Just Back. Service went from Magical to Meh

[GAN]

I agree you should write about your experiences. No excuse for profanity or rudeness, especially in front of children. I was there last month and have to say I noticed a downturn also. CM's just seemed to be irritable. I don't know if they are overworked or what but seemed to be unhappy.

It's too bad ..these cast members should be placed behind the scenes. But I'm guessing they are the best they have. Quite sad...

 

[Sarahleigh]

I feel you on this one. We had several less than magical encounters with CMs this month as well

 

[arcticdisneylovers]

We've visited every year for the last five years and I don't think we've ever a rude encounter with a CM But IF I ever heard the F word or any cursing from a CM I would be demanding to see a supervisor immediately Once I recovered from the shock that is

 

[Luckybee]

EDIT (again) Added my post back. Again, I am NOT trying to be a downer. I did write to Disney. And I really did not want to upset anyone. Here's my original post with no edits.

Hello! I just returned from a week long trip with my mom. It’s our tradition to go every other year. Being at Disney and in the “Disney Bubble” is always fun. This year was no exception. But it had more to do with the joy of being with my mom for a week than anything Disney did.

I’m so sad to say that unlike other years, there was nothing truly stand out for us. As someone who always looks for the upside of things, I hate reporting that but there you go. Other than the fun of being at Disney nothing was remarkable this time.


I can’t even believe I’m typing that. I have such a heart for people that work in service industries. In the past, Disney went above and beyond. After most—if not all—trips, I wrote a general praise report to Disney and then specific ones about cast members. Working with the public is tough and Disney cast members usually handed it with grace. Not this time.

A few moments: Leaving Hollywood Studios to take the boat to the Boardwalk. We were on the ramp, about three feet from walking on the boat, when the cast member closed the chain. The boat was nearly empty. We asked if we could get on and he laughed at us and walked away. If he said that they were on a schedule and had to leave, I would have been fine with that. But snickering and then turning his back? Not okay.

Upon reading this Im wondering if the boat guys move around, because, this is exactly what happened to us but at Downtown Disney. To be honest dh and I did kind of laugh about it because we were so shocked that the guy was that obnoxious but it was the exact same scenario. We didn't point it out to anyone but having read your post now im wishing we would have because im thinking it may not have been a one off for the fellow.

 

[bobbiwoz]

It has happened to me and I have observed it happening to others, the Friendshp boats do not wait as a rule.

 

[CampbellzSoup]

Oh man that sucks cast members can really make or break a good trip. I had to use some in Disney words to one Cast Member this Disney trip who was rude.

At the cookie station it was my turn for cocoa and I said just one cocoa please!!! She turned around and nastily said give me a second!!! Some undisney words were exchanged and an apology issued. I could see if I was rude interrupting or she was extenely busy but non applied.

 

[ellie05]

I am sorry your trip wasn't what you expected we had s horrible trip in February. We just got back and our trip was amazing we meet great cm and had lots of magic.

 

[J and R's mom]

We've been going since 1984. CMs' behaviors and attitudes have definitely degraded over time. But so have the acceptable behaviors/attitudes of our culture in general since 1984, so I guess it's no surprise. Just a big disappointment.

We still get some really cool CM interactions most trips, but anymore we regularly see CMs chatting with each other at the checkouts and ignoring us (while waiting to SPEND MONEY at said check-out), chatting at line entrances and ignoring us completely, I hear profanity out of them (typically when they are chatting to each other). One example from our October trip: two female CMs standing outside POC were talking about an ex-boyfried and one told the other what a booty-hole (but other word for booty) the guy was. How do I know so much about the conversation, you wonder? Well, I was standing there trying to ask them if both sides of the line were open (no one was entering at the time) but they didn't seem to want to be bothered. Finally one looked at me and said, "Yes?" You'll be happy to know, both sides of the line were open...and now I also know that one of them doesn't much care for an ex-boyfriend.

This type customer service is rampant most everywhere now, and most likely will only get worse as generations pass. But it would be nice if Disney could remain immune to it, but it appears that they cannot.

As I said, we also had awesome experiences as well. Several went out of their way to help us or make things magical (one at MK entrance playing "photo-bomb" with DD11, and another arranging to blindfold me to help DD9 dress me up as "Chef Mickey" at the BCV giftshop).





For those now in their 20s and 30s, the service may not seem that bad. But compared to earlier times (with smaller crowds overall), things were different.

We still love going to the Mouse House. The increase in year-round overall crowds (that come with their own increased bad attitudes) is probably making it harder to be cheery all the time. But, for now, we still like to go...

