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View Full Version : CM orientation ain't what it used to be



tod
03-08-2004, 07:48 AM
I walked up on The Lovely Mrs. Tod sitting on the curb on Main Street in front of Disney Clothiers and found her in a state of incredulity.

"You see that Cast Member over there?" she asked, pointing out a young woman selling battery-operated glow roses from a cart. "A guy came up and asked her where the nearest restrooms were, and she pointed toward the Castle and said 'Over there someplace, I think.'

"I said 'Excuse me. There are restrooms right over there, behind the Carnation Café.'

"I think they thought I was an off-duty Cast Member."

What happened to Cast Member orientation? I can't believe that an onstage CM didn't know where the nearest restroom is.

—t

dsnymom
03-08-2004, 09:06 AM
WOW! That is very disappointing.

Do you think that when Eisner is gone for good if all that will change back to the good old days again?

Anne

cstephens
03-08-2004, 11:10 AM
Originally posted by tod
What happened to Cast Member orientation? I can't believe that an onstage CM didn't know where the nearest restroom is.

When I went through orientation in the 80s, we were told that it would be a good idea to know where restrooms and other often-asked places are, but it wasn't a requirement, and we weren't taken around and shown where they were. It was our own responsibility. I know I made it a point of learning those things, but I know a lot of others didn't. Don't know if they included that information in orientations since then.

dsnymom
03-08-2004, 12:15 PM
I see your point cstephens. Perhaps I was overreacting just a little.

Morrigoon
03-08-2004, 12:16 PM
They didn't. But when I went through orientation in 98, they made it clear that if a guest asked you a question, you either answered it correctly, or found the answer for them. They don't really teach much about service in orientation any more though, so today's CMs don't know that that kind of behavior is unacceptable. Anyway, under current management, it apparently IS acceptable.

Orientation last year was a severe disappointment. I found it sorely lacking.

PhilMP
03-09-2004, 03:24 AM
It takes a New Hire about a month to learn the location of all the restroom locations in the park, and then be able to quickly recall the location of the nearest restroom and give accurate directions.

Trainers do try and teach New Hires the locations of ALL the restrooms in the park, but there's simply too much information to convey in an 8-hour shift. New Hires are simply forced to learn restroom/restaurant/store locations by themselves. It's a bad system, but it affects all departments.

However, some consolation can be had. At least the CM wasn't really able to see the nearest restroom when she gave the directions. I remember walking through NOS on my way to the Westside Diner, about 10 feet from the CM exit next to the restrooms by the NOS train station, when I heard a couple Fantasmic GC CMs, both with year pins, say "Oh, I don't know, we don't work this land" to a Guest who asked where the closest restrooms were. It was obvious they came from the exit I was about to go through, which means they HAD to walk right next to the restrooms in question.

I guess they don't teach CMs to be observant anymore in orientation either.

Morrigoon
03-09-2004, 07:37 AM
See, I was taught that "I don't know" was NOT an answer to use with a guest. Instead it was "let me find out". (sigh) but they don't teach that any more.

Polar33
03-09-2004, 12:25 PM
We were told at my orientation (which was pre-DCA opening, when all the changes in orientation and training occurred) never to tell a guest "I don't know", and to try to find out the answer for them instead of sending them to another CM.

I then learned in my on the job training that a lot of CMs don't have the ability to leave their post to find out an answer to a question that they don't know. For example, an ODV CM selling glow, or an Attractions CM in a safety position are not allowed to leave their posts for any reason, so they would have to point the guest towards another CM.

I see the inadequate training as partly to blame, and also the lowered standards in the casting process. I was never trained on the location of every single thing in the park, but I took the initiative to find out on my own.

tod
03-09-2004, 12:44 PM
Originally posted by Polar33
I was never trained on the location of every single thing in the park, but I took the initiative to find out on my own.

Over a period of 40+ years, including a few months as a Cast Member, I have pretty much done the same.

;)

--t

MintJulep
03-10-2004, 09:02 PM
One cast member did not know the location of the nearest bathroom, so you conclude that Disneyland doesn't teach anything useful during orientation.

Worst. Logic. Ever.

It is a pity that new hires, some of whom have only been to Disneyland a handful of times, do not immediately absorb enough information to rival your expansive knowlege of the resort.

Tambour
03-10-2004, 09:13 PM
AMEN MintJulip, You took the words right out of my mouth.

They DO teach all that in training... but if you don't already know the lay of the land going in, it can be a daunting task just to get past all the akronyms Cast Members use... even in training.

