How would you fix Six Flags' problems?
All the recent news about Six Flags has driven us coaster enthusiasts to come out and give our two cents on why their parks are under performers. We all seem so able and willing to identify what their problems are. The unfortunate things is that Six Flags knows what their problems are. They just don't know how to fix them.
Well folks, here is your forum to let your park operation and management experience shine. Tell the world what you think the problem is and how to fix it. Be creative, one never knows what will work best. Let me go first...
Everyone knows a park patron cannot spend money while waiting for a ride. So lets get them out of that line, and into the profit centers of the park. To do that, simply up the throughput of the ride by efficient operation. "But, BMP143," you say, "the lazy teens that run the ride don't care and don't want to work quickly and efficiently!" "Exactly!" I respond!
Problem identified: Inefficient Operation Due to Lack of Motivation. (In typical coaster enthusiast fashion, here on out this will be known as, IODtLoM.)
I propose the park give the ride operators a reason to work hard. Reward them for doing a good job and operating their rides at peak efficiency. Cash prizes, free meals, extra passes for friends, employee recognition or maybe even all expense paid trips to sister parks are some great things that folks can really strive for. The qualifiers for these rewards should be based on ride operation numbers, such as number of dispatches, hourly capacity, etc, things the typical ride operator can directly impact. Disqualifies could be used to encourage performance as well. For example, a guest complaint, showing up late, not showing up at all would make an employee ineligible for reward for a certain amount of time.
IODtLoM will be eliminated. The rewards of hard work will increase employee moral. Rides will be operated at peak efficiency increasing capacity. Guests will be happy and have time to spend all their money on $5.00 hamburgers and cheap souvenirs.
Of course, in order to work, this would have to have a good supervisory staff structure and the management know how to pull it off! ;-)
I personally say Lay Off the B&M's! It's insane the cost when you can get a quality coaster from a less expensive company. B&M's are very reliable and the public loves them, but at a time like this with the economy the way it is, people aren't going to know the difference between a B&M and a Morgan, but the prices vary dramatically.
Of course, you could lay off the coasters alltogether and work on the flat rides during the time we're going through. There are plenty of flat rides that have outstanding capacity and delight the crowds as much as a coaster.
Finally, if the park wants to expand wood (as the rumors continue with SFMM), don't go to Intamin and build one of their "revolutionary" wood coasters that cost a staggering amount of money! For instance, Balder is going up http://www.rcdb.com/installationgallery1562.htm?Picture=3 yes this looks like a pretty good coaster, but it is costing the park $10,000,000!!! Now come on, time to shop around, not shoot for convenience here, go to GCI to create a stunning twisted beast for your wood line-up, or head to The newly formed Gravity Group and see what kind of options they have. The problem now is that it's too late if the plans have been made.
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Tuesday's Gone With The Wind.
Elijah Rock.
Is it written in the stars?
La Vie Boheme!!!
DieHard, sorry to rain on your parade but I have to. Woodies do not bring peeps to the park. Big giant steel contraptions with lotsa loops or big heights or both do. If Six Flags is going to solve any of their problems through new construction(which they shouldnt, they need to look at park operations first), a Beemer isnt really a bad way to go.
First thing about a Beemer is that is reliable meaning less downtime, less ticked off guests, and less maintenance costs in the long run.
The second thing about a Beemer is the amount of capacity it can provide a park. These coasters for the most part eat people like there is no tommorow. Running a three train op on a Beemer can chew through a lot of people an hour meaning shorter lines throughout the park and more time for people to be out on the midways buying stuff.
The third thing about a Beemer is that they are super sexy coasters. They look good in advertisements and the GP will be more willing to make that special visit seeing a nice shiny Beemer than a woodie.
Not saying B&M is the only choice though. Intamin's have the same effect IMHO as a Beemer.
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Bob Hansen
A proud CoasterBuzz Member
"So you think your'e really brave, gonna see the DEMONS cave.
You silly dude, your'e only food, for the DEMON"
Die Hard .. It's really a catch-22 right now. Interest Rates are SO low, banks are almost giving money away! (Well, not quite, but it's a great time to borrow money).
The flip side is that each park can skip one major coaster, and use that 7-12 million dollars to fix up the park. Add (adult) trees, benches and trash cans. Raise salaries and hire more staff. Get better (cheaper) food!
