A Look at Six Flags' Guest Service Training
Happy Holidays! Everyone... :)
Bah Humbug
guts
A day at the park is what you make it!
Here's an example: Zingerman's Deli. If you've ever visited Ann Arbor for more than a half day, chances are your host took you to Zingerman's. It's a deli that people from New York think is good---I once hosted a colleague from UIUC who grew up in Manhattan. When I asked her where she wanted to eat lunch, she didn't even hesitate. She knew, from other friends in NYC, that this place was a good deli.
Now, it's not good only because the food is good (and it is.) It's good despite the fact that it's very expensive. A rueben is $11-12. More expensive than theme park food. It's good because they provide outstanding service. One of the founders, Ari Weinzwieg, often gives speeches at local business events. He's fond of saying that "No one wakes up in the morning and says 'Today, I want a $12 sandwich.'" It's the experience of Zingerman's that makes you feel as though you are getting good value for perhaps the most expensive deli sandwich you've ever purchased.
When you walk into Zingerman's, you aren't just helped by a clerk. Someone walks out from behind the counter, and (for example) helps you select just the right cheeses from the deli case of dozens and dozens of options, by trying to understand what you want, and then suggesting just the right cheeses for whatever meal your serving/the tastes of your guests/etc. The place isn't much more than 1000 square feet, and there are at least a half-dozen employees there at any one time.
In large part, really, the continuing decline in customer service is our own damn fault. We insist on shopping at the cheapest store, despite the fact that there is literally no service provided at all. This is why WalMart, CostCo, and Target all work. Try getting someone to actually help you beyond pointing you in what might be vaguely the right direction. Not going to happen. Home Depot tries to tell you that they do more than "point you down the aisle", but as far as I can tell, that's pure BS---my neighborhood hardware store does a much better job, though it is a bit more expensive, too. My neighborhood lumber yard is even better (and, not surprisingly, more expensive.)
Good customer service takes a lot of willing, talented people, and getting those people costs money. You have to charge a bit more to pay for all that, and by and large the American public isn't willing to pay for it.
This is one more reason why, when I find a lcoal merchant or tradesman that provides me good service, I try to give him my business and referrals, even if it costs more.
I agree with you about customer service. For some reason people think its a God given right when most of the time the truth is you get what you pay for.
Not to knock your deli, Brian, which I'm sure is quite good, but it isn't just the "cheap" establishments that lack customer service. I've been in a number of upscale stores, restuarants, etc., staffed by people who give you a dirty look because you actually expect them to wait on you. They just talk on cell phones with more bells and whistles than in the economy places.
Yes, one can expect to pay a premium for someone knowledgable in their product line as opposed to someone who can barely operate the register. But to pay a premium just to be treated with courtesy? I don't buy it.
My examples is Knoebels, located in a rural county where the the median income is around 80 percent the PA state average, and probably less than 80 percent the national. They are among the friendliest employees I've seen in any place of business, yet I doubt they're pulling down any kind of premium wage. So what's their excuse? As a matter of fact, I'd add DelGrossos and Idlewild to that list as well.
Maybe it's because the pickings are slim, and they don't have too many choices of places they can go for double or triple the wage they get there. Or maybe people in the area in general are more friendly and courteous.
Again I don't buy the idea of someone saying "I'm going to sit here and be a sullen nasty SOB because I'm not getting paid enough to have to be nice and know my job." Get over it.
Most of the ride ops were evry friendly.
I talked to the superman ops for about an hour while it was being worked on. everybody left but me and my gf . IT was just me , my gf and the ride ops in the station.
Also the security guards were real helpful too.
SFGAdv = bad service, imho. Once they get your money, they really don't care if the rides are open or not.
The employees were pretty nice when I was there this year.
What happen was tghe pump that controls the airgate busted.
why you ask because people keep sitting on the airgates and it puts pressure on the pumps .
So the airgates didnt open and the ride shutdown.
Maintenance changed a major part of the coaster and got it running in exactly an hour and a half so it was not the service.
