Disneyland General
Topic: What ever happened to courtesy from CM's

#	Author	Message
1	saludos Sun 11/30/2008 7:47p	Let me start by saying on the whole I find most CM's to be very courtrous and friendly. However all it takes is one rude CM to ruin the day. This afternoon I sat down with a friend in the Plaza about 4:30. We decided to stay there to watch the lighting of the castle. About 5:15 two CM's come and start moving benches which is now the custom and I completely understand. However they were literally what I would call "barking" orders to those people sitting on the benchs they needed to move, including myself and my friend. "You need to stand up now so we can move this bench. You may stay to watch the castle lighting but at 7 p.m. we will kick you out because this area is reserved for others to watch the fireworks." I was so surpirsed at this mans comments. He was rude, condesending and not at all considerate. Never use the word please and again kept using the phrase "you will be kicked out at 7 p.m." One person commented to him about his choice of words and he replied by saying "look I have a job to do and I need to move these benches". Another CM working with him suggested if anyone had a complaint they were welcome to stop by City Hall. This is exactly what a few of us did. I completely understand when the park is crowded that sometimes it can be stressful, however this was not way to talk to people. Disney really needs to do some better training with some of their CM's, especially the ones who have the difficult job of crowd control/guest control. Again, this is the exception and not the norm, however it really stays with you when you witness it first hand. By the way the castle looks beautiful. Not really sold on the Christmas Tree. The LED lights just are not bright enough. Looks very muted. Here's to better visits in the future.
2	SpokkerJones Sun 11/30/2008 8:35p	Crowd control CMs NEED to bark orders though. When they are in the thick of it people do not respond to "I respectfully request that you please stay to your right" or whatever they are asking of guests. When your job is to make sure people move in a way that resembles order, not chaos, you need to be loud, clear, and a little bit forceful. I would not be surprised if the CMs are told to be firm when doing crowd control. I think you are being too sensitive.
3	SBSBelle22 Sun 11/30/2008 8:44p	I understand they have to be firm with crowd control, people en masse are stupid-but I don't think they had to say, we'll "kick you out". They could have said something like at this time we'll have to ask you to leave because these are reserved for the fireworks.
4	saludos Sun 11/30/2008 8:53p	My point exactly SBSBelle. The choice of words can make all the difference in the world. And to SpokkerJones...sensitive, not really. As a former CM myself (granted several years ago) who did guest control for the EP and Christmas seasons for over 8 years I found the use of the word please and showing courtesy to guests went a long way and made people more willing to comply. There is no excuse for rudeness no matter the circumstance. Walt would be embarrased to see and hear many of the people they now hire at Disneyland. WDW CM's are much more courteous and take a real pride in their Parks as I experienced on my trip there last month.
5	dlkozy Sun 11/30/2008 9:25p	>>>"Crowd control CMs NEED to bark orders though."<<< No they don't-firm yes, rude never!
6	lesmisfan Mon 12/1/2008 9:51a	yeah that wasn't handled well by the CM at all. I know i have worked guest control before and whenever we need to use benches, we go up and say, sorry you guys, unfortantley we do need to use the benches and place them elsewhere for the parades and fireworks and if they have questions, politley answer them. and the castle lights are amazing! and i really love the effect going all the way down main st and on the tree, the tree blew me away!
7	westsideCM99 Mon 12/1/2008 12:28p	<<Never use the word please and again kept using the phrase "you will be kicked out at 7 p.m." >> Not gonna happen anytime soon with the quality of CMs Disney has been hiring recently. Good example of the stresses of being a GC cast member: New Years Eve 2001 - I was working GC at the hub assigned to keeping the pathways intersecting at the Mickey & Walt statue free: 3 hrs prior to countdown: Hub is 100% full, numerous people trying to hop into the planters to grab a spot, I must have repeated the phrase "the planters are off limits; do not hop over the fences please; and/or, this is not a designated seating area. 2hrs prior to countdown: Father of a large family, who does not speak english, starts