Rude resort security guards?

[rotlex]

Was not sure where to post this, but it has been bothering me since returing from our latest vacation at WDW, and I wanted to know if anyone else has run into this.

It seems as though we ran into the rudest, "un-magical" security folks at our recent visit to the world, across multiple areas. It started when we pulled into our resort, CSR, and didn't really end the whole trip. I'm not talking about gate\park security, or anyone in the parks, but rather resort security.

This was our first trip driving, and the guard at CSR acted more like a drill instructor telling my family where to go when I first pulled up to the gate. No biggie, it was hot, he was standing in a little shack. The trend continued however when we drove over to the Boardwalk\Beach\Yacht club area for dinner that night. THe CM at our resort told us we could use our key card at any resorts parking area to get into the lots. Again, our first time driving, so we didn't know any better. I pulled up, inserted card at the BC area, and it didn't work. The guard immediately came over, and began to give us a "lesson" as to why, and pretty much gave us the feeling that we should have known better, and since 9/11 they made changes, and just deal with it. We were like, uh, OK, another real happy guy here. Mind you, I don't mind being told the rules at all, however, I do mind being spoken to like a 10 year old who has just broken a neighbors window playing baseball, rather than someone staying at a Disney resort, LOL.

The trend continued at nearly every resort we drove to. We had a LOT of dinner reservations at different resorts, so driving made it easier. Same type of thing happened at the GF. We were promply told, again, in a drill insctructor like fashion, that we had to park in the self parking area, and also told we were not to use the resort parking lots to get to the parks.

OK, we are a family of 4, two adults, two kids age 7 years and 8 months. I don't think we looked like terrorists, and we were paying, Disney resort and park guests. (Have been MANY times for the past years). This type of treatment, really really bothered me. It made me uncomfortable, and definitely took some magic away.

The few incidents I list above were not the only one's, and they may not seem like a big deal, it was just a bit frustrating. Is this the norm with these guys when dealing with people in cars, or did I just hit a bunch of grumpy, hot, rent a cops? (I mean no disrespect to anyone working in the industry).

I'm not normally one to write and complain, but I'm really thinking about it over this, although I'm not sure who the guards actually work for, i.e., Disney, and outside company, etc. etc.


Thanks for listending to the ramble........

 

[LUVDZNY2008]

I ran into one at the GF last trip, when I asked if Valet Parking was complimentary when eating at 1900PF, he gave me a rude answer(don't remember exact words), so I parked in self-parking..I think Valet is free if you eat there!!

 

[eyor44]

I dealt with a rude CM at the guard gate of the Poly in June. I think I made her madder by refusing to get upset. We had been to dinner at the GF (Victoria and Albert's) earlier and had parked there. After dinner we took the monorail to MK and a little while and then back around. The kids were at the kid's club at the Poly. Well, DH and my friend E gets off at the Poly to collect the kids while E's DH and I ride on over to the GF to get the trucks. The valet had the keys so I didn't even think to get my stuff out of DH's pockets. We were in formal attire and there aren't pockets in evening gowns. When I pulled up to the Poly I realized that I didn't have my room key. I did have the parking pass on the dash. What good are those? I pulled up and told the guard I did not have my room key, but was following Mr. M head of me to pick up the kids. She was very rude and asked for my drivers license. Uh, DH has that in his pocket also. Then she got livid and told me to call them. Don't have a cell phone either, DH has it. She was so angry that I suggested she go ahead and call the sheriffs office as the only alternative was for me to back up and park to wait for someone to come and look for me. (She wasn't even going to let me pull in far enough to turn around.) When she realized that I wasn't going to get upset, she said "Fine go on, but don't show up here again." I asked for directions to the front, as there are two roads in front on me and she told me to figure it out for myself and walked back into the guard house. I felt really sorry for her.

I realize the rules and I didn't have any identification on me. She didn't have to let me in. But she also didn't have to be so rude about it.

 

[CanadianGuy]

And here is the payoff of all those people who say "Go park at a resort and go to the parks... it doesn't matter.. they don't care."

Basically .. when SO many people try so hard to constantly get around Disney policies... yeah, I'm sure they get a little blunt with the warnings.

That said, if you feel any CM's crossed the line of propriety, write Disney a letter. You were there, we weren't. You know what you experienced. If you feel it rises to the level of something that Disney managment should know - sounds like it does - by all means, write to Disney.

Hope this helps,

Knox

 

[rotlex]

And here is the payoff of all those people who say "Go park at a resort and go to the parks... it doesn't matter.. they don't care."

