Cedar Fair Entertainment Company High Food Prices

There's one thing that i've enjoyed buying this year because it felt like a good deal because it takes you more than 5minutes to eat it.

Those frozen smoothie things from "pierres" (rasberry, strawberry, lemon, orange). Really good.

Oh, and if this doesn't get anyone excited, the price of Dippin Dots officially dropped 25cents within the last 2 times i went. its now $7 for a large and $5 for a medium, no extra 25cents. What a deal.

Actually cedarpointlover, a burger basket comes with fries, it's the drink you have to pay extra for.

The prices may be very high, but I really don't experience the cold food and rude service that some of you are talking about. Most of the counter service people I've ordered from have been pleasant, some even exceptionally nice. And, the food was hot and fresh.

As for service...maybe they can convert the stand employees (not the ones who wait on tables) into a comisssion draw where they earn something like 2.83/hr (sorry if this is WRONG) or get comission on the food they sale, whichever is greater.

You know, I have had this exact same thought. I work at a midway food stand (although at another park, not CP. I did work at CP for three years just not in food service). I love my job, but truth be told I am not going to rush around. I am friendly and cheerful, but the bottom line is this - I am making the same amount of money whether I bust my butt and serve one hundred people in an hour or if I take my time and serve thirty or forty . So I'm not going to stress myself out. BUT if I got a comission or a percentage of daily sales? Heck, I'd be flagging people down off of the midway trying to get them over to the stand.

I really think management is ridiculous expecting employees who make a low, set wage per hour to bust their butts when there is absolutely no reward for it. None.

^ That's exactly what's wrong with the labor force in the US these days. I'm a salaried employee without overtime. But, if I need to work 60 or 70 hours in a week to get my job done, I do it. I don't make any more money, but I take pride in my job and "bust my butt" to do the best I can. Just because I'm not financially rewarded for working harder, doesn't mean I'm just going to sit around and do the least amount required. That's just plain lazy and irresponsible.

To those that say I make more money than a park worker, I say it makes no difference. I worked at Sea World Ohio in food service and I busted my butt each and every day to serve as many people as possible and in the most pleasant way possible. I did the same when I worked retail, or when I was just starting out as an intern Architect. Everyone starts out having "sh1t" jobs. That doesn't mean you shouldn't work hard unless you get financially rewarded.

^Totally agree with Tim on this one. I believe no matter what job you do, you should give your all. A strong work ethic is important in whatever job you have. Your in a customer service industry which means you really should do your best for customers. I'm not saying you should "stress yourself out", but being willing to really apply yourself & give great service, as fast as you can should be your goal. Besides, you never know when someone is watching that will lead to bigger things. :)

Hooray! Does cedar point have mystery shoppers? I used to work at TGI Friday's (not the one at CP) and every now and then a server would get "shopped" and two ordinary people would act as customers and make sure that everything went smoothly. I wonder if CP has this system... it seems like it could possibly benefit them a lot in terms of customer service.

Here are the prices that I paid for my meals at C.P. this year (includes tax)

Macaroni's (build a burger meal, soft drink) $13.26

Midway Market (with soft drink) $13.31

Johnny Rockets (burger, rings, soft drink) $13.77

TGI Friday's (bacon cheeseburger, soft drink) $12.82

Famous Daves (ribs dinner, soft drink) $17.83

All of the above establishments do have free soft drink refills. Also, paying these prices for one person is much less of an issue than it would be for an entire family.

Pete said:
Actually cedarpointlover, a burger basket comes with fries, it's the drink you have to pay extra for.

Not at Coasters and Johnny Rockets. JR I can see, but Coasters is just an ordinary quick serve in a building. Am I paying a premium for being surrounded by 50's theming?

I worked at Sea World Ohio in food service and I busted my butt each and every day to serve as many people as possible and in the most pleasant way possible. I did the same when I worked retail, or when I was just starting out as an intern Architect. Everyone starts out having "sh1t" jobs.

Which is exactly why you have the better job today. Funny, I've followed the same formula.

You work hard because it's your job, not because there's some carrot dangling in front of your mouth.

This thread is amusing to me, because typically this is something I may agree with, but I can honestly say I have zero problem with any prices or quality of the food at Cedar Point.

However, that said, I would never under any circumstances plan on eating a meal at Cedar Point. We do, however, get a few beers, a couple gourmet pretzels, and from time to time a frozen custard or a bowl of white chili at Gameday Grille.

So perhaps it's the choices I make that allow me to see no problems with it.

I just think some of your expectations for food at Cedar Point are way to high when you are talking about the midway. I think the whole point is a "fair" food type atmosphere, and some of you seem to want Disney-esque food, which is just not happening (and frankly I dont want it there).

