When Disney bites, bite back!

[disneyholic family]

yes it breaks down a lot, but i've never had a problem receiving a fastpass from a CM, whether i'm still in line or on the ride...
all you have to do is ask nicely and they hand it over without problem..

actually, the time it broke down when we were on the ride, they gave us special back entrance passes....so when we came back, we went in the back way, by the pictures and went up the elevator to get to the front of the line...that was the pass they gave us when they took us off the ride...

 

[DisPadre]

Regardless, being someone close to the whole retail/customer thing, I know that nowadays, "customers" expect perfection & expect "workers" to bow down to them. And no one will admit to that, but it's a fact. And as an interested 3rd party, it bothers me. We're all equal. Just because someone wears a red shirt with a Disney logo on it doesn't mean we can all expect them to bow down to us & heed our every call.

Now I see why you're so defensive. You're in a "customer service" job (or "close to" one). When you say customers "expect perfection" I don't think that's true (well OK some people do, but they're unrealistic and its not the majority...). We just expect the "worker" to do their job. They are in "customer service" after all. Which means "serve the customer"! They may not like their job but that's the job they chose. The company hired them specifically to serve their customers.

In this case CMs at Disney. They are hired to ensure that the Disney customers have an enjoyable time, not just to operate rides. If you want that go to your local carnival. Disney has always prided itself on its customer service, and rightfully so. They are one of the best run customer service oriented companies in the world. Its not an easy job having to deal with a lot of bratty people, but don't take it out on people that expect reasonable service.

The bottom line is customers pay admission to experience Disney in all its glory. That means sometimes compensating customers when the service goes bad whether its their fault or not. Giving a FP for a ride that breaks down while you're on it is not unreasonable. You're on the ride, you expect it to work. Its not the CMs fault if it breaks down, but Disney hired them to make sure their customers are happy. Yes, you expect rides to break down, deal with it, but its smart on Disney's part to make their customers happy. That's why on the first night of MNSSHP when it poured most of the night, Disney compensated everyone with a complimentary park pass. They didn't make it rain, it wasn't their fault, they just wanted to satisfy their customers. In fact handing out a small number of FPs is dwarfed in comparison to handing out thousands of park passes!!

 

[DisPadre]

My point was: customers shouldn't attack Disney on their customer service, it really is exemplary. But don't defend them or compare them to being stuck in traffic either. They are in the customer service business. Someone driving their car is not there to serve all the other drivers. So when they break down they are not responsible for compansating other drivers. That was a ridiculous analogy.

 

[teethrdh]

I guess I would look at it this way, if Disney expects me to pay full price for a ticket to enter the park, I have expectations also, that the rides that they say are open are available to me... and if I wait in line for a ride I would expect to ride it, and if I couldn't I would expect that they let me ride it w/o waiting again. Kind of like when you get your pop refilled at a fast food restaurant you don't have to wait in line again. I think everyone has expectations, not so much entitlement. I worked customer service for years and I think if a customer buys something they expect it to work, and if it doesn't it should be made right, just like when you buy a hair dryer, if it stopped working after two uses you would take it back and expect it to be fixed or returned... expectations. So you all with buy a ticket at whatever the actual price is and you have expectations to ride rides and see characters, I don't think the op is one bit out of line. They aren't asking for the world, they just wanted to ride a ride that they waited in line for already. I think some people just like to initiate controversy....and I always EXPECT it from a message board, I guess even a Disney one....Heather

 

[goofyernmost]

Very simply stated on my part, personally I like to say sometimes things happen, life is too short to get all uptight, and if a small road bump appears, deal with it. And as far as I'm concerned, a 10 minute wait on Test Track is considered a road bump in life. But I understand that there are you out there that take these things more seriously than I do. So go for it & have a blast. I"d rather stand in line for 10 minutes at a Disney attraction than be at work. But that's just me.

Regardless, being someone close to the whole retail/customer thing, I know that nowadays, "customers" expect perfection & expect "workers" to bow down to them. And no one will admit to that, but it's a fact. And as an interested 3rd party, it bothers me. We're all equal. Just because someone wears a red shirt with a Disney logo on it doesn't mean we can all expect them to bow down to us & heed our every call.

Again, my original point was simple, why can't we understand that things happen without it having to be be an issue? It seems that people now love to run out to message boards & spout their negative experiences, no matter how minimal those experiences are. But these same people are by no means as quick to post the many more positive experiences they have.

This is my soap box. I'm more than ready to keep this up & "defend" those Disney cast members that aren't here or aren't allowed to defend themselves.

The trend I find that is heart warming is that more and more people are speaking out against the "entitlement" mentality. That whole situation stems from people demanding and other people being to timid or aloof to notice the manipulation in process.

