Not So Great CM Interaction at Splash Mountain

[TxWriterMama]

I just wanted to share a not-so-great experience we had on our recent trip (May 1-May 11) and WDW's response.

While we were in line for Splash Mountain, kiddo had some pretty serious stimming (hand flapping, pinching my arms, scripting, etc.) It was a long line--45 min--and one we would typically use a DAS or FP+ to ride, but kiddo was adamant about riding right then so we got in line and made the best of it. She did great until the last 5 minutes (probably less.) Right where they have the second to last CM near the Last Chance to Exit sign with the podium, you know? She could see the logs and was so excited to ride and went right into stim mode.

I noticed the CM posted there making faces at us, but I let it go because, well, that's life with special needs and some people are just like that. Even with kiddo's bright yellow wrist bands and her life alert bracelets, sometimes people don't see (or don't care) that she has special needs and may not act "normal" in public.

But.

As we were walking down to the loading area, the CM shouted at us, "You know, little girls who pitch fits don't always get what they want!"

I was shocked. Stunned. I turned back to my sister and BIL and asked, "Did she just say that?"

The CM heard me and shouted back, even louder, "Yes, I did!"

Well. At that point, I didn't know what to do. Kiddo was ready to jump in a log. The families behind us were staring, their gazes darting back and forth between us and the CM. It was so awkward and embarassing. I put kiddo in her log and hopped in next to her and tried to let it go. I just plastered on a smile and hoped that she hadn't heard or understood.

When the ride was over, kiddo was stoked to get on the train so we left the platform quickly, but my sister stayed behind with my BIL to complain. As we were leaving, two families stopped me to apologize and to let me know that they would be happy to file a complaint for us because the CM apparently continued to talk terribly and say negative things (like her mother would never have allowed her to act like that, kids need more discipline, etc) after we left and even engaged in back-and-forth with a father who told her to mind her own business.

I let it go that night because I was so upset and wasn't sure I could compose a calm letter.

The next afternoon, I wrote to Disney, and within 24 hours, I had an email and phone call. They asked what they could do to make it right, and we only asked for more training and for that specific CM to not have interactions with children. They assured me that the issue was being escalated all the way up the chain and that the CM had no business whatsoever giving parenting advice to any child. We had follow-up conversations during the remainder of our stay (this happened on the second night) and I'm satisfied with their response.

So. Anyway. Just wanted to share that and to let others know that Disney appears to be committed to keeping WDW a place that's friendly to *all* children.

 

[TLSnell1981]

Hopefully, Disney will not give this CM the opportunity to subject any other families to her horrible, inappropriate behavior. I'm so sorry, you had to experience it.

 

[chelynnah]

I am just speechless. I really do hope they follow through and remove this cast member from any dealings with the public until such a time as she has been given extreme sensitivity training. Even setting aside your child's disability, that is totally inappropriate for a cast member to comment and engage guests with that kind of negativity and hostility.

 

[gap2368]

wow I am sorry that happened to you.

 

[cornflkgrl]

I "liked" (the like button) your story but I don't "like" your story. I am just glad you had some resolution. It would have been better if that person would have come and apologized to you and your child in the end. That is so unacceptable for people to do and say things like that. I am sorry that happened to your family. I am glad Disney is at least trying to make it right. I hope they eventually show how hard they are trying by doing more training, as you said.

 

[serenitynow]

Thank you for sharing your story. While I am sorry that you had this experience, I am so glad you let Disney know that they had a Cast Member training issue. Those sort of remarks should never be expressed about anyone's child or parenting in a public setting.

 

[TxWriterMama]

It was a really bizarre experience. We've only ever had wonderful interactions with CMs and resort staff and other WDW employees so this was completely unexpected.

Thankfully, the rest of our trip was great. We even went back to Splash Mountain every evening of our trip except for the day we spent at Universal and never saw that CM again.

 

[2tinkerbell]

I "liked" Disney's response to your horrible experience.

I find it easy for people to judge when they don't understand the situation. I am glad that the rest of your vacation was a good one.

 

[TheRustyScupper]

1) I am sorry for the incident, but let me speak to the other side of the issue.
2) CM's see BAD-TERRIBLE-RUDE behavior all day.
3) Even the most mild-mannered CM can be affected.
4) If the kid has a DAS, it is easily understood.
5) Without a DAS, it is assumed simply bas bad behavior or lack of parental control.
6) The CM may get a short-and-sweet talk from a manager, but no discipline.
7) If one encounters several thousand people per day, eventually that one kid will get to you.

