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CmHyperion
07-19-2006, 11:10 PM
Okay okay, So I work at Disneyland and I can't believe how......stupid some people are. If you need to know where the nearest restroom is at or how to get to some ride, please LOOK AT THE GOD DAMN MAP before asking a cm. There is a reason the park gives you a map when you enter, use them! I get asked where the nearest bathroom is at like 50-100 times a day. My god, some people just amaze me.

End of my CM rant! good day!

kiwifuz
07-19-2006, 11:20 PM
Umm not that I have ever actually asked where the nearest restroom is while at DL, but.... I think that just might be part of the job?! Call it a hunch. You take a job that makes you deal with the public, well you have to deal with the public. Stupid questions and all. That's how the cookie crumbles! :D

Jodi
07-20-2006, 12:56 AM
Has it occured to you that sometimes children will lose the family's map, or it will fall out of a pocket? Or maybe someone has a toddler who suddenly announced that they have to go NOW, and cannot wait for a map to be unfolded, and searched?
I hate to sound rude, but perhaps if providing guests with simple directions is too much of a hassel, you should find a job where you don't have to work with people.

I Heart Disneyland!
07-20-2006, 01:36 AM
First of all, your language is insulting to me. This is a family board.

I work with the public as well, and, yes, I am asked the same question repeatedly. Your anger and frustration really seem to be causing you grief. Have you thought of seeking out another profession? As people who work with the public, (and I am one of them) you WILL be asked questions over and over. Many of us know DL, and the bathrooms there, like the back of our hands...however...I am certain there are thousands of people who are there on a daily basis, who have never crossed the gates of the happiest place on earth.

My suggestion is to find a position within your company where you are not working with the public. You sound extremely burned out to me. Not the face of DL I want to see.

I wish you the best of luck.

disneyballerina
07-20-2006, 01:50 AM
Okay okay, So I work at Disneyland and I can't believe how......stupid some people are. If you need to know where the nearest restroom is at or how to get to some ride, please LOOK AT THE GOD DAMN MAP before asking a cm. There is a reason the park gives you a map when you enter, use them! I get asked where the nearest bathroom is at like 50-100 times a day. My god, some people just amaze me.

End of my CM rant! good day!

Wow.

In terms of customer service, Disneyland is like the Nordstrom of theme parks. People go there expecting to receive not just good, not just excellent, but really astounding customer service. Dealing with the public is challenging. I did it for many years. Yes, sometimes people ask stupid questions. But you are paid to answer them. And since you work at Disneyland, you are pretty much expected to answer them in a respectful tone with a smile on your face.

Not sure how old you are or if you have children. But when your child grabs your hand and says they need to use the restroom, pronto -- you find the closest restroom. If I were you I would rather answer the "where's the restroom" question a million times a day than to witness even one potty accident because the parent stopped to consult their <paraphrasing insulting language> "GD" MAP.

orbitalpunk
07-20-2006, 01:59 AM
I dont want to look at the maps tiny icons to find a bathroom and then take a minute to figure where exactly i am on the map. Im gonna as you every time. Man, CM's must really not be getting paid enough if this is what some rant about now. And just to clarify, i sincerely feel you guys should be getting paid more.

Phantom2006
07-20-2006, 02:51 AM
Well you are just going to learn to deal with it. I work at Holywood Video, and you know how many times a day a cust. brings aa display case? You just have to be nice and tell them. Then maybe next time they will not make the same mistake, or in your case have to ask again.

Sosai X
07-20-2006, 02:57 AM
Bad show. The guests pay for your salary, so in effect, they are your boss. :mad:

Another Dimension
07-20-2006, 03:36 AM
Okay okay, So I work at Disneyland and I get asked where the nearest bathroom is at like 50-100 times a day.


You must be the first CM in 51 years that this restrooms obsession situation has ever happened to... :rolleyes:


....and actually, they are called restrooms.


I have yet to find a place I can actually take a bath inside DL or DCA!




Being a Cast Member... would you know of one? :confused:

Dory
07-20-2006, 04:25 AM
IMO you guys are being too hard on this CM. I don't think its asking too much for people to look at their map before asking where the bathroom is or where such and such ride is.