If you expect a "free" pass for a minor breakdown then why can't I get one when I have to wait in line additional time because you got to get a fastpass and go ahead of me. A breakdown is sometimes unavoidable and, after all, you did get to go the whole ride, you just stopped for a few minutes. Not to mention the stop might have been to load a handicapped person that proved to be more difficult than expected. They are going to come on the PA and say that they are stopped for a technical problem because you don't point out a person with a handicap and blame them for the delay.

If you would have had to get out of the vehicle and walk back then you certainly deserved a pass because you didn't complete your ride but in this case nobody owed you anything and, frankly, they probably gave you the pass to get you out of there so they could continue their job. I can almost guarantee you that what they had to say about you after you left would not be printable.

The "you owe me" attitude will continue until someone has the fortitude to say no and mean it. It is slow to happen but I sense that it is starting to be more of standard procedure. It's like a child screaming in a store because their mom won't buy them a toy. They know that eventually the mom will wear out and give in. That's why they do it. A few absolute NO's would solve that problem permanently. JMHO!

 

[MissMet]

If every rider was given a fastpass when a ride breaks down, then EVERYONE would be complaining about how long the fastpass lines would be. Do you realize how many people are affected when one ride breaks down for 10 minutes?! Let alone all day. If every time test track broke down, everyone on the ride got a fast pass, then the people waiting online got upset because they feel they "deserve" a fastpass, & this is going on all day mind you, the fast pass line would be longer than the regular line. Everyone would be angry.

Look, I feel that at Disney & ONLY at Disney, if someone feels wronged that the CMs try their best to make it right, with a smile on their face. So the only thing I see wrong with this, is that they gave you it begrudgenly. However, having worked in retail management MANY years, 80% of people complaining were quite rude, when there was no need to be. So as long as you're not rude, sarcastic, snotty, etc to the CM, they should treat above and beyond.

Just my opinion.

With all that said though, I have never even thought to ask for anything when I'm on a ride at WDW that breaks down & I'll still continue to not say a word. It's all part of the Disney experience.

 

[BuzzandAriel'smom]

I don't feel "entitled" when I get something for free but when you pay for disney, aka "The Happiest Place on Earth", aka "Where Magic still Lives" then you kind of expect them to be both happy and magical. And it should be across the board. Right now sometimes you get compensated and sometimes you don't. Here we sometimes refer to it as "Pixie Dust" but I really think that years ago it was just disney.

Okay no more "quotes" I promise.

To the OP I think that if you are upset by your expectations not being met, in any circumstance, you should ask for them to rectify the situation. You have to look out for yourself these days 'cause no one else is.

To all those who oppose, don't ask for a FP. Seems pretty easy.

 

[shellbelle]

If every rider was given a fastpass when a ride breaks down, then EVERYONE would be complaining about how long the fastpass lines would be. Do you realize how many people are affected when one ride breaks down for 10 minutes?! Let alone all day. If every time test track broke down, everyone on the ride got a fast pass, then the people waiting online got upset because they feel they "deserve" a fastpass, & this is going on all day mind you, the fast pass line would be longer than the regular line. Everyone would be angry.

Look, I feel that at Disney & ONLY at Disney, if someone feels wronged that the CMs try their best to make it right, with a smile on their face. So the only thing I see wrong with this, is that they gave you it begrudgenly. However, having worked in retail management MANY years, 80% of people complaining were quite rude, when there was no need to be. So as long as you're not rude, sarcastic, snotty, etc to the CM, they should treat above and beyond.

Just my opinion.

With all that said though, I have never even thought to ask for anything when I'm on a ride at WDW that breaks down & I'll still continue to not say a word. It's all part of the Disney experience.

You took the words right out of my mouth.

 

[xoprincessmomxo]

I work retail, and our philosophy is if we sell you a broken item, you may return it for a refund or store credit. While I am not sure if Disney CMs should be handing out FP's to every one on the broken ride, in line for the broken ride, and everyone walking past the line for the broken ride....I believe that when the OP was upset and asking for the fast pass, the cm should have cheerfully given them one. And apologized for the broken ride. Yes, it was not their fault. But in a customer service job such as a Disney cm, your job is to keep the customer happy. As I have managed many employees in retail jobs, I would expect my employees to behave in such a manner. Positive, friendly, and courteous. It is better to lose a few fast passes than a family of customers that spend A LOT of money their. If we get in the habit of saying "oh, things happen" and "tough luck", or "the cm's probably had a long day. Cut them some slack" could you imagine going into your local wal-mart where the employees are getting paid much less than the Disney World cm's? "Could you help me find the paper items?"...."I've had a bad day, find 'em yourself, lady."

 

[MartDM]

I can't fathom why anyone would disagree with those who got stuck on a ride getting a fastpass for a re-ride! Especially if the riders waited a significant period of time to ride the attraction!

I've been stuck on rides for small periods of time & while it wasn't a huge inconvenience to me timewise, it did ruin the experience to have the "theme" interrupted midway and have the lights come on.

