Please Set the Example this Summer

[skipperkyle'05]

As the busy season rolls around so do the big crowds. Which means the people who get the most beef are the ones who are rite: the Crowd Control CMs. Crowd Control actually has a system. We do what we do because it is the safest and most logical. Please, as APs and regular guest, set the example by folloing the directions. I know it can stink sometimes but still remember: Stay to your right. Too many of my friends have been slapped, threatened, spat on, etc. Thanks so much for your cooperation!

Have a Magical Day,

Skipper Kyle

[PeoplemoverMatt]

Well just as long as the GC CMs are courteous about it & don't treat their guests like 2-legged cattle.

Nothing worse than spending a long day in the heat & all the cash & time, only to have some idiot CM scream orders in your ear like you're some errant sheep. Efficient & friendly treatment will be returned by good cooperation everytime!

-- Peoplemover "No herding in Tokyo! " Matt

[spacedude77]

Dude I always follow the directions. Its the people from the other countries that are still pushing and shoving. I had one lady literally push me into the building on my right causing me to almost fall and my arm scratched up. She didn't try to apologize but instead went faster causing more of a delay.

[CA Screamin Dude]

Safety is the number one key. If there is any safety issue related to Guest Control, other keys, including Courtesy, will be abandoned until the situation becomes safe again.

[WendyDarling1955]

I agree with PMM. I understand that the Crowd Control CM's are just trying to do their job, but the could be a little friendlier about it, instead of getting in your face or making a baracade around you, and being a "smarty-pants-know-it-alls". Im not saying this about every cast member or anything, I have just had bad experiences with a couple. I do what's right, and I'm respectful to everyone, and I think CM's should be the same to us guests. Just because you are "Crowd Control" does not mean that you can treat the guests bad. Keep in mind that us guest do spend a quite a bit of money inside that park, that you work for.

So I now I have something for you SkipperKyle'05
"Now that the busy summer season is coming around, guest will endure hour waits, enormous lines, blasting heat, high parking and food prices, annoying people, sweaty people and walking through very huge crowds just to get 5 feet. Why you ask? Because we love it! Keep that in mind the next time you feel it is right to push us around... because THAT is not your job. Control the movement of the crowds yes, and treat guests with respect, because, umm yes Skipper, THAT is your job."

Thanks Skipper Kyle!

[RankoAnime]

^^I second that! In most cases, respect and cooperation is returned to those who give it. Of course, there will always be a few CMs who think they're superior and treat guests poorly. And there will always be guests who think they're better than the system.

Wow...I'm seriously starting to miss Tokyo Disneyland with their efficient crowd control and extremely polite CMs...

[PeoplemoverMatt]

Originally Posted by CA Screamin Dude

Safety is the number one key. If there is any safety issue related to Guest Control, other keys, including Courtesy, will be abandoned until the situation becomes safe again.

Nope, I don't buy it. You can be friendly even when rescuing a wayward sheep..errm, guest out of the way of whatever danger they're in. Everything can be done with a smile and friendliness, even saying 'no'.

Many times I did stupid things in Tokyo because I didn't know any better. I couldn't understand the warnings they had given beforehand. So if I pulled out my camera in a bad place or walked into a parade route or something, they were always there but with a smile and friendly encouraging gestures that I could understand. What happens in CA when that happens? .....well, let's just say not that.

-- PMM

[debijeanm]

Hey, SkipperKyle! Well, reading the other posts here I guess I just don't go to DL enough (average once a year for 50 years and 11 times for the 50th already). I've dealt with tired CMs and certainly frustrated CMs, but never a rude or surly CM. Maybe it's because I pay attention to what's going on in front of me and give them a smile and a hi and maybe a little eye-roll over the idiots they've just had to deal with ahead of me in line.

I'm still remembering watching the Matterhorn CM deal with the visitor who waited in line and who, when she reached her loading spot, waved in her five family members through the exit gate to join her in "her" toboggan. (July 29, 2005, hot as the dickens, humid and incredibly crowded.) I suppose you could call the CM "rude" as he explained to her firmly multiple times that only one waited so only one could ride and chased the others back out the exit (which, of course, caused a longer wait for the rest of us). Nobody else in the line said a thing to him until our party got to the front of the line. Then my son offered him a "hi five", told him how great he'd been. Everyone around him chimed in with, "Yeah, way to go man!" His face immediately relaxed and he said something like he hated when that happened. You could tell he really appreciated knowing that what he had done had been seen and appreciated by someone.

Just this week at lunch one of our substitute teachers told how, as she held her young son on her shoulders to see the parade from behind the crowd, he threw up all over her head and shoulders. Before she could even think about the next step, she was surrounded by CMs from inside the shops of Main Street. They had her and her little boy cleaned up within minutes right there on the street and she hadn't even asked for help.

So thanks for the reminder, SkipperKyle. I never know what you folks have had to deal with before I get there, so you can count on me to "try to be the easy one" for the day (as my sis always says.) Like teachers, you folks don't join the Disney team for the money. I always assume you joined for the magic. It makes for a better day for all of us to remember that we never know what you had to deal with earlier in your shift and to cut you some slack.