It would also be great if they could expand the Lo-Q system to track each ride which guests get on .. and give awards based total feet of track (across all parks) .. maybe even daily prises to people who ride all coasters in the park. There are so many things they could do, but they all take a bit of thought and a lot of guts. I can't see a public company doing either of those things.
A new coaster gives the biggest short-term attendance boost, and public companies only care about the short term.
Cam.
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Cameron Silver
It seems they need to go one step further. I have never been to SFWoA but from everything I hear on this board, they very infrequently run all trains on a coaster. I dont know if this is due to a malfunction, or a decision by management to reduce wear n tear on the train. But in order for the operators to run at a higher efficiency they need to have all the trains as often as possible. It is hard to be motivated in an environment where all you encounter are obstacles that prevent you from doing your job well.
If the reason for not running these trains is a malfunction, they need to hire more mechanics to keep them up and running. If the problem is a management decision to save a few bucks, then they need to open their wallets and keep them running because nothing iritates a patron more than having to standing in line twice as long watching one of the trains sit idle.
I think the SF management team needs to play a little Roller Coaster Tycoon. They are forgetting their basics.
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signature withheld for no apparent reason
Rides have nothing to do with it folks. We've seen how four great coasters in two years did nothing to help Geauga Lake.
The big picture has to do with better use of your resources, including people. Get your ride up-time where it should be, train your people, set goals, reward high performance. Above all, make an action plan to make those things happen and follow it.
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Jeff - Webmaster/Admin - CoasterBuzz.com, Sillynonsense.com
"Let's stop saying 'don't quote me,' because if no one quotes you, you probably haven't said a thing worth saying." - Dogma, KMFDM
I'd disagree with you Jeff and say rides do have something to do with it. Rides get attention and get people through the gate. The problem with SF has been repeat visits from those same customers, getting them to come back when their are so many other entertainment options out there, that's trickier. That where given customers the most memorable experience possible comes in.
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"Escuse me, can you tell me where the heck the Mystery Lodge is"?
Kick The Sky said:
DieHard, sorry to rain on your parade but I have to. Woodies do not bring peeps to the park. Big giant steel contraptions with lotsa loops or big heights or both do. If Six Flags is going to solve any of their problems through new construction(which they shouldnt, they need to look at park operations first), a Beemer isnt really a bad way to go.
Exactly. Woodies bring enthusiasts in, but that's only a small percentage of what parks count on bringing in.
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Thank You for challenging TOS: The Ride. We hope you enjoy the rest of your day, here at SFCB.
*** This post was edited by BullGuy on 8/19/2002. ***
And you know why they can garner 3 million people without new rides FireDragonLord?
1-The park is clean, well maintained, well organized.
2-They have friendly workers/good work ethic (Or so it seemed to me)
3-The diversify their ride selection.
"Tuan" has spoken
Hmm, I think I would first off rate each park based on customer approval in terms of customer service, overall atmosphere, and overall management. Then what I would do is send the management teams of the parks with the lowest ratings on a field trip to the parks with the highest ratings and show them how it's done. I would also use this as a major factor in terms of what parks receive big rides. This I figure could save the company a lot of money and yet allow parks to reach the attendance level that they should.
FireDragonLord, just because teen park workers don't make a lot of money doesn't mean that they should work slow as molasses. When you take a job, you are saying that you will have a good work ethic when going about it. Otherwise you don't deserve to have that job.
*** This post was edited by wnycoaster on 8/19/2002. ***
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(i havn't read anyone elses post yet)
I would find out the top 10 most unpopular rides in each park and close them, and save some money there... Then add very small, cheap attractions, and lower the entrance fees to $30 to attract more guests, and advertise. And make sure that the small # of janitors work hard and keep the park extremely clean.
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Im the #1 Canobie Lake Park Fan!!!These are my top 3 coasters:
1. S:RoS @ SFNE 2. Yankee Cannonball 3. Cyclone/B:TDK
*** This post was edited by coderGirl on 8/19/2002. ***
I have to disagree with the fact that near minimum wage means disgruntled employees, especially after going to Holiday World. Holiday World has some of the friendliest and hospitable staff (Along with Cedar Point) and I highly doubt they get payed anywhere near $10 an hour.