Customer service imo isn't about supporting people's lazy habits and face it alot of people today are lazy. I think 95 percent of people today ask first instead of doing the 10 seconds of research it might take to find the answer themself. Thats just plain lazy.

I mean they're could even be a big, flashing sign right in front of some people saying "Bathrooms this way" or "Fantasyland that way" and some people are still too lazy to look up and instead they ask.

Ironic thing is i think we are all taught as kids to find the answers to our questions ourselves (try to find the answer yourself before asking someone) but i guess as you grow older that rule doesn't apply anymore?

Yes if its emergency or someone is lost i could see someone needing to ask to get an immediate response, but i don't see anything wrong with saying people should look at their map first before asking.

Another thing is put yourself in the place of these CMs. They have to work in 90 degree heat in long sleeve, long pants polyester costumes. Yeah answering questions may be part of their job but it doesn't mean you should take advantage of them when you have the resource at your disposal to answer your question yourself.

Also, saying the customers are your boss cause they pay for your salary doesn't really hold weight. The average CM makes what for one day a work? Probably less than a one day park hopper ticket.

Thats a joke. IMO if Disneyland wants to promote good customer service and have their employees give good customer sevice tell those corporate execs up top to cut their overpaid salaries and trickle down that money to the people who actually do the job that keeps the business running...the CMs.

Pirates of the Carribean 2 had a record box office opening. Think any of the CMs at Disneyland will see any of that money? Doubt it.

HydroGuy
07-20-2006, 05:50 AM
Even when you are frustrated you should be careful with your language. I always try to be extra appreciative to the CMs at DLR - they are overworked and underpaid, which as many know has lead to extremely high turnover.

Since your name implies you work at the Hyperion, you may be singled out for "extra restroom duty". I think many would expect a restroom inside the theater. I would. I would not be surprised if people are unusually confused about restrooms there - even if they do look at maps. And as noted by others, having kids makes things even more difficult.

I have four kids and know where every single restroom is at DL like the back of my hand. At DCA I am still learning them all, but know where many of them are. But down at the end of HPB the only restroom is a little hard to find off to the left of the end of the street. I remember last summer using a map and still having a hard time finding that one.

And during my recent trip to WDW - first trip there ever - I gained extra sympathy for those restroom seekers. I constantly looked at maps there to find restrooms, and sometimes they were a little hard to find. I remember one day at Animal Kingdom I studied a map over and over and could not find the freaking restroom that they showed on the freaking map. So guess what? I asked a CM after several minutes of searching. And I probably was one of fifty that day for that CM.

So I see your frustration - and those of guests as well. You probably woke up this morning and regret making this post. At least I hope you do.

I have a similar frustration with some of our customers. We are tech company who develops software, and many customers refuse to consult the documentation that we (and I) spent so many hours preparing. So they call with questions and take up my time on subjects they could easily resolve themselves. What I usually do is tell them what page of the user guide the answer can be found, and then answer their question anyway. But as part of the answer I educate them to use the user guide.

Maybe you would be less frustrated if you did something similar? How about answering each restroom question as nicely as possible with "the map should show that it is over there around the corner on the right"?

DisneyDustin22
07-20-2006, 06:09 AM
This is just the price you pay of being an employee at a theme park. Hearing the same question day after day after day. You have to remember, while you're there everyday and may know the place like the back of your hand, there are still people in that park having their first visit ever! Cut 'em some slack.

mommy-san
07-20-2006, 06:15 AM
OP, maybe people don't know where they actually , physically are and that makes it hard to look up on a map- or maybe they don't read english. Maybe it's their first day EVER at Disneyland and all the lands and directions mean nothing to them yet. I know my first time I had no concept of how big Disneyland was. I personally feel that everytime I'm there I should be treated as though it IS my first time, not like the novelty has worn off and if I need something I can 'find it myself'. Disneyland is not a mall- its the Happiest Place on Earth. Maybe it would do you good to remember that when you go to work next time.

