did i interrupt your conversation?

[rainbodragon]

Last week we went to Epcot and of course it was wonderful, but there was a recurring theme everywhere we went. Cast members chatting and ignoring guests was everywhere.

We waited for 10 minutes at Club Cool before having to get someone (and there were 3 cast members in our sightline) to ring up our purchases. We were ignored at The Seas and Universe of Energy. not that there was much to do but a smile (or glance?) or something would have been nice. Then at Mission: Space, the cm put their hand out to block going further before finding out orange or green then stood there with her arm raised, facing away from us while she finished her chat with the other cm.

what the heck? i have had occasional bad CMs but this seemed to be the norm that day!

[Granny Jill A]

It's too bad that this is becoming the norm. I notice it at fast-food restaurants, and some fast-casual places as well. Those jobs are boring and low-paying, so the employees entertain themselves as best they can. The management doesn't want to fire anyone because it's too hard to find someone willing to do the job.

I'm guessing there is a management problem at WDW. We've all had jobs where a good manager made all the difference. Perhaps a well-worded letter to Disney might make them take notice.

[rainbodragon]

I agree that a manager is certainly the foundation of any well run establishment, so I think you may be very correct. I think I will send a letter letting them know what is going on.

still love the world!

[Ian]

Sadly, it's not just Disney World where this is happening (although IMO it's a lot less tolerable there than other places). I see it all over all the time.

I cannot tell you how many times recently I've had to stand at a counter waiting for someone who was obviously either chatting, texting, on a personal cell phone conversation, or doing some menial task that should be a lower priority than waiting on a customer.

But in Disney it really irks me, because there are definite safety implications of CM's who aren't paying full attention to their jobs. I personally don't think they should have two CM's stationed together anyplace where them chatting with each other is going to impact guest experience.

[Tick-Tock]

I noticed this too last week, and pretty much in every park, not just Epcot.

[clausjo]

I noticed this as well the last time we were there in February. Although I understand CMs will need to talk to each other from time to time, it is nice to be acknowledged. We spend a lot of money to take a Disney vacation and some small gesture goes a long way. There was a time when you would never see a CM that wasn't smiling and waving hello.

[Scar]

Hmmm... I was in Epcot every day last week and didn't notice this. Of course that was mostly WS and the places you mention were FW. All the foriegn CM's I encountered were great.

[Stu29573]

I have some old SOP manuals from Disneyland and they all say that talking among castmembers, unless important to the job, is forbidden. Of course, they are from the 60's....

[everyonesmadhere]

Cms aren't always great. When I was little, and in line to see Minnie (like 2) I ran up to her. The cm pushed me, into the hard sidewalk. It was wrong that I ran up to her, I but all WDW did was get me an autograph book.

[wdw538884]

i remember the first visit to Disney (93), when all of the Cm's would say hello to the guests.
I agree, not anymore. Funny, I remember seeing tv shows about Disney, and the statement, Disney holds themselves to a higher standard, sadly at times that standard seems to be slipping.

[ransam]

i have been to Disney so many times and i can honestly say i have had only one bad experience. other than that, including the last one in December, every cast member has been awesome, and gone out of their way to be nice, helpful, and resepctful.
sorry you had a bad experience.
I heard a story once that Walt was in the park with a guest, and one of the CMs was busy talking to a friend and made Walt and his guest wait for just a little bit, so Walt had him fired, and later said it wasn't that he had an ego, but if someone would treat him like that, then they would treat a guest even worse.

[Daisy'sMom]

I saw one texting on Saturday at Epcot. Just thought it was a sign of the times. It made me sad for the old Disney.

[JROriole8Fan]

We spend 5 weeks a year in the parks and rarely witness what you unfortunately experienced. I think if you look over an entire trip, this "assertion" unfairly paints the thousands of cast members who are doing the right thing with an inaccurate broad brush. I actually think it is amazing that it happens so infrequently, when you think about the numbers WDW hires and they live off PT people. Compare that to anywhere else and they remain the gold standard. Remember you are always welcomed to experience customer service at Busch Gardens, Universal, Sea World or Six Flags. I'm sure if you do, you'll run back to WDW and hug the nearest CM!

