Subsonic Radio

Let me just say that with both my instances I didn't go running to guest services to complain. I just took the instance as if Walt was here would he have been disappointed in seeing this. The only time I have run to guest services with a complaint was when I had a CM actually talk down to my family for no reason.

People who don't work for Disney and assume they know things greatly amuse me.

There is no rules about wearing our costume offsite. Disney gets that we have to most of the time. They ask we simply remove our name tags when off property in costume. Which I do. But if I have to pump gas at the Hess and someone -GASP!!- sees me in my plaid sans nametag... GUESS WHAT?! They barely notice me!! Are you shocked?

My biggest pet peeve is guests talking like they know the company from an employee standpoint when they never have worked there. It drives me insane.

And Len, a CM interacting with his tattoo would not be in trouble, if anything if a guest shared the story at guest relations we would commend him/her for the interaction. As long as the GUEST is happy, THAT is the point. It's kind of like striking up conversations because of mutual hometowns/universities they see on our nametags. The guests LIKE to feel personal connections towards us on vacation. As long as we are not saying or doing something obscene or rude, THAT is the point of the interaction.

The funny thing is that s CM could get a commendation for bonding with a guest, but could also end up with a negative mark in his file IF someone went and complained on him for what he was doing to bond with a guest. Can you call it a double edged sword?

Soarin... glad I was able to amuse you and give you a laugh this weekend.

I have a question for those "in the know". What's the best way to talk to someone about a negative experience that you have in Epcot in the countries? It was in a restaurant and had heard somewhere that these aren't directly managed by Disney. Is this true? And if so, who would you talk to? A manager (who unfortunately was part of the problem) or Guest relations? It was a while ago, and I was too exhausted by the end and upset to say anything constructive at that point, so I just let it drop. But was curious about future experiences. In general, I'm much quicker to commend (after all the look on a manager's face when you call them over for a compliment rather than a complaint is absolutely priceless) but there is a rare occasion where a negative of a more constructive fashion is warranted.

dsnymommy wrote:I have a question for those "in the know". What's the best way to talk to someone about a negative experience that you have in Epcot in the countries? It was in a restaurant and had heard somewhere that these aren't directly managed by Disney. Is this true? And if so, who would you talk to? A manager (who unfortunately was part of the problem) or Guest relations? It was a while ago, and I was too exhausted by the end and upset to say anything constructive at that point, so I just let it drop. But was curious about future experiences. In general, I'm much quicker to commend (after all the look on a manager's face when you call them over for a compliment rather than a complaint is absolutely priceless) but there is a rare occasion where a negative of a more constructive fashion is warranted.

I would guess that you would normally start with the manager, but in this case, since the manager was part of the problem, I would suggest Guest relations at the front of the park.

Amy wrote:

dsnymommy wrote:I have a question for those "in the know". What's the best way to talk to someone about a negative experience that you have in Epcot in the countries? It was in a restaurant and had heard somewhere that these aren't directly managed by Disney. Is this true? And if so, who would you talk to? A manager (who unfortunately was part of the problem) or Guest relations? It was a while ago, and I was too exhausted by the end and upset to say anything constructive at that point, so I just let it drop. But was curious about future experiences. In general, I'm much quicker to commend (after all the look on a manager's face when you call them over for a compliment rather than a complaint is absolutely priceless) but there is a rare occasion where a negative of a more constructive fashion is warranted.

I would guess that you would normally start with the manager, but in this case, since the manager was part of the problem, I would suggest Guest relations at the front of the park.

Ok. Thanks, Amy. As I had mentioned, I opted not to say anything and let it pass. But after reading that the restaurants are a separate entity from the rest of the park, I was curious about the best course of action. (Is this even true?? The pavilions in Epcot are managed separately from the rest of the parks?? )

dsnymommy wrote:

Amy wrote:

dsnymommy wrote:I have a question for those "in the know". What's the best way to talk to someone about a negative experience that you have in Epcot in the countries? It was in a restaurant and had heard somewhere that these aren't directly managed by Disney. Is this true? And if so, who would you talk to? A manager (who unfortunately was part of the problem) or Guest relations? It was a while ago, and I was too exhausted by the end and upset to say anything constructive at that point, so I just let it drop. But was curious about future experiences. In general, I'm much quicker to commend (after all the look on a manager's face when you call them over for a compliment rather than a complaint is absolutely priceless) but there is a rare occasion where a negative of a more constructive fashion is warranted.

I would guess that you would normally start with the manager, but in this case, since the manager was part of the problem, I would suggest Guest relations at the front of the park.

Ok. Thanks, Amy. As I had mentioned, I opted not to say anything and let it pass. But after reading that the restaurants are a separate entity from the rest of the park, I was curious about the best course of action. (Is this even true?? The pavilions in Epcot are managed separately from the rest of the parks?? )

I poked around a little online and I've found a few different things that indicate at least some of the EPCOT restaurants are indeed managed independently managed, but that should affect any serious problems. The restaurants are still under the Disney umbrella and I'm sure they would want to be made aware of any concerns!

