Rude Workers

Safety is not an accident..

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- Big Pimp -
MF 2000 - 269 laps
MF 2001 - 101 laps as of (7/12/01)
June 11th, 2001 - Gemini 100

If you ask me Kennywood has the rudest employees. Not all of them, most of them are great, but there are a few.......

I don't know if you've ever worked in food service, Winston306, but I have. Among other places, at Cedar Point (Stockade Refreshments, in '85, I think). It can be a complicated task.

While you can focus your attention solely on the food service worker, they must divide their attention between you, the person or persons behind you who may already be giving their order, the status of a special order they have in for a customer, making sure they're giving accurate change, and a host of other things. I wasn't there with you, so it's hard to be specific, of course; I'm just trying to suggest that there may have been other concerns present for the employee(s) in question.

True, in years gone by every customer would have been thanked pleasantly for their patronage; on the other hand, you would have been wearing a suit, a tie, and a hat for your day in the park. We live in a more casual world and there are ups and downs to that.

Good point about the casual v. more formal atmosphere, slithernoggin. While I will in no way defend outright rudeness in any form, having worked at CP both in Park Op and Merchandise, and my husband in Foods, one thing we were always irked about on the part of the guest(s) is that there are a lot of them (certainly not all!) that seem to feel entitled to 5-star first class service because they paid their entrance fee. While everyone wants to be treated special while on vacation or even just a relaxing day off, there are times that you have to realize that you're not paying $1000+ per person for your time here. Certainly every guest ought to get a thank you/your welcome, but so should every employee that dispatches your train, works hard to insure that you get through the line as quickly as possible, picks up your cigarette butt/kleenex/napkin/cup, takes your ticket, rings up your merchandise, inspects your ride, cooks your food, makes your bed, vacuums your room, etc... While I'm sure that many, many guests are polite whenever possible, certainly you forget to thank someone once in awhile, solely due to your excitement for the amazing experience you are having. Perhaps that employee has been thanking everyone before you, and everyone after, but you happened to be that one person in between...

I'm certainly not defending rudeness or sarcastic comments, but everyone here has made good points about the long days the employees work, and how often we hear the same stupid lines and jokes; I certainly can see it from the employees point of view, as well as the guest. Just don't let it ruin your day!

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PO!NT OF VIEW - A Different Look at Roller Coasters
http://www.crosswinds.net/~justmayntz/thrills/

I think I was misunderstood or wasn't clear. I wasn't just speaking of food services. And yes, I have worked in food services in years past and I have to say it can get a bit crazy at times. Like I said before, it's just a pet-peeve of mine (expecting to hear a your welcome when I say thanks) I guess we just see things from different angels. When I'm working, I dont expect to hear "thank you" since I am the one getting paid to do what I am doing. (but it is nice to hear now and again ;) ) I guess I just pride myself on being polite.

Hey CrystalKat....

What time is the ten o'clock laser show??

Sorry.. couldn't resist.. I've actually answered that question for people when walking the park..

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- Big Pimp -
MF 2000 - 269 laps
MF 2001 - 101 laps as of (7/12/01)
June 11th, 2001 - Gemini 100

I never noticed any nude workers at Cedar Point. Where can I find them? Are they cute?

-- Harley

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CP fan since 68.

*Sticks her tongue out at Rob...*

"Do you work here?" (No, I just wear this snappy ensemble and nametag because I'm a fashion guru.)
"Is this the line?" (Is this candy cane hard enough to smack some sense into you?)
"Does this ride [Turnpike Cars] go upside down?" (Strap in and I'll show you.)
"How do you get to the Steel Phantom?" (Take the turnpike east...)

Been there, done that, and WISH I could have answered this way! :)

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PO!NT OF VIEW - A Different Look at Roller Coasters
http://www.crosswinds.net/~justmayntz/thrills/

I agree with you Winston. It's not a big deal but those types of things are rude. As for that casual vs formal or whatever, that is bull. I have worked in plenty of fast food rest in my younger days and it's NOT that difficult. I for one say thank you to everyone who serves me and if I don't hear a response I take that as giving me the finger. I pay a lot of money to go to CP and I expect to be treated like royality. Do you think Kinzel would say "Oh, this is a casual environment so don't worry about being polite!" I think not. The ones working there are the ones who made the decision to do so. NOT ME. You need to get off of Winston306's back because he is right. How dare him and the creator of this post dare say anything bad about the CP machine. *** This post was edited by BlueKnight on 7/18/2001. ***

Blueknight,
We are in agreement on a few things, but lets not turn this into an argument. We were just stating our opinions. I don't really think they were "On my back".

I'm NOT arguing!!!! Just giving MY Opinion. This is just the reason I stopped posting on here and just would read. Not allowed to say anything bad about CP.

Hmmm.. you know I've never said "Gee, that worker didn't say thank you, how rude."

It's never occured to me to think that. Personally, I understand how hard the person is working. A smile is appreciated, but as long as the worker doesn't make me feel like I'm the cause of his/her problem, I'm happy.

If I tell you there's something wrong with my food however, please don't argue with me. There is nothing that makes me madder. I'm not out for a free lunch, I just expect that the one I bought meets reasonable standards.

I guess I have been lucky...never had a rude experience at the Point. Ironically, I won't ever go BACK to SFWOA becuase of the way I was treated..

Mikey

BlueKnight, I don'tknow why you got all upset about Winston306's post, but he didn't sound nearly as hostile as you're making him out to be...what's with the shouting?

if you guys want the friendliest ride operators, go to mean streak. theyre the best!

I think this post should be closed before Blueknight has a heart attack :). Just kidding Blueknight.

Coasterjunkie...It's no wonder that the Mean Streak ride ops are the best...they are, after all, working on the BEST coaster in the park ;)

mikey

Mine Ride ops are great too- they take humor in their job of duty. The other day the speaker said:
"We're gonna take you up NOT very high and drop you down NOT very low."

"Have a good day at Cedar Point, home of 3 top ten roller coasters in the world- and you guessed it, Mine Ride isn't one of them."

"You're gonna be raised 625? INCHES off the ground!"


Also, Gemini ops made humor:

"Make 2 laps and ride again, we've got something you like: a short wait." or something to that extent.

This to me is what makes Cedar Point so great- the fact that ride ops can have fun with their job, even if it means operating a ride that isn't so big or as popular as the rest. *** This post was edited by Incline_Flash on 7/21/2001. ***

In my opinion there is no reason for a bad attitude. But we do get the same six stupid questions and actions all day long. (I don't think I'm tall enough. Is the line really 15 minuets?) Personally I try to grin and bear it or try to joke with the people. We try to be happy all the time, and I apologize to those people who have expierenced those workers who happen to be completely exhusted and overworked. I enjoy my job, but I admit to being short with guests occasionally. Some people don't realize that, espically on the Gemini, everything moves quickly. So if a guest doesn't move, it's for thier safty that we tell them to move back and wait or get off of the yellow line now. The trains move in and out of there rather quickly and we are mainly thinking of the guests safty. Sometimes you have to realize that we are also reacting to not only rude guests (someone cussed me out yesterday for telling him to put his cigarette out) and sheer exhustion. I'm not giving us excuses, but it's true. And I don't mean to be annoying but my cousin works at Disney and he only works about 8 hours a day...not 12 to 14+. I'll give you my promise that I will be pleasnt to everyone who comes into my line or onto my ride, but if I'm a little short, it's mostly for your safty.

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Gemini Crew 2001. I loved the Gem100!!

Mikey I second that opinion, great crew and great ride. Its an all around winning combo in my book.

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Mean Streak Rules!
MS 2001 Count- 214