[CaptainSad]

Now I may be mistaken. A Cast Member may want to chime in on this. But I have a Cast Member handbook from 2009. I won't say where I got it but I collect anything Disney. First I have never seen a CM doing as some are here saying and I have been there 25 times over 27 years. But I can tell you that the use of a phone for anything is forbidden. Now if you saw someone with a phone (which they are not to bring in the parks) and texting then there is a problem with management not doing their jobs.

I would like to see what you are all talking about. Because I sure have never seen it or anybody that I know for that matter. Yes there are probably bad days. I have them where I work, but don't let it effect the way I deal with people. And if there are Cast Members out there doing this stuff then someone should bring it up management and mention names so this can be fixed.

[rainbodragon]

i had never seen this issue, at least not so widespread and so open. I have a season pass and go 10+ times a year and most of those times we wind up in Epcot at some point. I think part of it is that is was very slow so im sure they were bored, but still, thats no excuse. rides where things were busier (like soarin, spaceship earth) where they had something to do continuously, this wasnt an issue, but attractions where people were more sporatic is where is problem was. Except Club Cool, which was pretty unexcusable considering they could see 3 people lined up at the register as the 3 of them chatted by the drink counter

i have never seen anyone texting before though, that is not acceptable in most workplaces!

[DizneeFan13]

Ok, I have to add my 2 cents as well. I just returned from Disney World on Sunday (May 4 - 8th) and was ashamed of the behavior that I witness all week long. Everyone from bus drivers to cast members at Animal Kingdom, Hollywood Studios (specifics in a moment). It was the first time I've ever thought that maybe I need to be spending my vacation dollars elsewhere.

As a side note - every single cast member at POFQ was outstanding and I can't thank them enough for a fantastic stay.

On the first day we went to catch a bus to MK and I waited, and waited. Buses for EPCOT, AK, DHS, and DD came and went at least twice. I walked in and found a manager on the floor and explained the situation and asked if she could call for a bus. She assured me she would take care of it. within 10 minutes a bus arrived and we were on our way. It was my party and a family with a couple of young children (who were seated right behind the driver) and no one else on board. The driver gets a call on the radio and afterwards throws the mic down and yells "Jesus Christ"!!!!! I couldn't believe it. I looked over to my DW and asked if she heard it, hoping that I misunderstood. Nope, she heard it too. OK, I'll let that slide I guess.....maybe an isolated incident.

The next morning at DHS, I arrived at opening and proceded to ToT . Now I'm not an idiot and I know not every cast member is gonna get comletely into character but when we were loading into the elevator the young cast member was more concerned with putting her chapstick on that interacting with the guests ! This one got me a little angry but I though I might be over reacting since it is my favorite ride.

Day 3, AK. I'm just off of EE and taking in all the sights around the mountain. I see a gentleman walk up to a cast member at the single rider entrance. He asks if this is where he gets in line. There was a little discussion between them that I couldn't hear (I'm assuming she was trying to explain single rider) then all of the sudden I see her waving her arm like a mad woman and screaming at this guy "go around the corner, AROUND THE CORNER!" Now that was the last straw. I spent the next 30 minutes trying to find a manager, and was finally directed to the guest services building in the front of the park. They looked at me like I was just whining when I stated my concerns.

If this is the state of Disney parks today, I am truely ashamed! I actually called and cancelled my "bounce back" trip that I booked on the first day. I hope things start to turn around, and soon.

[AJ Springfield]

I see poor manners at stores and restaurants in my town...and that's one of the reasons we love WDW. We say that the CMs are PAID to be friendly and courteous. With this economy, there are plenty of people who would love to work anywhere, let alone WDW. I haven't been in that situation at WDW, but I hope that if that ever happens to me, I would report it to the person who appears to be in charge. I think service will improve if people start voicing their displeasure.

[i'm grumpy]

We had a CM not care one bit that buses weren't stopping at Contemp. At DTD one told us to just stand in the rain and wait for a cab to show up. Another refused to ring up a purchase at a MK shop.

[TheVBs]

Wow. So sorry to hear about all the bad experiences here. Everyone wants their WDW trip to be as pleasant as possible. I think it's a great idea to share these experiences with guest services.

[lwhan4]

I've just spent a week at Disney . The park bathrooms do not seem to be taken care of quite as well as they used to be.