Understaffing at Cedar Point hits nightmarish levels...

Wendy’s Cold Drinks...

Zoug68 said:

Compared to many years ago, Sandusky has many more attractions, hotels, restaurants and stores that are open all year that I think would deter many from working at a seasonal job. I would think CP and places like it in that region would need to exceed what the average pay rate is for year round jobs.

Having been around the Sandusky region for over 10 years, and knowing a few people that grew up there, most locals look at working at Cedar Point with disdain. They would rather work at any of the restaurants or other establishments within the city.

Which goes hand in hand with your other point. The amount of redevelopment that has occurred in downtown Sandusky is surely pulling any local toward those opportunities. So if CP can't get those local people to work for them then they are going to relying more and more on people outside of the region. Which will push many more openings back until after Memorial Day.

I was there in the cold this past weekend and at least the main rides and most of the flats and kids rides were open. Food service still seemed understaffed though.

I went to Menard's yesterday and I noticed in big, bold letters at the bottom of my receipt it says "Seasonal Hiring - Earn $3 more per hour on weekends!" Now, I don't know what Menard's pays beyond minimum, but I'm sure most teens/college students looking for work would rather work at a place like Menard's where they're not exactly exposed to the elements, work mostly in air conditioning, not locked in to structured schedules, and probably have much more flexibility as far as scheduling time off, etc.

Has staffing always been this bad? There aren't really more rides or restaurants than there were back in the 1990's. I don't remember this being an issue 10 and 20 years ago or was it just not on our radar?

I worked at Geauga Lake during the transition and one of the biggest complaints that team members had was Cedar Fair implementing the OPEN to CLOSE policy and one day off a week. Six flags had more schedules to choose from (Open to Close, 12 to 8, 4 to Close, etc.).

I think there are three main elements contributing to the issue:

1. Opening earlier than in years prior, before many colleges are done with classes.
2. Relatively high attendance
3. Low unemployment

And there are more rides and attractions than in years prior. Not only have they increased the ride count, but there are also new things going on on the beach, midways, etc.

Where are all the workers they hire from overseas?

JW Addington said:

Where are all the workers they hire from overseas?

Probably starting this weekend or next.

JW Addington said:

Where are all the workers they hire from overseas?

Trump won't give them a visa to work in this country.

Last year it seemed like they showed up a couple weeks after opening. That's when I noticed them.

TwistedWicker77 said:

My thing about the applicants not being qualified enough...everybody has the potential to be trainable. If you train them, shadow them, and watch them, they will do the job you have trained them to do. Is this always the case? No. Are there still those select few that think they’re too good to perform a certain task? Absolutely. But not hiring someone because they are “not good enough” is absurd.

One bad hire will take up all your time and even after excessive training they can revert if not watched closely. There are a lot of variables and a few heartwarming stories, but there is a reason why businesses interview, check references, and do background checks.

I can’t find it, but a while back on some thread somewhere (maybe this one) there was a mention of a Dorney Park time clock at CP. I think it’s in the ballroom. We joked about it.
Anyway, I found out why that is. Yesterday toward closing I left thru the front gate to see about the beach boardwalk gate and after seeing it and deciding it was too far I and went back in. The front gate guy had on a Dorney name tag. I asked him about it and he said he’s on loan to CP for weekdays and his last day is this Thursday. And that time clock is the one they have to use.

There. Take THAT, understaffing issues! Dorney Park to the rescue!

Dang, that's quite the ride from Dorney to CP for that kind of job. I wonder if they ever borrow employees from KI since it's significantly closer?

I didn’t look, but Dorney may not have daily yet. KI does. As for last week I dunno.
And I pictured a handful of Dorney employees climbing on a charter bus there in Allentown on Thursday night. Maybe they stay in the Cedars.

This time last year on this forum there were reports of CP bussing in employees from other parks temporarily. Dorney and KD IIRC. Would be interesting to know what incentives they offered them. Maui Sands has some good rates. :D

Oh my goodness. I drove past that decrepit resort twice yesterday. It looks like it should be full of walkers. And it looks closed. Dumpsters outside full of crap.
And I swear, when I was looking for a hotel for First Rider, I saw a third party hotel site selling rooms for that place.

In years past GL/WWK employees would also pick up hours by working at CP when those parks were weekend only op and CP was everyday. Always cracked me up to see Directors and Managers from GL working rides in Camp Snoopy during Halloweekends.

Front Seat Rider said:

TwistedWicker77 said:

My thing about the applicants not being qualified enough...everybody has the potential to be trainable. If you train them, shadow them, and watch them, they will do the job you have trained them to do. Is this always the case? No. Are there still those select few that think they’re too good to perform a certain task? Absolutely. But not hiring someone because they are “not good enough” is absurd.

One bad hire will take up all your time and even after excessive training they can revert if not watched closely. There are a lot of variables and a few heartwarming stories, but there is a reason why businesses interview, check references, and do background checks.

Believe me when I say I have worked as a hiring manager for many years, so I understand all of that. But typically when someone says a candidate is "not good enough", this refers to their lack of experience rather than felony charges and past work history. That is why a lot of businesses hold their employees on a 30, 60, and 90 day probationary period upon employment agreement.

Either way, I am willing to bet a lot of applicants have not been answered by the rides department and passed on to other department managers when their backgrounds are clear. Why? I do not know. That's what I'm referring to when I say they can't be picky like that at this point. They don't have enough people from previous seasons applying where they can rely on them to return in May or June. They have to rebuild their workforce, keep them wanting to stay there (ie: better management system, better housing, initiatives, etc).

F1rePhant0m said:
Dang, that's quite the ride from Dorney to CP for that kind of job. I wonder if they ever borrow employees from KI since it's significantly closer?

After the horrible weekend last year that prompted this exact thread, they literally “bussed” in and provided rooms for 6 staff members from Michigan’s Adventure the following weekend to help.

Slightly off topic, but regarding the Dorney employees . . . while marathoning GateKeeper this afternoon, I was chatting up the ride host, a young lady from Dorney. I said to her that she's quite a ways from home and asked her how she liked CP. She said "It's different." and chuckled. I chuckled along and asked "A good different or a bad different?" She simply said "Just different." She also mentioned that her group heads back home on Thursday.

Today was perfect. Most coasters from Blue Streak to Millennium where running 2-3 trains. Lots of little snack spots down ; but staff was energetic and efficient. 95% rides were walk on save for an hour wait at Vengeance ( well worth it ) with only one train running.