Absurd Lockers

[wrs28220]

Okay, final point. Who doesn't bring loose articles into the park?

I don't.

[hauntedtrail13]

At the risk of sounding insulting, you're getting a lot wrong, which leads me to believe that you really don't know a lot about what you're talking about.



Yeah I'd say they aren't as much of a "cash sucker" as the admission price. Admission is $29.99 online, and over $50 per person at the gate. It's $1 to fit as many loose articles from your entire party that you can. There's a LARGE difference.



That would be an incorrect assumption. Please refer back to what I said above about how there are some people on this forum who do work in the industry, do know what they're talking about, and do know what the real picture is.



1) It sells.

2) It brings guests into their restaurants, which means they aren't in a competitor's restaurant.

3) The $1 cheeseburger usually sells fries, sodas, and other various accompaniments along with it which easily makes up the small loss per cheeseburger McD's incurs.

4) After enough $1 cheeseburgers, a guest will usually want to explore the rest of the menu. This means additional sales for McD's and not for their competitors.

It's basic business. Do whatever you can to gain marketshare. The point is that a small loss on that sale can yield numerous other benefits in other ways. In some cases, just making people happier is the best effect any business can have. It means they'll want to come back to you. The lockers help decrease wait times which makes people happier than they would be without the no loose articles policy. Happier guests is good for business, as well as the guests.



How exactly is requiring loose articles be secured, either in a $1 locker, or some other means "exploiting" people who want to take pictures? If SF held a gun to each guest's head and forced their stuff into a paid locker, you may have a point, but guests are free to put their cameras in a zippered pocket, or with a non-riding member of their party, or a $1 temp use locker, or an all-day locker, or their car, or some other means.

Honestly, the whole point of the $1 locker is to ensure that NO loose articles are brought to the loading area delaying the load/unload time of each train, thereby decreasing queue wait times. It's a very effective policy, and you also won't loose that antique camera forever should it fall away from you during your ride.



Again, this is really basic business. Installing/operating/maintaining those lockers takes money. That money doesn't just appear out of nowhere. Universal overcharges its guests in numerous other ways, and is a completely different financial animal than a SF park is. Trying to compare a theme park to a movie studio/theme park/entertainment district is comparing apples to potato salad.



And that's totally your choice, and totally cool. In fact, you could even drive your camera off SF property to your residence or hotel if you wanted to thanks to the free in n' out of the guest parking lot that every paid vehicle has.

The lockers are a simple matter of convenience, just like pretty much everything else in the park. Want candy in the park? It costs money. Want food in the park? It costs money. Want to have your loose articles unsecured as you walk around? Great, but you'll need to secure them somehow before you board a ride, and there are lockers provided. Believe it or not, they cost money. The lockers help decrease wait times for everyone, which add value to the overall park product, just like having gift shops & restaurants in the park do. This isn't a matter of exploitation. I believe it's called "running a business."

Well if you believe that I have no clue in what I'm talking about then go ahead and look at my user name and look that up on the web. You'll find a company that is very big in the haunted house industry. So as far as questioning my knowledge in business go ahead because your assumption doesn't really mean anything.

Saying its not a way of exploiting people doesn't make sense to me either. Thats exactly what it is, and again if it wasn't then the lockers would be free. Hands down. And yes Six Flags is not forcing anyone to put their things in a locker. But for those who do they have to pay. And that's a way of exploiting the public if you ask me.

I highly doubt that the wait times are drastically changed due to people putting their things in a locker or with a non riding member of their party. What so instead of 45min its going to be 40 min. The whole idea that it cuts a big time in the line is a bunch of bull.

Finally can you tell me where Universal charges more in other areas. I would like to know where. And how its different from any other theme park.

[sir clinksalot]

Honestly, I've found the wait times to be MUCH improved at SFMM since the Lockers have been in.

Now, I'm not saying it's been ALL due to the lockers (some of it has to do with the employees and lack of down-time I'm sure) but the lockers DO help. The amount of time that it takes to load/launch a train has been GREATLY reduced.

Just look at the amount of time it takes to load a train on Silver Bullet at Knott's and then on Batman. It's staggering the difference.

[wrs28220]

^Agreed!
And Silver Bullet's slow dispatch times are made even more obvious by the awful talking on the microphone. But you are right, the lockers have made a great difference in reducing cycle/dispatch times!

[TacAlert]

3) The $1 cheeseburger usually sells fries, sodas, and other various accompaniments along with it which easily makes up the small loss per cheeseburger McD's incurs.

AGREED!!!! Have you ever seen the syrup boxes that are hooked up to the soda machines along with the carbonation? Those boxes cost around $25-$30 and they each vend hundreds of sodas. That is where the restaurants are making their money even by giving "free" refills.

Did I just agree with something Matt said?