 

[Suvadoo]

Last week, on the Dis Unplugged podcast, Pete Werner was talking about going to the MVMCP and that the CM's were fantastic, like they used to be all the time. He said during regular park hours with the crowds the CM's weren't very polite.

He then compared this experience to the TM's at Universal, and he said the TM's were wonderful and very helpful. They were at the same caliber as the Disney CM's used to be. So I really believe it's a WDW problem and not a societal problem.

The CM's are dealing with massive amounts of park goers daily. It used to be seasonal and now it's continuous. They're also dealing with FP+ and it's complexities. I just don't think it's easy. On top of that, the traditions training that used to be 1 week long is now 1 day.

A pp mentioned guest entitlement, but I sincerely doubt most guests expect anything "magical" from the CM's. Customer service used to be a hallmark of WDW, now not so much.

 

[Schmeck]

Last week, on the Dis Unplugged podcast, Pete Werner was talking about going to the MVMCP and that the CM's were fantastic, like they used to be all the time. He said during regular park hours with the crowds the CM's weren't very polite.

He then compared this experience to the TM's at Universal, and he said the TM's were wonderful and very helpful. They were at the same caliber as the Disney CM's used to be. So I really believe it's a WDW problem and not a societal problem.

The CM's are dealing with massive amounts of park goers daily. It used to be seasonal and now it's continuous. They're also dealing with FP+ and it's complexities. I just don't think it's easy. On top of that, the traditions training that used to be 1 week long is now 1 day.

A pp mentioned guest entitlement, but I sincerely doubt most guests expect anything "magical" from the CM's. Customer service used to be a hallmark of WDW, now not so much.

We've had many more 'unmagical' CMs (or TMs, whatever that is) at Universal in our 3 trips there than the multitude of trips we have taken to WDW. We've had to ask questions at Universal and gotten really cold, thoughtless responses. We pretty much know WDW inside and out, and perhaps that is why we haven't had any problems there?

I think some guest demands and entitlements have become unbearable at WDW and the CMs are getting it from both sides - the obnoxious guest and the ridiculous marketing expectations of clueless upper management. That's happening in every sector of the business world, and we can thank the controlling, greedy 1% for that.

 

[lemonpan]

Upon reading this Im wondering if the boat guys move around, because, this is exactly what happened to us but at Downtown Disney. To be honest dh and I did kind of laugh about it because we were so shocked that the guy was that obnoxious but it was the exact same scenario. We didn't point it out to anyone but having read your post now im wishing we would have because im thinking it may not have been a one off for the fellow.

That sounds like the same experience. Like I said, I would have had zero problem with it if he said, "I'm sorry but we need to leave." He was just so snide with his response to my mom. And he put the chain across right in front of us. It was so off putting.

 

[Violet Parr]

Re: Holllywood Studios

We have been going since 2004, and dh and I have always said that we suspect that either HS has the worst management, OR it is kind of 4th tier in hiring cast members, because the quality of the cast members (in terms of professionalism and service) has always been lacking. It's the only place where I feel the cast members are a bit Six Flagsy. We've never had horrible service there, but the cast members seem a lot less perky there, and I am not at all surprised you hear an F-bomb from a cast member.

Another thing. I have been on the disboards since 2004 (on a different user name but created a new account for privacy reasons.) I've seen posts like this for years. I'm not at all saying that your experience wasn't valid. But I do think that the more you go, the more you notice the cracks, kwim? We had problems in our first few trips but we just really didn't register them, because we were super caught up in the excitement, kwim?

It's also luck of the draw. I don't doubt for a second that with the thousands of cast members working on any given day, crazy amounts of magical moments happen, even if they are just extra smiles and good cheer. Unfortunately, some trips, you end up not catching any of them. We have had things happen like Alice in Wonderland spending 30 minutes playing on the floor with my kids in the (former) toy shop in the UK while people looked on probably thinking that for sure we were some sort of Make A Wish family or VIPs of some sort, because she just loved them up and read books to them and played tic tac toe with a giant tic tac toe set and dh and I just stood there with our mouths gaping open. that was our first trip, too. We've actually had quite a few things like that happen to us.

Then on our trip for our 15th anniversary and my 40th birthday, I practically hopped in to the Polynesian to check in. It was my dream since I was a little girl watching The Wonderful World of Disney to stay there. All I got from the girl at the desk was politeness. No "Happy Anniversary and Happy Birthday!" She just gave me my (sloppily written) buttons and showed me the map to our room and barely smiled. But ya know, I had to not absorb that, because it would have cast a shadow on all of the cast members who were really lovely while we were there.

