Kelly on Mantis

Exactly..they are very upbeat, and if you look in the control room, most of them have a list of sayings or things to do to keep the guest happy and excited about their upcoming ride or day. I would have to say that CP has the best ride hosts. I hope to be one in the 2008 or 2009 season. :)

Be careful for what you hope for, coastergurl. It may look like fun from the outside, but it is in reality long hours in hot weather for little pay.

I have the utmost respect for those that are ride ops. They work their butts off to make sure we (guests) have a good time. You see them for a few seconds, before/after your ride. Keep in mind they often do that for 12 hours a day, 6 days a week.

MrScott

I understand that, but I would want to work there and experience that. I'm sure that most of them are glad that they work there. I love CP, and only get there every year or two. To me, the experience would be worth it. Most ride ops that you talk to have worked there at least one year, so it can't be that bad.

As a current member of the Mantis crew, I'll give you all the low down. We aren't trying to be rude, remember, the Mantis is the loudest ride in the park, and sometimes to give instructions, we have to raise our voice.

Secondly, in terms of having someone sit, sometimes we need people to sit all the way down, then come up on their tip toes, and then come back standing normally in order to get the seat all the way up to make the ride more comfortable, so there is a method to our madness.

I apologize if some of you felt we have been rude, but we are trying to get you all out safely and comfortably so you can enjoy the ride to the fullest. So please please please make sure you listen to the ride hosts instructions, and then everyone on both sides will be much happier. :) (And Kelly is a great crew member and person)

I'm sure everyone has the best intentions. But, you're preaching to the choir here. If anyone would understand the situation, its the enthusiasts. Its those other people you gotta be concerned with.

I have seen the crew with Kelly in action when I went last Friday. I must say that the Mantis crew this year treats people more like they are waiting in line for the soup Nazi.

The last time I was at CP was in 2004. It was my very first time going to the park. I rode Mantis that day and whoever was the ride op actually made the person I was riding with cry because she was the most rude person I had encountered at the park. This is coming from someone who has been in customer service over 10 years. I am very forgiving.

Yes it was my first time on a standup and I got into a position where I felt comfortable and so did the person I was riding with. She then came along and proceeded to start telling me to suck it in. I am 6'5 and weighed at that time 235lbs. I didn't have that big of a gut. So I sucked it in for a few seconds which I thought was more than enough time to click a seatbelt. She then proceeded to stand up look at me dead in the face with that "you're a complete moron look" and tell me to hold it in next time.

I don't remember what she did with my friend but she was just as rude if not more. My friend literally cried during the entire ride she was so upset. So thanks to a bad ride op the rest of our day was ruined because my friend was so upset and didn't want to be at the park anymore.

I understand the monotony of the job, but there are better ways to go about telling someone to suck it in than standing there with a dirty look on her face. Christ, if she would of made a joke about it with me I probably would have laughed, but instead she pissed me off until I hit that first drop.

If they affected your day that much, you should have gone to park ops and said something or tried to figure out who the TL on the ride was and tell them.

Joe T...

I don't have a problem with the raising of the voices, or how you get people into position. Of course, this woman was "barking" orders. Not just raising her voice to be heard, but raising it to be threatening.

Whining on an internet forum isn't the place for this. You do realize all you have to do is go to Park ops to make a guest complaint.

I had the same thing happen to me on tuesday, they released it then told me "feet back" like 4 times which my feet were back. I was ready to tell her to calm down which is the nice version.

There getting better. Last time I rode, They were asking nicely for people to stand up straight ect..

But about the audio recordings go, I'm glad they took them away because the Mantis ride op was pretty funny. Except nothing can beat Gemini's =)

"Were going to drop you 118 feet at a speed of 60 mph, just below highway speed!"
*** Edited 7/2/2006 2:19:09 AM UTC by magnum_shawn***

KingOfLouies said:
Whining on an internet forum isn't the place for this. You do realize all you have to do is go to Park ops to make a guest complaint.

What? If you were reading the many different stories that have been given here you would realize that this isn't whining, it's a group of people who have been treated the same disrespectful way by Mantis ride ops sharing their stories with one another. Most of us are too busy having fun at the park to take time out of our day to go through the hassle of reporting ONE incident to the TL or higher up. If I were on a 2 or more day trip and the same crew member did the same thing several times I would probably do something about it. The story that I told earlier in this thread was the ONE bad experience I've had with Mantis crew. I think the common complaint here is that there are times when the crew neglects the guests' comfort and happiness just to make interval. All the people criticizing these negative experiences seem to be lashing out and accusing the park guests of being the problem, not the staff. I work with people everyday. Most of MY jobs have been some kind of public service position. I realize there are rude guests who don't pay attention to the oncoming directions for getting situated on the ride, but I think all the complaints here are from people who ARE following the directions and being treated like goof-offs or idiots. That is the problem. And we have a right to discuss it here as well as go to supervisors at the park to try to get it stopped. So stop telling us the ride ops are doing their best and we are the problem. And stop telling us to not talk about it.

You need to chill, buddy.

MrScott

Uh, no, the people who keep bashing anyone who raises their hand and says "I too had a bad experience on Mantis while trying to follow the proper procedure" need to chill and stop saying the ride ops are doing their job and we're overreacting to the problem. I thought this forum was supposed to be a place where people could speak their minds as long as it isn't generally offensive or not of interest to anyone else. Maybe some of the people who have never experienced mistreatment on Mantis should just say that, "I have never had a bad experience with the Mantis ride ops" instead of that plus "You guys are either not paying attention or doing something to slow the loading procedure down." THAT is something I find offensive, especially with all these different versions of a similar story. My sister had been on Mantis before and is an intelligent person who can follow directions. She was having problems getting the seat to a comfortable height, and the ride op yelled at her instead of asking her if she needed help. My sister is a restaurant server, and I've seen her get angry and mouth off to customers. BUT only when they were rude to her FIRST.

Why do I need to chill, MrScott? I wasn't screaming at anyone in my post, just annoyed that all the posters who say it's not the ride ops fault have never been yelled at and seem to think that those of us who have been MUST have been doing something wrong. I hope most of the bashers here DO see it firsthand and then realize it's not just overreacting. I personally would have never named a specific person if I had started this thread, maybe that's what started the defensive line of posts. But it seems to be something that does happen often and we have a right to discuss here.

Yep, You need to chill.

MrScott

futurepoolboy said:
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 here

There's no reason for a Host to ever be rude. However, Mantis is cursed with a bad restraint system.

Hate to beat a dead hooker, but...

I was at the Point on Sunday, and rode Mantis. Kelly was there. ;)

This time, however, she didn't "bark" at me. Actualy she didn't tell me to do anything. Of course I did the same thing I did last time. She was using the mic though, so if she actualy changed I might not have been able to catch it. If she did, hats off to her.

I guess we'll have to see how she is when she not doing the mic.

Anywas, so far, so good. Good Job Kelly, keep it up. ;)