Interesting Things Ride-Ops Do

[shark6495]

Actually on my last SWA ride from Phoenix, the steward did a rap and ended with some thing like "Thanks for flying Delta" and then quickly followed up with something like "why would I wish THAT on you fine folks." 

If the things the park does irritate folks, and Guest Services has been notified, then maybe it's time to step away from the park for a time--week, month or season.  Sometimes the best cure for a splinter is to remove it.

That's what I've done here. It's not the park it's the enthusiasts or the new ones who come and blow things up. I took a break from here and came back but I don't know man. You're probably right....

 

 

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[BeeastFarmer]

17 minutes ago, shark6495 said:

That's what I've done here. It's not the park it's the enthusiasts or the new ones who come and blow things up. I took a break from here and came back but I don't know man. You're probably right....

 

 

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Please don't take my views in the wrong way.  I'm not telling you to never come back to KI, just giving some unsolicited advice to step away and let the absence of presence give you a different perspective. 

[silver2005]

CP's spiels are on par with KI's.  

Ugh. 

Well, its more of a grey area.  They do give instructions, but it differs ride op to ride op at CP.  They do mutli-task better in that they still load rides efficiently, even the not so hot rides with the GP.  CCMR's crew would give Banshee's a run for their money, I kid you not, and they have to manually lock and unlock trains.  MIA's was the opposite, with slow riding times (sans Timbers) but straight forward spiels, not becoming to unnecessary in what they were saying.  

 

[CoasterOhio]

I understand why the argument just came about, but also keep in mind that when you do the same thing over and over again, from our standpoint as ride operators, we would get super bored. No matter what you say, we enjoy this job because we make our guests happy, and we also enjoy our time spent at our very rides. Jokes are what keep people going, and for the guests who have never been here before they look confused, and start paying attention to the speakers so they can hear the safety spiels they need to hear next. 

Yes, our higher-ups, are okay with this. They know a lot, they know everything. Typically every day, there is always one supervisor at every ride. There are a lot of ride operators on this website, and you basically just yelled at us on here. You guys certainly made me upset reading this, because obviously this is my home job, the main thing I do during my summers, and prepare for in winter. This is what I love to do. Yet you guys are sitting here dissing us about what we do to keep guests entertained and happy through the day. (It's called guest relating...) 

[shark6495]

I understand why the argument just came about, but also keep in mind that when you do the same thing over and over again, from our standpoint as ride operators, we would get super bored. No matter what you say, we enjoy this job because we make our guests happy, and we also enjoy our time spent at our very rides. Jokes are what keep people going, and for the guests who have never been here before they look confused, and start paying attention to the speakers so they can hear the safety spiels they need to hear next.  

Yes, our higher-ups, are okay with this. They know a lot, they know everything. Typically every day, there is always one supervisor at every ride. There are a lot of ride operators on this website, and you basically just yelled at us on here. You guys certainly made me upset reading this, because obviously this is my home job, the main thing I do during my summers, and prepare for in winter. This is what I love to do. Yet you guys are sitting here dissing us about what we do to keep guests entertained and happy through the day. (It's called guest relating...) 

 

 

And this was the most disheartening thing I read. You have pulled the veil back and it showed what honestly I hoped was not true..... and also I'm done bringing my complaints to the park and on here. If management and supervisors know about it, that means it won't change.

 

So the park is cool with the wrong park name, he wrong coaster names, the jokes about pricing on drinks.... I guess if you want Disney level professionalism, Disney level ride operators, Disney level everything, I should go to Disney and not expect the same standard here. I get it.

 

 

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[TheRickster]

Yeah... you shouldn't expect Disney level stuff except for at Disney. That ship didn't even come close to docking when Paramount owned the park. But regardless of how some feel here it's a minority feeling. Sure certain individuals could use some training, but if someone calling a ride the wrong name at the end of a spiel is the biggest thing we have to complain about, that's just beyond nit picking. 

[JAHill]

14 hours ago, CoasterOhio said:

I understand why the argument just came about, but also keep in mind that when you do the same thing over and over again, from our standpoint as ride operators, we would get super bored. No matter what you say, we enjoy this job because we make our guests happy, and we also enjoy our time spent at our very rides. Jokes are what keep people going, and for the guests who have never been here before they look confused, and start paying attention to the speakers so they can hear the safety spiels they need to hear next. 

