Just got back - disturbing theme....

[EmpressBubbles]

Thanks we are going to the happiest place on earth!

That's the spirit, Bill!!!

 

[Doc CW]

I'm not going to jump in on the issue of CM's as I think everyone has beaten that horse to a pulp...However, I did want to give a perspective that might help explain behavior of CM's though clearly am not condoning that behavior.

I have been travelling to WDW for 32 years now. I've lost track but at least 21 trips over the years. Has CM service detoriated? Hard to say.... Has it changed? Yes.

What has been more noticable the shift in CM service or the shift in the entitlement/"Give it to me Know Darn it!!!" culture? Absolutely the latter.

I love disney, just bought into DVC recently, and am thrilled to go for many many more years to come. However, I have been and continue to be horrified by the behavior of guests at the resorts and at the parks. The number of instances of guests yelling at other guests, cutting in line, demanding people move/get out of their way for parades, fireworks, and shows, yelling at CMs, demanding this or that FAR FAR FAR outway any noticeable drop off in CM service/behavior over the same time period. It is sad to see because at the end of the day "WHAT WOULD WALT SAY? These things are more apt to ruin my day a heck of a lot quicker than any CM issue.

I agree, its more likely the guests rather than the CM's, they just end up taking the heat for it. Thats not to say there are not rude CM's, but its definitely more the guests pitching a fit cause they didnt get towel animals or something like that than a CM being rude.

 

[mom2rtk]

I imagine it's pretty simple to understand. We as guests have NO idea how their staffing today compares to the staffing levels a year or so ago. It's MUCH harder to behave in a magical way if you are doing TWICE the work you did a year ago. We all heard about job cuts at Disney. This is where we are most likely to see the ramifications.

Funny that you mentioned this. We made a quick stop at Disney Sunday night and stayed at CSR. We went to the Pepper Market for breakfast. While waiting in line, I saw 2 CM's (I think one was making the food and one was serving it) yelling at each other. I nudged my husband to watch since it was so UN-Disneylike, and so UNlike what we usually experience at Disney.

I completely forgot about the incident until I saw this post!

Kudos to the rest of the CM's who continue to make our Disney visits SO magical!

 

[ntsammy5]

For the CMs on this thread, are job cuts a problem? My understanding was that they were minimal and were behind the scenes. Is that true or are there other truths? Personally I haven't noticed any serious reduction in service at WDW.

 

[Mouseaholic!!!]

For the CMs on this thread, are job cuts a problem? My understanding was that they were minimal and were behind the scenes. Is that true or are there other truths? Personally I haven't noticed any serious reduction in service at WDW.

The problem with staffing is the 1900 positions eliminated in March are just one more group. WDW has been reducing staff for years now.

DH (a castmember) and I were discussing this with the Asst Manager of the Beach Club about 2 1/2 years ago. He was struggling back then.

Add that to the 10% across the board cut in January and then the 1900 in March.

DH now works with 2 others in a section which was fast-paced when they were staffing at 7 castmembers. He thrives on stress - but now it is more than he can handle some days.

Challenges during the summer/vacation months - they no longer have enough trained in his speciality to cover when someone is on vacation.....so the spot goes unfilled.

We ALL have lived with stress at times in our professions but to live with heighhtened stress because of job losses when standards cannot me lessened and expectations are so high --- stress to the point of snapping is simply going to happen. It's reality.

Now add onto the fact that Disney announced a 46% loss in profits last quarter and most are simply waiting for the hatchet to fall on them (more stress).

I have taken 2 paycuts, have an illness which is challenging and if my DH looses his job - so goes the healthcare. How can you think for a moment there is no stress inside the Disney family?

It's there and it's a heavy burdon for many.

.....And finally.....lets not forget the new Disney plan of firing the experienced and hiring the untrained (and less expensive) as a budget solution. In DH's division it was the theme for nearly all the 22% eliminated. In some cases they simply fired the entire group - and re-hired them for less $$$ and no benefits.

Flame if you wish - but the this is the truth from the inside.


Those of us who work for companies affected by the economy will immediately recognize the stress in our workplaces now. Just because it's backstage does not mean people are not affected.

