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thamnarestan
09-07-2001, 03:13 PM
Okay, I got the feeling that some of you thought I had only negative feelings for Annual Passholders. Well, I don't. Here's a list of things Cast Members appreciate about Annual Passholders.

1. APs never ask where the bathroom is.
2. They never ask what Fastpass is, where it is, or what time to come back.
3. They always know where the entrance/exit is.
4. They know to say how many people are in their party when they get to the front of the line.
5. They tell us when there's a problem with our ride so we can fix it.
6. They speak English!
7. They give guest compliments more than the single day guest.
8. Their children are in a better mood because they haven't been spending the entire day walking around the park in 90 degree heat.

Okay, I'm sure there are more, but I'll leave the rest up to the other CMs. I suppose Annual Passholders should feel welcome to add whatever they wish or discuss any of the above (if they feel they are unfair generalizations).

Napsto
09-07-2001, 03:26 PM
we spend lots of money.

blusilva
09-07-2001, 03:29 PM
Thank you thamnarestan. That's really nice. :)

Alex S.
09-07-2001, 03:47 PM
Originally posted by thamnarestan
6. They speak English!

Is this one still true in Tokyo and Paris?

hbquikcomjamesl
09-07-2001, 03:56 PM
Thanks. Might I suggest also that those of us who aren't, well, "passholders without the P, D, and R," tend to be more patient than those who are trying to cram as much as possible into one day. (Even when I was in WDW on very strict time constraints, the more so because of wanting to be in the MK for all five performances of the MSEP during my stay, I was patient, because I knew that most of what I would miss, I could either see and do in Anaheim, or catch on a return trip.)

marron-cream
09-07-2001, 10:39 PM
Originally posted by Alex Stroup


Is this one still true in Tokyo and Paris?

I imagine he was only talking about Disneyland, since this is the Disneyland board.

As for why I like APs, they're easy to guest service. They like to talk! :)

adriennek
09-07-2001, 10:45 PM
Ok, thamnarestan, my respect for you just went up a notch. I can appreciate a person who will contribute a bit of a balanced viewpoint! :) It's nice to know we aren't all bad....

Adrienne K-- who spent this evening at Disneyland with my family (including my under 1 year and 1 day old son,) with two kids in a great mood (we didn't get there until almost 5 pm,) didn't ask for any directions, knew how many people were in our party at rides, said please and thank you to the CMs (and were generally friendly beyond that, too,) and had a wonderful evening.

PhilMP
09-08-2001, 01:14 AM
Originally posted by thamnarestan

6. They speak English!


The greatest reason I love APs. The question I hate most is not one about where the exit is, or where the bathrooms are, or what time the 9:00 Fantasmic is, but "Cuantos cuestas?"

To and Outdoor Vendor, those two words lead to the inevitable "My mom/dad/etc. will give you <amount>" which leads to the usual response about no discounts, which leads to there being one less of something on your cart that wasn't paid for.

While this is a generalization brought upon by a small minority, it is the question most hated by all Outdoor Vendors, since we automatically have to focus on that particular group of Guests, scrutinizing them for anything that they might have taken from our cart.

At least tourists from Asia or Europe will attempt to communicate in English, however, the before mentioned group will assume you know their language.

Oh well, I also love APs because they are the greatest Disney fans, and many APs and I recognize each other from the numerous times they've visited me, and we always have a little discussion about something going on in the park if I'm not busy. :)

Phil

lillas
09-08-2001, 07:00 AM
Philmp
For those of us who still live in America, what does "cuantos cuestas" mean?

EandCDad
09-08-2001, 07:09 AM
Originally posted by thamnarestan
Okay, I got the feeling that some of you thought I had only negative feelings for Annual Passholders. Well, I don't. Here's a list of things Cast Members appreciate about Annual Passholders.

1. APs never ask where the bathroom is.


Based on the number of times this bathroom comment has come up, I'm starting to think that I should get a job at DL. I would not be able to support my family, but if the worst part of my job was telling people where the bathroom was, I would think I had it pretty easy.


As far as Spanish speaking people not speaking english. I'm praying that the people at DLP will speak english when I get there. There is no way I can learn enough French to survive. I will count on the kindness of the CMs to understand that everyone may not take a Berlitz Course just to come to DL.

