Good Ride Operators!!!!!!

Cedar Point operators stay in one spot and don't have to check trains. But at Six Flags the ops at Batman, Deja' Vu, Scorcher, Cyclone, Mindbender, Scream Machine, Mine Train, and Ninja all have to help check trains when we have 4 or less workers, which is most of the time!!! Trust me its very hard to deal with kids at Scorcher who don't weigh enough to push the seat down, which is about 2/5 of the train. Then at Batman u got people who leave their stuff on the lowering platform. Most people who go to Cedar Point know what they're doing and how to ride most of the rides. At SFoG u get a lot of people who don't know how to ride and act like they've never seen a seat belt before. At cyclone I hear "Oh I didn't know we needed the seat-belt," about a 1000 times a day. Its there for a reason not just for looks!! At Six Flags u must have a lot of patience.

X Marks The Spiizot

Boz,

I think that CP simpily attracts the right kind of employees. A lot of them are coaster or park enthusiasts.

It may also have to do with the weeks of training they recieve at the begining of each season and the fact that they move around a lot less than at other parks. They have time to understand their ride inside and out. I'm not saying that the opps NEVER help out at another ride, it's just not a lot.

They also, for the most part, treat their employees with great respect and support. The friendships and bonding at CP are more personall due to the fact that most live there durring the season. It not just a job to these people, rather it's a way of life for 4-6 months.

I went to Cedar Point one time and saw 6 attendants on the dock!!! That is never heard of at SF. In fact we'd get yelled at for having 4 people on the dock. Obviously Cedar Point has MORE Crew members therefore their dispatch times and capacity is better. But if u take 2 Cedar Point attendants and 2 SF attendants and race them to see who gets higher capacity and most dispatches, I guarantee the 2 Six Flags attendants would win!!! Because 2 CP attendants who are not used to checking a whole train with just 2 people would not go that fast, and the 2 SF attendants who are used to it because they usually check half the train every day for about 4 hours or more, depending on the day, would win.

X Marks The Spiizot *** Edited 1/2/2004 8:42:11 PM UTC by X Marks The Spiizot***

Yeah , I have to give shout outs to all of those ride-ops on rides with one train operations , and there's only two of them working it.

Especially to the Raven crew. They were highly entertaining , especially Kevin. I took about nine backseat rides and talked with him the whole time. The wait never got old.

Another great op was Michael. He was working the Round-Up at Holiday World , and made some hilarious jokes about Liberty Launch.

X marks the Spiizot, you shouldn't go to a ride like Superman or Batman , if you're that good. They load fast enough. You should definately work Deja Vu though.

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Now , some crappy ride-ops , I can't really think of any. Most are doing the best they can.

The main problem, as mentioned several times in this thread, is the guests. The majority of them DO act like idiots. I was the Foreman of the Cyclone for a while, and the seatbelts just seemed to be non-existant to people. and the people who did find them , never were abelt o realize that it goes across both people and needs to be tight, not loosened all the way. Yet, my crew was still able to meet dispatch point. Probably because unlike most of the other Foreman, i treated them like people, adn they enjoyed working for me, so they actually worked. That is the other big problem at SFOG. Lazy employees. Not operators, but the attendants. However, i have discovered that this behavior is most directly attributed to the Foreman. I was prototed to a Foreman's position about half way through my first season at SFOG. I have been at all the different ride types, including kiddie rides, water rides, and major coasters. I have noticed that the crews are lazy because the Foreman is lazy. Especially at the Scorcher. Everytime i went there, they were stacking trains for as long as 15 minutes sometimes. However, when i was left in charge of the ride, that changed. The other operator-incharges would sit on the stool behind the panel and not move. That left one person to check the entire unloading side of the train. This is unacceptable as far as I am concerned. There is simply too much to do between checking 8 rows of restraints, moving loose articles away from the train, getting guests off the dock, and enforcing all rider policies. Not only this, but it makes the Foreman look bad, to sit there withe fan blowing in his/her face, not doing any REAL work. The attendants catch on, and move slower because they see their Foreman SLACKING. When i get up, and check the first 4 rows of the train in less than 10 seconds, the rest of the crew started to speed up, until the point that we didn;t stack a single train the entire hour i was left in-charge. It all comes from the Foreman. Most of the FOreman we have, sadly, are not exceptioanl. And those of us who are, usually are made to feel unwelcome, and are ignored and mistreated by the rest of the Foramn and most of the Supervisors. I can only assume this is because we are threats to them and we make them look as bad as they are. I only hope that things change in SFOG's future. As for me, i will no longer be a Foreman for the rides department. I turned in my tag last year, and will not be taking it back. Ever.

The thing about Batman @ SFoG is that the Lo-Q sucks over there and slows down the dispatch process if the workers over there do it the wrong way, which is most of the time!! So I'd love to go to Deja' Vu but I won't be able to get it till April or may because I turn 18 in April and can't operate Deja'Vu or Superman till I'm 18. I'll try my best to convince the Supervisors to give me Deja' Vu though cuz I love that ride.

X Marks The Spiizot

At SFOG aren't all attendants trained to be operators? If not then that is the reason why morale is so low. Only one person can operate the ride and that makes others jealous. The reason why Foremans are so lazy is because they get to sit down in front of a fan. I wouldnt want to work for someone who sits on their @$$ all day.

I thought all Six Flags operated the same. I know other six flags dont have Foreman but i cant recall what they are called. Is a Foreman like the supervisor of only a specfic ride?

What is Lo-Q and how does it slow down the dispatch process?

way to brag about yourself buddy

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Fanatic said:What is Lo-Q and how does it slow down the dispatch process?