Ok. Thanks, Amy. As I had mentioned, I opted not to say anything and let it pass. But after reading that the restaurants are a separate entity from the rest of the park, I was curious about the best course of action. (Is this even true?? The pavilions in Epcot are managed separately from the rest of the parks?? )[/quote]
I poked around a little online and I've found a few different things that indicate at least some of the EPCOT restaurants are indeed managed independently managed, but that should affect any serious problems. The restaurants are still under the Disney umbrella and I'm sure they would want to be made aware of any concerns![/quote]


Very true. After all, the guest still relate that experience back to Disney. In the past I've always found the service I've had at Disney to be exceptional, including the EPCOT restaurants. I suppose this is why this one experience still kind of haunts me in the back of my mind. I don't want to be that complaining guest, but I think next time I will think about nicely saying something. Thanks for poking around for me, Amy!

Goofyfan wrote:

MetalRage wrote:I personally liked the Mickey hand holding the wand over Spaceship Earth. It gave it more of the Disney magic in my eyes.

I agree. Loved it.

You two probably celebrated the installation of the giant Sorcerer Mickey Hat obliterating the Chinese Theater too. Sorry, but "yuck".

dsnymommy wrote:I have a question for those "in the know". What's the best way to talk to someone about a negative experience that you have in Epcot in the countries? It was in a restaurant and had heard somewhere that these aren't directly managed by Disney. Is this true? And if so, who would you talk to? A manager (who unfortunately was part of the problem) or Guest relations? It was a while ago, and I was too exhausted by the end and upset to say anything constructive at that point, so I just let it drop. But was curious about future experiences. In general, I'm much quicker to commend (after all the look on a manager's face when you call them over for a compliment rather than a complaint is absolutely priceless) but there is a rare occasion where a negative of a more constructive fashion is warranted.

Talk directly to the manager at the location.

Honestly if you come to guest relations the first words out of our mouth will be "did you discuss this with the restaurant manager?" because to be honest if you are assisted at the restaurant and then come to GR you won't get anything out of us compensation-wise. If you don't discuss it at the location, there still isn't a lot to go on and it kind of is a moot point in the end. If your problem is with that particular place and you don't remedy it there, well, that's kind of too bad...

Soarin08 wrote:

dsnymommy wrote:I have a question for those "in the know". What's the best way to talk to someone about a negative experience that you have in Epcot in the countries? It was in a restaurant and had heard somewhere that these aren't directly managed by Disney. Is this true? And if so, who would you talk to? A manager (who unfortunately was part of the problem) or Guest relations? It was a while ago, and I was too exhausted by the end and upset to say anything constructive at that point, so I just let it drop. But was curious about future experiences. In general, I'm much quicker to commend (after all the look on a manager's face when you call them over for a compliment rather than a complaint is absolutely priceless) but there is a rare occasion where a negative of a more constructive fashion is warranted.

Talk directly to the manager at the location.

Honestly if you come to guest relations the first words out of our mouth will be "did you discuss this with the restaurant manager?" because to be honest if you are assisted at the restaurant and then come to GR you won't get anything out of us compensation-wise. If you don't discuss it at the location, there still isn't a lot to go on and it kind of is a moot point in the end. If your problem is with that particular place and you don't remedy it there, well, that's kind of too bad...

Thanks for the advice, Soarin. Good to know that the buck stops with the restaurant, so to speak. Unfortunately, in this instance, the manager was the one who turned the situation into a problem, so resolution was probably unlikely. But as I said earlier, the incident is over and done with and I had decided not to pursue anything (and compensation wasn't what I was looking for anyways. Someone being aware of a problem so that it didn't happen to another guest in the future was.) But since I had heard they were managed apart from the parks, it just made me curious.

Thanks again!

I could never understand why we were allowed to see utilitarian buildings while on the train ride around the MK in WDW.
poor show!

and I'm sure Soarin' 08 would agree, it's all about HOW you complain. Kindly, constructively, and with the understanding that your opinion is valuable to those listening. Management would much rather know and address than have you go home and tell all your friends.

on another note:
One of the most mysterious things about going to the parks as a child was wondering where all these cast members LIVED. Disney was out in the middle of no where yet all these CMs had to live somewhere.
Today, that magic would be dashed by seeing a Fantasyland host/hostess pumping gas in their leiderhosen! (yeah, that's probably misspelled, whatever)

Wyntuck wrote:and I'm sure Soarin' 08 would agree, it's all about HOW you complain. Kindly, constructively, and with the understanding that your opinion is valuable to those listening. Management would much rather know and address than have you go home and tell all your friends.

on another note:
One of the most mysterious things about going to the parks as a child was wondering where all these cast members LIVED. Disney was out in the middle of no where yet all these CMs had to live somewhere.
Today, that magic would be dashed by seeing a Fantasyland host/hostess pumping gas in their leiderhosen! (yeah, that's probably misspelled, whatever)

Kind of like seeing your kindergarten teacher at the grocery store.

cy1229 wrote:

Wyntuck wrote:and I'm sure Soarin' 08 would agree, it's all about HOW you complain. Kindly, constructively, and with the understanding that your opinion is valuable to those listening. Management would much rather know and address than have you go home and tell all your friends.

on another note:
One of the most mysterious things about going to the parks as a child was wondering where all these cast members LIVED. Disney was out in the middle of no where yet all these CMs had to live somewhere.
Today, that magic would be dashed by seeing a Fantasyland host/hostess pumping gas in their leiderhosen! (yeah, that's probably misspelled, whatever)

Kind of like seeing your kindergarten teacher at the grocery store.

That captures it perfectly. You figure she has a little cot and hotplate in the cloakroom. ha ha...