 

[mom2rtk]

The problem with staffing is the 1900 positions eliminated in March are just one more group. WDW has been reducing staff for years now.

DH (a castmember) and I were discussing this with the Asst Manager of the Beach Club about 2 1/2 years ago. He was struggling back then.

Add that to the 10% across the board cut in January and then the 1900 in March.

DH now works with 2 others in a section which was fast-paced when they were staffing at 7 castmembers. He thrives on stress - but now it is more than he can handle some days.

Challenges during the summer/vacation months - they no longer have enough trained in his speciality to cover when someone is on vacation.....so the spot goes unfilled.

We ALL have lived with stress at times in our professions but to live with heighhtened stress because of job losses when standards cannot me lessened and expectations are so high --- stress to the point of snapping is simply going to happen. It's reality.

Now add onto the fact that Disney announced a 46% loss in profits last quarter and most are simply waiting for the hatchet to fall on them (more stress).

I have taken 2 paycuts, have an illness which is challenging and if my DH looses his job - so goes the healthcare. How can you think for a moment there is no stress inside the Disney family?

It's there and it's a heavy burdon for many.

.....And finally.....lets not forget the new Disney plan of firing the experienced and hiring the untrained (and less expensive) as a budget solution. In DH's division it was the theme for nearly all the 22% eliminated.

Just as I expected. And not the least bit surprising. Hang in there. I think the miracle here should be how LIMITED these incidents seem to be.....

 

[dolphingirl47]

Just as I expected. And not the least bit surprising. Hang in there. I think the miracle here should be how LIMITED these incidents seem to be.....

I could not agree more.

Corinna

 

[Sorahana]

I love disney, just bought into DVC recently, and am thrilled to go for many many more years to come. However, I have been and continue to be horrified by the behavior of guests at the resorts and at the parks. The number of instances of guests yelling at other guests, cutting in line, demanding people move/get out of their way for parades, fireworks, and shows, yelling at CMs, demanding this or that FAR FAR FAR outway any noticeable drop off in CM service/behavior over the same time period. It is sad to see because at the end of the day "WHAT WOULD WALT SAY? These things are more apt to ruin my day a heck of a lot quicker than any CM issue.

I agree with this as well. I've had guests yelling at me because their line isn't moving or because the wait is extremely long or they can't just be given Fastpasses when they're aren't anymore, they won't be backdoored, etc. When they leave the line they tell people to get out of the way or shove their way out. That can happen at any job though (retail is a good example).

I thought guests were on vacation, aren't you supposed to be relaxing at Disney? Heat, crowds, etc of course will hinder that. Why can't everyone (CMs and guests) get along? A lot of cast members try their best to please the guest but in a lot of cases it still isn't enough. From personal experience, I try to please the guest as best as I can, I also listen if the guest has a concern.
But in the end there are some good CMs and some bad CMs, hopefully the good CMs stand out a bit more but if the guests aren't happy then the bad ones will of course stand out.

 

[cosmicrays]

The problem with staffing is the 1900 positions eliminated in March are just one more group. WDW has been reducing staff for years now.

DH (a castmember) and I were discussing this with the Asst Manager of the Beach Club about 2 1/2 years ago. He was struggling back then.

Add that to the 10% across the board cut in January and then the 1900 in March.

DH now works with 2 others in a section which was fast-paced when they were staffing at 7 castmembers. He thrives on stress - but now it is more than he can handle some days.

Challenges during the summer/vacation months - they no longer have enough trained in his speciality to cover when someone is on vacation.....so the spot goes unfilled.

We ALL have lived with stress at times in our professions but to live with heighhtened stress because of job losses when standards cannot me lessened and expectations are so high --- stress to the point of snapping is simply going to happen. It's reality.

Now add onto the fact that Disney announced a 46% loss in profits last quarter and most are simply waiting for the hatchet to fall on them (more stress).

I have taken 2 paycuts, have an illness which is challenging and if my DH looses his job - so goes the healthcare. How can you think for a moment there is no stress inside the Disney family?

It's there and it's a heavy burdon for many.