Anyway, I'm sorry your trip lacked that extra oomph. It really does make all the difference.

VP

 

[ArwenMarie]

I've never had an encounter with a flat out rude CM.

I think there are some things that could be improved though.

There seems to a lot of yelling now. I know they aren't really yelling, but it can sound like that. I think managing the constant crazy lines and crowds is the reason for this on top of the FP lines spilling out into the walkways once in a while. I'm not sure how they could change this, but feeling like a cattle being herded, meh.

The second thing is there is so much side conversation going on among the CMs. Sort of reminds me of being at a local fast food place.

 

[samsteele]

I also agree that you should feel comfortable posting all experiences . . . and not just the good ones. I recently returned from a trip in early Nov and believe that the CM experience is declining. While waiting in the FP line for Soarin, 4 young CMs turned their backs on the guests in line . . . who were just 2 feet away . . . and proceeded to discuss how some of them "got way wasted" at a party over the weekend. They then got into details of what 'she did" and what "he did" and it became more explicit by the moment. A family standing a few feet away from them with both pre-teens and young teenagers, shook their heads and tried to move away but there was no place to move to. I overheard the father muttering that "someone was going to hear about this" and so believe it was reported. Moments earlier, in the same FP line for Soarin, a CM gave me the counter lead or leash (not sure what it is actually called) that they use to help measure wait time. She didn't ask me to take it, simply thrust it at me. That's fine. I took it. When I got to the next CM down the line, I asked him if I should give the counter to him and was abruptly told, "I'm not interested. Keep going." He didn't make eye contact with me. Just looked at the floor. After waiting through the "party discussion", I went up to the last CM who was loading the bays at Soarin and put it in her hand. I had enough at that point. Definitely a problem that shift/day at Soarin but I've noticed over the years a decline in decent customer service especially with some younger CMs who seem to be part of the college program. I'm sure that the rude, inappropriate ones are few in number but when they act like this, it is blatant and definitely noticed by guests.

 

[Violet Parr]

Also, I should note that after a visit to Disneyland Paris on Halloween, I have renewed respect for what a great job WDW does with crowd control, safety, and CM friendliness. A few times, especially loading Space Mountain: Mission 2 (OMG amazing ride, fwiw) I was positively frightened by the dark, narrow, supercrowded lines inside the building. Going up steps. In the dark. With like, no fire escapes. It was really pretty scary. Haunted Mansion was also a bit unnerving. They crammed 3 times as many people into the shrinking room there. Also, I realized after DLP that WDW parks are astoundingly pristine.

Anyway, WDW has things to work on but still many things they do that are head and shoulders above any other resort/theme parks.

VP

 

[Grumpy92]

Have you noticed Disney does not really talk about their outstanding service anymore.
I am a former cm, worked there for 5 years. I was once stung by a wasp while on stage and managed not to utter the four letter word I was thinking, as I was checking in guest at the time. Disney constantly preached of "Being our guest", providing high level service, and told the cms to get creative in solving challenges. If you have read Lee Cockerell's book you know what i am talking about.

When I left you could see the change coming. They were hiring more third party employees, not as picky on who they hired and using college program more and more to fill positions. Fewer and fewer FT options were available, then they got rid of some major training they used to do and you could really see the difference.

It is tough to be a cm at WDW! You work when others play, long hours, get little praise, deal with high expectation customers, larger crowds and get paid a very low wage. I am sure alot of us could say some of those things about our job. But still this is Disney, I wonder if they even care with record crowds in the park now.

We used to make fun of the employees over at US because they acted just like the OP example. "Do you want to work for the best or do you want to work for Universal" was once posted on a work room board. That was the attitude.

My family spent a few days at US last month and we all commented on the great TMs. They used your name, made you feel welcome and special. At the end of the trip we discussed that the US TMs were what CMs at WDW used to be.

If you do get bad service wherever you are get a name and find a manager to talk to in a calm manner. Especially foul language in a family environment like WDW is uncalled for.

 

[DISness Casual]

Since cast members in the parks tend to make a whopping $8.03 an hour and many cannot afford basic rent, I'd be in 'not so magical mood' myself.


I would personally cut them some slack.

 

[White Rose]

I never really posted about this all before, but here it goes. (I already spoke to Disney leadership about both the negatives **and positives** in my post.)

The synopsis is: a few amazing magical moments can out-weight a few negative ones.