yelling and shoving a female cast member who is trying to do prop his whole family into the adjacent planter, I went to grab security but they were tied up with another altercation at the castle, I ran to Pioneer Merchantile to call in more security but they arrived too late as the family had left the hub on their own. A woman was overwhelmed in the crowd and had a clostrophobic seizure and Disney EMT had to hurry over and cart her out. This was especially difficult because many people in the way were being so spot-greedy that they wouldn't move to let the stretcher in. The EMTs literally had to shove their way in. 1hr to countdown: While ops was running audio/visual checks the crowd got excited and thought that a performance of some type was about to start. The crowd nearest to the castle gets rushed by the people behind them and some are trampled. I helped to escort guests to First Aid that had minor injuries from the incident. 20min to countdown: Late-comers to the hub looking for a last minute spot are turned away in the masses. I'm one of the many CMs now re-assigned to maintain the integrity of the now barricaded hub. CMs are being spit at, berated, and shoved. As I look back at the planters and pathways in the central hub guess what? They are now fully packed with guests that were obviously waiting for CMs to abandon the post, I saw the shift lead run over there to remove the guests but never saw him again for another two hours. Countdown: CMs that wanted to watch the event could not because of the many people still trying to sneak under the ropes to hopefully find some space in the crowded hub. All out chaos erupts at countdown, many CMs abandoned their posts out of frustration. After park closing: GC CMs breakdown ropes, de-brief, etc. I went to the hub just to look at the aftermath.. trash everywhere, all of the plants in the planters (flowers, bushes, etc) were destroyed and trampled, some taggers drew on the Mickey and Walt statue with a neon marker. The point that I'm trying to make is that many cast members are really overworked for what they get paid. Many are shellshocked by the constant crowd incidents that they see, as exampled above, and no longer differentiate good guests from bad guests. In the CMs eyes almost everyone is a "bad guest that could potentially be a good guest" so please do these CMs a favor and take their comments for a grain of salt because chances are they are probably thinking two steps ahead of you ahead to the guest that's gonna give them a harder time than you.
8	SpokkerJones Mon 12/1/2008 1:33p	New Years Eve at Disneyland is a public health hazard. The same nonsense happens every year. I believe it should become a specially ticketed event and the amount of tickets sold (at a higher than normal price) should be limited so that incidents like the above don't happen.
9	Hans Reinhardt Mon 12/1/2008 1:43p	"I believe it should become a specially ticketed event and the amount of tickets sold (at a higher than normal price) should be limited so that incidents like the above don't happen." It used to be a private ticketed party with headliner entertainment. I went back in the 80's and it was quite nice. Not sure why Disney stopped doing that.
10	SingleParkPassholder Mon 12/1/2008 1:49p	We were just commenting in another section how Disney allows the park to get too crowded and they should put a limit on how many are inside. Also, I don't care how long they've been doing it, using the benches for crowd control is an incredibly stupid idea.

All times are Pacific Time (US)

Note: Information on the discussion boards is sometimes based on rumors or incorrect information and should not be assumed true. Messages do not necessarily reflect the opinion of LaughingPlace.com or its editors.

More messages:

1-10

11-20

21-30

31-32

< Previous Topic

Next Topic >

You must be a registered user to post messages.
Click here to register.
After registration you will automatically be brought back to this topic

Antenna Toppers and Accessories
Antenna Toppers of all styles including sports, holiday, animals, occupations and more. Hundreds to choose f rom.

What's on
The Latest
Tales covers the London premiere of A Christmas Carol
Santas See A Christmas Carol in 3D
The Making of Up with the Filmmakers
Free Disney App now Available on App Store
Disneyland Resort Creates Magic for Guests with Visual Disabilities
FAQ Regarding D23 Member Events Posted
Lots more Disney Dream cruise info and pictures
Spooky Music on Laughing Place Radio
Disney Dream Cruise Ship Details Announced
Tinker Bell Named 'Honorary Ambassador of Green' at United Nations Headquarters

Click here for The Latest