STUPID HABITS OF PARK EMPLOYEES!

[Vortex]

Well back when Flight of Fear opened a employee was letting people smoke in line during a brake down. Yes I did report the employee but PKI did nothing. I saw the same employee two weeks later doing the same thing.

[BringBackSmurfRide]

Okay, as a guest of PKI who drives six hours from Detroit to go down there, I personally think it's quite rude for employees to say that guests are annoying. We pay your salary!!! I understand you need to vent and honestly this post is just in good humor.

But let's not forget that park employees are not always cream of the crop. To wit:

1. Employees gabbing with other employees even when I'm trying to ask a question (I understand work-related stuff but "what are you doing tonight" is break room stuff).

2. Making such a big deal about line jumping but every time I've pointed out a line jumper they just let it slide.

3. Not knowing how to properly count money and give back change (this has happened so often at PKI it's not funny!)

4. There was this really creepy little guy (young guy) who ran the elevator at the Eiffel Tower. He was in charge of taking guests up and down. I never once saw him smile and when I tried to crack a joke he just had a stick up his butt. Customer service means you LIKE your guests!! (We don't have to like you--that's part of the deal).

5. The employees who are going to read this list and not have a sense of humor about it because they take this job as the greatest job in the world, protect secrets like national security and tow the company line without seeing the corporate BS that Viacom spins.

I've had my share of rotten service from employees, too. The one I remember most vividly was back in '95 when two Adventure Express operators were screaming at the people next to get on to "Get back!" when the little gate was about to open. Later on, some teenaged King Cobra operator was singing "Happy Birthday" to another operator. At the end of the song, where you can sing "...and many more", he followed it up with "I'll knock your ****** ass off the toilet seat." Boy, he got a big laugh out of it but nobody else was laughing. The person he was singing to, who was black, had this look of shock/annoyance/anger, you name it.

Yes, I understand that there are some good people who work the rides, but the ones who are jerks are just showing off when they should be paying attention to the safety of the riders.

[dxrunner]

I agree with Ariel. Completely. Because i have only seen this "legendary" enthusiam from The Beast crew ONCE. They aren't happy all the time theres no way its possible. Like ariel said, they just get more because its Beast, which isn't right but, its what the guests do so whatever.

Those employees that don't like there job, dont do there job, aren't enthusiastic about it, or who "gab" about stuff they aren't supposed too, you as a guest probably will only see them once or twice this year, because they got F-I-R-E-D. So keep in mind for later this year, when you see employees, food, eco, or rides (thats me), just remember there is a reason they are still there so late in the season, they are a good employee

[DeliriumDreamer]

Well said, Danny. We (in rides or whatever crews are reading/posting in these forums) are all working for pki, and we are all on the same page. I don't think that ANY one ride or crew is better than all of the rest.

I bet that if someone switched the employees from Beast and some employees from HB, some people will still say that The Beast is the best ride. For some, it's the employee attitude that makes up the ride experience, for others, it's the ride itself. The reason why The Beast gets so much recognition is because it's legendary- not because the crew holds 'power hours'. (Once again, other rides do the same thing, and no one comes on these boards and talks about their power-hours.)

Our jobs as employees is to give each and every guest a safe, fun, and memorable experience at the park. That's what we're all about.

[Gordon Bombay]

(Once again, other rides do the same thing, and no one comes on these boards and talks about their power-hours.)

Whats wrong with talking about it? We do it a lot, usually whenever they can on the weekends. We get complimented on it more than anyone else usually, last friday you could hear the screams from the people in the que all the way from flume. Even one of the sups from IJ complimented us on how much he enjoyed it. I noticed The Beast crew doing this years before I worked there and rarely ever see any other crews do it, especially last year, last year I had a few friends who worked on Beast and power hour was awesome. Its not recognized mostly because of the legendary ride, but because Beast crew was primarily known for it first. No one ever said we were better or that other crews were worse.

[harvesterofyoursorrow]

Bad Habit, Flirting with other worker while checking lapbars. That dosent make me feel very safe.

[tubaman]

^ LOL

[FOF/Z 4-ever]

(Once again, other rides do the same thing, and no one comes on these boards and talks about their power-hours.)

Whats wrong with talking about it? We do it a lot, usually whenever they can on the weekends. We get complimented on it more than anyone else usually, last friday you could hear the screams from the people in the que all the way from flume. Even one of the sups from IJ complimented us on how much he enjoyed it. I noticed The Beast crew doing this years before I worked there and rarely ever see any other crews do it, especially last year, last year I had a few friends who worked on Beast and power hour was awesome. Its not recognized mostly because of the legendary ride, but because Beast crew was primarily known for it first. No one ever said we were better or that other crews were worse.