.....And finally.....lets not forget the new Disney plan of firing the experienced and hiring the untrained (and less expensive) as a budget solution. In DH's division it was the theme for nearly all the 22% eliminated. In some cases they simply fired the entire group - and re-hired them for less $$$ and no benefits.

Flame if you wish - but the this is the truth from the inside.


Those of us who work for companies affected by the economy will immediately recognize the stress in our workplaces now. Just because it's backstage does not mean people are not affected.

 

[dawgsgirl]

When I read threads like this, I feel as if I'm missing something. When I am at WDW I have very little contact with CM's. As long as they allow me in to the park with my ticket, ring up my purchase, and take my money in exchange for food, I am completely happy. Oh, and add to that, a decent room to sleep in. I don't expect anything except a business transaction. Most of those have gone well. And I have had many CM's do nice things and go the extra mile. I guess it all has to do with expectations.

 

[W.E.D.]

I think both sides need to step back and take a breath.

Yes, when I go to WDW, one of the things I believe I'm paying for is a smiling, helpful CM. However, I don't look at it unrealistically. Likes take food-service for example. I've done that before. I'm not expecting the poor CM stuck behind the counter, slinging burgers for me and 20K of my friends, to have the sparkle and glow of, say, the CM over at Guest Relations.

Also, what I don't think happens enough, are commendations. I'm sure there are thousands of complaints on a daily basis, but I doubt people take the time to say "good job". If I get over-the-top treatment, I'll take the time to tell the CM "Hey. You're doing a fab job. I really appreciated it." I've even started to carry a small piece of paper and a pen with me. If I get blown away, I jot down the CM's name, what time it is, and where I was. I'll go to guest relations at the end of the day and make sure I enter a formal commendation for that CM.

If you're constantly told how crappy you are, it really affects your performance. Sometimes a little sugar goes a long way.

 

[soulmates]

I personally feel, we put SO much pressure on the folks at Disney. We feel we're paying ALOT of money, and we want a MAGICAL experience 24/7 with NO room for human error. I travel alot and no matter where we go, HANDS DOWN, Disney is by FAR, the most friendly, top of the list in customer service, the food is excellent and the parks are the CLEANEST of any place we go! The truth is, these are REAL people, working every day to make OUR trips as magical as possible, and I for one, think they do an EXCELLENT job. This is why we keep coming back!

 

[jiminyC_fan]

I personally feel, we put SO much pressure on the folks at Disney. We feel we're paying ALOT of money, and we want a MAGICAL experience 24/7 with NO room for human error. I travel alot and no matter where we go, HANDS DOWN, Disney is by FAR, the most friendly, top of the list in customer service, the food is excellent and the parks are the CLEANEST of any place we go! The truth is, these are REAL people, working every day to make OUR trips as magical as possible, and I for one, think they do an EXCELLENT job. This is why we keep coming back!

Well put! Plus Disney pays their CM's little to nothing. I think they do an excellent job. I can't imagine how the CM's must feel day after day putting up with all these "perfect" guests that never complain or make messes, yell at them for whatever reason , expect nothing but the best, and have perfect behavior and manners. Does the perfect guest exist? C'mon people, we all have a breaking point at work.

 

[darby01_2007]

For the CMs on this thread, are job cuts a problem? My understanding was that they were minimal and were behind the scenes. Is that true or are there other truths? Personally I haven't noticed any serious reduction in service at WDW.

The job cuts were behind the scenes jobs!! Mostly all of them were management positions.

 

[WDSearcher]

Plus Disney pays their CM's little to nothing.

I don't know where this comes from. I mean ... yes ... people complain that mean ol' Bob Iger makes millions of dollars while the line cast makes minimum wage (when they actually make over minimum wage, but that's beside the point). But isn't that the same everywhere? You think John Lasseter over at Pixar makes the same as the guys cleaning up the Pixar kitchens every day? I'm thinking no. Mark Shapiro over at Six Flags isn't cutting his salary so that the beverage cart girl can make more per hour. No CEO anywhere is making the same as an entry-level employee. And really ... no entry-level employee anywhere is making all that much money. That's how it works. You start at the bottom and move to the top.

