Cedar Point mistreating its employees?

You think you're getting mistreated? Don't like the long hours? Hate getting up early? Then don't work at the park...No one held a gun to your head and forced you to sign the contract......If you're unhappy with the job, then QUIT so someone who doesn't mind working CAN.

cptedsdisciple2 said:
Say what you want about the article, but it is clearly TRUE and that tends to get the apologists upset.

There is a huge difference between being factual and being true.

You know, you won't find a lot of love for the executives here. I've been heavily critical of Kinzel for years, and there's no question that he doesn't value people, whether it be seasonals (crappy dorms) or full-timers (exodus of Paramount folk).

That said, the guy who originally posted his tirade did so on several sites, and clearly has an ax to grind. He worked there for five years, and when he wasn't good enough to get a full-time job, he cried like a baby. Boo-freakin'-hoo. If it's so terrible, why would you keep doing it, for five years? That kind of schmuckery will get you nowhere in life. Nut up and master your own destiny. Don't cry about it here.

(been a while since I posted here, glad to be back!)
Though it seems as though this topic has been pretty thoroughly debated in this thread (though I know there is always more to be said on this topic) I would still like to give my two cents. I only worked there for one year, and I ended up quitting. I do not regret working at Cedar Point. Like any other job, there are ups and downs. I may not have been recognized as an individual (for the most part), but I learned to expect that from a company that hires thousands of employees on a yearly basis. Can I complain about my experience at Cedar Point? Of course I can! Would I discourage people from working there? It depends on who it is. If you can't handle the labor, the hours, and the living conditions, then don't work there. But one thing that Cedar Point offers as a summer job that most other places can't offer is a secure job for the summer, with a guarantee of GREAT hours, and the promise that if you spend your money right throughout the summer, you will have money at the end of it. I have multiple friends in Michigan and Illinois who have been looking for a job all summer. The economy sucks. The few who did find a job aren't getting great hours. If you are a college student like me, you can either work at Cedar Point and have the guarantee of making money for the summer, or you can try your luck at finding a job somewhere else, or just not work at all for the summer.

Jeff said:
He worked there for five years, and when he wasn't good enough to get a full-time job, he cried like a baby. Boo-freakin'-hoo. If it's so terrible, why would you keep doing it, for five years?

Just playing devil's advocate here, but what if this guy genuinely believed he was on track for moving up in the company? I want to stress that I don't claim to know anything about this guy's circumstances, nor am I commenting on CP in particular, but I've seen the same thing play out many times in various work environments.

I think it's pretty standard for people to be lead to believe they have a solid chance to move up in whatever company they are working for. Even my current job has most of the forklift drivers in the warehouse area believing that if they "just work hard and stick with it" they'll be managers someday, even though it's never happened. I know at many places, particularly in retail, there's even some small, mostly symbolic increases in responsibilities and/or pay to keep people going. For people with limited job options, that potential opportunity to make something good of it someday is enough to keep them going no matter how much they hate their job.

My girlfriend works in the medical field, and for the past six months her boss has been telling her that they'll be discussing a promotion and a raise "before the end of the next pay period". Thankfully after about three months she saw the BS for what it was and started looking elsewhere, but the job market here still sucks, so she gets to keep on hearing their false promises. Come January she'll get five unpaid vacation/sick days a year, which is the sorriest excuse for a "benefit" I've ever heard of. However, considering other jobs in that field would mostly be the same hours and pay without five days off a year, it makes it that much harder to leave. That's how people end up feeling trapped where they are.

Anyway, I guess the point I'm trying to make here is that given the right situation, it doesn't seem unreasonable for someone to stick with a job they hate for years on end. There's plenty of other valid reasons to trash the guy based on what he wrote, but I'm not convinced this is one of them.

You have to be realistic. The amusement industry is relatively tiny. At a place like CP, someone has to die or retire for a position to even open up. Besides, his issues had nothing to do with full-time employment, they had to do with how crappy it was to work seasonally. Yeah, so if the company is so horrible, why did he keep at it?