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What it is can be found in many threads on this forum (search).

It slows down the loading/dispatch process because ride ops/attendants must check everyone's q-bot when they enter through the gate, and most do not know that they have to stand in the "corral." They can't dispatch a train when a guest is standing on the inside of one of the gates (by the train.)

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rOLLocOASt said:
Agreed. If SFWoA really wanted the best employees, they'd offer them something more than that. Benefits such as a bonus, overtime, appreciation, friendly work enviroment, or even an occational "thanks" would do wonders IMO.

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I had the opposite experience at SFA. I was thanked nightly for my work by my supervisor when I would get my work slip signed off. We also had an employee party after hours where we got to have ERT on S:ROS, Penguin' s Blizzard River, and to top it off, FREE Skycoaster rides (oh yeah, and free pizza and sodas also). Then in October, on our way into the ESO (where we logged in/out for the day), we got to trick or treat.

Let's dont even get started 'bout my mad operating skills ;). Really though, what good can come out of this topic other than self loathing...

Holiday World definately has a lot of great ride operators. The Raven and Legen crew seem like there always ready to get you out of the station. Liberty Launch had some great ride operators this year also. Overall they were very friendly and were always their for a conversation!

Busch Garden's Williamsburgh.........great ride ops, easily one of my favorite parks.

CP- I had some problems with their ops........seemed very stuck up. I talked to one and mentioned where I worked he laughed and said, "so your getting an education today." The other ones laughed at guests, some times in their face. What they did well (capacity) they lacked in overall freindliness.

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mlariccy said:
Busch Garden's Williamsburg.........great ride ops, easily one of my favorite parks.

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I have to agree with you, BGW has great ride ops, very fast and friendly. I just don't get how BGW could have great ops and all people do is complain about how bad BGT ride ops are?!?!?

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Fanatic said:
At SFOG aren't all attendants trained to be operators? If not then that is the reason why morale is so low. Only one person can operate the ride and that makes others jealous. The reason why Foremans are so lazy is because they get to sit down in front of a fan. I wouldnt want to work for someone who sits on their @$$ all day.

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There is usually more than one person driver-trained (as we call it at SFOT) but usually not everyone is, especially in the early part of the year and summer. There are lots of summer employees that they dont WANT driver trained. It is a lot more responsibility whether it looks like it or feels like it to the Driver for that matter. If you dont know what you're doing and you get a train stuck somewhere by hitting ride stop or station stop or e-stop or something and your supervisor sees you (well..if you hit e-stop you have to call) you're going to be in some crap. And let me tell you, even if you think your "S___don't stink", your supervisor's will.

Foreman (Or Leads as we are called at SFOT for some reason) have EARNED the right to sit down at a drivers panel and operate the ride. Lead positions only go to the exceptional few who display the qualities of a leader (hence lead) and work their butts off.

I began work in April at Chaparral Cars (Antique cars), got moved to Gold River (dark ride) for a couple of weeks, then back to Chaparral Cars, then i was promoted to Assistant Lead at Chaparral Cars in late June and then i was promoted to Lead at Gold River in late september. We earn every promotion we recieve. Now im at Snow Hill (The crew that is supposidly made up of exceptional hand picked people.) and im sounding like I have a big head as I type into Cbuzz. Oh well, I don't.

For all Foremen (or future foremen): Just remember, there are a few secrets to a happy crew. 1. Treat them like Humans. Buy them little gifties. 2. Make them feel like they matter. Say Thank you. Make sure they are ok. 3. Buy them FOOD. Everyone loves food. :). 4. If there is a really good employee, talk to a supervisor about them, but do the same if there is a really BAD employee. It makes things more fair. Be fair. good idea.

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mlariccy said:
Busch Garden's Williamsburgh.........great ride ops, easily one of my favorite parks.

CP- I had some problems with their ops........seemed very stuck up. I talked to one and mentioned where I worked he laughed and said, "so your getting an education today." The other ones laughed at guests, some times in their face. What they did well (capacity) they lacked in overall freindliness.

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Now you know why many people call them CP Nazis. The only crew I've met up there that was exceptionally nice to me was the Dragster Crew.

It is not about Foreman and Asst. Foreman being lazy. We work harder than anybody at the ride!! If the line gets too long, we have to put extension lines up. Foremans and Asst. Foremans have to check trains on all of the coasters except Superman and Scorcher, do paperwork, run breaks, meet dispatch times, look around for unsafe things, handle guest complaints, get in trouble for mistakes made by someone else on the crew, etc. But whoever wants to be operator can be an operator, but mostly everyone is too lazy to take the the 3 hour+ tests. So any attendant can become an in-charge if they tell someone about, get trained, and take the tests.

X Marks The Spiizot

HW has the best ride ops that I have experienced. They are always polite and seem to be having a great time doing their job.

Question for X Marks the spot- Why does it take 7-9 minutes to load each train at Deja Vu? Batman loads much more quickly. The only difference that I see is a seat belt on Deja Vu.

Deja' Vu takes so long to load because of slow workers and guests. Guest get scared and panic once they're already locked in the seat so we have to let them out. Other guests pull the harnesses down before we tell them to and the operator has to go back to the panel and unlock the train. Guests don't notice the seatbelt. Also guests are so stunned by the rides greatness and they have to catch their breath and it takes them a long time to unload. Then u got workers who just go to slow Theres the problems y Deja' Vu takes so long to load! But if I'm put over there next year, dispatch times will be 2-4 mins guaranteed!!!

X Marks The Spiizot

All be very glad you aren't in England, Alton Towers has the worst park staff including ride-ops in the world