Just because you dont see other crews doing it does not mean that they dont do "power hours". The reason why someone said you dont have to come on here and say something about how beast is known for that is b/c you are bragging about it. I mentioned earlier how we used to do it every night when I worked there at FOF. But for some reason, beast is the only ride/crew that comes on here and tries to make them look better. We are all equal and we all work at the same park and have the same bosses. IJST prob said something, prob b/c they are in your AREA and can hear you guys and was wondering what was going on or he was one of YOUR friends!

[bingog34]

On the topic of the so-called "power hours," I went to the park on one of my few days off to ride the rides (a rare RARE event) with a few of my friends. In the last hour of the park being open, we rode Face/Off, SDATHC, IJST and The Beast. The best crew was IJST, by far. They did what I have experienced on The Beast in the past...HOW WAS YOUR RIDE?!?! etc stuff...and, the take-off occurred extremely fast after we boarded...I was surprised. After IJST, we ran to The Beast for the last ride of the night. It was the best roller coaster experience of my life: fireworks to the left, lightning to the right, a slight drizzle mid-ride, fireworks throughout the whole ride...but the crew just wasn't feeling it (June 8, 2005).

So maybe Italian Job can give The Beast crew a run for their money this season?

[PKIWorker19]

We all have stupid things that we do every once in a while because we are only human. We make mistakes and most of the times we take the consequences that come with those mistakes. I do like the post that said no ride/crew is better than another ride/crew. I like that because we are part of a team. In food (where I work at) we are a team and while we do "grade" our stands, we all have pride in what we are doing. The power hours that the rides people do are awesome. I think I have experienced one and that was The Beast. Every ride does their own thing and every ride tries to make the guest happy while riding. It is awesome that we all care enough about the guests to make this happen. It doesn't matter who's power hour is the best, all that matters is the fact that we are there for the guest and to make their day.

ALL PKI EMPLOYEES ROCK!!! Without you all, there would be no park (obviously) but you all rock and I am happy to see so many "youngins" happy to be at work and to do their job.

[FOF/Z 4-ever]

We all have stupid things that we do every once in a while because we are only human. We make mistakes and most of the times we take the consequences that come with those mistakes. I do like the post that said no ride/crew is better than another ride/crew. I like that because we are part of a team. In food (where I work at) we are a team and while we do "grade" our stands, we all have pride in what we are doing. The power hours that the rides people do are awesome. I think I have experienced one and that was The Beast. Every ride does their own thing and every ride tries to make the guest happy while riding. It is awesome that we all care enough about the guests to make this happen. It doesn't matter who's power hour is the best, all that matters is the fact that we are there for the guest and to make their day.

ALL PKI EMPLOYEES ROCK!!! Without you all, there would be no park (obviously) but you all rock and I am happy to see so many "youngins" happy to be at work and to do their job.

Finally, someone said it. We are a team and not one crew is better then the other. Each department is the same way. We all work as a team. And I think we make a great team at that.

[SOB_TOM]

I just want to comment quickly on the corporate BS:

Yes, some of us notice it. Its the people who I give a job to that really dont.

[BoddaH1994]

We all have stupid things that we do every once in a while because we are only human.  We make mistakes and most of the times we take the consequences that come with those mistakes.  I do like the post that said no ride/crew is better than another ride/crew.  I like that because we are part of a team.  In food (where I work at) we are a team and while we do "grade" our stands, we all have pride in what we are doing.  The power hours that the rides people do are awesome.  I think I have experienced one and that was The Beast.  Every ride does their own thing and every ride tries to make the guest happy while riding.  It is awesome that we all care enough about the guests to make this happen.  It doesn't matter who's power hour is the best, all that matters is the fact that we are there for the guest and to make their day. 

ALL PKI EMPLOYEES ROCK!!!  Without you all, there would be no park (obviously) but you all rock and I am happy to see so many "youngins" happy to be at work and to do their job.

Finally, someone said it. We are a team and not one crew is better then the other. Each department is the same way. We all work as a team. And I think we make a great team at that.

I agree that every crew does their own thing to make the guests happy. I guess the thing about The Beast's Power Hour is that people flock to The Beast anyway because it's not a big secret that it's better at night, and the crew does little things to show that they're having fun, and if they're having fun, we're having fun and vice versa.

