Just got back - disturbing theme....

[MellyBeans]

I just returned from Disney myself, and experienced nothing but wonderful CM's!

Personally, I think its amazing the level of customer service these people give considering the fact that they are in a VERY tiring place day, after day, after day. Think about it this way: They are at work, watching many people play on vacation. That has to get old. Cut them a break.

 

[M-I-C-K-E-Y]

i'm not the cm's friend - don't talk to me about your bad day save that for your dh/dw mother friend or shrink

People,
People who need people
Are the luckiest people in the world​

 

[CLR4321]

I think the economy is really taking a toll everywhere, including Disney. The cheap labor is probably the kids they hire, they make hardly any money and they're at an age where they really don't care (NOT all, but some). I think Disney might be getting rid of older workers in favor of the cheaper labor, and they're getting exactly what they pay for. I don't think Disney expects as much from their CMs as they did the past and if you put nothing in, you get nothing back. JMHO.

Age is not a factor in hiring people, as it would be discrimination to do so. Someone who is 65 will have the same pay as someone who is 18. They all start at the same pay at WDW, based on the position they are in. They also receive raises equally depending on the position. There is no "cheap labor". Most CM's start at minimum wage, kids or not, and there are ALOT of retired people who work at WDW part time just to keep themselves busy. WDW is not like Six Flags, which recruits and hires many high school students during the summer and as part time weekend shifts during the school year. Even though Six Flags employees may be 16-18 years old, they are still paid minimum wage as required by law.

 

[ShannonMB]

All I can say is that I could never be a CM. I would probably get fired on DAY 1 because there is no way I would put up with some of the crap from guests I've seen these people tolerate with a smile. I almost totally lost MY cool watching someone verbally berate a very nice CM who was doing her job very well. I agree with someone else who said that a lot of times guests talk down to CMs and treat them like 2nd class citizens just because their job is to serve the customer. This aspect of the issue bothers me a LOT more than the occasional snarky CM or a CM appearing to be lazy (or whatever). Just a guess, but I would say most (not all) CMs who do something snotty have had something snotty done to them 20 times to their 1.

I know my fellow DISers would never treat a CM with disrespect, because we LOVE them and we appreciate all they do to make it possible for us to go to our happy place. But there sure are a lot of morons out there who do!!!!! And I do NOT like those people.

 

[Chellymouse]

to the OP, DH and I had to bear witness to some of the same on our Dec. trip this past year. Even DH mentioned that the service that we have grown accustomed to over the last 10 years wasn't quite up to par. Now, before I get flamed, we are not the type of people to complain if everything isn't "just so" but we did notice a difference. We had stopped at Guest Services to try to get word over to LeCellier that we were going to be about 10 minutes late for our ressie (couldn't help we got stuck on Splash!..that Brer Bear!) and the CM said, "we'll you'll just have to take your chances." didn't offer to call or even give us the phone number. Thankfully, the CMs at LeCellier were very pleasant and we were seated. Some of the restaurant service wasn't up to par and while at SSR everything was great, we did notice these types of things in the park. I certainly hope that Disney doesn't start accepting sub-par service! That would definitely bring on bad things! I'm sure the CMs are frustrated because they are being required to do more, but aren't we all?

 

[twinsmommy06]

I 2nd this. We had a cast member be incredibly rude to us this past april and I called to report it and wound up with 10 days worth of tickets to dw. They do not tollerate any rudeness.

I don't think the customer service has really deteriorated. In fact, we were just there over the Spring break to end all Spring Breaks (remember those ridiculous crowd levels?) and we encountered nothing but excellent customer service. I think we expect so much more at WDW that we notice the sub-par behavior when we are there. There are always going to be some CMs that are just crummy. In a cast of thousands (literally) there will always be some bad apples and I believe Disney management won't tolerate that.

For example, I had a very bad experience with a cast member about 5 years ago. So bad she made me cry! --- I could have been hormonal, but she still made me cry. She argued with me over a traveler's check and refused to get a manager to approve it, etc. Then I asked for an apology and she replied with "I have nothing to apologize to you for!" This was at the Boardwalk store (I can't remember the name). Anyhoo --- my DH and I went up to the Boardwalk Lobby to let a manager know. I just wanted to let the hotel manager be alerted to the situation. Well my DH and I decided to hang out in the lobby for a while to cool off. The manager came over and sat with us and asked us to fill out an "official" form. We did. Then he hung out with us asking about our family, how long we were here on our trip, etc (Little did I realize he was fishing for information to compensate us). We were going to be there a couple more days, traveling with my DD and my parents. So we finished filling out the form and the manager came back with a voucher for $200!!!!! for us to use an any Boardwalk restaurant during our trip.

The moral of the story is, not to try and get compensation, but that Disney Management doesn't tolerate any kind of behavior like that. I think if in any situation described on this thread, guest relations would want to know. There really isn't anything they can do about it complaints are lodged days/weeks after the incident.

 

[ntsammy5]

Not pointing a finger at anyone here, but trying to get compensation from WDW just completely and totally turns me off.

 

[DianeV]

If you're not pointing at anyone why did you bring that up right after a post that mentioned getting free tickets?