P.S. Go Gauchos! Class of '90 here. My husband got his BA and PhD at UCSB and my younger son graduates along the lagoon on Saturday the 17th. Whew!

[skipperkyle'05]

Originally Posted by debijeanm

Hey, SkipperKyle! Well, reading the other posts here I guess I just don't go to DL enough (average once a year for 50 years and 11 times for the 50th already). I've dealt with tired CMs and certainly frustrated CMs, but never a rude or surly CM. Maybe it's because I pay attention to what's going on in front of me and give them a smile and a hi and maybe a little eye-roll over the idiots they've just had to deal with ahead of me in line.

I'm still remembering watching the Matterhorn CM deal with the visitor who waited in line and who, when she reached her loading spot, waved in her five family members through the exit gate to join her in "her" toboggan. (July 29, 2005, hot as the dickens, humid and incredibly crowded.) I suppose you could call the CM "rude" as he explained to her firmly multiple times that only one waited so only one could ride and chased the others back out the exit (which, of course, caused a longer wait for the rest of us). Nobody else in the line said a thing to him until our party got to the front of the line. Then my son offered him a "hi five", told him how great he'd been. Everyone around him chimed in with, "Yeah, way to go man!" His face immediately relaxed and he said something like he hated when that happened. You could tell he really appreciated knowing that what he had done had been seen and appreciated by someone.

Just this week at lunch one of our substitute teachers told how, as she held her young son on her shoulders to see the parade from behind the crowd, he threw up all over her head and shoulders. Before she could even think about the next step, she was surrounded by CMs from inside the shops of Main Street. They had her and her little boy cleaned up within minutes right there on the street and she hadn't even asked for help.

So thanks for the reminder, SkipperKyle. I never know what you folks have had to deal with before I get there, so you can count on me to "try to be the easy one" for the day (as my sis always says.) Like teachers, you folks don't join the Disney team for the money. I always assume you joined for the magic. It makes for a better day for all of us to remember that we never know what you had to deal with earlier in your shift and to cut you some slack.

P.S. Go Gauchos! Class of '90 here. My husband got his BA and PhD at UCSB and my younger son graduates along the lagoon on Saturday the 17th. Whew!

Go Gauchos! Iiiieee!!!! (Argintinian Cheer ) Anywho, I know there are CMs who think they are gods with their flashlight wands of Power. But what happens is that people encounter one of them and then take out their furry on a CM who did nothing. This post was just to be a little reminder thanks!

[krnsngr85]

its Argentinian

[Ezra]

Skipper Kyle put out a simple request that we set a good example for others, and we totally ganged up on him.

[IndianaJones]

I agree with Ezra, why are we ganging up on him...i dont think he is asking to much of us.

[PeoplemoverMatt]

It's not that he's asking too much, but I wanted to give the other side of the issue that there are very rude CMs out there who take advantage of their position & feel like they're the local guest herder. The only time I've ever acted in a somewhat rude manner was to these CMs. So, with encouragement thrown out there to the guests, I threw some encouragement out to the CMs.

Seems only fair to me, none of GC is solely on the guests or on the CMs, it's ultimately a co-operation. So I wanted to say something along the lines of you'll win more friends with honey than vinegar to the CMs reading this board.

After all, since there are a lot less CMs than guests, each CM can have an affect on hundreds of guests per day. Question is will it be positive or negative? I recently returned from a place where I got nothing but the highest positive & it was so nice to be around. I know that's unrealistic to expect here, but it can't mean that it shouldn't at least be the goal to shoot for!

A few people agreed with me & that's not 'ganging up' on anyone. I'm willing to bet we're all in agreement with skipperkyle's plea, but we're also in agreement that it is a 2-way street out there with the burden of courteousy and professionalism on the CMs, not necessarily the guests. I'm not opening the door to say a guest can act like an idiot & that's ok. If you're an idiot, you're an idiot, and certain behavior is never acceptable. All I'm trying to say here is that it is a co-operation with the real burden on the CMs. CMs aren't being paid to poke us all with cattle-prods. CMs are there to provide the services they're told to provide & to at all times act in a courteous, friendly and professional manner. After all, being a 'Cast Member' means you're part of the Cast! You're part of the magic! Acting worse than NYC Taxi Driver in rush hour is not reflecting that magic very well.

A few bad apples on both sides should never paint all of either side in a certain manner. But let's all just remember that it is a 2-way street. Neither side should expect one or the other to do everything.

-- Peoplemover "Though it would be nice to be wished well on my way home with a smile from 10-15 CMs every night walking out of the park like there was in Tokyo..." Matt

[Ezra]

Originally Posted by PeoplemoverMatt

Though it would be nice to be wished well on my way home
with a smile from 10-15 CMs every night walking out of the park
like there was in Tokyo...

That would be cool!

[IndianaJones]

I understand what you're sayin peoplemovermatt, i just didnt want skipperkyle to feel like we were gangin up on him. But ya, i completely understand what your saying when it comes to rude cast members. I think alot of the cast members need to understand that if they treat the guests with respect and kindness, people will be much more cooperative, in turn making the their jobs much easier.