KathleenNM
07-20-2006, 06:16 AM
Give him/her a break. Sometimes you have a bad day, for whatever reason, and you need to blow off a little steam someplace that you think you can trust people.

I'm a middle school teacher, I enjoy my job, I even really enjoy being with 13 year olds all day, but catch me after school some friday in "an adult beverage facility" and it sure wouldn't sound like it!

Kathleen

DianeM
07-20-2006, 06:25 AM
I know where all the restrooms are at DL, but I had a CM get mad at me once for asking what time a restaurant opened the next morning (there were no signs I could see). We were planning on taking my nephew for his first Mickey Mouse breakfast. I was shocked when the CM was rude and surley. It was the first time a CM had been that way at DL - ever - and I won't forget it. You are part of the experience for guests, whether you know it or not. Some people aren't good at reading maps, and new people to the park may be a bit confused about the layout of the park.


Okay okay, So I work at Disneyland and I can't believe how......stupid some people are. If you need to know where the nearest restroom is at or how to get to some ride, please LOOK AT THE GOD DAMN MAP before asking a cm. There is a reason the park gives you a map when you enter, use them! I get asked where the nearest bathroom is at like 50-100 times a day. My god, some people just amaze me.

End of my CM rant! good day!

screamin4ever
07-20-2006, 07:04 AM
This may be the 50th time you've been asked this question but it is the first time this guest has asked it.

Why not reframe the encounter as, "I helped a person find what they needed and they just had a good experience with a CM."

And many people are not map people. Not everyone thinks the same way.:D

bradk
07-20-2006, 07:11 AM
seriously. you want a screaming kid to let it out right in front of you because you expect some parent to try to navigate the park map, then orient themselves to the map so that they can waste that much more time over asking someone who would presumably and evidently does know the answer?

i agree. bad show. that type of comment may be suitable for SGT, but that's exactly why i don't read the forums there. i don't want to have to take my chance with every CM i encounter knowing they're cursing me under their breath.

read the Mouse Tales books. there are more creative and entertaining ways to deal with that question then lashing out on a forum which is comprised far more of guests than cast members.

mystycalchyk
07-20-2006, 07:21 AM
*listens to the trip trapping across the bridge*

*ahem*

your language is offensive to me, but besides that, in the grand scheme of things is it really that big a deal?

CookieBandit
07-20-2006, 07:40 AM
I hope the OP was just having a bad day when he/she posted the message and was polite to the person(s) asking. Obviously, we all need to rant a little some days. I work at a university and my office area is in the corner of one the floors. I'm asked everyday how to get to the elevator, even though there's a map right outside our door in the hallway which shows you how to get there (just down the hall, take the elevator up one flight). People ask me where Room 7702 is, even though it's right there in front of them (next door to the room I'm in).

Some people just can't "get" maps. My sis is one of them - she'll remember where something is based on what's around it. I love maps and will peruse it all day long, trying to figure out how to get where I want to go before I will break down and ask someone for directions. And my mom will ask you where the restroom is. She's not going to pull her map out of her bag to squint at the icons and try to figure out where she is and where the restroom is at. Or woe the fact that she didn't bring her reading glasses with her because she didn't figure she'd be doing a lot of reading at Disneyland. No matter how much we try and say "wait, I have the map right here - I'll find the restroom", she will just go ahead and ask. And gosh darn you if you (meaning me and my sis) try to stop her from asking.

munchkinsmom0003
07-20-2006, 08:10 AM
But when your child grabs your hand and says they need to use the restroom, pronto -- you find the closest restroom.
That's usually why I ask the question and I never thought a CM would be truly PO'ed at me for asking. I guess I'm now going to have to think twice about approaching a CM when my child is crossing their legs and needs the restroom desperately. Thanks so much for enlightening me, OP.