Why does everyone keep saying if you don’t like it, then quit? Perhaps some people may not be able to quit because they cannot find another job and so on. Even so, just because you can quit does not give an employer the right to mistreat employees.

I’ve worked at Cedar Point for a few years now and it makes me very happy that I am close to graduating. Yes, they can be very rude about certain things and just flat out immoral. I have enjoyed parts of my summer though, but looking back on it, it was only the co-workers that made it fun.

That is a personal opinion about the place. Please don’t crucify me for sharing my thoughts.

MICP said:
Why does everyone keep saying if you don’t like it, then quit?

Because that's what grown-ups in a functional society do.

true enough...During my most recent stint on Alcatraz ( what people who live and work nearby the bay affctionately refer to CP as) I quit due to the corporate BS. I didnt like representing that company. However, i found another good job on the Rt 250 strip within a day and had a great summer nonetheless. I agree that quitting is a good and viable option. However, that still does not mean that the author cannot warn others about the CP experience. CP goes out of its way to recruit college students from the US, as the local kids are already wise to their tactics. Why dont the recruiters bring pics of Gold dorms with them when t hey go to MSU or Northwestern to recuit seasonals? Just because quitting is an option doesnt mean the author shouldnt be allowed to cutt throught the propaganda and alert others to this scam ahead of time?

Jeff said:

MICP said:
Why does everyone keep saying if you don’t like it, then quit?

Because that's what grown-ups in a functional society do.

That was a rhetorical question, obviously.

To expand on your irrational thought, I’d like to point out most people who work at Cedar Point are young and our society is not the most functional at this point.

You reinforce my point in so many ways with that post.

I almost feel like the author of the article should have been grateful that they had housing at all. Not every job you work at will provide housing no matter how good or bad it is.

Working for the same Parent Company at Kings Island I had to commute an hour to almost 2 hours to work because there wasn't housing available.

I understand the author's frustration with the work conditions, but in all honesty, if you return for 5 years and dislike it so much, why complain? He chose to continue to work there for 5 years. Yes, I know that jobs are hard to find but there are agencies and outlets to help people find jobs.

LOL!!!!

oh man i must take out 2010. did not return that year,

but there are things in the story that are a bit exaggerated but living there wasnt the best situation and you do question some things with fellow employees but id do it again in a heart beat if needed. I dont regret working there for a second and met some awesome and great people including some who still work there. one of my best friends still works there and has moved up. Its all in how you make it, if you think everythings ****ty and you are a miserable person chances are youre going to have a miserable time and make posts like this. working there isnt the best job ever but its also not the worst.

Just because Employees can quit, doesn't mean employees can't be treated with respect. Just because it's not the worst place in the world to work, doesn't mean they can't improve it. Just improving a few things, or removing a few policies could CP a much more enjoyable place to work. Better place to work = happy employees = happy guest = money = happy Kinzel.

You're missing the point. If the situation sucks and you keep going back to it, you get what you deserve. I mean, five years? Fool me once...

I knew you had to be going there with that link, Jeff.

Regarding dorms at CP: people need to quit complaining. You get what you pay for. At $20 per week Golds/Cedars or $35 per week Commons - that equates to around $3 to $5 per day for housing. What do you get for $3 to $5 per day?? A roof over your head, a bed to sleep in, ALL utilities paid. What more do you expect for that money - a 5 star hotel room??

Have I ever stayed in the dorms myself - no. But I am a parent of a girl who stayed at Commons for 1 week, then moved to Golds for the rest of the season and I have been in both dorms. They are not as bad as people keep saying. Her 2 person room at Golds was just about as big as the 4 person room at Commons. And was just as CLEAN. We put an AC in the window for a small charge and it was well worth it. The bathrooms were cleaner than the public bathrooms in the park.

So before you start complaining about how bad the dorms are again, try finding other housing on your own and see what it would cost vs. CP housing.

^^^ I wasn't necessarily talking about the experience of this single employee. I am speaking in broader terms than just this "expose". If even half of this is true then working conditions at the point need to be reevaluated. You can't blame the employee because the working conditions suck, even if they did return for multiple years. If the article was written by an employee who only stayed for one season then would it change your opinion?