Mechanical / wind issues all over the park Sunday!

Why was Top Thrill Dragster down yesterday and today? Hoping it's up and running by the end of the week when we're there. And the other coasters are working ok too. :)

I'm going Wednesday. They are calling for 78 degrees with 15-23 MPH winds. How will this effect The big 4? Will it be as bad as Sunday? Will they be extra cautious now and close them for sure if the winds are as predicted?

TwistedWicker77 said:

That's the guest's fault if they're leaving angry. On the LED big screen before the causeway, the strip screen before entering the toll booths, and the new screen installed on the new entrance; a message specifically said "Due to high winds, some rides may not open today". Just saying.

You're absolutely right. The park has a well advertised no refund / raincheck policy, and any guest who complains otherwise is technically wrong.

My contention is that, regardless of who's right and who's wrong, the fact remains that guests left CP upset on Sunday (as evidenced by the plethora of negative FB posts on CP's Page). Warranted or not, such negativity towards a brand is not desirable and can cost a company money. That's why some organizations maintain a, "the customer is always right" doctrine. Consider the fabled Nordstrom tire incident: http://www.bizjournals.com/jacksonville/blog/retail_radar/2012/09/n...?page=all.

Some companies believe that making the customer happy is more important / cost effective than maintaining a strict adherence to the rule book. I merely wonder if CP might adopt a similar mentality.

Those of you that are saying guests just shouldn't go on days with bad forecasts are forgetting that many people travel pretty far to get to Cedar Point. I live about seven hours away, so I have to plan my trip weeks in advance. This includes reserving the hotel and buying the tickets. There is no way to predict the weather that far in advance, you just have to take your chances. I am not trying to argue either side, I'm just saying I feel for ya OP!

rollercoasterjunkie said:
Why was Top Thrill Dragster down yesterday and today? Hoping it's up and running by the end of the week when we're there. And the other coasters are working ok too. :)

TTD was struggling on OSU day and opening day it was even worse. Trains were screaming over the top, then suddenly it would take 4 launches to get one train over, after that it looked like it was struggling.. Mechanics were working on the sled brakes. I think it finally gave out after the multiple rollbacks. Not sure if they are having hydraulic problems or something else.

RuffRider said:
Those of you that are saying guests just shouldn't go on days with bad forecasts are forgetting that many people travel pretty far to get to Cedar Point. I live about seven hours away, so I have to plan my trip weeks in advance. This includes reserving the hotel and buying the tickets. There is no way to predict the weather that far in advance, you just have to take your chances. I am not trying to argue either side, I'm just saying I feel for ya OP!

I completely agree with you as I had to plan this trip almost 3 months in advanced because of various circumstances.. It would have been nice to have other options rather than hear employees complain of how bored they were (though I do have to sympathize with the girl working TTD that was actually on her hands and knees cleaning out the cracks in the cement only to have wind fill it back up with pollen minutes later)

I like what Universal Studios does when they have several attractions out due to weather / mechanical issues... They increase other entertainment such as shows, character greetings, street performers etc...

I'm not asking for freebies, rainchecks or anything like that, I agree that would most likely start bigger problems though the park is big enough and has enough various other entertainment (other than rides) that it would have been nice having other options than wondering around aimlessly trying to find open rides.

Live entertainment should begin on opening day. That'd be a small boost to more options when the weather plays a negative role.

Except that many of the performers can't even begin rehearsal until college is over--i.e. Opening Weekend

I was thinking about that too. It would be nice for at least a couple of the Live E shows to start on opening weekend so there is something more to do during inclement weather. You make a good point though about rehearsal times and such with college getting out.

xtremecoasters said:

rollercoasterjunkie said:
Why was Top Thrill Dragster down yesterday and today? Hoping it's up and running by the end of the week when we're there. And the other coasters are working ok too. :)

TTD was struggling on OSU day and opening day it was even worse. Trains were screaming over the top, then suddenly it would take 4 launches to get one train over, after that it looked like it was struggling.. Mechanics were working on the sled brakes. I think it finally gave out after the multiple rollbacks. Not sure if they are having hydraulic problems or something else.

Ok thank you! I hope they have it fixed tomorrow or the next day. I feel for the people going and not being able to ride it. I know I'd be bummed!

Top Thrill 182 said:

... Some companies believe that making the customer happy is more important / cost effective than maintaining a strict adherence to the rule book. I merely wonder if CP might adopt a similar mentality.

I wish they would also; but, unfortunately the park has a culture of bad customer service and too many people on this forum seem to be satisfied with it. Not to turn this into a food discussion but as an analogy, there is no difference in what the park does than a restaurant that advertises an all-you-can-eat crab leg buffet. It's like if the restaurant runs out of crab legs because its delivery truck didn't come in. Instead of giving customers a refund, discount, or rain check, the restaurant tells the customer "Hey, we know you came for the crab legs but sorry, you can't have any. Why don't you just eat all the mashed potatoes and broccoli that you want because we are still going to charge you the same price as if you were eating crab legs".

It's the parks short operating season and obsession with squeezing every last dime out of the customer in the name of profit that is the problem. No one accuses Nordstroms or even WDW of not being concerned about making a profit, yet they still are well known for their outstanding customer service. The park isn't and there is no reason they can't be, and that is a shame.

CP_Obsessed_Freak1987 said:
Live entertainment should begin on opening day. That'd be a small boost to more options when the weather plays a negative role.