LindaM
07-20-2006, 08:11 AM
You must have been one of the CM's that my family encountered back in May. First trip for me in 22 years and first time ever for my husband and kids (ages 16 & 17). We only grabbed one map when we went in, my daughter & I had the map while we were in a shop, my husband and son were outside waiting for us outside. My son had to go to the bathroom and asked a CM, not only was the CM rude, but he told my son to go to the front entrance to get a map so he could find everything he needed for the day without having to ask.....this was the first day in the park for us. We have a planned trip next year to California for a wedding, my son has informed us he does not want to go to Disneyland again....I figure I have a year to work on him, hopefully he will change his mind.

tod
07-20-2006, 08:18 AM
Okay okay, So I work at Disneyland and I can't believe how......stupid some people are. If you need to know where the nearest restroom is at or how to get to some ride, please LOOK AT THE GOD DAMN MAP before asking a cm. There is a reason the park gives you a map when you enter, use them! I get asked where the nearest bathroom is at like 50-100 times a day. My god, some people just amaze me.

End of my CM rant! good day!

Chill.

It's amazing how one, tiny, fiddling remark can ruin an entire trip for a whole family. Not fair, not right, but that's the way it works. Take a look at the post right above.

Use two fingers and point to the nearest bathroom. Do it with a smile. Tell them that when they see a sweeper, they should ask the sweeper for a map.

Then vent here. That's what discussion boards are for. ;)

--t

The old man
07-20-2006, 08:22 AM
Give him/her a break. Sometimes you have a bad day, for whatever reason, and you need to blow off a little steam someplace that you think you can trust people.

I'm a middle school teacher, I enjoy my job, I even really enjoy being with 13 year olds all day, but catch me after school some friday in "an adult beverage facility" and it sure wouldn't sound like it!

Kathleen
Your after-school ranting sounds like it's done in an adult bar--not a family-oriented, Disney loving website.

In regard to CM's comments--there is no question that being in customer service is hard. In fact is can be the worst--but it is what it is. I hope that when you were trained they told you that you would be answering questions all day long. (If they didn't tell you it seems pretty obvious.)

Now almost all employees like to complain about their work. It is usually told to fellow employees or relatives, not to the customers themselves. Perhaps--if it doesn't exist--you need to find an appropriate place to post your rants. Because frankly--I'm guessing here--99% of us don't want to listen to it.

Some people work in dangerous coal mines, or are firefighters or police who put their lives on the line. Some dig ditches, some pick strawberrys. They probably wouldn't mind a job where a lot of the time you point and say, "it's to the left of that building."

hbquikcomjamesl
07-20-2006, 08:53 AM
For pity's sake: at least answering guest questions is part of what you're being paid to do.

Because I'm almost always wearing a short-sleeved dress shirt and Haggar Expand-o-Matics, fellow DL guests frequently mistake me for a CM, fellow San Diego Zoo guests have been known to mistake me for a zookeeper (I've lost count of the number of times I've been asked where the nearest restroom is in DL, and I've occasionally been asked the same question at the Zoo), and fellow customers in stores (at least where the employees aren't in some obvious uniform) have been known to mistake me for a store employee.

If I'm asked a question, and I'm able to answer it, I answer it. If I can't answer it, I gently refer them to somebody who actually works there. That's just common decency.

I speak rather slowly. But when I worked at a local ice rink, particularly when I was working public sessions, I got to a point where I could say "change machine down that way" (people were constantly asking about change for lockers and video games) about two or three times as fast as I normally talk (maybe not as fast as a certain famous Federal Express commercial, but as fast as your average Gilbert & Sullivan patter song).

I'm not known for having particularly good customer service skills. Quite the contrary. But if I have to deal with the public, I know it's my job to be polite.

disneyperson
07-20-2006, 09:00 AM
Hope you feel better after your rant.Everyone has to vent now and then. Now, go back and be nice to all the confused guests who ask you for help. That is your job. I realize you probably get paid squat to do it, but it is your job none the less.

I work in customer service. I answer the same questions everyday. My particular
favorite is, "Where is the Main Stage?" I answer "It's just across there to your right." I'm tempted to say, "It's the big building about fifty feet away from you that has the words Main Stage written on it in three foot letters.":rolleyes:

Our patrons pay big bucks to attend our shows. I'm not about to make them feel stupid or small even though it would give me a momentary glow of satisfaction.