Kelly on Mantis

I think it's possible to be safe, efficient, and courteous. The problem arises when people use one of these three things as an excuse for sucking in another one (or two) of these three areas.

Mantis crew has looked better than years past in my admittedly limited experiences this year. Unfortunately, what Gilman said is also true, so who knows?

Although I think management did/still does some questionable things, I never felt like numbers were put above safety. In fact, we've seen a lot of changes recently (in the name of safety) that have really hurt numbers (and some would argue safety too coughstanding behind pillars on Magnumcaugh).

Anonymous said:
Don't hate on the Mantis crew; there are no stupid/mean employees, only stupid and mean guests. ;-)

Yes and those mean guests should be in the shoes of the ride host for once. When I worked at cp in 03 and 04, guests were like children, that did not know how to behave in public.

Guests wine and cry and they get thier way, its about time for a change. Employees work and no mean guests.

Before I get ripped here, I do hear both sides of the story before any actions take place.

I think you're going a little far in generalizing all guests and employees. I think there are bad apples in both groups. But the majority of guests and the majority of employees behave just fine! :)

Coasterfan82 said:

...guests were like children, that did not know how to behave in public.

Guests wine and cry and they get thier way...

Just remember that those "children" pay the employees' wages.

I have no problem with op's motivating the guests to move quickly, provided they strive to maintain a fun, friendly atmosphere. After all, its not what you say, but how you say it.

First of all. Bad ride experiance.

Mantis has a lot more moving parts sort of speak then your typical coasters. Each ride has it's own experiance. Until you work in the enviroment you truly have no idea the things park guests do!

Operating a stand up can be stressful, and guest should as well as employees should understands each others point of view for the foremost. BUT! If you screw around with the ride operator, they will have the final hand. If you cannot follow directions, have a nice day. Also if a ride op dispatches your train with a low seat, they get written up, not you!

If you feel the sit. was bad enough, ask to speak with the TL, or ATL, or go to park operations or write the park a letter. Don't post a persons name on the net, thats kind of weak.

Second. Ride op's and enterainment?

Here's the deal, when you visit a park have a great time, smile, laugh, have fun honest. But once you enter the ride platform, LISTEN, WATCH, and LEARN. Ride op's are not working to make you happy!
#1. They don't have time.
#2. They insure your safety is inline with requirements for riding, and equipment is secure.
#3. They should be paying attention to the ride and guests on it, NOT YOU!.

Rides coaster's are heavy machinery, NOT TOYS!

Cheers!

Here's the deal- if I want to pay somebody money to treat me like crap, I'll head to Dick's Last Resort in the Flats, not Cedar Point. The bottom line is that a ride op has no excuse for being snippy with a cooperating guest (or even an uncooperative one), nor does ANYBODY who works in a customer service related job.

If you're a ride op and you can't deal with working with people you don't need the job you're in. You chose the job, the job didn't choose you.

If you're not happy, go work at McDonalds- but I'm sure you'd spit in peoples' food because they're forcing you to put two all-beef patties, special sauce, lettuce, cheese, pickles, and onions on a sesame seed bun and close the box. Come on! You're there to ensure proper sandwich assembly, not good guest service!

I see little to no difference in the two.

*** Edited 6/21/2006 1:40:16 PM UTC by Michael Darling***

futurepoolboy said:

Ride op's are not working to make you happy!
#1. They don't have time.
#2. They insure your safety is inline with requirements for riding, and equipment is secure.
#3. They should be paying attention to the ride and guests on it, NOT YOU!.

Words cannot even describe how ridiculous your "reasoning" is.

So what you are saying is while on platform you should focus on guests? And not operations? I am only talking about while @ platform here.

Are we talking about running mantis, or power tower here?

On platform I don't think the state of Ohio, nor CF would like for the ride op's to be playing games, and telling jokes to the guests to make everyone happy? Your detail is the safe and efficient operation of the ride, everything else is second within a degree.

Cheers!

Whatever.

Simply put, your job is to get guests on the ride. Everything that comes along with it is also your job. Those things include ensuring safety, a positive guest experience and efficiency - probably in that order, if I were your boss.

What's the point of trying to make interval if you're pissing off your customers? If such practices were allowed to continue, do you think you'd see an increase or decrease in attendance?

Here's a good rule of thumb: Imagine Dick Kinzel is on the platform observing everything. Do you think he'd approve of barking orders and making threats toward the customers?

There is no reason they can't be safe and have fun. There is no reason for an op to snap at a guest at any time. I realize it is tough, and that the guy not listening isn't the first one to not pay attention that day, but there is no reason to be rude.

The ops are the face of the park (just as the sweeps, counter service folks, and waitresses are). It is very much at the top of the list of their job description to make guests happy. At the same time though, that safety should not be sacrificed to make a guest happy, but guest happiness shouldn't be sacrificed for safety. Its a delicate balance that shouldn't be upset.

