Scary Matterhorn experience

First it was termination talk. Now some are ripping CMs for being rude? Or taking out frustrations about the Holiday party on guests?

Wow. Simply wow.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by chesirecat

It is obvious that Malina, as an AP who has been on rides hundreds of times, knows a great deal about how rides should normally function. I mean, we've all heard stories of Disneyland newbies making silly mistakes, but this isn't the case here.

---

I'm not saying this to be rude, but it's obvious to me that not only is her understanding of a rides operation lacking, but yours is as well. You can't become an expert in riding a bike by simply watching others ride bikes.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by chesirecat

It is obvious that Malina, as an AP who has been on rides hundreds of times, knows a great deal about how rides should normally function. I mean, we've all heard stories of Disneyland newbies making silly mistakes, but this isn't the case here.

It is equally obvious that Matterhorn had a refurb recently and the new bobsleds might have some kinks that need to be worked out.

From what I can gather of Malina's story, the CM at the end of the ride caught on to the fact that her seatbelt wasn't working properly. But this doesn't preclude the possibility that the other CMs, whose job is also is to check seatbelts, might have slacked off at their job.

It also seems clear that some of the CMs were rude. Even if rushing off to an emergency (doesn't seem to be the case here at Malina didn't describe distracted CMs rushing off to an emergency, they were checking safety belts), they could have held up an index finger in a "one minute gesture." In the United States, and most countries, it is considered rude if somebody doesn't answer your question, especially if you are in distress.

---

At the END of the ride? No, no the person checking the seatbelts did their job, period.

It was probably her going "wait, wait!" as the vehicle moved from load to belt check, normal operation. This occurred in 10 seconds. In the other ten seconds, she figured out the seatbelt, the CM nodded and away they went.

You're making this sound as if they were being brutally stabbed or something.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by redberon

I'm not saying this to be rude, but it's obvious to me that not only is her understanding of a rides operation lacking, but yours is as well. You can't become an expert in riding a bike by simply watching others ride bikes.

---

I didn't say I was an expert in ride OPERATIONS. I said I'd been on the Matterhorn and other rides at Disneyland enough AS A GUEST to know the way I was normally loaded into a ride vehicle and secured my belt. That's what cheshirecat said as well. It wasn't my first time on a roller coaster. That's the point. if someone's on a ride for the first time they might not know what to do. If they've been on a ride 100 times and the 101st time, things are different, that's not the same.

I never said I was an expert at ride ops from the CM side of things. The point is that I shouldn't have to be, as a guest, to feel reassured that things are in order.

And the deal is you don't have to be an expert, The people doing it are. I'd hope you don't think every guest can be reassured of their safety in all their situations, because Signs won't do it. A CM verbally acknowledging you could put a guest/cm in the hospital if done at the wrong time. There's no sign or spiel that can prepare you as well as simply observing, and most guests foreign and local do just that.

I think I'm getting motion sickness from watching this topic go in circles.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Malina

I didn't say I was an expert in ride OPERATIONS. I said I'd been on the Matterhorn and other rides at Disneyland enough AS A GUEST to know the way I was normally loaded into a ride vehicle and secured my belt. That's what cheshirecat said as well. It wasn't my first time on a roller coaster. That's the point. if someone's on a ride for the first time they might not know what to do. If they've been on a ride 100 times and the 101st time, things are different, that's not the same.

I never said I was an expert at ride ops from the CM side of things. The point is that I shouldn't have to be, as a guest, to feel reassured that things are in order.

---

You just have to accept that sometimes things don't go 100% smoothly, but that systems are in place, systems that you may not even be aware of, to keep you safe. When I'm on a flight with bad turbulence I don't expect the flight crew to come comfort me. I'd rather the pilots focus on flying the plane and the flight attendants strap themselves in for their own safety.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by clippers6

You just have to accept that sometimes things don't go 100% smoothly, but that systems are in place, systems that you may not even be aware of, to keep you safe. When I'm on a flight with bad turbulence I don't expect the flight crew to come comfort me. I'd rather the pilots focus on flying the plane and the flight attendants strap themselves in for their own safety.

---

No system is infallible. If something is amiss, it's better to err on the side of caution and address it.

On that plane, if you saw something amiss, that you don't normally see--for instance, your seat was unhinged, like the ones on the American Airlines plane, or the person across from you had passed out--I am sure you'd press the call button or inform the flight crew about it. I'm sure you'd also expect them to answer your call when they could, instead of saying "oh, we get people who are upset about turbulence all the time. We don't need to acknowledge that." If the flight attendant walked right past you and did not acknowledge your request, you'd feel slighted and feel that she was not properly looking after you.

I never asked to be comforted on the ride; I never asked for someone to leave their post or endanger other riders. I was asking for the CMs who were standing there, focusing on the people in my sled, to offer some sort of verbal reassurance instead of ignoring me. If you're standing there with a flashlight and shining light on each row, you have time to say something.

On Haunted Mansion, there's a part in the spiel where they reassure the guest that the safety bar will come down, and tell the guest that they don't need to pull on it. People get worried when the safety equipment appears not to work, and that is legitimate.

