Is Customer Service Changing?

[Hiitsme]

The CM that was being rude to those girls is not okay. I've corrected patrons and cashiers when they are being unkind to one another. We all have days that blow, but why take it out on someone that isn't able to defend themselves. This type of behavior is wrong no matter where it takes place. Just be nice!

 

[AngiTN]

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.

Not a bad idea. He's quite receptive to new info. And since that was from Sept 2016 I'm sure things have changed, even if he did just write the report

 

[wilkeliza]

Just want to clarify when I give people the advice to write Disney I don't mean on every vacation keep a running tally of all the good and bad. If you go into vacation doing that it'll be all you focus on.

What I will do is jot a note down in my phone of name/location. If the next day or day after that it is still awesome or terrible then I at least have the information needed. If it is truly bad just not perhaps misinterpreted events or a small blip but like seriously bad then I handle it right then and there. Even if a manager seems not to care at least the ball is rolling. I can honestly say in the past 4-5 trips I haven't had a truly horrible experience. A few that were interesting and more Disney should know what's going on that they may not have seen but not horrible CMs. A few here and there that don't have the Disney touch but havig been there done that it is easy for me to know thag CM won't be there much longer.

 

[marcyleecorgan]

Just want to clarify when I give people the advice to write Disney I don't mean on every vacation keep a running tally of all the good and bad. If you go into vacation doing that it'll be all you focus on.

I understand what you are trying to imply, but in my case, keeping a running tally IS part of how I enjoy my vacation! I love to see how Disney gives us Pixie Dust! I love to see how they resolve things when you note a problem! And if I don't get the result I want, I simply contact them again and make my expectations clear. So far, no disappointments! The good has far outweighed the bad.

Let's see.... what do I want to make a bigger issue: the really sweet photographer who gave my DD a Maximus TsumTsum plushie from his bag when he saw her "Happy Birthday" button.... or do I want to rant at EPCOT Guest Services that we showed up for our ADR 3 minutes late at Tokyo Dining and they made us wait 27 minutes? Would rather dance about and be all happy for the limited edition TsumTsum!

 

[DLgal]

The CM that was being rude to those girls is not okay. I've corrected patrons and cashiers when they are being unkind to one another. We all have days that blow, but why take it out on someone that isn't able to defend themselves. This type of behavior is wrong no matter where it takes place. Just be nice!

Exactly. Honestly, it's okay to call people out sometimes when they are being jerks. In that particular instance with the pizza CM, I would have said something like "You didn't have to be so rude to those girls. They are just kids and were trying their best to communicate with you with their limited English skills."

 

[Minniesgal]

I think we all expect a heck of a lot of service from CMS at Disney who are probably minimum wage earners Nd thus have little loyalty to the company

There have always been rude or poorly trained CMS at Disney

 

[DLgal]

I think we all expect a heck of a lot of service from CMS at Disney who are probably minimum wage earners Nd thus have little loyalty to the company

There have always been rude or poorly trained CMS at Disney

You can work for minimum wage at a lot of places where a sour attitude isn't a problem. Disney is not one of them. If you don't want to be good at customer service, look elsewhere for a job.

 

[maxiesmom]

You can work for minimum wage at a lot of places where a sour attitude isn't a problem. Disney is not one of them. If you don't want to be good at customer service, look elsewhere for a job.

Unfortunately when you do job interviews they don't show their "sour attitude". From my experience doing interviews anyway. It is easy enough to fake it until you are hired. And then, the attitude can quickly surface, along with all sorts of crazy.

 

[Minniesgal]

You can work for minimum wage at a lot of places where a sour attitude isn't a problem. Disney is not one of them. If you don't want to be good at customer service, look elsewhere for a job.

i get that is what guests expect.

However, i do think the level of customer service we generally exepect from Disney CMs is out of line with the expectations that are normally put on minimum wage jobs.

 

[DLgal]

i get that is what guests expect.

However, i do think the level of customer service we generally exepect from Disney CMs is out of line with the expectations that are normally put on minimum wage jobs.

Maybe, maybe not. I worked a lot of minimum wage jobs when I was young and they ALL were very heavily focused on providing good customer service. And it was expected to be pleasant and helpful to customers. If you weren't, you got fired. Simple as that.

 

[mom2rtk]

The truth is that none of us has any idea what is going on behind the scenes. Providing great customer service can be accomplished with minimum wage employees if you have ENOUGH of them. Cut back too much and it's just not going to happen. Disney has had layoffs in the past. Do any of us know if they ever got staffing levels up to a level that allows their front line employees to have the same focus on customer satisfaction? Or is it still at a level that barely allows them to get the job done? If there was indeed a recent hiring freeze, that's certainly a clue as to what's happening behind the scenes.

 

[Westcoastwild]

Unfortunately when you do job interviews they don't show their "sour attitude". From my experience doing interviews anyway. It is easy enough to fake it until you are hired. And then, the attitude can quickly surface, along with all sorts of crazy.

Oh yeah. Crazy is right!

You can work for minimum wage at a lot of places where a sour attitude isn't a problem. Disney is not one of them. If you don't want to be good at customer service, look elsewhere for a job.

Ok. Number of things wrong with that:
1. If Disney wanted GREAT customer service, they'd pay more than minimum wage. They'd treat their workers better. I think they've got the College Program basically so they can get workers. I mean, half the bad service stuff complained about here is not bad service- it's more like staff in training problems. It's a high turnover rate job; they've just found a way to keep wages low and still pump new meat into the system. The amount they charge cp kids to live in the dorms is hilarious; the reason kids put up with it is because it's Disney and many of them aren't dependent on their wages.

2. Everyone has bad days. My weirdest moment last trip was when a CM in a gift shop greeted me, I gave her my best smile and asked how she was doing, and she told me a beloved friend had died so not so good. I gave her a hug and she actually teared up. Like super awkward, ok? And as a kid I would have not understood. I would have quietly slunk away. But I've worked when I had pneumonia, I've worked when I was worried about my sick dog, I've worked when I felt actively threatened by a coworker. And 5 years ago, I was at my customer service job when my father called me on break to tell me mother had had a stroke and was lying nonresponsive in the hospitable. I could not leave. I had no way home anyway. I have no idea what my customers thought but I do know I didn't look right. My coworkers took one look at me and knew something was really off. I mean really off.

When it comes right down to it: good customer service is what we expect. To keep the machine well greased and running on time is what Disney expects. That means they've probably got a strict attendance policy- which, guess what, means that folks show up to work even though they darn well know they shouldn't be there. Because Disney knows they can replace workers, they don't work particularly hard at retaining them. And then they do replace them, and the new staff will be incompetent for a while.

I guess my point is: that yeah, you should only work in a CS job if you like customers. But I seriously think that a lot of the CS problems that people see are at root Disney's fault. They could spend a lot more money and invest in their staff if customer satisfaction was that important to them. The fact that they laid off (or were going to layoff, not sure if it happened) those local tech workers in favor of H1Bs from India shows you where their priorities lie.