I think the people you might want to give a little sigh about are the leads. Front line management who should help their teams with guest interaction.

Morrigoon
03-10-2004, 11:23 PM
I think I'm a fair judge, however. I went through orientation in 98 (when then-current CMs were already complaining we did not get taught enough), and again in 03. I can tell you that the difference between the two experiences was VAST. For starters, the recent orientation was 6 hours, as opposed to the original two days. There was no role playing to set an example of appropriate/inappropriate onstage behavior, there was very little about the importance of knowing the other company's divisions, and very little in general about the "Disney" way of doing things. The in-park "tour", such as it was, consisted of racing through the park from toontown to the exit, dumping us off in the GCH to wander through the lobby for 10 minutes, and basically ended there as we entered a classroom to watch the guests with disabilities video (thank goodness SOME things weren't dropped. Too bad they didn't still do the role play afterwards. Such training might have helped avoid things like the "people first" incident (that's a searchable thread btw, if you wonder what I'm talking about)). The next day, in business unit training, they picked up just a fraction of what was dropped from orientation, covering the four keys in their most basic form, but, like a CEO's speech, full of buzzwords and very little useful content.

No, orientation is NOT what it used to be, not by half.

adriennek
03-11-2004, 06:59 AM
One thing I keep thinking as I read this thread is: How hard is it to carry a map? Most CMs I see have maps on them and/or those CM Reference Guides. I don't remember what the reference guides say but, Ok, let's say I'm in a new ODV spot I haven't been in before and I don't know where the restrooms are... ok, I can look at a map and have an answer ready.

I have often read that CMs get tired of answering that bathroom question, so the CM should not have been surprised that it came up. Seriously. Worst case, you have to look it up once- the first time someone asks you- then you have the answer for the next people who ask. That's assuming you didn't figure it out ahead of time because that would just be pre-planning.

Adrienne

Morrigoon
03-11-2004, 07:28 AM
Well, once upon a time, they told you in orientation that you were expected to pick up a reference guide. No more. :rolleyes:

But yeah, new CMs ought to be told to carry a map. Seriously, that's what the pockets in the costumes are for, right?

tod
03-11-2004, 07:57 AM
MintJulep attacks by saying
One cast member did not know the location of the nearest bathroom, so you conclude that Disneyland doesn't teach anything useful during orientation.

Worst. Logic. Ever.

It is a pity that new hires, some of whom have only been to Disneyland a handful of times, do not immediately absorb enough information to rival your expansive knowlege of the resort.

I said that a CM facing a restroom less that 50 yards away didn't know it was there, and I said that CM Orientation ain't what it used to be (See it? Right up there? You clicked on it to get here), where there used to be a fabled march to every restroom in the park.

You infer from this that I really said "Disneyland doesn't teach anything useful during orientation."

Talk about faulty logic...

--t
who doesn't expect new hires to know the shortcuts through pre-1983 Fantasyland, either.

smd4
03-12-2004, 09:40 AM
I have 5 DRR Conductor training guides from the mid-1960's through 1999. As their name implies, they are used to train the railroad cast members in their duties. Since the conductors travel around the park, they, probably more than others, must know where the restrooms are located in each land.

The guide from the mid-1960's includes no reference to restrooms, however. However, the guides from the 1980's through 1999 all devote space to indicating exact locations of all the restrooms.

Wizard69
03-12-2004, 12:29 PM
Originally posted by adriennek
One thing I keep thinking as I read this thread is: How hard is it to carry a map? Most CMs I see have maps on them and/or those CM Reference Guides. I don't remember what the reference guides say but, Ok, let's say I'm in a new ODV spot I haven't been in before and I don't know where the restrooms are... ok, I can look at a map and have an answer ready.

The reference guide doesn't have crap about where the restrooms are. Basically it's just a phone list of all the stores, restaurants, hotels and some other numbers (like guest relations security, first aid), times of the parades, shows and guest performers (school bands and stuff like that) and where the characters can be found in the park.

It's useless for telling someone where the bathrooms or atms are unless you already know where they are or have a park map handy.

tod
03-12-2004, 02:46 PM
Originally posted by Wizard69
The reference guide doesn't have crap about where the restrooms are. Emphasis added

Pun intended, I take it?

:D

--t

Wizard69
03-14-2004, 08:53 PM
Originally posted by tod
Pun intended, I take it?

:D

--t

Um no..it was unintentional.