Oh yea, and pay your salary.

marron-cream
09-08-2001, 09:41 AM
Originally posted by EandCDad


As far as Spanish speaking people not speaking english. I'm praying that the people at DLP will speak english when I get there. There is no way I can learn enough French to survive. I will count on the kindness of the CMs to understand that everyone may not take a Berlitz Course just to come to DL.

Oh yea, and pay your salary.

There are plenty of people at DLP who speak English. They hire people from all over Europe, including the UK. Just look for the nametags with a little British flag on it.

No one is saying that tourists ought to learn English in order to come to Disneyland. Ironically, in my experiences, tourists are very nice about trying to speak English. They tend to politely ask beforehand, "Habla Espanol?", making it possible for me try to dredge up my limited high school Spanish. The same can't always be said for our other Spanish-speakers, who tend to walk up to the register speaking nothing BUT Spanish, and worse, EXPECT ME to speak Spanish and then get angry when I have no clue what they said! And before anyone accuses me of generalizing, this is only a small minority of Spanish-speakers. It's just something that gets to a lot of cast members.

It's all about common courtesy -- if you try, then I will do whatever I can to help you. But if you get mad because I'm no native Spanish speaker, then I'm afraid you're out of luck.

Lillas: Cuanto Cuestas means How Much?

thamnarestan
09-08-2001, 10:38 AM
Originally posted by EandCDad


Based on the number of times this bathroom comment has come up, I'm starting to think that I should get a job at DL. I would not be able to support my family, but if the worst part of my job was telling people where the bathroom was, I would think I had it pretty easy.

Well, it's not that it's a difficult question, it's just repeated so many times in a day. In some positions, you'll have guests asking you questions nonstop (literally), and they're usually just one or two repeated over and over again. Actually, I enjoy answering the more unique questions such as "how do I get priority seating?" or "was that character in the ride when it first opened?" that can't be answered by simply looking at one's guidemap.


Originally posted by EandCDad

As far as Spanish speaking people not speaking english. I'm praying that the people at DLP will speak english when I get there. There is no way I can learn enough French to survive. I will count on the kindness of the CMs to understand that everyone may not take a Berlitz Course just to come to DL.


I'd have to say that the oriental guests are on average the most pleasant group of people to serve, even though the rarely speak good English. They usually at least try to communicate in English and are almost always very courteous.

PhilMP was right about the hispanic guests. About half the time they come up to me and ask "hablo espanol?". But almost every day someone walks up to me and starts speaking to me in Spanish (and I don't even look hispanic). Sometimes, when I say "No hablo espanol", they start to speak in near-perfect English! I have no idea why they assume everyone at Disneyland can speak Spanish. Anaheim is not in Mexico.

As for your trip to EuroDisney, I believe that CMs wear language pins on their nametags so foreign guests can find someone to communicate with (similar to what Disneyland does). Just don't look for the American flag, because I think the Union Jack is used for English.

EandCDad
09-08-2001, 11:07 AM
As far as the language goes, I'm not trying to defend rude patrons of any nationality. Just trying to point out that just because someone comes to DL does not mean they are going to speak English and a CM should not expect that they will. But a rude guest is a rude guest and I certainly won't "expect" to have English speakers at DLP, although I'm glad some will likely be there.

As far as the bathroom question goes. I wasn't implying the question was difficult. Just the opposite. The point was that some people might think that a job where if the #1 complaint was that numerous customers ask you where the bathroom is, you've got it pretty easy. I don't know if that is the real #1 complaint, but it is certainly listed by CMs on these boards as being a real drag. If it is, then count your blessings.

thamnarestan
09-08-2001, 12:27 PM
I can't stand these PERSONAL ATTACKS by the PREVIOUS POSTER!

;)

Anyway, I don't expect any guest at Disneyland to speak English. I do expect the guests, though, to understand that not all CMs speak their language. If someone comes up to me and asks if I speak spanish, I'll try to find someone who does. If they just walk up to me speaking spanish, though, I'll just speak to them in English.

EandCDad
09-08-2001, 12:31 PM
Originally posted by thamnarestan
I can't stand these PERSONAL ATTACKS by the PREVIOUS POSTER!

;)



Huh? Wah? I'm going to start a list on the number of times someone says that about me.;)

As for your other comment, I agree.

