Geauga Lake 7-23-07 (Employee Issue?)

Well I took a quick trip up to Geauga Lake today. I was only there for 3 and a half hours, as my main purpose was to meet up with some friends, so I will keep this pretty brief.

So we arrived at 6:30, and the rides I went on, in order, were: Thunderhawk, Dominator, Texas Twister, Villain, Double Loop, Big Dipper, Big Dipper, Head Spin, and finally two rides on Dominator.

Lines were pretty non-existant. I waited 10-15 minutes for Villain, the line started at the bottom of the stairs, but that was mainly due to them running one train.

So some quick comments. Thunderhawk was nice, smooth, and fun as usual. Dominator was a bit bumpier on one of my night rides, sitting in the middle, but the other two rides were very smooth which show what a great coaster it is (much smoother than last year). The best coaster at the park though in my opinion, is Big Dipper. It is incredibly fast, and the air time is insane. Just a really, really fun ride. Everyone else I was with thought so too.

Double Loop was a bit uncomfortable, I felt like my neck was being compressed in the loops. Villain was actually a pleasant surprise. Rough? Yes. But this time, unlike my last unimpressing ride on it, it was rideable, and actually quite intense and fun. I'll definitely be on it again, and I exited with no headache whatsoever. Texas Twister was also nice.

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So onto another topic, did GL just give their employees a massive scolding by chance? There were quite a few employees who were noticeably unfriendly this evening. Someone was videotaping while in the Dominator station, and instead of an employee coming over and asking them nicely if they could turn it off as it was against the rules, they yelled at them over the loud speaker. And I do mean yelled. They didn't know they were doing anything wrong.

I took my shoes off on Texas Twister and put them in the bin, and since I don't ride with flip flops often, I forgot you had to have your shoes on. The op said that shoes had to be worn on the ride over the loud speaker when they saw them in the bin, but again with a bit of an attitude.

Two girls came into the Head Spin station, and looked to be pondering whether they wanted to ride it or not, and stood there turning the turnstile for maybe 3 seconds. They then came into the station and were trying to decide what car to get into. Well the ride op came on the loud speaker and told them to stop playing with the turn style, even though that had long past and wasn't a big deal to begin with, and told them to get in the train. They had already started checking the train when the girls came in, and if I were them, I would have waited too.

Employees were also somewhat snappy at Big Dipper. This is the best way to describe ride-ops this evening; snappy. Obviously they should ask me to put my shoes on, and obviously they should ask the person to stop videotaping if it is against a rule, but I think they could have handled all of this in a more friendly and polite manner. If it was just one ride it wouldn't have even registered, but it seemed like a pattern tonight. Anyone know more?

Overall it was a nice evening at GL, and the crowds seemed good considering how crummy the weather looked.

I have heard the same complaints about video/ picture taking while waiting in the queues from numerous people. This is the only information I could find at the Geauga website:

For safety reasons, most rides cannot accommodate loose articles. Loose articles that cannot be accommodated include strollers, tape players, cameras, stuffed animals, basketballs or bulky objects. Please leave them with a non-riding friend or stored in a locker. Ride operators cannot be responsible for these items. For safety reasons, taking pictures, videotaping and filming on rides are prohibited.

http://www.geaugalake.com/public/faq/index.cfm

Or this:

http://www.geaugalake.com/public/news/media_relations.cfm

Neither place has any info about prohibiting picture taking while in line.

I was also at the park yesterday, but I didn't see anything really out of the ordinary when it came to the employees. In fact, I complemented Head Spin's crew to the supervisor in that zone, for how attentive they were.

Now with Dominator,

Can you describe this employee? Did they wear a blue tag? I am curious as to which person on that crew was yelling at the guests.

Now when I went to Canada's Wonderland last month, there was this extremely rude guy working controls at one of the coasters. Not something I would expect in Canada!

Sometimes employees can be rude, and the best thing to do is just report it to a manager or supervisor. At Cedar Fair parks, they are fairly easy to find, as the supervisors have blue button down shirts, and the male supervisors wear ties.

-Sam *** Edited 7/24/2007 7:13:21 PM UTC by Avalanche Sam***

It was a woman, but definitely not a blue tag. And also, I was waiting for Dominator as the last ride of the night, and was in the back, while my other friends were in the front. They were actually waiting for the front car. There were probably 2 trains worth of people waiting there, and the park had just closed (there were a few people waiting for the second row, but not many other people). They apparently tried chatting with an employee if it was going to be the last ride of the night, to which they gave some short sarcastic answers, and then replied "You guys have to get in line for another row, or you won't be riding."

Obviously the crew didn't want to send out empty trains except for the front row since it was after closing, and I'm sure the park doesn't allow it, but a nice "Guys, unfortunately you have to fill in the rest of the rows since it is after closing and we have to shut the ride down... thanks for your understanding" would have been better than the rude response above. Its odd you didn't notice anything, because everyone else I was with was saying the same thing.

In my experience, you have to be blatantly honest with guests at the end of the night that are waiting for the front seat. Even when you've warned them some time before the last train, guests more often than not feel they are deserved the opportunity to ride in the front since they have waited. When you get down to the final couple of trains of the evening, and have a line of guests waiting for the front, the truth is, that they do have to find another row or they won't be riding. The "sarcastic answers" you refer to may not have been needed, but their response was nothing more than the truth. In cases such as this, employees sometimes come off as being on the defense, which they more or less are, but more often than not, it's because they know they're going to have to put up with complaining and arguing on the guest's part. I would hardly consider ""You guys have to get in line for another row, or you won't be riding" to be rude, whether I was a guest or an employee... Of course it could be how it was said. I'm not condoning what the employees may have said or done, or how they acted; I'm just pointing out why it probably came across the way it did.

*** Edited 7/25/2007 5:18:35 AM UTC by DBCP***

I was disappointed in their overall attitude/ performance when I went this Sunday. I saw employees spitting on the ground in WWK, others drop-kicking the gates open around rides, and even got snapped at from the ride op on Time Warp. Also, there was NO control in the foam ball factory. There was 5 or 6 teenagers in there picking up balls and throwing them at the little kids faces like a Roger Clemens fastball. I seen a fight break out over one of the bags in there. I sat and watched for about 10 minutes, and after I saw nothing was gonna be said, I left.
*** Edited 7/25/2007 5:51:47 AM UTC by It's Fun to Point!***

DBCP, I think the issue was more how it was said. Of course I was in the back of the station at the time so I can't really say more than what my friends told me, but I believe the issue was the employee came across a bit too rude.

DBCP has it exactly right. Sometimes the only time guests will understand something is when you tell them exactly how it will be. That's not to say there's any excuse to say it rudely, but sometimes people have a hard time differentiating between whether someone is saying something rudely, or if they are just saying it firmly. You have to be firm, but you don't have to be rude.

It could be worse. At Six Flags America I was riding Superman at closing time. My train came back, and they sent the train ahead of mine empty. We unloaded, the empty train came back behind us, and the crew just turned the ride off and left with about two trains worth of people still standing in the station. No warning, no explanation, they just left. I was pretty shocked by it.

oh foam factory

Let us know these things!!

One thing I've noticed (moreso at Cedar Point, than Geauga Lake) is that as the end of the season approaches, some employees just get nasty. I understand they are probably tired from working so much and can't wait for school to start or whatever, but you just can't be that way and expect people not to notice.

I personally haven't had any "run-ins" with employees so far, but it isn't August yet. Still, I try to be as nice as possible to them because I really do feel for them and know they work hard.

I was feeling really sick last week. So i may have been "snappy" and dull.