I know because I was there. I even helped them check when the gates actually opened and closed.
I just hate when people blame the staff without knowing the situation .
A day at the park is what you make it!
Everytime some business talks about "saving labor costs", you can pretty much be sure that that means one less person available to help you with a question or concern.
So, rather than think of it in terms of pay, thing of it in terms of cost. But, pay really is a part of it. If you've ever worked in a service sector job, you know how miserable some people can be to the hired help, and you know how difficult it is to really provide good service. (I firmly believe that everyone should be forced to work two years as either a waitperson, a retail clerk, or somethign similar so that they can understand this point.) If the local amusement park pays minimum wage and expects you to be really nice even to the jagoffs, but the local fast food place doesn't really care, which one is more likely to get and keep an employee, all other thigns being equal?
It's harder to provide good service than to not have to, and that has to be rewarded in the marketplace, unless every business expects its employees to do so. And, not every business expects it, because they aren't all trying to provide good service---some are simply trying to provide a product or service as cheaply as they can, because Americans are cheap b*stards at heart.
As a practical example, consider Disney. There was a very interesting article about exactly this issue on miceage recently.
Worse, cost is only one factor. Management also has to be fanatical about it to make it work. Some of the things Paula has told us about HW suggest that management's constant reinforcement of and rewards for excellent service form a big part of why that place works the way it does.
Would 3 low paid and lazy Scrambler workers improve ride cycles over the one or none they presently use? I struggle with the concept...
P.S. gator...it is not so bad on the dark side! Give it time...I've been down the painful self-realization process myself! :-)
When I worked on the Beast, the fact that I was payed an hourly wage of a rather low amount never affected how much effort I put into working there. I wanted to do a good job for several reasons. One is more personal in that I have always been hard working, took pride in my school work, and just always try to do a good job regardless. However besides that, it was the fact that the guest were paying 40 dollars or so to get into the park, and deserved good service and for each employee to try their best, and perhaps make their day. The other underlying factor was that my experiences in Kings Island have always been positive, and yet their was a certain level of pride that other guest should have the same positive experience when visiting this park.
I think the key was it was just not me that worked hard, but alot of the people around me, from seasonal workers, to full time people, that cared about the guest experience. Having never worked at Six Flags, but the one common thing I notice in some of the lesser parks, is sort of a non caring attitude among seasonal employees, and perhaps management.
However I don't think you can really blame seasonal workers for the lack of guest service. Meaning that every park is hiring from the same talent pool, which is usually 16-25 year old people with limited work experience. It is not that the people six flags are hiring can't do a good job, it is they do not motivate them to do such job. Their training seems to very good also, so they are prepared to do the job that they are assigned. It really has to do with management not doing a good enough job of setting the tone, showing that they not only care about the park, but also the seasonal employees.
However at some of the more respected six flags park, there is a higher quality of service and employee attitude. However besides a park such as Six Flags Great America, Over Texas, etc, the rest seem to be lacking in this area. I think until six flag improves in this area across the board at all its six flags parks, it will be hard for it to grow or improve its brand name.
Also on a ride like KK the public is always cursing out the ride ops.
One time i was in line and kk broke down. I was next to go on. A lot of people started yelling and screaming at the ride ops.
ITs not their fault the ride broke down. IT ended up to be a sensor on the track that went.
I also noticed the same thing on nitro. As u can see when i go to parks im very nosey lol .
Anyway nitro went down and they made the sual announcement and people started cursing the nitro ride ops.
That ended up to be the sensor on the top of the lift hill. The one that tells the coaster that the train went over the hill. The tech walked all the way to the top and saw that the sensor was bad and said well change it tommorrow before opening. I dont blame him for saying that. IT was 9 pm pitch black and I wouldnt want to be stradling the track ontop of a 215 foot tall lift hill in the dark changing a sensor.
People should start having more respect for the staff. That might put the staff in a better mood.
IF seen, heard and witnessed what they go through. ITs hard to give good customer service when you are being screamed at by the public all day.
