Stolen All-Season Drink Cups

I'll drink to that!

homerj281 said:

...Now THAT'S stupid, but not as stupid as leaving beach bags unattended on a cabana chair in Soak City the entire day....

I would imagine most people that do this don't have anything of value in the bags. The only thing in mine that would seriously screw up my day if it went missing is my car keys. Depending on where the bags are they may not be quite as unattended as they look. Just because nobody is sitting next to them does not mean they aren't being watched.

It's clearly difficult for some people to wrap their head around the fact that there is more to a business than making money. There's also customer satisfaction. If you don't get it, whatever.
These cups will be left all over the park until they do something different. People will visit Guest Services to complain about their cups being discarded by park employees and Cedar Fair being a pretty reputable company will likely find a way to make it right. If not, they've just made a case to that park guest why they shouldn't but a cup next season.
They want guests to leave the park with a great impression. "Just awful."

I made this handy chart to deal with the responsibility for those who lost their cups;

homerj281 said:

There's also customer satisfaction. If you don't get it, whatever.

It's actually become pretty clear that you don't get it.

As for satisfied guests, I think the several-years-running of record revenue speak for themselves. If guests weren't satisfied with the product, they wouldn't be flowing through the gates in record numbers.

homerj281 said:

... there is more to a business than making money.

No, there's not. Businesses exist to make money.

There's also customer satisfaction.

Granted, that's an element of a successful business. (Mostly; debt collections agencies aren't dealing with debtors in order to get them to be repeat customers.) But it's in support of profit-mongering, not in addition to it.

These cups will be left all over the park until they do something different. People will visit Guest Services to complain about their cups being discarded by park employees and Cedar Fair being a pretty reputable company will likely find a way to make it right.

As DJ notes, the company has several years of record revenues. Which suggests to me that if customers were showing up at guest services in the droves you suggest, the company would have addressed the issue.

As DJ notes, the company has several years of record revenues. Which suggests to me that if customers were showing up at guest services in the droves you suggest, the company would have addressed the issue.

Customer satisfaction=record revenues. So they're doing it right.
These cups are a fairly new concept. I've only been to Guest Services twice (not cup related myself) and have witnessed at least two other guests show up for a cup related incident while I waited. These things are a bigger pain for them than just being strewn about the park.

thedevariouseffect said:
I made this handy chart to deal with the responsibility for those who lost their cups;

That's cute.

It's actually become pretty clear that you don't get it.

As for satisfied guests, I think the several-years-running of record revenue speak for themselves. If guests weren't satisfied with the product, they wouldn't be flowing through the gates in record numbers.

Yep, I get it. Decades in dealing with the general public, this is the way my employer, which is also posting record revenues and profits, operates. Drink cups cost them nothing and they can be replaced in a second electronically.

The locker rentals by the rides that cost $2, the rental fee is per hour. So, say you wanted to ride all of the rides without bins first thing, instead of renting for 2 hours, maybe try renting it for 4 to 5 hours. Or there are the all day come and go as you please lockers behind Guest Services. In Soak City, either, put it on table in one of the kiddie sections, or rent a standard size locker. And yes the rides that have bins will let you keep your cup inside of the bin while on the ride. Just remember to grab it on the way out!

This thread has become nothing more than people who can't/won't/don't want to be responsible for their cups complaining about them. The cups have been around for years now. If you don't want to carry one around, or get a locker when you cannot take the cup in line, then simply don't buy one. If you want one, then follow the rules. If you leave it out, and someone steals it, then it's your fault. It is not the park's fault for not providing you with another alternative. It is YOUR fault. If it is stolen from a locker, it sucks, but it is still not the park's fault due to their disclaimer about not being responsible for items left in lockers (because if they didn't, it would be a matter of minutes before someone lied about having something expensive stolen from a locker, and expecting the park to pay for it).