Yes, our higher-ups, are okay with this. They know a lot, they know everything. Typically every day, there is always one supervisor at every ride. There are a lot of ride operators on this website, and you basically just yelled at us on here. You guys certainly made me upset reading this, because obviously this is my home job, the main thing I do during my summers, and prepare for in winter. This is what I love to do. Yet you guys are sitting here dissing us about what we do to keep guests entertained and happy through the day. (It's called guest relating...) 

I don't care about anonymity or anything so I'll give my short take. Back in 2012, I worked at Racer and Zephyr. I was 17 at the time, fresh outta high school and just buying time during the Summer months before starting college. I did the sorts of spiels that are being complained about here, and 5 years later, I think it is the most obnoxious thing in the world. I even sorta kinda regret doing them because now, I have the experience of going to the park years later and seeing everyone do the same stuff, and seeing firsthand how unpleasant it is.

Nobody is dissing you, the jokes and quips really don't represent the park (or hell, even you as an employee) very well. As an added bonus, they aren't clever or funny in any capacity. You can guest relate without making lame jokes about being at the wrong park or the wrong ride. Compliment someone's shirt, have a short discussion with someone on your crew before a train gets back from its cycle. If it's a flat ride, just let people enjoy their ride during the cycle. (I don't even like riding Zephyr anymore because there's a blaring speaker asking people to scream or recite years-old commercial jingles every 3 cycles.)

Do anything, really. So long as it doesn't reflect the park in a bad light, annoy anyone, or even more importantly, interfere with your real job -- making sure nobody gets hurt on the ride you're working. Get through the day by doing your job correctly and making someone's experience at the park a pleasant and safe one, not by trying your best to be a comedian.

[silver2005]

5 hours ago, TheRickster said:

Yeah... you shouldn't expect Disney level stuff except for at Disney. That ship didn't even come close to docking when Paramount owned the park. But regardless of how some feel here it's a minority feeling. Sure certain individuals could use some training, but if someone calling a ride the wrong name at the end of a spiel is the biggest thing we have to complain about, that's just beyond nit picking. 

But KI sure can meet CP's standards being that they are in the same chain.  CP's ride ops blow KI's out of the water.  I would put CCMR's or CP's Scrambler's crew up against Banshee's anytime, any day.  Heck, MIA, CF's smallest, most neglected park, is closer to CP standards in ride operators and their relation to guests than KI's currently do, and they still do quips and banter with guests.  They mix in professionalism and efficiency much better. 

[TheRickster]

I'd still say that KI has better guest relation capabilities than CP.

[silver2005]

^I completely disagree. 

[King Ding Dong]

^^ We all have different experiences and expectations and as I have said the spieling does not bother me much except in the more extreme cases but I have to go along with Silver on this one.  

[IndyGuy4KI]

For those that are ride-ops here, I don't think it was anyone's intentions to hurt feelings or say you are not doing your job well. The take away I get  from this discussion is the content of the spiel you are asked to say. As @CoasterOhio stated, it seems the managers and supervisors are okay with this practice. 

The best course of action for guests (if this is something that upsets you) is take your concerns to Guest Relations.

Getting back to the topic at hand, which is interesting things Ride-Ops do.

When I got on Banshee last night one of the seat checker ops was trying to get the station crowd to do the Let's go clap. He had quite a bit of participation.

 

[Saerenzea]

To the ride ops on here.... Keep it up! There are tons of people who love the jokes and speils. I personally love it when someone says the wrong ride or park name. I'm smart enough to know what ride I'm on. I'm not going to suddenly think I'm in a totally different park or ride because a ride op joked around. (seriously does anyone really do that?) 

Keep playing games and trying to get people involved. If someone doesn't want to they can ignore it. When I look around the queue or station most people aren't paying attention. Some are enjoying it and very rarely will I see someone complaining about it.

Also speils and jokes do not make a ride unsafe. The ride ops are paying more attention than the guests most of the time. If talking on a mic made the ride unsafe KI would not have the safety record it does. Also the rides themselves have most of the safety checks. You are safe. Ignore the ride ops if you must and enjoy the ride. 

