Blackballing "Bad" Guests

Its a good idea, and one point of Will Koch's letter that seems to have been overlooked (with obvious reason, of course.)

- If someone disobeys park rules, make sure they aren't allowed back in. Ever. -

Now, the hard part. How does a park enforce this kind of rule, whether they be a small park like Holiday World, or a large international chain like Six Flags. Imagine how a successful implementation of this idea could benefit the industry as a whole... let your imaginations run wild. Less idots means less people trying to imitate idiots. Less accidents. Lower insurance rates for parks. Less Senators trying to pass laws on "excessive" g-forces. I know I'm listing things in the "extreme", but if the industry can force people to behave by eliminating the people that don't, then there has to be numerous upsides.

But seriously... how do we go about making this happen?

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-Rob
A.C.E. member since 1990
Posting @ Coasterbuzz since 2000
E.C.C. member since 2002

How does a park inforce that? ya know, I was thinkin the same darn thing when I read that. I don't think their really is a way to do that. Its not like banning someone from website.

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This space will forever be dedicated to Hercules-R.I.P. 1989-2003

Rumor is it has already happened to several different people, both prior to, and after this year's SRM. (I don't know a damn thing, so don't ask me :) )

I can think of some ways to enforce it, but it has to be impossible 100% of the time, especially in large parks.

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- "I used to be in the audio/visual club, but I was kicked out because of my views on Vietnam........and I was stealing projectors" - Homer Simpson
*** This post was edited by Peabody 9/19/2003 12:32:28 PM ***

In a small park, I could see it being possible, but to implement it in a large chain would be really tough. That's the problem I see.

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-Rob
A.C.E. member since 1990
Posting @ Coasterbuzz since 2000
E.C.C. member since 2002

For the big three, CF, Paramount and SF, just revoking season passes might help some. Beyond that, you might just have to rely on getting their face known among the senior staff who roams the park, and get them to enforce it (although that's a very iffy proposition).

The season pass idea is the only thing that logistically might stand a chance of working. And as a side benefit, if you're going to have a-holes in your park, at least they're paying you $50 for the privlidge ;)

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Brett
Resident Launch Whore

The PARK would have a hard time trying to Bann a certain guest...too tough to monitor.

What I HAVEN'T seen from ANY OTHER CLUB except CBuzz is the willingness to stand up to a "bad member" and BAN that person(s) from the club.

Maybe if the COASTER CLUBS set a ZERO Tolerance Policy, we as an enthusiast community as a whole can EARN the Trust of the Parks Back (thanks RideMan for point out what was truly lost in all of this is the Trust of the Parks)

The threat of a tresspassing arrest could deter some black-balled folks.

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A day is a drop of water in the ocean of eternity. A week is seven drops.

I wonder... If a guest paid by credit card (which is, I'm asssuming, the norm), can the park rig up their computers so that that card is no longer valid?

Can anything be done in the same vein to personal checks?

It wouldn't be a definitive solution, but if they could do those two things, it would go quite a ways.

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I hear America screaming...

Do what the comic book guy did, post the blackballed guests pictures at the entrance.

I agree with Den. Even if these people go back to the park, they will not likely act up for fear of getting caught trespassing. There is no way to effectively keep them from comming into the park.(unless they start doing iris scans or something) The good thing about this is that these people will not be misbehaving if they go back to the park beacuse they are breaking the law.

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As Mitch always said, "If you had a freind who was a tightrope walker and he fell down just walking down the street, that would be completely unacceptable."
-Tomas

To what extent can a business ban someone from their property, anyway? For what reasons?

It seems logical that they could ban guests who don't participate safely. But, of course, they couldn't ban guests because of their race. Where's the line?

...just curious.

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--Maddie--
What do I Listen-To?
May the Schwarz be with you.

I suppose a blackballed guest could always pay admission, but they'd still risk getting removed later without refund.

Of course, their "We outwitted some part-time employee and got in anyway" pics could be used as evidence against them--and racking up trespassing charges would change their status from 'unwelcome in certain parks' to 'unwelcome in certain states' where they'd have outstanding warrants.

Is it worth it? I think not. Then again, it would have been 'worth it' simply to retire certain pics a while back. Duh.

-'Playa

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The CPlaya 100--6 days, 9 parks, 47 coasters, 2037 miles and a winner.....LoCoSuMo.
*** This post was edited by CoastaPlaya 9/19/2003 1:31:21 PM ***
*** This post was edited by CoastaPlaya 9/19/2003 1:31:53 PM ***

*Could* a business ban guests because of race? Obviously it'd be an idiotic move, but is that legal? Does Augusta Country Club count as a business?

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A day is a drop of water in the ocean of eternity. A week is seven drops.

Heart of Atlanta Motel vs. US would suggest that no, they can't. Especially amusement parks.

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--Maddie--
What do I Listen-To?
May the Schwarz be with you.

I wonder if a park pressing charges against a disruptive guest would be enough of a deterrant. If the police can ticket you for not wearing your seat belt, why can't they do something if you don't wear it on a coaster?

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-Rob
A.C.E. member since 1990
Posting @ Coasterbuzz since 2000
E.C.C. member since 2002

As far as your 'race' question goes, Maddie...the protections against ethnic and racial discrimination have already been significantly weakened. You can selectively enforce written and posted rules, selectively use established qualifying criteria, et cetera to justify some underlying discrimatory intent. When you hear about some corporation fined or punished for that sort of conduct, it's for conduct that has become so deeply entrenched and systemic that it's adopted as part of their corporate policy. That's already happening and been happening for a while. Welcome to my America. Nevertheless, it doesn't have much to do with this particular question.

-'Playa

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The CPlaya 100--6 days, 9 parks, 47 coasters, 2037 miles and a winner.....LoCoSuMo.
*** This post was edited by CoastaPlaya 9/19/2003 1:33:13 PM ***

I don't think that race has anything to do with it... anyone can be disruptive, anyone can cause problems.

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-Rob
A.C.E. member since 1990
Posting @ Coasterbuzz since 2000
E.C.C. member since 2002

I didn't mean to suggest that race was at all pertinent to the discussion. Rather, I was curious as to where the proverbial line in the sand is with regard to discrimination against customers.

Obviously, a park can't refuse admission to guests because of their skin color -- but they can refuse admission based on what they're wearing, for example. Where's the limit?

Can a park refuse admission to someone if they're a member of a specific club, even if that member has no bad history with the park at all?

Stuff like that.

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--Maddie--
What do I Listen-To?
May the Schwarz be with you.

It's blacklist, not ball. You're confusing your colors and such with a term associated with a male sexual condition.

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Jeff - Webmaster/Admin - CoasterBuzz.com - My Blog
Blogs, photo albums - CampusFish
What time does the water show start?

I'm sure enough enthusiasts have been 'blue balled' before, though. ;)