Would 3 low paid and lazy Scrambler workers improve ride cycles over the one or none they presently use? I struggle with the concept...
It's both. For example, with two ops instead of one, it takes half as long to check restraints---at whatever pace they go. If you pay a competitive wage, you can afford to fire the people who don't check restraints quickly (or better yet, try to hire good people to begin with), because you have a larger pool of talent to draw from.
But, staffing plays a role in many other places too. How many times have you arrived at a park in the morning when not all turnstiles/ticket booths are open, but there are lines? Food stands with only two of three registers open during the lunch hour?
Of course, low staffing can indicate either a lack of will to hire more people, or a lack of ability. But, if you are unable to attract enough people, paying more is a step toward solving that.
Jeffrey R Smith said:P.S. gator...it is not so bad on the dark side!
LOL, to me I guess it's more along the lines of *cynicaliberalism*....I understand there's going to be a chunk of society (growing larger by the day it seems) that thinks they SHOULD be handed stuff instead of having to WORK for it. My cynical side says "SOMEONE has to work for it, whoever gets the benefit should get to do the work too".
But, by the same token, I look at our health-care crisis. Uninsureds and underinsureds, for instance, don't go the the doctor's office for check-ups, they go to the ER when the situation becomes critical. Everyone loses, because *everyone* ends up paying 10x as much for what SHOULD have been routine healthcare....AND that individual loses due to a lower quality of life.
I'm not saying that there isn't *selfish motivation* in making the whole world a better place...the environment is another great example.
Maybe the "liberal" tag should go to someone else? I'm already ON *the dark side*....or maybe the Far Side? :)
edit: For those wondering where this *applies*, customer service people ARE, by and large, a large portion of the underinsured/uninsured...I'd wager considerably larger than the unemployed.
*** Edited 12/24/2005 8:15:32 PM UTC by rollergator***
J. said:
Give 'em the pickle!
Now THAT was an excellent customer service seminar!
J makes reference to a gentlemen(whose name escapes me) that is a customer service guru. His premise is simple - treat the customer like the way you want to be treated. Sounds simple I know, but to here him present it, absolutely awesome!
In my jobs case, I think that it has something to do with pride, or lack thereof. My employers do everything in their power to keep "Team Members" from feeling any sense of pride for their work. It's never, "Good job there, Dex!". It's more like, "You need to go faster!", or "You need to do EVEN better than that!"
Managements job is to get the workers to do as good of a job as possible. Some do it by being positive and some do it by being negative.
I like it when my employer is positive in getting me to do a good job. That means incentive, which means less profits.
Businessnes only care about profits. Money is their only god. It is cheaper to not offer incentives to employees. Negative = higher profits.
IMHO!
edited for spelling... *** Edited 12/25/2005 4:58:39 AM UTC by dexter***
dexter said:In my jobs case, I think that it has something to do with pride, or lack thereof. My employers do everything in their power to keep "Team Members" from feeling any sense of pride for their work. It's never, "Good job there, Dex!". It's more like, "You need to go faster!", or "You need to do EVEN better than that!"Managements job is to get the workers to do as good of a job as possible. Some do it by being positive and some do it by being negative.
I totally agree. Some places do think by being negative that will entice workers to work harder. In reality, it will make them just do the bare minimum to get you off thier back, or they will just quit.
I experienced this in working for the Adventuredome. I worked there once for about a year my senior year of high school (00-01). Then, like a fool ,I went back working for them again last winter break because I needed extra money while school was out. I guess part of me wanted to see if things had changed at all...but no they didnt. Management still seemed to avoid any motivating factors for its front line staff. Don't they realize happy staff means happy guests?
My main complaint is still a problem today...rotations that ARE NOT rotations at all. Meaning you could be stuck in a single position for upwards of 6 hours at a time. The times when we acutally did get a "rotation" they always threatened to freeze it. To which i always asked...how can you freeze something thats pretty much already frozen. Excuse me, but a rotation is not stand in one spot for 3 hrs take a 20 min break and stand in another for your last 3hrs and 40 minutes.
...and such
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