 

[teenageninja]

2 hours ago, silver2005 said:

^I completely disagree. 

I think overall KI has better guest relation skills, but CP has better teams on some of their coasters.

I've been on flats at CP where it seemed like no one spoke English.

[King Ding Dong]

One potential problem with spieling is it can give the impression it is slowing down intervals. Especially on typical a "Thats not loud enough!"  type of game prior to dispatch.   5-10 seconds per dispatch does make a difference.   Hopefully the ops are trained well enough to not actually slow the dispatch down, but in certain circumstances it does give that perception.  

[Magenta Lizard]

^ things like that are almost always, in my experience, started by a ride op as filler specifically because there is something already causing a delay, to keep the people stuck in restraints occupied and distracted. 

[silver2005]

3 hours ago, teenageninja said:

I think overall KI has better guest relation skills, but CP has better teams on some of their coasters.

I've been on flats at CP where it seemed like no one spoke English.

Not having English as their first language isn't enough for me to go along with that.  They did things beyond talking that made up for it.  

[Creed Bratton]

As I'm becoming more aware of how I and others act in parks....I have come to realize that the GP doesn't generally give two craps about spieling. It seems as if it's myself/other enthusiasts that ever make comments. 

I am getting to the point where I'm realizing things I care about too much are starting to hinder my actual visits to parks. As others have stated, spieling is a part of their job. They're going to do it whether we like it or not. There are bigger things to worry/complain about at parks....i.e. basketballs as prizes for the games. 

[King Ding Dong]

Yes!  War on Basketballs!  At least hand them out deflated.  

[BoddaH1994]

Being obnoxious on the microphone has nothing to do with guest relating. It's about hearing the sound of your own voice.

Also, if you are a ride op and think that this behavior is okay then ask yourself this: are you doing it to entertain the guests or yourselves?

Just think: if a person working the drive thru at McDonalds repeatedly said, "Thank you for visiting Burger King.." would they have a job very long?

Now, I do not want to take much away from the ride ops. The days are long and hot. The work isn't easy. The guests get cranky. Do not think that a few people making fools of the rest of you takes away from your hard work, at least in my eyes. It's a job I wouldn't want to do.

[Maddog]

^ We get it, you don't like the current ride spieling going on.  Now take it up with guest relations at the park if you want your voice to be heard.  If they feel this is an item which needs attention, management and training departments can get involved.  

Trying to make your case in a community forum isn't really going to change things.  

 

Now...back to interesting things ride ops do...

[Gannersdaddy]

Riding Drop Tower today, they did the 10 9 8 (drop). As I had read about it here, I was ready but got a kick out of the other folks on the ride that were not

[Creed Bratton]

"Please remain seated until the thing settles." - Ride op on Tilt-A-Whirl at Michigan's Adventure


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[MDMC01]

Today when I was riding The Bat, the ride op told the person to put their phone away because The Bat is more interesting than their phone. From the lift, I could hear him say "Ya know, if I had to choose between my phone and The Bat..."

[MidnightBeast]

I once heard a ride op call it Kings Dominion instead of Kings Island.

Another said "Kings Island sucks" on a night the park was open til midnight and he was launching the last train.

[chad_1138]

Yesterday on Delirium, just as the ride started, the ride op said, "If you're excited to ride Delirium, stop your feet!"  Thought that was pretty good.

[IndyGuy4KI]

Has anyone heard the ride-op imitate the broken speakers outside the shed in the station as the train is leaving? 

He is quite good at it!

[standbyme]

I personally love the spieling...it keeps things interesting. I didn’t catch his name, but there was a great guy at Viking Fury when I was there a few weeks ago. He would interact with people on the boat...if they were wearing a sports jersey he would comment on the team, call out a a guys mutton chops.. etc...all tastefully done and fun. It helped pass the time and everyone seemed to enjoy it. Keep up the good work!

[jdawg1998]

Reading through this thread is making me sad.

This is my first summer not working @ KI in ride operations since I started in 2015. I really do miss it. I would always come check this thread to see if I somehow made it...alas, I never did.

:'-(

[VortexBFForever]

Yesterday evening at Vortex, a few of my crewmates decided to start the "water is/is not wet" debate among ourselves and the riders. It sure worked in engaging the riders, as nearly everyone was talking about it!