There was a show at Red Garter. The park brought in a band for the weekend.

That's the kind of thing I wouldn't mind to see happening more at the park and even the hotels. With the return of the Beach Band and the new group Frontier Folks (which I assume will also be live music) it seems like they are getting back to having more "streetmosphere" entertainment in the park.

As consumers I think our expectations are too high and our behavior is too low. Let me give you a much smaller example of this kind of stuff and the crap I go through. I run a parks department. If it rains at 2:00 we get hundreds of calls asking if the fields will be closed. Now, they are calling about games that start at 7:00pm mind you but they want to know NOW so they can change their plans and catch their favorite reality tv show or head to McDonald's for dinner.

So, let's say I go ahead and close the fields at 2:00 and the sun comes out at 5:00 and the fields are playable at 7:00pm. Well, then I get slammed for closing the fields when it would have been perfectly fine to play. If I try and get the fields ready to go and we have another downpour at 6:30pm then people are upset that I waited too long to close the fields. Either way, I'm pretty much the bad guy.

Same can be said in this case. I spent 6 hours in the cold rain at Discovery Cove two weeks ago. We put on the wetsuits and dealt with the rain. $500 later it wasn't the experience we were hoping for but we made the most of it and had a good time.

It is mother nature. Deal with it.

Sounds like TTD is still down, anyone know anything?

Chief Wahoo said:
As consumers I think our expectations are too high and our behavior is too low...

I appreciate your opinion; but, obviously mine is that our expectations for the park are way too low. We are the customers. We pay the salaries of every employee in the park from the CEO to the ride host. If they don't want to please customers, attract new ones, and keep them coming back, then why would they be in the business and where do you think these profits are going to come from if you keep having the attitude that guest are whiners or have bad behavior if they complain about a problem they have? Everyone knows the Golden Rule of any business. The customer is always right. Even when they are wrong, you do what you can to make them happy. Even when a customer is wrong, they usually know it. If the business does something to meet them in the middle, the customer will usually return and be happy.

Walt said:
Sounds like opening a can of worms. If they start setting a precedent, the threshold at which guests start to expect/demand refunds or rainchecks will get lower and lower.

I really don't think it would be as big of a deal. Even if the park passed out things like free Ride Photo coupons for the next visit, or 10% coupons for food and merchandise in the park whenever a ride was closed for a period of time, most people would be delighted. The park would probably make money off of return visits and additional sales in the park. The park just has a bad and antiquated weather policy that should be revised to be more customer friendly.

My expectations are simple: When I go outside I expect to be affected by weather. If I am watching a baseball game in 40 degree weather that is not the team's fault. If a concert is delayed by rain that is not the performer's fault. If I go to a Tulip Festival and get snowed on, it is not the festival's fault.

Is it my fault? Not really. I didn't make it rain, freeze, snow. But I am the one taking the risk. The park takes the risk that paying customers may not come to the park on a day that the weather is bad. YOU take the risk that you will not be bothered by weather when you go outside.

If you have a problem with that, sue Mother Nature. NO ONE, certainly not an amusement park, warranted in any way that your $$$ would get you 75 degrees and no wind.

Today the customer is often wrong and the fact that we let them believe "the customer was always right" got us into the mess that we are now in. What I have witnessed with treatement of employees over the past decade is insane. Some customers cost you more than they benefit you and I have no problem saying that. Futhermore, I have no problem acting on that in a respectable manner.

I've shared a story before that I had a customer berate a staff member to the point of tears and shaking. When I was called in to deal with the issue I calmly told the customer that no problem could solicit that type of response by him and I would gladly refund his money so that he could go elsewhere. What I lost in that one customer I gained in a terrific employee staying and continuing to be a great representative to all of my other guests.

By the way, where were you PointGuru when I was working at the park.? I would have demanded you give me a raise because I was grossly underpaid. Way back in the day Geauga Lake tried a "sunshine guarantee" where if your day was impacted by weather for X number of hours you got some type of Twilight pass for a return trip and if it was Y number of hours you got a free day pass. That didn't even last a season if I recall. There were too many problems with it.

"Well, gee, it isn't my fault that I can't come back tomorrow. I'm only in town for the day. So, why should this guy get a free pass to come back and I get nothing? I want a refund."

"Well, gee, I'm a Season Pass holder so a free pass to return won't do me any good. But hey, you should refund me my parking and give me some gas money for the trouble."

I don't follow the industry close enough anymore but I'd be surprised if anyone is doing a raincheck these days. You certainly don't get it at the big Orlando parks and if anyone was going to be doing anything necessary to make guests happy wouldn't they be?

Simply not true. If it rains or other weather conditions dictate, the outdoor event, baseball, concert etc... is rescheduled and you can go to the rescheduled date or you get a refund if it is cancelled. If the weather is 40 degrees at a baseball game you can watch and get what you paid for. You may not enjoy it as much; but, people would still ride coasters if they were running in 40 degree temperatures.

If the park had a more flexible weather policy, they could extend the operating season, probably double it. If you can play baseball in Cleveland at the beginning of April in Detroit or Cleveland you can run amusement rides in Sandusky. Sure there would be a lot more days with bad weather; but, there were a lot of pretty good days wasted before the park opened this year and last year. I'm sure people will have lots to say about staffing levels, maintenance, and attendance levels but that would be better for another thread. All I will say is, "if you open it, they will come" (Field of Dreams voice).