What's great about The Beast's Power Hour is that it's so natural. When I was up there the other night, I rode both The Beast and IJ within the last hour, both of which tried to work the crowds up. On IJ, there was a girl who kept yelling to us asking how our ride was when we were waiting to pull into the station and was rewarded with an appathetic clap from a few people from the train. The effort was there, but it just didn't seem to happen. On the other hand, on The Beast, they were doing similar things and were getting a great reaction. One thing that I particularly noticed was how the girl in the drive box would tap the mic against the table to a familiar beat, and the crowd would respond with clapping the 2nd half of the beat. This wasn't planned or organized or anything, it was just natural. Also, when our train pulled into the station at the end of the ride, the same girl in the drivebox yelled, "How was your ride??" and didn't get much of a response. She then threatened to not unlock our restraints until we screamed for her, which triggered a mediocre response (we didn't have a very enthusiastic train), so after that she just proclaimed, "You guys suck!" and released our restrains. You can argue say that what she did wasn't HR friendly, but I can tell you that the whole station was rolling.... definitely made for a new experience.

So in closing, if you're on a non-Beast crew and you want to have a successful power hour, just have fun and make sure that the guests know that you're having fun. Let them in on the experience... that seems to be the way to go.

Ryan

[Alien Seed]

You guys suck? That seems highly questionable since "suck" is still considered cursing by alot of people. Amazing how they got away with that, especially since a guest heard an associate on another ride say that word, and complained about it.

[FOF/Z 4-ever]

Yea, that was a major bad GR. She is lucky no one heard and reported it.

[HomerJay]

Well, I must eat my words since I started this thread.

The other day I went to Cedar Point. And I must say that they seem to have the most unhappy, bored workers I've seen! I don't know that I saw one of them smile the whole day! At least at PKI I do see a little bit of personality once in awhile!

[Jasper]

Most of them are from foreign countries and they are very rude!

[Kat_RPW_employee]

Okay, as a guest of PKI who drives six hours from Detroit to go down there, I personally think it's quite rude for employees to say that guests are annoying. We pay your salary!!! I understand you need to vent and honestly this post is just in good humor.

But let's not forget that park employees are not always cream of the crop. To wit:

1. Employees gabbing with other employees even when I'm trying to ask a question (I understand work-related stuff but "what are you doing tonight" is break room stuff).

2. Making such a big deal about line jumping but every time I've pointed out a line jumper they just let it slide.

3. Not knowing how to properly count money and give back change (this has happened so often at PKI it's not funny!)

4. There was this really creepy little guy (young guy) who ran the elevator at the Eiffel Tower. He was in charge of taking guests up and down. I never once saw him smile and when I tried to crack a joke he just had a stick up his butt. Customer service means you LIKE your guests!! (We don't have to like you--that's part of the deal).

5. The employees who are going to read this list and not have a sense of humor about it because they take this job as the greatest job in the world, protect secrets like national security and tow the company line without seeing the corporate BS that Viacom spins.

hey now! if you hate us so much don't come back! seriously.

it's rude people like YOU that make OUR job seem crappy. it's rude people like YOU that make us NOT want to serve you. it's rude people like YOU that put us in a bad mood. it's rude people like YOU who make us think "please don't come back."

Your post was just straight up biased, and VERY judgemental. You can't judge all PKI employees based on the behaviour of a select few.

If you come there in a ****ed off mood, and treat us like crap, guess what, you will not get very good behaviour in return. Perhaps the dude at the ET was not friendly because he had been there ALL FREAKIN DAY and was tired.

I don't always have the guts to smile at my customers, yet they're still nice to me. We have our issues too so don't go pickin on us just because we forgot to smile at you and say hi. There are thousands of guests every day and we don't always have it in us to say hi to every freakin person we meet.

PKI is a tough job, even if you are just a greeter. Standing there in the hot sun, on your feet ALL DAY can be exhausting, and you can't get all ****ed at someone because they didn't say hi. what's stopping YOU? hm? what is stopping YOU from saying hi to US? Why does it always have to be us saying hi to you, and most times "you" don't reply. you just look at me like will you shut up so i can order? and THAT gets old.

If you don't like our manners, and don't like our behaviour, we wear name tags for a reason. Ask to speak with the supervisor or take it up with guest relations, but don't get online and post a very negative biased post about how lousy we are.

and honestly, it's not YOUR money that pays us. Your money goes to pay for stuff like IJ and repairs most likely.

So like I said, you don't like us, fine. The feeling is mutual. I don't like rude guests that have a crappy attitude and show us no sympathy at all.

YES I agree that personal chit chat should be saved for times when there are no guests, but you can't make a biased statement like all of us are that way.

Like I said if you don't like the behaviour of a PKI employee, you could change it several ways.