Good luck with the online petition though.

*** Edited 7/17/2007 1:49:44 AM UTC by Kevinj***
*** Edited 7/17/2007 1:53:34 AM UTC by Kevinj***

Wow, you guys just eat up that living the American dream work ethic crap. What satisfaction do you get from that other than knowing you're making someone else rich?

I've improved my skillz and retained a better paying job so I can work the same amount and make more, not make more and work more and end up making the hourly of a Wal-Mart manager.

You can keep your 60-70 hours per week. I won't dilute my value by working more without additional compensation. Do it because it's your job, indeed. That's Kool-Aid I'll never drink.

That is exactly right. I'm salaried also, but I'm not going to take a pay cut of 1/3 or 1/2 by working 60 to 80 hours a week.

If I'm constantly expected to work a 60 hour week to get my job done, management is just taking advantage of me by having me work free hours instead of hiring an additional person.

Life is too short, and there are too many nice things out there.

I love my job, so it doesn't feel like work to me. Plus, I work when I need to. If that requires overtime, I put it in. If it doesn't require it, I don't do it. Sometimes I work less than 40 hours, sometimes I work more. It all evens out in the end. But, I'll never just slack off because I'm not being "compensated". I guess that's a benefit and drawback of being self-employed. I can take as much vacation as I want. But, I also have to work very hard to be successful. Then again, I love my work, so I'm not diluting myself at all.

You said in your previous post that you were a "salaried employee without overtime." So which is it?

Doing contract work is exactly the thing that got me to the point of not putting up with working extra in a salary job. Once you know what your time is worth, you sure as hell aren't going to work for free.

Contract to me is slightly different. I have contracts that are two or more years long. Those contracts are normally negotiated at a monthly "fee". So, technically that makes me a salaried employee without overtime. Regardless of how much I work, I bring in the same amount of money. If I take two weeks vacation one month, I make the same as if I work 60 hours a week for four weeks straight. But, like I said, I do what is necessary to get the job done. If I don't do it better than everyone else, I don't get new contracts. It's a simple equation.

Also, since I'm contract, I can have multiple "jobs" at one time. Right now I'm doing construction/project management/systems administrator for one company on a resort job. I'm also designing a custom home, and consulting on several renovation projects. So yeah, I "work" a lot. But, I also play a lot by taking six or more weeks of vacation a year.

Like most other debates I have on here, most things are about individual preferences. Some people like 9 to 5 jobs with no overtime. Some people work 60 hours a week every week. There's no "right" answer. Everyone likes things their own way. But, regardless of how many hours you want to work, there's still no excuse for not "busting your butt" at a job. If someone just shows up to collect a paycheck, I hope they instantly get replaced with someone who WANTS to work for that paycheck.

So let's see...

does this mean that when we get food at CP we shouldn't be unhappy when the service people don't even try to provide good service, just because they're not going to make more money if they do?

Yes, that's exactly the point being made.

...

The above comment is completely and wholly sarcastic, and is in no way intended to create, sustain or exacerbate heated discussion.

halltd said:
Like most other debates I have on here, most things are about individual preferences. Some people like 9 to 5 jobs with no overtime. Some people work 60 hours a week every week. There's no "right" answer. Everyone likes things their own way.

But that's not what you said. You said, "That's exactly what's wrong with the labor force in the US these days... But, if I need to work 60 or 70 hours in a week to get my job done, I do it." That to me sounds like you're saying that people who won't do that are "what's wrong with the labor force."

halltd said:
But, regardless of how many hours you want to work, there's still no excuse for not "busting your butt" at a job.

The example I used for myself working many hours in a week if required was a personal example. Nowhere did I say the person at the midway food stand should work 60 hours a week. A rational person would have realized I was talking about her "I'm not going to work hard because I don't get paid enough" attitude.

I think what it comes down to is you are being paid to do X job. If your boss is paying you to do X, and X isn't done in 40 hours, you put in some extra to get X done. That's what you are being paid to do.

If you are being paid for X and your boss wants you to do Y and Z as well, then there is an issue.

But being expected to show some hustle and putting in 7.50/hr effort shouldn't be unreasonable.

I was under the impression that Tim was reffering to people who have the job at Cedar Point sometimes show such little effort in doing their work that it leads to customers having the various "bad" experiences, not a Bourgeois philosophy.

You always here the story of Kinzel and how he "worked his way up" through the company, and perhaps that what it comes down to is pride.

That said, having never been an employee at Cedar Point, it is not my place to argue what type of working atmosphere is created for the employees. But it seems that if employees are excited, motivated, and have a sense of pride in what they do, problems will go away.

So, my question in response to the complaints about the service would be what type of atmosphere is created by the management at Cedar Point?