[maxiesmom]

Then you might want to message @lentesta and let him know a recent entry on the Touring Plans blog is incorrect based on your anecdotal observations in the park last week.

I believe her. Why would she lie? Maybe there was a freeze for a while, but now there isn't. If we didn't trust what most people report from the parks the Disboard would be almost pointless.

 

[maxiesmom]

One thing working in a customer service profession has given me is the ability to be nice and out-going, even when I don't feel like being so. I know how some people are (rude, demanding) so I try to be as nice and friendly as I can be. At Disney I say Hi to the person checking my bag at security. I make darned sure to say Please and Thank You. Even when I'm tired and a bit grumpy. I think many do the same, but not enough.

I always remember a post years ago. People were talking about disembarking airplanes, and how few people were returning the Goodbye given by the Flight Attendants. One poster said that they simply don't have time to be nice. Still makes me cringe typing that. Unfortunately there are many people like that poster too.

I guess what I'm saying is yes, people are being paid to do a job. And they should be nice about it. But it is easier to do your job and be nice to nice people. And we can all help with that.