1. showing US more respect and being nice to us. Trust me, it does a world of good.

2. Ask to speak with the employee's supervisor if they're around (i.e. on a ride or a food station)

3. take it up with Guest Relations. They handle customer complaints, and they will contact said employee and talk to them about their behaviour.

4. If you flat out hate us, then do us a favor and please don't come back.

sincerely,

one ****ed off employee

[Outdoor Man]

Good grief Kat... calm down; it's going to be OK.

Honestly, as a guest of the park, and someone who has worked side-by-side with some of you in the Group Volunteer program, I feel like about 95% of the park employees enjoy their jobs. Now there are some who feel it is "just a job" and they're only there for $$ for the weekends. And that's pretty much how they'll view any job in their life. But honestly, you should feel great about the work you do. For most people your age, as far as jobs go, you are the envy of the state. The only thing that comes close is Cedar Point.... no knock to CP here, but who wants to be stuck in Cleveland for a summer? You have the best jobs at one of the most envious employers in the state for what I assume is the median age here. What can anyone north of dayton / south of the River say they worked at for a summer? McD's, maybe a public pool?

Can park employees by jerks... maybe; I honestly can say I haven't come across any, but I'm sure they're out there. Most of the ones I come across are fairly happy-go-lucky... and their fun to be around- whether I'm a guest or "working." I know the Volunteer program can be stressing for some of you too... some of your volunteers are twice your age and may not know their right hand from left.... and who wants to go through that training everyday.

I feel the park employees do very well! Besides, I'm sure the ones that hate their jobs probably do not spend much time on this site anyway.

[moore]

Do the people at the entrance that want to take your picture annoy the living h*ll out of anyone else here? They make me actually avoid using the front of IS. They asked us like 3 times to take our picture all by different people all right after we said no to someone else. I know it's their job and it's good they are persistant but seriously...

[BoddaH1994]

Okay, as a guest of PKI who drives six hours from Detroit to go down there, I personally think it's quite rude for employees to say that guests are annoying. We pay your salary!!! I understand you need to vent and honestly this post is just in good humor.

But let's not forget that park employees are not always cream of the crop. To wit:

1. Employees gabbing with other employees even when I'm trying to ask a question (I understand work-related stuff but "what are you doing tonight" is break room stuff).

2. Making such a big deal about line jumping but every time I've pointed out a line jumper they just let it slide.

3. Not knowing how to properly count money and give back change (this has happened so often at PKI it's not funny!)

4. There was this really creepy little guy (young guy) who ran the elevator at the Eiffel Tower. He was in charge of taking guests up and down. I never once saw him smile and when I tried to crack a joke he just had a stick up his butt. Customer service means you LIKE your guests!! (We don't have to like you--that's part of the deal).

5. The employees who are going to read this list and not have a sense of humor about it because they take this job as the greatest job in the world, protect secrets like national security and tow the company line without seeing the corporate BS that Viacom spins.

hey now! if you hate us so much don't come back! seriously.

it's rude people like YOU that make OUR job seem crappy. it's rude people like YOU that make us NOT want to serve you. it's rude people like YOU that put us in a bad mood. it's rude people like YOU who make us think "please don't come back."

Your post was just straight up biased, and VERY judgemental. You can't judge all PKI employees based on the behaviour of a select few.

If you come there in a ****ed off mood, and treat us like crap, guess what, you will not get very good behaviour in return. Perhaps the dude at the ET was not friendly because he had been there ALL FREAKIN DAY and was tired.

I don't always have the guts to smile at my customers, yet they're still nice to me. We have our issues too so don't go pickin on us just because we forgot to smile at you and say hi. There are thousands of guests every day and we don't always have it in us to say hi to every freakin person we meet.

PKI is a tough job, even if you are just a greeter. Standing there in the hot sun, on your feet ALL DAY can be exhausting, and you can't get all ****ed at someone because they didn't say hi. what's stopping YOU? hm? what is stopping YOU from saying hi to US? Why does it always have to be us saying hi to you, and most times "you" don't reply. you just look at me like will you shut up so i can order? and THAT gets old.

If you don't like our manners, and don't like our behaviour, we wear name tags for a reason. Ask to speak with the supervisor or take it up with guest relations, but don't get online and post a very negative biased post about how lousy we are.

and honestly, it's not YOUR money that pays us. Your money goes to pay for stuff like IJ and repairs most likely.

So like I said, you don't like us, fine. The feeling is mutual. I don't like rude guests that have a crappy attitude and show us no sympathy at all.

YES I agree that personal chit chat should be saved for times when there are no guests, but you can't make a biased statement like all of us are that way.