In 2003, we went to WDW for our honeymoon, and had an amazing experience that will never be surpassed. Every day was better then the last, and I feel we had enough magic to last a lifetime. We were treated like a princess and her prince, and it was more then I could have asked for a honeymoon. We could not stop raving over the service we received. Dream-like. It was perfect!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Of course there were negatives. We did not get a king bed on our honeymoon, and got 2 queens. Originally they wanted to put us in a room with bunkbeds. um. No. It was on our reservation (king bed), but they could not honor it. We heard later in the trip that a family was upset because they had to change their room because they were given a room with a king bed, and they were a family of 4! Oh well, not a vacation killer. No one knew how to handle the platinum plan, and we got into a few brief arguments with waiters which were quickly resolved. We wound up being charged for one meal, but the staff handled it and reversed the charges. (This was before the dining plans were around!) We had to educate the staff on how to process things. We had one bad meal and a so-so waiter.

So...it was not perfect! Why do I feel the trip was magical? Because these negatives did not impact the FEELING we had inside. We were in Disney for our honeymoon! We received so many well wishes and congrats from staff, magical experiences and the overwhelming number of employees were so amazing, our trip was not negatively impacted. Not everyone or everything was perfect - but the positives were so much better then the few negatives! The amazing positive attitude of the staff made the negatives seem very minor and we started to look forward to explaining the platinum plan to the waiters at our next meal...hehe! We were thrilled when one actually knew how to process it! LOL! We just shrugged off the negatives because the staff was just so nice!

Our second trip 5 years later was wonderful too, smiling faces, but it did not quite have the same over-the-top level we felt from before. Maybe because we were comparing a honeymoon trip to a 5 year anniversary, or maybe because we had some extreme magical moments in 2003 that were not repeated. All in all - a positive trip, no memories of anything negative, just nothing really 'stood out'. The staff was nice and very Disney! We had a great time!

We went for our 10th anniversary trip last October, and it just did not feel as magical. Our resort was undergoing construction, and it was very uncomfortable to move around the resort. Our room overlooked the construction - even though we had magic kingdom view. We could see the castle, and also the large fences on the beach, and huge holes in the ground. ugh. The resort staff were smiling, but they were stressed. They were dealing with a lot of complaints about the resort. They are still human, and they were probably exhausted!

I had a major problem with Disney Florists and one 'I don't care' representative who was rude and giving excuses. They took care of things and made it right - but it should not have needed this in the first place. Coming from a Customer service background - I understand how customers are sometimes very trying, and how hard it can be to be perfect with every interaction. I just expected to complete a simple transaction without attitude.

The staff was, overall- nice, friendly and upbeat, but with all the stuff going around.. construction, crowds, cranky guests - it just did not seem like the same trip we took in the past years.

Maybe my expectations are set too high because we had such a dream-like honeymoon, but I've noticed in the last 3 trips that things have changed, the atmosphere feels different, and maybe that is why the CMs might not seem as magical. I just think they seemed stressed....they were trying, really trying!

We will go back again for our a week for our 15th anniversary (2018) and I hope this trip will have the same magic.

(We are also going on a whirlwind tour - 4 parks over 1 1/2 days next week! I won't be comparing this short getaway to a week at Disney.)

 

[BeerMe]

I think, and this is merely my thought, that WDW has grown quickly over the past 5 years or so. I think there are many more guests, with pretty much the same number of CMs, especially in the parks. !

I totally agree. The parks and the staffing levels are not large enough to handle the increased crowd levels. We go a couple of times a year for 5 week stays mostly. I'm not sure how much longer we will do that. Our next trip is Jan/Feb for 5 weeks and nothing planned past that. We also did not renew APs this year. Thankfully we can get military tickets which offer more flexibility and we will also be going to Universal for the first time in six years. Lots of options.

 

[MakiraMarlena]

They were hiring more third party employees, not as picky on who they hired and using college program more and more to fill positions. Fewer and fewer FT options were available

This is what's going on. More contractors and part time employees. part timers are usually either college students or retirees - not much in between because they can't live on what they'd be making. More use of college program CMs for staffing, because they are cheaper. More use of call centers that are NOT on site for phone reservations and enquiries.

I'm wondering at the numerous reports out now saying that Universal employees are so much better than Disney cast members. Used to be the other way around. Is that Disney's hiring practices or Universal's that have changed?

as for the "cut them some slack, they don't get paid much" it doesn't matter how much they get paid or how miserable their job is, when they are onstage they should not be using the F word in front of guests. Do Uinversal employees get paid more? Maybe all the good ones went over there.