Disney pays their entry-level CMs what any other entry-level job in the area is getting, often more. Yeah ... entry level pay stinks, but it would stink no matter where you were. You've got college kids with no skills, never having held a job before and they are paid what you pay someone with no skills who has never had a job before. People who have more skills, more seniority ... they make more money. Some of them make a lot more money. Just like anywhere.

 

[EnnEss]

For the record, I have never said I have had similar experiences to what some posters have used as examples. I have said they are few and far between. Many posters have been implying that they are dealing with the worst customers day in and day out, 24/7. I'm sorry but I don't believe that for one minute.

Secondly, if you are dealing with a rude customer you still need to serve that customer to the best of your abilities; the same as you would any other customer. However, if the customer is being physically or verbally abusive, that's different. That you don't need to take. Sorry I didn't make that clear before.

Lastly, some posters have related the poor level of service to poor pay. As I said earlier the fact that you are receiving poor pay is not an excuse for poor service. An employee agrees to work for a certain rate of pay and they are expected to provide good service. A customer shouldn't expect any less or any more than that. The employee cannot provide less service simply because they are being paid minimum wage.

You summed it up in the first paragraph, you haven't experienced it. You have no insight, and you're imposing ignorance on those that do. I have worked in jobs where I have dealt with verbally abusive customers nearly daily, maybe 3 to 5 times a week on average. This is not unusual. So take the dozens of people's words for it who say it happens all the time, or call us ALL liars, which is what you're doing now, and it's not appreciated. Further I would also like to see the list of jobs you are claiming as experience. I can not think of a single city big enough in New Brunswick that generates these types of jobs that are available in a place like Toronto, Vancouver, Orlando etc in terms of retail sales and the sheer volume some of those stores get. Further, I have worked at two different retail companies that had no problem with employees telling rude customers to leave, so again you are just out of touch with business practises in these types of locales. Disney obviously doesn't do this, but its not uncommon today. I explained in detail earlier how this policy worked, so i wont repeat it. It rarely had to be used because upon informing the customer they can stop being disrespectful or leave, most calmed down. I have been a part of telling customers they are no longer welcome in the stores, both companies were large American based chains. There is no teeth behind that policy beyond that day, they dont actually ban customers, there's no real way to, but they protect their employees that day and educate customers.

An example.

Chapters in two locations in Vancouver can take in 100k a day each, same in Toronto. The one in Fredericton can take on about 2ok on its busiest days (pre christmas). The Vancouver locales average about 60k, Fredericton well under 10k, around 6 or 7k. See the difference? Its huge. Imagine how many more people go through those stores in big cities and the difference in clientele (These numbers are real). I wouldn't bother with this obvious example except you seem intent that you know everything about everyone's job, including Disneyworld, where you haven't worked and they deal with a lot more people than either of my examples on a daily basis.

Employees shouldn't be rude, but its this attitude of oh your job is so easy and its never hard that they get day in and day out on top of the actually really mean customers. Treating them as machines, employees, is rude, and very demeaning and worse over time than the outright mean ones. Assuming you know their job without experiencing it, amounts to being rude and demeaning. So they have to put up with these types of attitudes all the time, and sometimes they aren't perfect. You already said you never experienced this, probably because you never worked in that environment. If they do something bad they deserve to be complained about.

If they aren't perfect, assess if you're perfect everytime you interact with these types of workers. Some people genuinely are. I'd guess its less than 10 percent, most at best treat them indifferently, as they would treat a computer, a solid 10 percent treats them like servants non stop and a smaller number treats them even worse. So if they aren't perfect and didn't live up to some mythical standard, let it slide and be nice back to them. Maybe they are just flustered.

 

[Mouseaholic!!!]

I don't know where this comes from. I mean ... yes ... people complain that mean ol' Bob Iger makes millions of dollars while the line cast makes minimum wage (when they actually make over minimum wage, but that's beside the point). But isn't that the same everywhere? You think John Lasseter over at Pixar makes the same as the guys cleaning up the Pixar kitchens every day? I'm thinking no. Mark Shapiro over at Six Flags isn't cutting his salary so that the beverage cart girl can make more per hour. No CEO anywhere is making the same as an entry-level employee. And really ... no entry-level employee anywhere is making all that much money. That's how it works. You start at the bottom and move to the top.