Like I said if you don't like the behaviour of a PKI employee, you could change it several ways.

1. showing US more respect and being nice to us. Trust me, it does a world of good.

2. Ask to speak with the employee's supervisor if they're around (i.e. on a ride or a food station)

3. take it up with Guest Relations. They handle customer complaints, and they will contact said employee and talk to them about their behaviour.

4. If you flat out hate us, then do us a favor and please don't come back.

sincerely,

one ****ed off employee

Kat,

You do make some very good points. Although I'm a big supporter of the notion that you're paid to be at the park and I pay a lot of money to enjoy the park, so it is park of your job to ensure that I have a world class experience every time I go, it's really not as simple as that.

In the defense of HomerJay, I have to say that anyone who actually takes the time to visit and post on a site dedicated to PKI usually has the understanding that PKI is hard work, and it's rare that I see a PKIC user be blatantly rude to employees.

You do make a good point, though. If you see an employee that's clearly not in a good mood, say hi to them. The text book response would be to suck it up, and if you can't handle the job, quit, but we're all humans here. It's hard to find someone in a good mood who has been working on their feet for more than 8 hours in 90+ degree heat. If you, as guests of the park, are kind to employees, it could make their day a little better, and it's not an attrocity to do so. I mean, think of it this way: if you're in line at an eatery in the park and it takes them 10 minutes to get your food, there's probably a reason behind it that's out of the hands of the person that you're dealing with, or if the load/unload of a ride takes forever, it's usually the fault of the guests on the train, and the safety of the guests outweighed the goal of 1000 people per hour of the ride.

When it comes down to it, I really have no doubt that PKI has its fair share of crappy employees, but it also has its fair share of crappy guests as well. Just remember that as a guest who is a member of this site, you know quite a bit more about the day to day lives of park employees and how their jobs are far from easy. Employees, you know how even the little things like shooting a smile at guests can enhance the experience of the patronage of the park and can make a world of difference. Since we all have a common ground here, we have a certain level of obligation to eachother.

[Outdoor Man]

I honestly feel for what some (probably most at one time or another) have to go through. A few weeks ago a few of us thought it would be fun to hit all the water rides as closing time approached (which by the way, has WWC always been open till closing?). We rode WWC 10 X's and Amazon Falls ('scuse me... Congo Falls) about 6 times. We get to the front of CF- there was no one in line (60 degrees, chilly, getting dark- go figure). and a family of 4 were in front of us. the children were small and the employees did their job to measure the kids and said they were too short to ride, apologized and were VERY respectful to the parents.... who just came UNGLUED on the employees. I'm not a small person by any means, but I even come out of my seat occassionally on CF... and I don't know what these parents were thinking in the least. Obviously not safety of their children. So they took the opp to air their grievances over the price increase as well on the ride attendants. These are probably the same folks who would sue the park for their own negligence.

I don't know who the employees were at that ride (roughly 8:30, Thursday, June 9)... but you were very respectful and protected yourself and the integrity of the park.

[dxrunner]

Kat_RPW_employee wow, you are my new best friend

[Jasper]

Wow this is gettin heated. Cant wait to be a park employee.

[RawkMiSenseless]

Indeed, rides people can be fairly unhappy at times, but there are more employees at PKI that don't do rides, food, or pictures. For example, the entertainment department! Hello, those people are crazy! Love them!

[Ben]

It really comes down to the park guests. The guest treat the employees with no respect, and then expect to get something for their troubles if an argument breaks out.

On PointBuzz, someone said that an employee on Magnum wouldn’t let them ride with a bag that was like a fanny pack. Well he then got out of line and went to the back, so that employee wouldn’t see him. He then said that he flipped that employee off as they left the station.

I think it comes down to the guests. If they would show the employees a little respect, the employees might treat us a little nicer. I can't count how many times a CP employee has done something nice for my family and I.

We did a parent swap on TTD, and the employee that let us in through the exit, let us take the front seat, which he shouldn't have, but the entire crew was in a great mood.

[moore]

Why wans't he allowed to ride w/ a fanny pack? That seems ridiculous.

[Ben]

Why wans't he allowed to ride w/ a fanny pack? That seems ridiculous.

I ment a bag like a fanny pack. Apparently it was something different and the employee wouldn't allow it because it didn't classify as a fanny pack. Overall, the guest took it to the extreme by giving the employee the finger.

[Jasper]

The employee may have been trying to be safe and may have thought it could have caused a hazard.

[Kat_RPW_employee]

Kat_RPW_employee wow, you are my new best friend

LOL thanks.