New season, new attitude.

Has anybody noticed that all employees seem more laid back this season? In the past when I would go to a certain location, some of the employees usually seemed like they didn't want to be bothered.

This year, however, they seem excited to do their job. Not to mention, since opening day we have got free food three times because of a simple mistake they made. I really think food service has got a complete revamp. They care about keeping guests happy and not wasting food. For example: we went to get frozen custard at the place back in Frontier Town, and while they were ringing us out, the computer system took a crap and they couldn't use the credit card system. Unfortunately we didn't have cash on us, so the girl let us have our custard for free instead of wasting it and throwing it away.

Also, I've been seeing a lot of employees on their phones on the midway. Up until this year, no employee was allowed to have their phone out in front of guests. I wonder if supervisors are using iPhones to communicate with each other, rather than those annoying walkie talkies.

All employees really do seem more sincere when they wish you a good day, and I witnessed countless times them saying "my pleasure" when they help you with something.

Disregarding the rough start to this season for both Soak City and Cedar Point, I really do think this season is the best for guest satisfaction. Has anybody else witnessed good (or even bad) service or attitude from employees this season?

TwistedWicker77 said:
I wonder if supervisors are using iPhones to communicate with each other, rather than those annoying walkie talkies.

Or, even better, Android phones!

I will happily disagree with you on that, but I'm not getting into the iPhone is better than Samsung debate (and vice versa). However, every time I saw a supervisor on their phones, it was an iPhone.

Maybe they're just happy about the Cedars coming down. haha

In all seriousness though, I think CP's employees do a wonderful job. They're always nicer and more fun to be around than the employees at my hometown parks.

Employees have been pretty fantastic this year, and I've noticed an especially dramatic improvement between mid-May and late-June.

Last year, and even earlier this year, we sometimes forgot to utilize our Platinum Pass 10% discount. During our visit in June, every time we went to purchase something, the cashier asked if we had passes, which was nice.

Also, we had several issues with redeeming and using our All Day Dining Plan voucher earlier in the year, and I reached out to the park to provide feedback. Not only did they respond and apologize, but when we were back in June and purchased the plan again, they made sure to clearly explain how and where to redeem the voucher. The redemption locations are now also printed on the voucher itself. It was wonderful to see how responsive they were to feedback.

Also, we spent a lot of time on the beach this past weekend. They really are focusing attention on the beach. The band was awesome and the games they have are a hit too. The beach chairs and umbrellas are a huge hit also. It was nice to be able to walk/run the full length of the CP beach from Sandcastle to Gatekeeper. What a huge plus for the park.

TwistedWicker77 said:

I will happily disagree with you on that, but I'm not getting into the iPhone is better than Samsung debate (and vice versa). However, every time I saw a supervisor on their phones, it was an iPhone.

Maybe this says a lot about the work ethic and maturity of people who prefer iPhones ;)

I enthusiastically agree. Especially noticeable at hotel breakers. The staff is absolutely amazing, and you can tell they genuinely take pride in their jobs.

And the people who agree, I strongly suggest you send a note to the park as to shine the light on these enthusiastic and good employees.

Does anyone know if they still have those "Employee Thank You Cards" that you could give to an employee that helped to make your best day experience? There have been many times this year that I would have loved to give those to some people that really deserved them.

GDdashROM said:

TwistedWicker77 said:

I will happily disagree with you on that, but I'm not getting into the iPhone is better than Samsung debate (and vice versa). However, every time I saw a supervisor on their phones, it was an iPhone.

Maybe this says a lot about the work ethic and maturity of people who prefer iPhones ;)

Not sure I know what you mean by this

It's good to see a lot of positive experiences. My stay at Breakers couldn't have been better because of the friendliness. I think they're really starting to take the hiring process and training seriously now.

Prior to this year if you asked me who the friendliest staff were out of the parks I go to more than on a one time visit, I would say Michigan's Adventure and Six Flags Fiesta Texas. I can definitely add CP to that list now, as I too have noticed an awesome improvement.

Not sure if you've been to MIA this year, but imo, the majority of the staff clearly do not want to be there. Slow and lazy to get rides going and last week were literally heard shouting to each other counting down the minutes until they close. The only exceptions are the elderly people who work the toll booths. They are always so sweet and friendly!

Nope I used to go every year until 2013, which was my last visit. Hearing that makes me kinda sad, as they really had the whole "family park" atmosphere locked down, avoiding that corporate feel, and I think a large part of that was the staff.

Rides seem to be a mixed bag from what I've seen. On the whole, most encounters have been friendly, but some crews lack the urgency in getting people through the line. Definitely much better my last visit than early on this season though.

I've noticed the people in foods are quick to try to sell upgrades. I think they have something on their POS screens that reminds them to, "go with your GUT." Greet, Upgrade, Thank I think is what it stands for. Definitely seems like they are emphasizing those things and to their credit, they're doing it, but not being super obnoxious about the upsell.

Also, I am afraid I agree with the statement about Michigan's Adventure too. Not sure if they had trouble hiring people or what, but the park was understaffed, many employees looked like they didn't want to be there, things were far from efficient, and the place was dirtier than I'd expect. Two things that stand out. The first was arriving to a huge line to park my car and then finding Camille, the general manager, and Janet (director of operations I think) directing traffic up at the front of the lot. I'd hate to think what a cluster it would have been had they not jumped on it. Then later in the day, I observed horrendous operation of their Mouse coaster with one op literally crossing back and forth though trains on each cycle while a supervisor sat in the booth for 30 minutes chit chatting with the person in controls. I made a video of this mess actually. Nothing like turning what should have been a 10 or 15 minute wait into 45.

Like I said above, that's too bad about MiA. I've heard the stuff about them being understaffed this year but I haven't actually been there yet to see how bad it was for myself. Being out in the middle of nowhere sure doesn't help with getting staff :P

My Windows phone wins.

I spent Tuesday and Wednesday at Carowinds and Yesterday at Kings Dominion and I must say that without a doubt, CP has the most friendly staff by far. Not saying that the staff at those two parks were horrible, but CP staff is more friendly, informative, and have overall better attitudes.

I spent 3 days at CP last week and took the scenic route home to get a day in at MIA on Saturday. CP staff, I couldn't agree more, were top notch as far as service and attitude- food quality, in my opinion, still has a long road ahead though. MiA on the other hand was the complete opposite. I almost felt like the staff were disappointed to see us- one guy even rolled his eyes when my daughter asked for a refill. With the exception of a couple ride ops, they all moved at a snails pace. I saw one of the 'gumbusters' moving in slow motion and actually laughed out loud at that point. The park wasn't very clean, the ponds aren't being kept up, a few of the fountains in the ponds were half broke or spraying off to the side like they tipped over or something... The ride lines were fairly short but still had 45 min+ wait times. It was a disappointing end to an otherwise great week

I have to agree...compared to previous years they really do seem to be living up to the whole "best day of summer" initiative. One employee at TTD in particular was almost overly accommodating of my family and I when the ride was down. We even went on to learn that the launch accumulators weren't charging properly which is something the employees usually don't reveal.

^ So based on what some of you have said about Michigan's Adventure's, are you guys going to send an e-mail to Cedar Fair about how your visit was? Also when you visited, did you get an e-mail asking how your visit was? I always get one during opening weekend from Cedar Point every year.