Basically .. when SO many people try so hard to constantly get around Disney policies... yeah, I'm sure they get a little blunt with the warnings.

That said, if you feel any CM's crossed the line of propriety, write Disney a letter. You were there, we weren't. You know what you experienced. If you feel it rises to the level of something that Disney managment should know - sounds like it does - by all means, write to Disney.

Hope this helps,

Knox

Yeah, I'm sure they do have to deal with a lot. I guess in our many years of travelling to Disney, I'm just used to, or lucky, to always deal with the happiest most pleasant folks in any situation.

That's kind of why I posted this, as it's probably the first time I've dealt with anyone who was not in that "I'm here to serve you and make you happy" mode in a long time! But then again, this is the first time I we had ever driven down, and actually used a car to get around quite a bit!

Thanks for the replies on this, again, was not looking to really complain at all, just make an observation.

 

[CanadianGuy]

Steve:

I hear ya! I'm used to driving around Disney property and on my last few stays (most recent 12/2007) ... they were super nice, fantastic, polite, even 'welcome home'd me on a few occasions even tho I wasn't staying DVC!

Be a shame if that all went away..

Knox

 

[francie57]

Guess we have been lucky. We have stayed at the Boardwalk villas for years and the security guard is always friendly when we arrive. It may be that we just know what we are doing at this point and really only interact when we check-in and use the gate every other time.

 

[shellybaxter]

We noticed that security seemed to be pretending to be tighter on our last trip. They wanted a drivers license or a room key at each guard shack. I say "pretended" because they never checked the DL against any list or anything. Unless they have a list of bad guys memorized in their minds I can't say that I understand why having a DL is a requirement. Anyhow, they weren't rude about it - just "serious" like pretend security guards usually are. We didn't mind really - we laughed a little about their Barney Fife attitudes, but they were harmless enough. And in their defense, we got great directions from the security guard at POP and we never had a problem going anywhere, valet parking and going to the parks, or getting in and out of the resorts if we simply complied with their requests.

 

[DebbieB]

I ran into one at the GF last trip, when I asked if Valet Parking was complimentary when eating at 1900PF, he gave me a rude answer(don't remember exact words), so I parked in self-parking..I think Valet is free if you eat there!!

It would only be free if you have a Tables in Wonderland (Disney Dining Experience) card.

I stayed at AKV last month and noticed security was tighter. It used to be having your parking permit was enough, now they wanted to see my room key everytime I returned.

 

[Scott MC]

I think it comes down to keeping your cool. Last year, 10 of us had an ADR at California Grill at 9:50 P.M. We were coming from Epcot and 2 members of our party had to back out due to illness. They drove back to the house we had rented in one of our 2 rental cars. We decided that of those of us that remained, half of us would monorail it over to the CR and the other half would take the other rental car, which I happened to be driving. I'll admit that at the time, none of us thought much about how we'd get home later on.
We finished dinner at about midnight and we decided that the only way to get everyone home, since we were staying off property, was for me to drive half of us back, then come back for the rest. By the time I returned to the CR, it was roughly 12:30 A.M. A guard met me and asked what I was doing. I replied that I was picking up my friends from their dinner at the California Grill. The reply I got was, "Restaurant closes at 10...try again." I didn't care for the tone here, but he asked for it, so I poured out the entire story, involving the illness in great detail. I think about 2 minutes later when I finished, he was sorry he asked. He sighed, raised the gate and told me that he'd better see me pull out within 2 minutes. Initially I was irritated at the tone, but in the end, I'm impressed that it was that difficult for me to get onto CR property at that time of night. I'm sure that especially at GF, Poly and CR, people frequently try to park and avoid MK parking fees. I agree that there is no need for rudeness, but I'm sure that the guards at these resorts especially are tired of people trying to score free parking. I'll advise to keep your cool like I did, and as CanadianGuy recommended, If you feel like lines have been crossed, get a name and write a letter.

 

[safetymom]

They are also taking a photo of your license plate while you are showing your drivers license so they know who is entering the resort.

 

[CanadianGuy]

I think it comes down to keeping your cool. Last year, 10 of us had an ADR at California Grill at 9:50 P.M. We were coming from Epcot and 2 members of our party had to back out due to illness. ... By the time I returned to the CR, it was roughly 12:30 A.M. ... but I'm sure that the guards at these resorts especially are tired of people trying to score free parking. I'll advise to keep your cool like I did, and as CanadianGuy recommended, If you feel like lines have been crossed, get a name and write a letter.