We can keep going round in circles, I guess. it comes back to these four basic points for me:

a. When a CM is in a role that requires them to interact directly with guests--such as the flashlight worker--it is poor customer service to ignore a direct question from a guest. It's even poorer customer service to ignore a guest who is clearly panicking and voicing a concern.

b. By ignoring guests and automatically assuming that the concerns are not valid, CMs might miss out on something they really need to know about. If 99% of people cry wolf, it doesn't mean that 1% doesn't need to be helped. Obviously, that 1% was not me this time, as the CMs here have noted. What about next time, when the computer says that a belt is locked--and it's not--or there's something else that the CMs really need to watch, and they ignore it, and someone gets injured as a result?

c. The guests are not aware of the systems, and depend on the CMs or the recorded spiels to clue them in.

d. If the situation at the Matterhorn is such that the flashlight CM, etc. are too busy during normal operation to say two words to a guest, it's a problem. If the new sleds have seat belts that are confounding even 2% of guests, it's also a problem.

I'm surprised by how acrimonious this thread has been. That wasn't my intention. I would hope we could be critical and disagree without slamming each other...

It's hilarious that this thread went from "they ignored me" to "they should be fired!!" to "they are doing it on purpose because they lost their Christmas party."

Epic...all on the word of one person who admits they were in a state of panic which means her perspective and frame of mind are skewed at best. I am sure our attorney friend will have a reply to this but I wont bother coming back to see it, I am so done with this joke of a situation. He can always neg me again, oh the pain.

As a lead health & safety compliance officer that is in no way associated w/ Disney and after reading from page 1 - 6, I can really see why (not for the first time, mind you) I am called into court to testify on occasion.

This is the very ugly side of MC. This has been happening more and more. An increase all summer, in fact. It makes us look bad. Quick Reminder: the GP (general population) looks to us for answers. When they come across a page like this, it really becomes off-putting to them.

Malina, your OP was valid. You wanted to ask a question and it was answered...
...and answered ...and answered ...and answered... I'm done w/ this one. Thx for the unsolicited drama.

To some of the MCers here, please know that you will probably NEVER convince the other POV that you are "correct", esp. after ten pages. Will someone please just call someone else a freakin' name and get this thread sent to the litter bin? Jeeze.

---------- Post added 10-10-2012 at 03:54 AM ----------

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Goofy Daddy

Epic....

---

This one was a doozie for sure. And you would never know it based on the OP.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by JMazz

As a lead health & safety compliance officer that is in no way associated w/ Disney and after reading from page 1 - 6, I can really see why (not for the first time, mind you) I am called into court to testify on occasion.

This is the very ugly side of MC. This has been happening more and more. An increase all summer, in fact. It makes us look bad. Quick Reminder: the GP (general population) looks to us for answers. When they come across a page like this, it really becomes off-putting to them.

Malina, your OP was valid. You wanted to ask a question and it was answered...
...and answered ...and answered ...and answered... I'm done w/ this one. Thx for the unsolicited drama.

To some of the MCers here, please know that you will probably NEVER convince the other POV that you are "correct", esp. after ten pages. Will someone please just call someone else a freakin' name and get this thread sent to the litter bin? Jeeze.

---------- Post added 10-10-2012 at 03:54 AM ----------




This one was a doozie for sure. And you would never know it based on the OP.

---

Thanks, JMazz. At this point, I think the thread should be locked, if people are going to get nasty...

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Malina

Thanks, JMazz. At this point, I think the thread should be locked, if people are going to get nasty...

---

In your original post you shared your experience and then asked if it was what should have happened. It seemed to be a genuine question. Many came forward and answered that, yes, it was perfectly normal and shouldn't be a worry. For some reason you then began to argue with those who had answered your question. What was it, exactly, that you were looking for when you started this thread?

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by redberon

And it may have been out of the question without sacrificing safety, so what's the problem?

---

Maybe for one worker to answer, yes. However the original post stated that there were 4 people checking belts. One of them could have answered.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by redberon

I'm not saying this to be rude, but it's obvious to me that not only is her understanding of a rides operation lacking, but yours is as well. You can't become an expert in riding a bike by simply watching others ride bikes.

---

If it appears that a rider who has admitted to being on the ride on numerous occasion didn’t have knowledge of the ride imagine how a first time rider would have felt in that situation. That is all the more reason for the workers not to ignore a safety concern.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by redberon

And the deal is you don't have to be an expert, The people doing it are. I'd hope you don't think every guest can be reassured of their safety in all their situations, because Signs won't do it. A CM verbally acknowledging you could put a guest/cm in the hospital if done at the wrong time. There's no sign or spiel that can prepare you as well as simply observing, and most guests foreign and local do just that.

---

She did observe. She observed her seatbelt wasn’t working. She let the worker know that just as she was supposed to do. The workers did not acknowledge her concerns. That is a large failure.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by clippers6

You just have to accept that sometimes things don't go 100% smoothly, but that systems are in place, systems that you may not even be aware of, to keep you safe. When I'm on a flight with bad turbulence I don't expect the flight crew to come comfort me. I'd rather the pilots focus on flying the plane and the flight attendants strap themselves in for their own safety.

---

However if you saw the stewardesses and other passengers strapping themselves in and your belt didn’t work wouldn’t you expect one of the flight crew to assist you?

This whole thread could have been prevented by one CM listening to the guest and checking her seat belt.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Bob Weaver

This whole thread could have been prevented by one CM listening to the guest and checking her seat belt.

---

Exactly!