Bad Crew Experiences

Overall this year the crews and all the employees in general have been amazing.

Agreed. Maybe it's just because it is early in the season, but both of my visits have been marked by really pleasant employees. The staff seem much more positive than it did last year at this time, but perhaps I have a faulty memory.

And, I've not really had much to do with the window service spots yet, except for a really nice guy at Hot Potato, and several stops for water. Perhaps that's because I've finally learned that if there are more than 1-2 people in a window service line, it's just better to go somewhere else.

I have a feeling some of you are looking at things with the glass half full before you even walk into the gate.

When I visit the park, I always have a good day and on a few occasions I run into something that makes my day even better. Like this:

http://jeter.lunarpages.com/~point13/images/roller_coasters/top_thrill_dragster/45.jpg :) *** Edited 5/31/2006 7:50:54 PM UTC by Gomez***

Twisted Wicker said:
You've probably seen me at Entrance. When I'm there, Wicked Twister is the only ride in the park with a 64" height requirement. I'll sit there with a normal expression as if that's the way it were to begin with. Most people see what's going on and just walk right by, but it's that one group out of a hundred that gets a laugh out of thinking they're not tall enough, then realizing what I'm doing that makes both parties have a bit of a fun experience.

Sounds like one of the crew members at maXair I got to know on Labor Day last year. By about 11 that morning the entire crew knew that I was going to try to get my 29 rides that I needed to get to 50 for the season, all on that day, because it was probably going to be my last day for 2005. So later in the day at around ride 12 the lady working entrance said "You know, we do have a daily ride limit of 13, don't you?" That became one of two or three little jokes that carried on between myself and the crew the rest of the day until #50.

But yeah, I have only had one bad experience with a crew member at CP, and that was at WT last year. He didn't look to happy, and when he stapled me, needless to say my, umm...lower half wasn't very happy either. lol But other than that my experiences have been nothing but positive.

There are bad apples in any park and having had experience in the matter, I'd say there are bad apples on almost any given crew. Last year, employee indifference or even rudeness seemed to be the norm more than in the past. I've been happy to see that it seems to be the exception again this year.

I'm not looking for someone to have a half hour conversation with me in order to say they do a great job. I'm looking for people to be working hard, taking pride in their job, and getting my butt on and off the ride as safely and as quickly as possible or getting me my food as quickly as possible. If they chat it up during downtime or between trains, that is a bonus.

I think spiels are helpful in this regard. They add some interaction between guests and crews. I have to be honest with one thing though. I really don't like it when the crews overuse the PA for telling people to get off the railings or behind the yellow line, etc. This was always a big pet peeve of mine as an employee and it continues to be as a guest. There are very few cases when yelling at someone over a PA is better than just going up to them, tapping them on the shoulder, and saying, "please step down off the handrails." If one announcement over the PA doesn't cure the situation, someone on the crew should be alert enough to take care of it in person. Raising your voice and getting angry on the PA only serves to make everyone thing you're a douche when there's really only one or two people causing a problem.

Topthrill420 said:

matt1027 said:
On the other hand, one of the game workers in one of the big nice booths

"game workers with big nice *mammories*" is what I saw when I first read that. Wow, I'm tired and you can tell that my mind is in the gutter.

Haha! I saw the same thing when I read that the first time. I had to read it again and make sure I wasn't seeing things, which apparently I was.

I work in a grocery store and if a customer complains that we weren't attentive and polite, we can be written up for it. I'm sure Cedar Point has some kind of policy about that.

I'm not saying that she ruined my day at all. I just think that even if you're having a bad day, you shouldn't walk around like you don't even care. You should still work hard. She wasn't working, even remotely, hard.

But I do agree, I have had some great experiences. They make the ride so much more fun. The other night on TTD, the girl on the PA kept saying how much the green train was her favorite. ie: "my lovely green train" or "because you're my favorite you get to go first!" Then on the same ride, the girl said "We have a first time rider, so lets give her an applause" It just makes it more enjoyable. And I still do applaud that girl on Skyhawk. It was hot all day long, and she ran everytime and worked her butt off.

This year, more than ever, I've had memorable ride op experiences. We had a man on Thunder Canyon making fun of his math skills when trying to figure out the number of seats on a boat left. And one day on Gemini at close, we had the workers making us laugh and everything.

But anyways, I just don't like seeing an employee acting like that. I'm not gonna let it ruin my day, but I'd like seeing them act more like some of the others.

Jeff, so far this year I've had the opposite when it comes to food service. The counters have been good, but I've gotten horrible service at Friday's both times I've been there. The second time, I didn't even leave a tip that's how bad it was.

matt1027 said:
People like that just ruin my day.

matt1027 said:
I'm not saying that she ruined my day at all.