Keeping your cool - is always good advice at Disney.

 

[lopez]

If someone spoke to me in a rude manner I would have been rude right back.
I would have said , "hey I am a paying guest here and I don't appreciate you speaking to me like a 10 year old". I would have left it at that but if he gave me another rude answer I would have asked for his name and contacted guest relations.

You will notice that in most cases it is not necessary because they are on notice that they are speaking to someone who will complain! The point I am trying to make is people can be rude for whatever reason because people "take it", and don't complain. You don't have to call guest relations, just put that person on notice that your not a person they can be rude to!

 

[vicki_c]

Wow! Our experiences have ALWAYS been the exact opposite. I always think the guards at the parking lots of some of the happiest, nicest people at WDW! We are always greeted warmly, told to have a nice time, etc., even when just visiting a resort. Often, they give Mickey stickers to the kids through the window!

 

[SnackyStacky]

If someone spoke to me in a rude manner I would have been rude right back.
I would have said , "hey I am a paying guest here and I don't appreciate you speaking to me like a 10 year old". I would have left it at that but if he gave me another rude answer I would have asked for his name and contacted guest relations.

You will notice that in most cases it is not necessary because they are on notice that they are speaking to someone who will complain! The point I am trying to make is people can be rude for whatever reason because people "take it", and don't complain. You don't have to call guest relations, just put that person on notice that your not a person they can be rude to!

You're not dealing with a front desk cast member, or turnstile greeter. You're dealing with somebody who's job it is to keep guests safe. If somebody is approaching the resort who doesn't have any business being there - then their job is to ensure that that person doesn't get in.

I don't care to return a rude attitude to a rude attitude. All it does is escalate the situation. But if that's what you'd like to do - that's certainly your choice. But do keep in mind, that you're dealing with a security guard. They could make life at Disney very miserable, and go so far as to have you escorted off the property.

 

[kaytieeldr]

Guess we have been lucky.

Respectfully, no. Guests who've had unpleasant (with no cause) experiences with the CMs - such as the ones in this thread - have been UNlucky. Even they ordinarily have positive experiences in the same situation. Many, many thousands and thousands and thousands of Guests don't experience the attitudes these few posters recently(?) did.

Yes, there's a difference

 

[ThumperandLitenin]

Sounds like most of the problems encountered were the "victims" own making.

Security gaurds are there for one reason - security. I'd prefer them to be a little tough on someone who (knowingly) wasn't doing what they should, especially late at night.

 

[lopez]

They could make life at Disney very miserable, and go so far as to have you escorted off the property.

It depends on the situation. NO ONE would be allowed to make my "life at Disney very miserable." We are talking about people being rude when they don't have to be rude.............I never had a problem with security anywhere
but some people do..............some people are sensitive.................some are not. The fact is YOU can provide good security WITHOUT an attitude!!!!

 

[SnackyStacky]

They could make life at Disney very miserable, and go so far as to have you escorted off the property.

It depends on the situation. NO ONE would be allowed to make my "life at Disney very miserable." We are talking about people being rude when they don't have to be rude.............I never had a problem with security anywhere
but some people do..............some people are sensitive.................some are not. The fact is YOU can provide good security WITHOUT an attitude!!!!

People have not only been escorted off property, but have been banned as well.

It's sort of like giving attitude to an INS officer at a border crossing. Sure you can do it. But there's a lot they can do right back to you.

Granted, Disney security doesn't hold anywhere near the kind of authority that border patrol does. My point is simply that you're dealing with somebody who can really ruin your vacation whether you'd like to think that's the case or not.

 

[lopez]

My point is simply that you're dealing with somebody who can really ruin your vacation whether you'd like to think that's the case or not.

Can you give me an example on how "somebody can ruin my vacation whether you think that's the case or not?"

I think you misread the thread that started this post.

The person stated that he was spoken to in a rude manner and he/she did not appreciate it.

My reply was, to sum it up, if you don't like be spoken to in a rude manner, tell the person that you don't like being spoken to in a rude manner. "I" would have said "sir/mame, please do not speak to me in that tone, I am a paying guest here." or "you don't have to speak to me like I'm stupid, I'm just as smart as you." Thats what "I" would have done. Some people would have said nothing, some people would have more to say. My point is, some people can be rude when there is no need to be rude. If more people spoke up and said "you don't have to be rude" maybe service would be improved, not just at WDW but everywhere.