NOTE: For those who have seen my past postings, I criticize WDW and guests whenever I feel they are in the wrong. Although you child's incident was medical, I can appreciate your feelings about the CM, but cannot put the CM on-the-carpet. At what point would YOU get upset if you saw this EVERY DAY without a reason?

 

[cornflkgrl]

1)
5) Without a DAS, it is assumed simply bas bad behavior or lack of parental control.

NOTE: For those who have seen my past postings, I criticize WDW and guests whenever I feel they are in the wrong. Although you child's incident was medical, I can appreciate your feelings about the CM, but cannot put the CM on-the-carpet. At what point would YOU get upset if you saw this EVERY DAY without a reason?

It really doesn't matter whether the person in question has a disability, doesn't have a disability, got a DAS to "prove" their disability in some way to a CM, or didn't. What was said was inappropriate and poor customer service period -- and anyone that talks to "guests" that way should not be working in a customer service role around families with kids (who are often off schedule, tired and overstimulated and do all sorts of things that could potentially bother other people at an amusement park) I sincerely hope this way of talking to people is not encouraged (or ignored) by Disney or any company.

 

[TxWriterMama]

1) I am sorry for the incident, but let me speak to the other side of the issue.
2) CM's see BAD-TERRIBLE-RUDE behavior all day.
3) Even the most mild-mannered CM can be affected.
4) If the kid has a DAS, it is easily understood.
5) Without a DAS, it is assumed simply bas bad behavior or lack of parental control.
6) The CM may get a short-and-sweet talk from a manager, but no discipline.
7) If one encounters several thousand people per day, eventually that one kid will get to you.

NOTE: For those who have seen my past postings, I criticize WDW and guests whenever I feel they are in the wrong. Although you child's incident was medical, I can appreciate your feelings about the CM, but cannot put the CM on-the-carpet. At what point would YOU get upset if you saw this EVERY DAY without a reason?

I'm pretty sure that not one single CM employed by WDW has dispensing parenting advice or guidance in any part of their job description. And it sure as heck isn't in any job description at WDW to SHOUT at a family that is walking away and then stand in line and argue with more paying customers about your bad behavior.

Look, in my other life, I sell hundreds of thousands of books. I have tens of thousands of FB fans, Twitter and Instagram followers, a mailing list north of 25K members, etc. I attend book signings that are just for me and then book signings with hundreds of authors and thousands of fans. Sometimes those face-to-face interactions are weird or awkward or rude or mean. I get bombarded with email and PMs (sometimes hundreds per day) and some of them are awful. I'm talking people telling me I'm fat, people sending 7 paragraph all caps screeds about a book delay when I was in the hospital trying not to die, people telling me that they will never buy another book and hope I end up living under a bridge, people going completely whackadoo about characters or demanding that I do xyz thing with storylines and even people--usually men--who send me disgusting photos of body parts or long, gross descriptions of all the things they want to do to me or with me.

And you know what I never do? Act like a jerk. To any of them. Even the horrible, terrible emails and PMs, I answer nicely--or if they're really terrible, I simply block, send a copy to our maybe-the-police-might-need-this-someday-folder and delete. I move on. I keep my mouth shut and my opinions to myself.

So. Yeah. I actually DO know what it's like to deal with a situation like this. I know how I would react if my assistant or my mailing minion or anyone else who works for me acted like this toward a paying customer. I would replace them. Immediately. End of story.

 

[chelynnah]

1) I am sorry for the incident, but let me speak to the other side of the issue.
2) CM's see BAD-TERRIBLE-RUDE behavior all day.
3) Even the most mild-mannered CM can be affected.
4) If the kid has a DAS, it is easily understood.
5) Without a DAS, it is assumed simply bas bad behavior or lack of parental control.
6) The CM may get a short-and-sweet talk from a manager, but no discipline.
7) If one encounters several thousand people per day, eventually that one kid will get to you.

NOTE: For those who have seen my past postings, I criticize WDW and guests whenever I feel they are in the wrong. Although you child's incident was medical, I can appreciate your feelings about the CM, but cannot put the CM on-the-carpet. At what point would YOU get upset if you saw this EVERY DAY without a reason?

No, I'm sorry, you're wrong. If they wanted to comment to their friends and colleagues off duty later then absolutely, but what happened here, to be that rude to a customer, is unprofessional, and is, at the minimum, a verbal or written warning on file and potential suspension offence. This behaviour and rudeness is wrong in ANY customer service industry. The initial comment might skate as a semi-joke (though still inappropriate), but the follow up comment and then going on about it in front of other customers would absolutely get a temporary suspension while they reviewed whatever company rules were needed to be gone over again.