Universal gladly offered a re-ride for us when Spiderman went on the fritz while we were on it. Not so when we got stuck on Splash Mountain at WDW. Why shouldn't WDW give people the experience they paid for???

 

[dunbarfamily]

Life happens. Sometimes you're the bird, sometimes you're the statue.

I agree with several others...if you got a fp because the ride was delayed, then should everyone else in the fp line get a fp because they had to stand in the fp extra long because someone was whining? Come on.

Life's too short!

 

[mickeyfan2]

By the same reasoning everybody in line should get a FP since they had to wait 10 minutes too.

 

[disneyfantotheend]

Every trip I have been on, I have experienced rides which stopped while we were on them. I have been on Test Track (several times), Splash Mountain, Pooh, Pirates and Spaceship Earth (many times), to name a few when they stopped. Sometimes it was for a few minutes other times up to 30 minutes. I have never gotten off the ride and looked for compensation. I was disappointed, but did not expect anything. Rides break. Plus as someone else mentioned, 10 minutes is not a long time at all, they maybe were not even broken down. Maybe they were having difficulty loading a handicapped person. And maybe that handicapped person felt they paid the same admission as everyone else, so they should have a right to ride the ride.

I think the fast pass lines would get quite hard to manage, if Disney compensated every guest with a Fp every time a ride stopped.

Just my opinion, am I saying you shouldn't ask for a FP? No, if you feel that need then go for it. I am, however, saying not everyone expects compensation as soon as something goes wrong.

 

[jkfreeman33]

Let's not forget to sue them for multi millions because our time is worth that and more.
Just think of all the good we are unable to do in the world with that wasted 10 minutes.
I waited that long and more for an open stall in the bathroom at Disney and didn't feel I was entitled to anymore than...... wait my turn.

 

[dunbarfamily]

Let's not forget to sue them for multi millions because our time is worth that and more.
Just think of all the good we are unable to do in the world with that wasted 10 minutes.
I waited that long and more for an open stall in the bathroom at Disney and didn't feel I was entitled to anymore than...... wait my turn.

While you're filing the suit for the cost of your time, you should consider including something to compensate for the bladder damage and severe mental trama caused by having to wait for the toilet.

 

[RJD]

I think expecting fastpasses for a return ride is perfectly reasonable. Like another poster said, you wait in line sometimes a very long time to go on these rides.

 

[ucancallmeflower]

my DD and mother were stuck on the outside track for over an hour last time! They didn't even come and tell the families that were missing kids what was going on

 

[MissMet]

I think the problem is sometime too many adults take the "I'm not an adult in WDW" too literally & forget to not always think like a child. If I'm at MK & it rains, so I don't get to see the fireworks &/or parade, should I get FW priority seating the next night? What if I'm leaving the next day? Should they give me my own viewing of the FW that night as soon as it stops raining. I mean I did pay a lot of money to see those FW. If I have to wait for the bus for 20 minutes, should the park stay open for me the 20 minutes that I would have been in the park, if it wasn't for the awful bus driver who took too long? I mean I am paying the bus driver's salary. Mind you the bus driver may have been helping a handicapped guest onto the bus, but I deserve compensation. 100 people are on a ride, it breaks down, they turn around & get to ride again, I'm next on line & had to wait that much longer? I deserve a immediate re-ride as well! I'm demanding it!

Where does it stop?

We have to think like adults, some of the time we are there. Disney should do their best to keep us happy, but at the same time let's be a little realistic. There's no such thing as perfect & once everyone realizes that, we'll all be a little less uptight. If you feel you deserve a FP than fine, talk to a CM, but to have an attitude like the cm OWED you, that's unrealistic & IMO sounds like a child who didn't get there way.

 

[Iceguy]

As an owner of a small business, I feel I can speak on this. I personally don't believe the customer is always right, however I do believe the customer is always the customer. What this means to me is that although the customer may be way off base when it comes to their complaint/issue/situation (insert correct word here), it is my and and my staffs responsibility to ensure that they at least walk away satisfied with the conclusion of that interaction. With that being said, I also realize that it is sometimes better for me to lose that customer who for every transaction has an issue than constantly try to find ways to appease them. (Yes - we have chronic complainers about their water ice! ... and they still come back every day even though I sometimes wish they wouldn't). While this doesn't happen very often, it is sometimes better to agree to disagree and move on. Quite simply, each situation has to be looked at on its own, and each needs to be looked at as a battle or a mosquito bite. All I can say is, if every one was a battle, I'd be pretty beat up by now. Life is too short - don't sweat the petty things and don't pet the sweaty things!

 

[Chester's Mum]

I don't see a problem with people expecting a fp for another ride if their ride was ruined by the attraction breaking down. I know it was not the cm's fault, but it also didn't cost the cm anything, to send those customers away satisfied. My dd and ds were on splash mountain when it broke down, and when they exited everyone on the ride was given a fp for any ride in the park the same day, without asking. I thought it was standard procedure. Who knew?