Son assulted by Universal team member

[Goopy]

We had an experience today at Universal IOA. Our 10 year old son, myself wife and daughter were waiting to get onto the Trolley Train Ride. We were instructed to go stand on a particular number which we proceeded to do then the person who told us to go stand in that particular spot changed her mind for some reason and just shoved my son back away from the spot we were going to. She shoved him hard enough that it knocked him 3 - 4 feet into me and it almost knocked me over.

I spoke with a team leader who gave us some express pass tickets, it was already after 6pm and we had to go eat so they were basically useless. I stopped by guest relations on the way out the park and they said Im sorry blah blah blah that is unacceptable and they will look into it.

My point is if I laid a hand on Universal employee they would probably throw me out of the park and void my passes and probably would call the police.

The ride wasnt busy, we were doing exactly as instucted the employee had no right or business laying a hand on my son or any other person for that matter.

 

[donaldduck352]

That is totally uncalled for.
I have been to Universal over the years 100's of times,and in all that time have never seen this happen.I have been when Mardi-Gras and HHN was happening and never seen a TM do this.I have seen guests do it to TM's but not this.If this is the case,I'm sure she no longer has a job!!

 

[A Mickeyfan]

While I wasn't there and didn't see it, but is it possible that she just didn't realize how hard she moved your DS? I know many times the TM's and Universal as well as Disney do place their hands on you to move you and don't mean to "shove" you but they move you rather fast. They are use to having to go in a fast motion to keep up with things. Even though it may not have been too crowded there at that point, the TM could have still been in the crowded hurry mode. Again, I wasn't there but just wondering. Did she say she was sorry?

 

[Goopy]

Actually when she done it all she said was stand here. Im not sure what was going on with her she honestly didnt seem to have a very good grip on how to load the ride, even after she shoved him she moved us to another spot and then a moment after that she moved us to the other side to finally get on a train.

Im sure the cameras will show exactly what happened

 

[A Mickeyfan]

sounds like she was frazzled and maybe didn't need to be around the guests at that point. Had she "moved" a toddler the way she moved your 10 year old, she could have really hurt them...

 

[Sir Robin Hood]

If this had happened and was as severe as reported, it would have made the news of some sort. I agree with one of the pp's in that maybe the employee didn't realize they were "pushing" the kid, per say. I don't see that happening on purpose.
Though I understand how things may seem exaggerated when it happens to our children and we tend to use the bias that it was "on purpose". But if a theme-park employee was literally assaulting children, I'm sure another guest would have seen this and YouTube would have a new biggest hit.

 

[Goopy]

If this had happened and was as severe as reported, it would have made the news of some sort. I agree with one of the pp's in that maybe the employee didn't realize they were "pushing" the kid, per say. I don't see that happening on purpose.
Though I understand how things may seem exaggerated when it happens to our children and we tend to use the bias that it was "on purpose". But if a theme-park employee was literally assaulting children, I'm sure another guest would have seen this and YouTube would have a new biggest hit.

If this happened? - It happened and if you read what I said the ride was not busy and not everything ends up on youtube, I sure wasnt standing there with my camera out waiting for something to happen.

I never said they were assulting children, I said that my son was assulted by an employee there and It would only have made the news if I had called them or called the police or something along those lines. I chose to bring it to the team leader and guest relations to let them handle it internally, if he had have been cut or bruised then it would have been a different story, regardless they have no business pushing people especially in a loading area of a ride where anything could happen.

Im confident that their security cameras will have caught it and it will be handled from within.

 

[dogodisney]

Sounds like someone who doesn't know what she is doing and shouldn't be working at the rides. Not that it really matters but what age group was she?

 

[Metro West]

Sorry this happened to your family. Like you said...hopefully it will handled from within and the problem solved.

 

[Planogirl]

Wow, how awful! The employees where so nice at this attraction when we rode it in June but it sounds like you ran into a real winner.

 

[Goopy]

Sounds like someone who doesn't know what she is doing and shouldn't be working at the rides. Not that it really matters but what age group was she?

She was in the 40+ age group

 

[dogodisney]

She was in the 40+ age group

Well she definately should know better then! I was thinking it might have been a teen, not that it would have been any better, but it may have been easier to accept.
I hope she was taken care of.

 

[bouncycat]

Good luck waiting for them to "resolve" it, I'm still waiting for them to resolve an issue I had 3 weeks ago!! Flat out, they don't care, they want your money, and that's the bottom line. I learned that long ago!!

 

[inkkognito]

I think you need to get educated on the definition of assault in Florida and use more appropriate words in the future. This is a directly quoted paragraph from the law:

(1) An "assault" is an intentional, unlawful threat by word or act to do violence to the person of another, coupled with an apparent ability to do so, and doing some act which creates a well-founded fear in such other person that such violence is imminent.

Whatever the Team Member did, I doubt it was an intentional act to do violence to your child; more like poor judgment.

 

[phamton]

I wondered if that was considered assault or not also. I probably would have put the title as "Son was pushed by team member" rather than assaulted. When I opened the thread I was expecting to read about a teenager being beaten up by an employee.

But I also strongly agree with the OP that no one should push your child unless your child was in physical danger like trying to go through the gate while the trolley was moving. I am sure that Universal will handle the issue privately with the team member and I hope your son is OK.

 

[bouncycat]

It would be classified as a battery if they were to press the issue, I was on a jury back in April that was a battery, and the guy just TOUCHED the lady's shoulder, but a crime was committed. They shouldn't touch ANYONE!!

 

[agnes!]

bouncycat is absolutely right. I was always told that if you just (unwantedly) *touch* someone, that can legally be considered 'assault'. The Uni TM should know better. I don't think in all my years of going to theme-parks that I have EVER seen a Cast Member/Team Member/Employee even touch a Guest/Customer, *unless* it was absolutely necessary to do so, like helping someone up after they've fallen or rendering first-Aid or Security having to get involved in a situation.

And would that TM have shoved/touched an adult the same way? I think not.

agnes!

 

[momof3disneyholics]

No Team Member, has any business, at any time, laying a hand on you. The only reasonable exception would be if you were in immediate physical danger.
I would be calling and pressing the issue if I were you. You do not mess with my kids. I would probably be getting a police report done too just in case.
As a side note, I used to like Universal so much better than Disney, but I have been twice this summer and have notice a major difference in the attitudes of the employees.

 

[FireandIce]

Here is the explanation for assault and battery:

Assault is the threat of bodily harm that reasonably causes fear of harm in the victim. Battery is the actual physical impact on another person. If the victim has been touched in a painful, harmful, violent, or offensive way by the person committing the crime, this might be battery. If the victim has not actually been touched, but only threatened or attempted, then the crime is assault. Consider the act of spitting in someone's face. This is not painful, violent,or harmful, but it is certainly offensive and there is an impact, a touching, so this would be a battery.