SF could use a ride operator school's

Hi with all the complaint's about SF and there ride operator's(please don't jump down my throat their is a ton of great ride operators at various sf), why can't they bring in top employee's from other park's like SFGamerica(like legendary and other's who iv'e read are pretty good at what they do). Is this a crazy idea having a school for a company that has so many park's or could it work.

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Army rangers lead the way

Speaking for SFGA they have an excellent training program especially if you get trained before the upcoming season. So, to have a school somewhere would do no good. You need to get trained on the speifics of what ride your going to be running, so each park does it their own way. Besides Six Flags is located all around the world where would you even put a school?!?

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American Eagle Operator

I believe parks need to at least do a minimal screening of applicants, to see who would actually would do a good job. Take SFO, then take a few TL's/ATL's from Cedar Point, and then take a few of the same employee's from SFGam, and train the SFO employees on how to do a decent job. Though, that would probably NEVER happen, I can almost guarantee that capacities would almost double (if not triple on B:KF) and the overall experience at the park would be much better. When I made my trip to SFO last year, I found one - yes one - employee that looked to be having a semi-decent time. It's just a shame.
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Corey
Ride Op
Magnum XL-200 - '01

It really is a training issue and a management culture issue. I was quick to write-off Six Flags as a chain until I made it to SFGAm, where the ride ops have it together and take some pride in their jobs (see the previous threads with the Bull crew). Similar "ride pride" is common at Cedar Point.

The friend of mine that reported SFO to the state, just prior to their fines, was totally blown off by some mid-level ops manager when he told him about the Wolf Ka-Bobs ops letting small kids on the ride and not paying attention (where the trains would sail right through the station because they didn't set the brake). If the managers don't care, the ride ops won't care.

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Jeff
Webmaster/Admin - CoasterBuzz.com

Eagle OP I believe supermandl is talking about having a school at each Six Flags park.

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May The G-Forces Be With You...Me!

*** This post was edited by coaster0 on 1/29/2001. ***

How about bumping up some ride-ops from SFGAm to
lower manager's and bring the old manager's from there to SFO. Or just a manager school.

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rangers lead the way

Coaster0 that's what i ment thank's.

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rangers lead the way

I really think New Jersey and Ontario might be on the right track here. Both the New Jersey Department of Labor and the Technical Standards and Safety Authority of Ontario (TSSA) have been making noises about ride operator certification programs. There are carnivals out there...yes, I'm talking about road shows...that have elaborate operator training and certification programs. Industry standards for operator training and certification are being developed; I think eventually we're gonna see certified operators. But I fear for some parks it's gonna require legal action..they don't seem to be smart enough to put a program in place themselves.

Personally, I think the parks can learn a lesson from the carnivals. A big difference between the ride operators in even the biggest amusement parks and the better carnivals is that the carnival operators are professional ride operators. Parks need to approach ride operations as a professional discipline. It's going to cost them money in the short run, because professional ride operators are more expensive than trained button pushers. But if good operators mean fewer accidents, less damage to equipment, and better operations...might it not be a worthwhile investment?

--Dave Althoff, Jr

I don't know how many carnies approach their rides and the passengers in a way that a park would want to copy.

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Randy Hutchinson
You build it, I'll ride it...eventually

Last year, with the change of Reino Aventura to Six Flags Mexico, they made a lot of changes, but something they didn't change were the ride operators. They are the worst thing the park can have. It makes you feel like they are making you a favor to help you, so the magic you normaly experience in an amusement park is completely lost. I hope Six Flags put a little more attention to this things, because they just didn't sell a name, but also an image they haven't been able to fill.

Six Flags Mexico needs help!!! a ride operator school would be the key for the total transformation to a REAL Six Flags.

Here is little secret, I am 90% sure that the current president of SF was the former games manager there years ago.

The problem with Six Flags ride operators is that a lot of them don't care about their jobs. They are trained very well. Six Flags has been establishing a corporate wide training program so all parks use the same hand signals. If you have ever been to SFGAM you will notice who is and who isn't a ride operator as they are required to ware ride certification badges that state which rides the employee is cleared to operate. I know other parks have certification cards that they keep in their pockets or something. The cert badges are the best because they clearly mark out the ride employee's.

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BMCOASTER

bmcoaster@wi.rr.com

Part of the problem comes in that most of the time the ride operators are only working the job on a seasonal basis. That makes holding on to good people very difficult, especially when there are other places hiring who will pay the kids more to work in a temperature controlled environment. But periodic surprise inspections by undercover checkers would be a good idea.
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Peace, Love, and Rollercoasters.........we need more of all three.

I think alot of people have said it before, and feeling the way I do about my job from time to time, lots of these people are doing just a job. They deal with alot of tourists and tourists can suck. Ride patrons must also do their part.

As for the school and moving around, if you get a job in your area, chances are you wouldn't like getting moved out of town to work at another location doing the same thing or something a step higher. See Wild One's post.......