I use the term customers here because I am talking about any customer service, not just Disney. Ultimately cast members are staff and guests are customers, as in any other business, and this behaviour toward and in front of customers is unacceptable.

 

[Just1Princess]

No CM, or anyone that wants to remain employed anywhere, should talk to guests or customers about other guests or customers. That's just poor manners and terrible customer service. I'm glad you spoke up about how you were treated, and I'm sorry it happened.
Not even going to address how I feel about what was said directory in front of you, I think it's probably obvious. I'm glad it didn't seem to ruin the remainder of your trip.

 

[wilkeliza]

1) I am sorry for the incident, but let me speak to the other side of the issue.
2) CM's see BAD-TERRIBLE-RUDE behavior all day.
3) Even the most mild-mannered CM can be affected.
4) If the kid has a DAS, it is easily understood.
5) Without a DAS, it is assumed simply bas bad behavior or lack of parental control.
6) The CM may get a short-and-sweet talk from a manager, but no discipline.
7) If one encounters several thousand people per day, eventually that one kid will get to you.

NOTE: For those who have seen my past postings, I criticize WDW and guests whenever I feel they are in the wrong. Although you child's incident was medical, I can appreciate your feelings about the CM, but cannot put the CM on-the-carpet. At what point would YOU get upset if you saw this EVERY DAY without a reason?

Sorry that just an excuse. I was a CM too. Sure we dealt with melt downs and bad kids and adults every day over and over but you know what I never did? I never talked about a guest on stage where a guest could hear. If it really bothers someone that much that they have to rant about it they can do it backstage with other CMS or on the many message boards and facebook groups that are around and have CM specific areas. There is never an excuse for making a comment about a child where they can hear it.

 

[redberyl]

Agree a bit with rusty. Yesterday in line a child climbed up a brick wall and was hanging from a railing above, parents just let her do it, made no attempt to stop her. Cm asked parents verypolitely 6 times to get her down, and was ignored. Finally the cm raised his voice (not quite a shout) and said sharply "get off the wall, now!" and dad shouted back "you mean PLEASE get off the wall!" (He did say please the first six times). Kid burst into tears and mom started yelling "she doesn't know any better!" Cm replied, "sorry but safety is a priority." Mom started arguing "but she'sautistic " and cm said "safety is still the priority" and parents were still arguing their kid should be allowed to climb the walls because she's special.then today we stopped for ice cream and a "service dog" was begging it's owner for food. Lady picked the dog up and put it on the table and was feeding it from her plate. Cm went over, lady started yelling she's allowed, it's a service dog. Then there's the appalling behavior of many of the neurotypical kids (and adults!). Seriously, if I had to deal with that all day, I might snap too. Your cm was rude, but likely didn't realize she was autistic

 

[chelynnah]

Agree a bit with rusty. Yesterday in line a child climbed up a brick wall and was hanging from a railing above, parents just let her do it, made no attempt to stop her. Cm asked parents verypolitely 6 times to get her down, and was ignored. Finally the cm raised his voice (not quite a shout) and said sharply "get off the wall, now!" and dad shouted back "you mean PLEASE get off the wall!" (He did say please the first six times). Kid burst into tears and mom started yelling "she doesn't know any better!" Cm replied, "sorry but safety is a priority." Mom started arguing "but she'sautistic " and cm said "safety is still the priority" and parents were still arguing their kid should be allowed to climb the walls because she's special.then today we stopped for ice cream and a "service dog" was begging it's owner for food. Lady picked the dog up and put it on the table and was feeding it from her plate. Cm went over, lady started yelling she's allowed, it's a service dog. Then there's the appalling behavior of many of the neurotypical kids (and adults!). Seriously, if I had to deal with that all day, I might snap too. Your cm was rude, but likely didn't realize she was autistic

It's irrelevant that she's was autistic. She could have been 'neurotypical' and the CMs behaviour is still wrong. It's still inappropriate and unprofessional. I understand your example with the wall climbing, but that was an escalation and a safety issue. This was not. This is unprofessional and a potential suspension or firing offence in any other customer service job.