 

[ntsammy5]

If you're not pointing at anyone why did you bring that up right after a post that mentioned getting free tickets?

Because it reminded me of it - someone I know is always talking about compensation

 

[wendy1974]

I didn't have time to read all of the responses but I have to say that I feel as a Disney CM that kind of behavior is uncalled for, in front of park guests at least. I realize they're human and no one is perfect; we all make mistakes at work and in our personal lives. I know Disney CM's are by any means robots. However, this is the job they chose to do, 10 hours on their feet or not. I know a few people who have worked at Disney and they all said the main thing drilled into them over and over was top notch customer service, from the CM who checks you in at the resort to the CM who cleans the restrooms in Frontierland. It's what seperates WDW from other theme parks. I worked retail all through school for a company that had to motto, 'The customer is always right.' I was expected to do my job with a smile on my face and be as helpful to each customer as I possibly could for as long as I wanted to be there. I hope that I never encounter this but I can tell you if a CM is overtly rude to me I will let a supervisor know because chances are it's an issue that needs to be corrected. And there IS a difference between them being flustered/stressed and being outright rude. I can understand the former...not the latter.

 

[gokenin]

I worked retail all through school for a company that had to motto, 'The customer is always right.'

I was waiting for someone to pull out the horrible saying. I work in retail and I have to say that this one motto has caused more people to think of retail employees as second class citizens. This has given the customer the mentality that I am never wrong its always the company and they need to fix it. The disney equivelant is "I paid alot of money for this so I am always right do what I want to make my high paid vacation enjoyable for me"
I realize that employees "arguing" is not something that should happen but you really do not have any idea what proceeded the incident you saw so you are unaware as what may have caused it. Regarding the ice cream stand I can not imagine in this day that Disney would ever employ so many people to man one location.
Ok getting off my soapbox now but in a final statement I think that everyone should have to serve two years in the retail industry so that they will understand what an employee in retail has to put up with from the ever correct customer

 

[Kurby]

agree - the customer is not always right - sometimes they are soooo wrong it's sad but that's when the employee needs to say something like i'm sorry i'm not able to do that for you, let me call my manager and you can speak with him/her.

and if they choose to give them a hidious hair cut or give them 90% off because a button fell off that's up to them.

i hate that saying - because it's the furtherest from the truth.

they are not always right but they are the customer and it's important to try to give them what they want within reason or pass them up to someone how can either give it to them, change their mind or kick them out.

 

[mitros]

You'd think they would feel lucky to have jobs.

Or, maybe they got news that they were getting laid off.

 

[Kurby]

would hardly think that would be the case - how many employeers tell someone this is their last day but would you mind finishing up your shift?

 

[LolaBunny]

I just returned from WDW.....IME CM's have ALWAYS been happy and outgoing, now there aren't many who are. They do not go out of there way to be nice

I think Disney uses the college program for "slave" labor and those kids are frustrated about it...think about it

The kids come from school for a job to work at Disney for say 9.00 and hour
Disney gives them only about 30 hours a week scheduled. They must each pay about 100.00 a week for there apt they share with 4-6 other people. they have to go find other shifts to pick up just to have money to eat and for general toiletries. No wonder they are so unhappy.

Also, where did all the Chinese and Viet. come from.......... And how did all of them end up with American names.

 

[Axel]

Ok, I accept that, and I should have clarified that of course, not all kids. But since you are young, you have no clue how things used to be done and how people didn't need to cut everyone slack every second of the day because after all they may be tired or stressed and not able to afford an iphone. I commend your decisions and the fact that you work harder for what you have.

I would however be surprised if you told me that more than 50% of the kids who go to that expensive private school actually pay all the tuition room and board themselves. Because where we live that is just not the case. In our community the kids have college handed to them, they all have iphones and they all have a car to drive and work ONLY for their expenses such as clothes and such. Most don't pay a cent for car insurance, rent, or as I said cell phones.

So while I may have overgenaralized, I would be happy to hear you tell me that your generation expects to pay for their own college, work throughtou the college experience and expects to start at entry level at any job after they graduate from college. In the business world we are having a VERY difficult time finding entry level workers that actually believe they should start out at bottom level and WORK their way up to the top.

See in the old days a work ethic was part of the whole fabric of our nation. Today parents complain if their kids don't pass test and sue the school system if their kids don't get treated "fairly". Goodness gracious now we can't even give out trophies to sports teams for winning because we have to keep everyone's self esteem up and give trophies just because you participated.

Ok I am rambling, I am sorry that I offended you. Kudos to your parents that have taught you great work ethics. When you get in the real world in a job you will stand out amoung the rest, believe me! Good luck!


I still think it is harder for Disney to find kids with great work ethics like yours.

I live in a very rural section of New Hampshire and here, kids always expect to have to pay for their own college. I know that the vast majority (except for the one "very rich" kid) all had to choose a college based on where they could afford to attend. I would have loved to attend the University of Oregon, but I couldn't afford them. Instead, I'll be attending the University of New Hampshire and working my way through. My mom saved for my college education from when I was born and thus, I have enough saved for my first year by her grace and thoughtfulness. However, those next three years (actually, those next seven years) are all on me. The students graduating from my school who are lucky enough to not have to work to get through college are in that situation because they have been awarded either full or nearly full scholarships (my friend George is one of these lucky few. He's not working because Princeton gave him $40k/yr on top of all the other scholarships he got).