I go to the park alone quite a bit. If I have my cup, and don't feel like paying for a locker, I either leave it in the car, or I don't ride the rides that require me to get a locker. This is not rocket science, and it shouldn't warrant 7 pages of posts from people complaining. Buy a cup or don't, and take care of it, or don't. It is the responsibility of no one but you. Stop beating a dead horse already. And go ahead and start bashing me, like people on this forum tend to do when someone disagrees with them. I don't care. I'm not the one acting like spoiled, entitled child over a cup.

I'm playing devil's advocate with this. I have a cup and it's s pain. I know the risk associated with it and I'm prepared to buy a new one if something happened to it.
Thanks for the discussion!

homerj281 said:

I'm playing devil's advocate with this. I have a cup and it's s pain. I know the risk associated with it and I'm prepared to buy a new one if something happened to it.
Thanks for the discussion!

I can appreciate this, and thanks for the clarification. That being said, there are some on here who aren't falling into that same category. They know who they are.

After getting one of those cups a few years ago and it being more of a pain than it's worth, I didn't get any more since then. And after I figured in locker costs, it was actually costing me more than just getting a regular disposable cup each visit. I just learned that you can take your own water bottles into the park and most stands will fill it with water for free.

No bashing from me.

Except to say that the whining from the entitled is getting on my nerves, too. There are lots and lots of CP patrons who buy the cups, use them every time they come, and know what to do with em. They are good for business, they are not a mistake, they are here to stay, and nobody has hatched an insidious plot to rip people off. Those who do nothing all day but run from one thrill ride to another don't sound like good candidates for the cup unless they have a non rider with them, a stroller they can stow it in, rent a locker, or risk getting it taken or thrown away.

Think of it like game prizes or merchandise. No one here would deny that the park has every right to sell those items then ask folks to leave them off of active rides. People like those things after all, and those items aren't placed around on account of CP's charitable nature. They sell them to make money. So it's up to the end user to determine if it's the right day/time/place to purchase, because the minute they do certain limitations will be placed on their day.
Why should it be any different with these damn cups?

homerj281 said:

I have a cup and it's a pain.

If it's a pain, why do you have a cup? If it's a pain, why would you pay to replace it? I'm afraid I just don't understand.

homerj281 said:

I'm playing devil's advocate with this. I have a cup and it's s pain. I know the risk associated with it and I'm prepared to buy a new one if something happened to it.
Thanks for the discussion!

Um, you are? You've been complaining all up and down this thread about these stupid things, and now that people have posted reasonable responses, you're just now playing devil's advocate?

Also, I think it's funny you think these cups are a fairly new concept. They've been around for quite a while now. The park knows what it's doing. Especially when it's a handful of rides that are affected. And as I pointed out earlier, they all have legitimate reasons for having the policies they do, which aren't just for these stupid cups, by the way. You can't take purses, bags, or anything larger than what can fit in your pocket in line with you. That includes games prizes, food, souvenirs, on-ride photos, etc (all of which are purchased from the park like the cups).

So let's be real with it. You're just being ridiculous about the whole thing, thinking that the cup is the issue. Nope, the attitude you have about it and the so-called "inconvenience" is where the issue lies. Thousands of people buy these things every year. If it were as big a deal as what you're making it out to be, the policy would change. Since it hasn't, grow up, put it in a locker or leave it in your car, and quit complaining about it.

Or don't buy one, and drink water all day. Which is better for you, anyhow.

Here's the deal, boys. I have a cup, and yes it is not the easiest thing to tote around the park. I don't know how long they've been around exactly; this is the second season I've had one and the first season that I've noticed that they've been pushed at mass. I ride everything, and I'm not disclosing what I do with it on MF, TTD, etc. I DO understand the risk and I WOULD buy one again if it were lost.
The original point of the post that I'd been arguing is that there are better viable solutions (I gave one) for how the cups or any other all day drink program can be handled. You can't control 100% what people do with them and we will still see them littered in the bushes.
In the end, Cedar Point can do whatever they want. Replace it or not, throw cups away or not, they can even ban them in the park after they've sold you three of them.
I've entered a discussion and I took a side that you don't agree with. Sorry to upset you. Grow up.

At CoasterMania! they said they know the cups aren't ideal and they are looking at options.