 

[wilkeliza]

Agree a bit with rusty. Yesterday in line a child climbed up a brick wall and was hanging from a railing above, parents just let her do it, made no attempt to stop her. Cm asked parents verypolitely 6 times to get her down, and was ignored. Finally the cm raised his voice (not quite a shout) and said sharply "get off the wall, now!" and dad shouted back "you mean PLEASE get off the wall!" (He did say please the first six times). Kid burst into tears and mom started yelling "she doesn't know any better!" Cm replied, "sorry but safety is a priority." Mom started arguing "but she'sautistic " and cm said "safety is still the priority" and parents were still arguing their kid should be allowed to climb the walls because she's special.then today we stopped for ice cream and a "service dog" was begging it's owner for food. Lady picked the dog up and put it on the table and was feeding it from her plate. Cm went over, lady started yelling she's allowed, it's a service dog. Then there's the appalling behavior of many of the neurotypical kids (and adults!). Seriously, if I had to deal with that all day, I might snap too. Your cm was rude, but likely didn't realize she was autistic

Both of your examples are safety concerns (one bodily harm and the other health code) which is very different then a little girl stemming not putting anyone in danger. Yes if there is a safety concern a CM can be a little more direct. Yes CMs go through a lot including people not listening but that doesn't excuse saying something that is in judgement of the guest. You can be direct/aggressive to get someone to comply with out making a comment about the guest themselves.

OP just know this most likely ended up on the CM's file and it is very possible they could have been released from their position.

 

[TxWriterMama]

Your cm was rude, but likely didn't realize she was autistic

Honestly, anyone that interacts with our daughter can tell instantly that she has some kind of special needs issues. She has a 2.5 year verbal delay, major speech problems, rarely makes eye contact and all the other "classic" symptoms of autism. She wears bright yellow Alert Me bands that say in all caps, "I HAVE AUTISM." And, on that particular day, we were all wearing matching tees from our latest autism fundraiser walk so...

But that's not why I complained to WDW. It wasn't about kiddo being special needs or not. I'm not asking for special treatment for my kid because she has autism and severe heart defects. I'm not asking WDW to let my kid run wild, to trample over other people, to climb on turnstiles, to put CMs or other guests at risk. This was about a CM shouting--SHOUTING--at us to embarrass or shame us for what she perceived as bad/poor behavior.

Special needs, not special needs--the CM had no business saying anything to her or us. Holy cow. How many kids have complete meltdowns and tantrums at Magic Kindgom? Is this CM going to walk around giving advice to all of them?!

Frankly, there are other parents who would not have simply walked off and onto the the ride as we did. There are people who would have gone ballistic toward someone shouting at their kid like that. <---Which is why I only asked that WDW address the issue with additional training, especially with that CM. I didn't ask for a refund. I didn't ask for comp. I didn't ask for FP+ (though on the second phone call with the GM of Frontierland, they were given to us to be used on a later trip even though I said we didn't need or require them.)

I mean, seriously, this is a PR nightmare waiting to happen. I could have been a vindictive jerk, taken a snap of that CM, posted it to instagram and FB, asked all of my friends with huge followings to share it, tagged Autism Speaks and other autism "celebrities" and made a huge stink. But I didn't because I know people make mistakes, especially when they're young and think they know everything...

I don't think this CM is a terrible person. I don't think she's mean or evil or anything like that. I think she was badly trained and probably a little holier-than-thou (as we all were in our early 20s...) and needs some time to mature before she's unleashed on the guests again. Can you imagine if this was our first trip to MK and that was our first ride?! This experience was not at all indicative of the quality of interactions we've enjoyed there. All the CMs and resort staff and bus drivers and mousekeepers and employees are always so kind and helpful.

And I only posted this thread because I think it's important for families to speak up when they're treated in a way that makes them feel embarrassed. I wanted other families to know that, yes, WDW does respond to these types of complaints and they do take it seriously, as evidenced by the emails and phone calls I had while the issue was escalated up the ladder.

 

[SueM in MN]

And, having or not having DAS would not have made any difference in this situation.
DAS is shown/Magicband read for DAS at 2 (possibly 3 places)
- when requesting a DAS Return Time
- when entering the Fastpass line to use the DAS Return Time
- and, at the 2nd Fastpass reading at the point where Fastpass and Standby lines merge (if they are using the reader).

This wasn't any of those points; from what the poster wrote, it was close to boarding, so the CM would have no way of knowing whether the child had DAS or not.
On the other hand, an autistic child in full, excited stim mode (as described by the poster) would be pretty obvious to be a child with special needs to almost anyone.
And, even if it wasn't, it was not appropriate for the CM to yell and shame.

 

[JenLT]

This was clearly bad and inapproprate behavior - from the CM. There is absolutely no excuse for this type of behavior. The child did nothing to the CM so there is no reason for the CM to be so distressed that she'd have to say something. She is being paid to do her job not to criticize the guests. Her behavior was rude and made other guests uncomfortable. Adults control themselves at work and behave professionally.

I'm glad to hear you pursued the matter and I hope that others who have this type of experience will do so as well.