Disney pays their entry-level CMs what any other entry-level job in the area is getting, often more. Yeah ... entry level pay stinks, but it would stink no matter where you were. You've got college kids with no skills, never having held a job before and they are paid what you pay someone with no skills who has never had a job before. People who have more skills, more seniority ... they make more money. Some of them make a lot more money. Just like anywhere.

Actually, we were told by management (referencing mousekeepers) that the challenge is to find and retain staff because of better pay elsewhere. I am personally working with TWO former castmembers at WDW. Each left after 6 months for Universal Studios because of better pay and better treatment. They put themselves through college with the flexible schedules at US.

Disney has NEVER been known to pay well - at least at the entry level. They never had to because everyone wanted to work for them. Times are 'a changing I guess.....sadly.

 

[jimmiej]

double post, sorry

 

[jimmiej]

I think a lot of this comes down to expectations. What do people expect from CMs in terms of service. When I go to a restaurant and have a soda I like to have a refill. I like it when the server comes on their own and asks me if I want a refill. If they don't then I'm more likely to feel the service is bad. But someone else may not care about having a refill and therefore be perfectly happy with the service. Expectations!

When people go to Disney World a lot of them have huge expectations. I've read about them on these boards: I paid a lot of money for this trip so I expect outstanding service, I wasn't happy with my meal so I hope I get comped, I hope when I check in I get upgraded, etc.

It's impossible to please all the people all of the time. As the saying goes "You can please all of the people some of the time. You can please some of the people all of the time. But you can't please all of the people all of the time."

When I read threads like this, I feel as if I'm missing something. When I am at WDW I have very little contact with CM's. As long as they allow me in to the park with my ticket, ring up my purchase, and take my money in exchange for food, I am completely happy. Oh, and add to that, a decent room to sleep in. I don't expect anything except a business transaction. Most of those have gone well. And I have had many CM's do nice things and go the extra mile. I guess it all has to do with expectations.

When I go to WDW or DL, I expect better customer service than anywhere in the world. Disney set those standards for themselves. We have experienced this exceptional level of service 99% of the time in our 20 years of travel to Disney.

I think there is a difference between being a demanding guest & having high expectations. I think most, if not all of us DISers, fall into the latter category. Because we travel to Disney so much, we have learned to respect CMs and expect their "over the top" service. That's why it's shocking to see CMs acting otherwise.

 

[madcat]

I do think that the pay could be better for some of these cast members (I do not know what the pay is or has been) maybe for Disney they are getting what they pay for? I am sure that it has been a dream for a lot of the cast memebers to work at Disney ever since they were a small child or retire and work at disney and that is what we see a lot of either young people or retirees. For the most part our interaction with castmembers has always been wonderful (and thank you to any of you that are reading this, I know it CANNOT be an easy job all of the time), that being said when we went in April my husband and my son were getting ready to ride Space Mtn. It was later in the night but not EMH. My son decided that he did not want to ride but since there was no wait my husband still rode, when he got off of the ride he looked like there was something wrong, so I asked him if something went wong on the ride. He told me that no, the ride was good, but there was a group of young castmembers that kept cussing and yelling on the ride. The occassional slip is one thing and we dont always have the cleanest mouths but he said that every other word was the "f" word. I asked him how he knew that they were cast members and he showed them to me as we began to walk away. They were wearing the dark pants/vest combo that they wear on Main St. Also one stated that they needed to get some things from their work locker. I asked him if he wanted to talk to someone about it and he went to one of the c/m that was working at Space Mtn. She did not understand him though (language barrier). So we stopped at the guest relations on Main St. and he spoke to someone there. They pretty much told him that there was nothing that could be done about it. He realized that but just wanted to let someone know his concern. So yes I know that kids will be kids and that people do have a bad day, but when you are on the clock you need to make sure that you adhear to the job that you are supposed to be doing. JMHO