Six Flags doesn't need to add huge new rides. For example, SFGADV has some great rides, but sagging attendance. Sure, a new ride could raise attendance, but for how long? Six Flags parks need to work on management and operations first before adding huge new rides.
I say forget the big new coaster thing altogether and build rides that are fun.
Sure, people talk about MF and Magnum, but Gemini is fun. DT is goofy, cheesy fun. The Paddlewheel boats are fun. The Swan Boats are fun.
SFWOA's $15 million X-Flight got outgunned by PKI's family coaster and rehashed log flume because they were fun. And ya know what? When PKI unleashes the reworked Scooby ride, it's gonna happen again.
If CP gets smart and introduces a family racing coaster (36"-adult) of any variety, it's gonna be ovah. In fact, I'll tell you exactly what would do it--a racing/dueling Vekoma Rollerskater. Theme one side to Snoopy's Sopwith Camel, the other to the Red Baron and be sure to make them two-train courses. Have them race on the way out and include at least one 'fly-by' on the way back....and watch the sippy-cup crowd come running. In classic CP style, you could even call it the world's tallest racing kiddie coaster. How 'bout that?
Of course, if SFWOA is listening, they could opt to build this baby first. Whoever does choose to take this idea and run with it can thank me later.
-'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 on 8/19/2002. ***
You have to start at the top. If the ride ops are not happy, it's because the management has not done anything to make them happy. Low workplace morale starts at the top. Six Flags ops make about the same as those at other parks, so I would not increase the wages. I would create bonuses though. Good attendance, no guest complaints, ride capacity, things like this would result in a monthly bonus. Most of the ops are working to pay for collage so extra money would help out a lot.
I would also through employee parties after the park closes. I think Cedar Point does this. The employees would be able to ride the rides that they worked hard on all day and have some fun. Anything to make the ops happier.
I would have a suggestion box for the employees to submit their thoughts and idea. Ideas used to improve the park would result in a prize of some sort or a bonus.
I think that I would send my managers to some management training or hire new ones because the ones we have now are not doing the job.
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The worst day at Cedar Point is better than the best day at work.
but they owe it to the people that have been going there since 1995 to give them a new coaster. its just a sign of good faith. many people i know stopped going there last year and the year before, because they are bored with wonderland. there flats are cool but they cant give you re-rides like a coaster can,IMO.i for one will not be buying a season pass next year. this is the first year in 5 years that i wont be. i will be buying a SFDL pass next year though
and you said freindly and efficiant service. i have yet to see that. all the rides run at full capacity, i'll grant that, but i have never seen them not stacking coasters. i have never seen a coaster operator working hard at that park(actually one, three years ago, on vortex, i gave him a high five for his efforts) also i have never had a person ask how my day is going, or if im enjoying myself.i have yet to see hustling food vendors either. they re just as slow as the ride ops.
keep in mind im not trying to say the park is really bad like a six flags park, but theres just a few mini problems and one BIG problem they have that im trying to address
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1.Fire Dragon 2.Ice Dragon 3.Raptor 4.Batman Knight Flight 5.Kraken
They could give their parks to Cedar Fair.
They could build all future coasters with the ability to run 3 trains (with the exception of shuttles(which can obviously only run one)and wild mouses, wildcats, etc (which can run alot)). And run all of them. If not all then at least 2 of them.
Have all rides full staffed. Pay the employees good or make sure that they are nice to people.
Landscape their parks better and have good theming. (I've only been to 3 SF parks. SFMM and SFDL seemed good with theming amd landscaping but SFWoA is mostly what I'm talking about as far as better landscaping.)
Lower there prices. Raising them doesn't mean you will get more money. Lower prices mean people will be more likely to pay.
Build more bathrooms and have water fountains scattered throughout the park. (As far as SFWoA goes there are 4 bathrooms in the rides side, 1 in the water park, and 6 on the wildlife side. Compared to Cedar Points 20+.
I know SF seems to buy parks rather than starting them from scratch so they can't help how the paths are designed. But if they ever redesign the paths or build more of them, make them wide. I'm so tired of being crammed into the midways at SFWoA.
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Six Flags, the only chain of parks that can manage to have stacking with a one train operation.
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