As for work ethic, I work in a food services at a high-volume tourist center. I always try to be courteous to my customers. This winter I was thrust right into a job I hadn't ever held before and I had some issues on my first few days, but my customers were understanding and I was very grateful for that. It was the group of 6 South American exchange workers who came in on their day off, ordered two things off the menu, ate their own food, and left a huge mess (spilled waters, orange peels, ripped open and dumped out sugar packets) and a 50 cent tip that get me. It's that type of people that really irk me. If you want good service, be kind to your server.

and just in case you're wondering, I'm 17.

But, I can also recognize that you have a point. Not everybody my age is quite like this. Two of my friends who work at Pac Sun are always very mean to any French-Canadian shoppers they have because of two isolated incidents involving French-Canadians and a language barrier. One of these girls is a top-level French student, yet refused to help a co-worker struggling with a group of tourists who spoke very little english. Of course, I also witnessed the other side of the story. You know those hygeine strips on bathing suits? They have customers who remove those and like to hide them all over the store after trying on said bathing suit.

There are two sides to every coin, I suppose. And now I'm rambling...

On the topic of WDW service, we've pretty much always had very good service. The worst trip overall was made horrible by unforseen circumstances. A water main under our building at OKW had broken and needed to be replaced. We were without water for almost a day and when it was fixed, there were two rooms that could serve to flush the pipes of any residue-- ours and the one above us. The room above us had two young children who were already asleep, so we volunteered our room. This resulted in the silty residue getting all over our tub/shower/sinks. Housekeeping was sent over immediately to clean it and they did a good job. Unfortunately, nobody thought to check inside the showerhead. Our showerhead was clogged completely. Disney's only failure here was that instead of believing us when we told them it was clogged, they just tightened a couple bolts and left. Those tightened bolts resulted in a cracked pipe which resulted in water spraying everywhere. My family and the friend with us showered at the pool for a day or two until the showerhead was replaced. We were given a $100 room credit for our troubles. The day we were given the credit, we were scheduled for dinner at Le Cellier. Let's just say we weren't conservative with out meal choices!

 

[Joanna71985]

I just returned from WDW.....IME CM's have ALWAYS been happy and outgoing, now there aren't many who are. They do not go out of there way to be nice

I think Disney uses the college program for "slave" labor and those kids are frustrated about it...think about it

The kids come from school for a job to work at Disney for say 9.00 and hour
Disney gives them only about 30 hours a week scheduled. They must each pay about 100.00 a week for there apt they share with 4-6 other people. they have to go find other shifts to pick up just to have money to eat and for general toiletries. No wonder they are so unhappy.

Actually, many people I know (myself included) had great times on the CP. I didn't feel it was slave labor at all. I am going down for my 5th CP in Aug, and I am looking forward to it. The apartments can go as low as $80 a week (with everything included). And I never had to go find other shifts "for money to eat and general toiletries". The CP is not as bad as people make it out to be.

On another note, as a CM I always tried to treat the guests right (like they say, "treat others the way you would want to be treated). Yes, I had days where I wasn't feeling well, or was having a bad day. But I tried my hardest not to bring those feelings out onstage.

 

[JerseyMamaBear]

wonder if they were having a bad day? sad you had to see that

 

[MGMBill]

its very interesting how many of you accept poor service. it's becoming the norm

i'm not just revering to 3 cm's in a weeks vacation.

i'm talking about in general - the lack of professionalism in all kinds of business is definitely on the rise.

business trying to make more money by hiring less people makes for a stressful environment when 10 cm's or operators or cashiers or sales staff are doing the job of 14 or 15 people.

Why do you think that companies have to cut back on staff? Because people want to pay the lowest price possible (nothing wrong with that) but there's always a trade off. If you want to pay a low price something is going to suffer. There are many examples of this: the airlines (bad service), retail stores like Home Depot(bad service), and manufactoring that moves overseas (lower prices but look at all the jobs that are gone).

Disney is not immune to this. We all want the cheapest prices and to get as much as possible for free. If you want excellent A++++ service you usually have to pay for it. If you aren't willing to pay for it then people don't really have the right to complain. ( I would love to fly 1st class. Can I afford to? No. So I'm not going to complain that I don't get first class service. I think that is what most of you expect when you expect perfect service from CM's without any problems, ever) None of us, are paying millions of dollars for our vacations and actually we get a good value for it. Do you think even a hundred years ago the average person could have the kind of vacation we all take for granted.

I think there are two kinds of people here.
1. People who know that CMs are human and we can't expect perfection and can live with that.

2. People who believe that because they have paid good money for their trip expect everything to go perfectly and if a CM dares to show a human side they should be fired!

Off my soapbox.

 

[jimmiej]

They don't see your vacation as anything more than another day at work.

Do you think Walt would agree with this statement?