3894
09-08-2001, 02:41 PM
Why do Cast Members hate being asked about the locations of restrooms and exits?

It really seems petty.

PhilMP
09-08-2001, 04:34 PM
Originally posted by 3894
Why do Cast Members hate being asked about the locations of restrooms and exits?

It really seems petty.

I think we CMs hate those questions so much because we get them so much, and the answers are so easy.

I can get 20-30 questions about bathrooms an hour, and it gets rather annoying to keep pointing to the same place and giving the same spiel for hours at a time. And most of the times the restroom is about 20 feet away, it's just that the Guest is simply not being observant enough to figure it out, or simply refuses to peruse their park map to find the bathroom.

I only get questions about the exit to the park, so I'll keep my discussion there. I can get a large amount of questions by Guests asking where the exits are, especially after the fireworks or Fantasmic. It really makes me annoyed to have to answer that question when there's about 20 thousand people all going in the same way to get home. It's not like they're all rushing to some ride at 11:00 PM. And again, there's the issue of perusing park maps for about 30 seconds to get one's bearings and find out where they are and plot an appropriate course.

Phil

tabacco
09-08-2001, 06:17 PM
Originally posted by thamnarestan
Anyway, I don't expect any guest at Disneyland to speak English. I do expect the guests, though, to understand that not all CMs speak their language. If someone comes up to me and asks if I speak spanish, I'll try to find someone who does. If they just walk up to me speaking spanish, though, I'll just speak to them in English.

Hey, I had a guest the other day who, for some reason, just assumed I spoke Italian. After I indicated that aside from "good morning," I don't know a word of the language, it turned out he spoke english quite well.

ODV CM
09-08-2001, 08:06 PM
Whats really bad is that people assume that if you sell mexican food(churros) then you must speak Spanish. And its not so bad, since all you have to say is dos cinquenta(two fifty), up until they get to the part about picking what flavor. I finally found out what grape in Spanish was(ouvas), but then they took it away. I know apple, but I never did learn strawberry. And then of course, when its Code 90(over 90 degrees in the park) all Churro wagons sell Power Aide, and you can forget about trying to explain their weird flavor names.

FantasmicFan82
09-08-2001, 08:08 PM
AND IT'S NOT "Chew-Row"

hbquikcomjamesl
09-10-2001, 08:29 AM
1. APs never ask where the bathroom is.
2. They never ask what Fastpass is, where it is, or what time to come back.
3. They always know where the entrance/exit is.


And not only do we not ask the stupid "newbie" questions, we occasionally find ourselves fielding them!

I'm not sure why I get mistaken for a CM (except that I am almost always wearing a short-sleeved dress shirt and Haggar Expandomatics), but I also get mistaken for store employees in many places, too. But I always try to answer what I can, while politely letting the fellow guest know I'm not a CM.

On July 4th of this year, while I was on my way from breakfast at the River Belle to my first park-hop (just long enough to pick up a Soarin' Fastpass, before my Walt's Footsteps tour), I was asked where to find the nearest restroom. (Notice how I got asked in an area where there aren't many?) I ended up having him follow me to the Adventureland entrance, where I pointed him in the right direction before continuing out to DCA.

splbound
09-10-2001, 03:46 PM
Why do CM's like AP's?

It's the Cheese! -


(Sorry, apologies.....)

AVP
09-10-2001, 03:57 PM
Originally posted by hbquikcomjamesl
I'm not sure why I get mistaken for a CM (except that I am almost always wearing a short-sleeved dress shirt and Haggar Expandomatics), but I also get mistaken for store employees in many places, too. But I always try to answer what I can, while politely letting the fellow guest know I'm not a CM.

I've decided that I have an almost-invisible tattoo somewhere about my person that says "Employee". That tattoo is somehow visible only to people who want directions to the nearest restroom, want to know if something is on sale, or who want me to help them pick out a gift for their sister. I can be in jeans at Nordstrom, or in shorts at Disneyland, and people will ask me questions.

I also get a lot of Spanish-speaking guests who want me to translate for them. Mind you, there is nothing about my german-jewish-native-american-princess self that should cause anyone to believe that I speak Spanish, but that's apparently another Tattoo I have somewhere.

Adrienne VP