Okay, guys. I realize that the ops need to get the peeps settled and on their way in a timely manner, but the shouting at guests has got to stop. I don't know if noone else understands this, but the adjustable seat on Mantis is really TRICKY. It is HARD to get it into the position where you feel comfortable with the height in the time the ops want us to, especially if you're short and/or skinny. I've never had problems with Mantis but my 5'2" sister was trying to get her seat adjusted during a May '05 trip and an op screamed at her to stop bouncing. Her eyes got real big at the comment and she growled back at the girl who yelled at her "I'm trying to get the stupid seat in position, b****." She was in tears through the whole ride, and I had to hold her back from saying or doing something as we were exiting the ride that would have probably gotten her ejected from the park, she was that furious with how she'd been treated. She explained to me that she found it hard to judge how much strength to use to get the seat to move down but not too much and then back up but not too much. I can see how if you have to move the seat farther down because you have shorter legs and/or get enough strength to move it into position if you are less muscular can create a problem. I don't think the ride ops realize this extra adjustment takes more time to get situated on a B&M standup seat than a coaster where you just pull the harness down. Maybe they need to get a louder microphone and have succinct instructions on EXACTLY how the seat works or have an autospiel explaining it throughout the queue line.

I have never been on Mantis or Iron Wolf in Chicago where every single person was ready when they locked the seats. Usually they have to unlock and check at least two or three rows. Does anyone else see THAT as the biggest problem making interval - ops' impatience slowing the process down even more? I don't see how three trains could ever be run effeciently with the process it takes to get the restraints in position properly. There will always be a train sitting on the brake run.

I think part of the problem is that no matter how many instructions you give or how many signs you put up, there will always be a number of guests who don't pay attention. While I agree it may work to a degree, many guests will not pay attention to signage of any sort. Unless you pull a Disney and put everyone that comes through in a "pre-show" room, there are always going to be guests that don't understand how to ride a stand up coaster.

It's not a matter of paying attention. The crowd noise makes it hard to hear any instructive words the ride ops might have to oncoming riders, and the seat is TRICKY to figure out. This is not a matter of inattentiveness or stupidity of most riders. That is what the ops don't seem to understand. Hitting interval needs to not be the ops' priority, getting everyone COMFORTABLY in the ride should.

Safety and the hapiness of the riders should come before worrying about hitting you intervals.

djDaemon said:
Whatever.

Simply put, your job is to get guests on the ride. Everything that comes along with it is also your job. Those things include ensuring safety, a positive guest experience and efficiency - probably in that order, if I were your boss.

What's the point of trying to make interval if you're pissing off your customers? If such practices were allowed to continue, do you think you'd see an increase or decrease in attendance?

Here's a good rule of thumb: Imagine Dick Kinzel is on the platform observing everything. Do you think he'd approve of barking orders and making threats toward the customers?

Excuse me?
When did I even say it was ok to "bark" or "threaten" a guest? As I had said earlier "report it to the ride TL, or Park ops, or write a letter to the park!"

I mean honest, if things are that bad at some rides, report it at the park, I would first talk with the TL at the ride tho.

I also said, ride operators need to understand the point of views of a guest, and so should the guest in understanding what the operators have to do.

And for the love of god don't ever say after a direction, or procedure probably, it makes you sound incompetent in the real world.

Cheers!

I never claimed you said it was okay to bark orders or threaten a guest. I'm disagreeing with your logic that the sole purpose of an op is to provide a safe ride, at the expense of customer satisfaction.

And for the love of god don't ever say after a direction, or procedure probably, it makes you sound incompetent in the real world.

If I were to say "definitely", it would be far more incompetent, as I am competent enough to know that I don't have all of the absolute answers. And if you think you do, well then you're probably wrong.

Michael Darling said:
I hear the '06 Ripcord TL rocks and the entire crew reflects it. That's just what I hear, though. ;)

And I'm a part of this crew :)

Lets keep in mind that this isnt just a mantis crew issue...all rides have barking orders, and to be brutally honest Kelly happens to be one of the nicest people on the crew, and sometimes it may sound like they are barking but they arent, they are just inforcing a common way of getting the seatbelt easier...

so in turn it wasnt meant to be a rude way, when it was getting you in the seat easier than crushing your ribs and therefore your stomach

Brandon, were you working yesterday (24th)? I rode Rip Cord with my brother and uncle a few flights after Montel Williams. Just wondering, because I thought I saw a Brandon in the photo area of Rip Cord yesterday. :)

futurepoolboy said:
Ride op's are not working to make you happy!

Uh yea they are...isn't that the purpose of riding a rollercoaster?