SFGAdv locker policy backlash hits Consumerist.com

Well, I must admit this part of the policy was not too much trouble as long as I didn't have a long wait. The signs said something about riding once and then coming back and get your stuff, but there was no way in hell that I was coming back and taking my stuff out when I could walk on to a coaster three and four times. When the lines get really long though, there could definitely be a problem pertaining to this.

I'm sure that people will begrudgingly accept this, but I don't think there will ever come a day where I will just be conditioned to it. It's ridiculous. And if Great Adventure cannot get people to put their stuff in the lockers before hand on every occasion, they are going to still have the same slow load times for the rest of the seasons to come with the locker policy in place.

CoffinBoy, Great Adventure is being extremely strict with the no loose articles on ride/put them in the lockers. However, they WERE allowing waist packs on almost every ride as long as it didn't interfere with the restraint system.

---

bunky666 said:
I'm sure that people will begrudgingly accept this, but I don't think there will ever come a day where I will just be conditioned to it. It's ridiculous.

---

Sure you will.

You chose to pay $25 to park. :)

(imagine telling people a few years ago that guests would choose to pay $25 for parking at an amusement park - we've been conditioned)

---

RideMan said:
But if I stick the camera in the waist pack, which can be adjusted enough to insure that it does not interfere in any way with the seat or the restraining device, I have to leave that behind at the ride entrance?

---

Not necessarily. I don't know what the Great Adventure policy is, but Over Texas specifically states in the park map that waist packs are OK.

For the record, I think Hard Rock Park and Universal have the right idea on this one with FREE time-limited lockers beside the ride.

^^^ Holiday World offers lockers IN the station. Not the most efficient solution while loading, but an appreciated gesture.

Can you wear baseball caps in the line or are you made to use a locker for them too.

---

loriu said:
There should be no reason for me to have to put a fanny pack in a locker.

---

I agree, have you been to a Six Flags where they made you do this yet?

---

Kick The Sky said:
Cargo pants may be sufficient for a guy. I know I rarely need to carry anything into a park. Women on the other hand usually need to take a few things with them as they go through their day at a park.

---

My fiance only takes what she needs with her in her pockets. Yes that includes a tampon.

I loose the wallet and only take cash, my ID and a credit card. My camera is fastened on my belt.

---

john13601 said:
Can you wear baseball caps in the line or are you made to use a locker for them too.

---

You can wear a cap, sun glasses etc. Just stuff it in your shirt or sit on it and they are fine with it.

*** Edited 6/12/2008 12:20:51 PM UTC by eightdotthree***

---

Lord Gonchar said:
You can't say the policy sucks because people don't understand it.

---

If people don't understand it then there's an inherent problem with the policy itself or how it's being implemented and communicated to guests. In creating satisfied customers you can't really separate all of these things out, you have to address them as a whole. I'd posit that some people will never even understand the simplest of things (how to buckle a seat belt, "push down pull up") but if misunderstanding by guests of any policy is the least bit common or even widespread I think the burden of changing things is certainly at the feet of the park, not the dumb guests.

---

Lord Gonchar said:
4. Said policy is now just how it is and people have been conditioned to another change.

---

People aren't going to accept everything. Is that the case with the new locker policy? I'm sure for many people this is the straw that breaks the camel's back, so to speak, but we have no way of knowing how many people there are. Your statement would be fine if the SF chain were full of well performing, hugely successful parks but unless conditioning people to another change leads to a rise in per-caps or attendance that wouldn't otherwise have happened by chance or some other factor, it doesn't matter.

In other words your 4 step process outlines how it's possible to do something like this but ignores how useful, profitable, practical, or customer-friendly it is.

I kind of wonder what half these people have in these bags. I wear cargo shorts and bring my wallet, camera, and keys. Thats it. What the heck is in those bags that are so very very important?

I do understand water bottles and prizes but what do these people need to bring in backpacks or purses?

---

matt. said:
I'm sure for many people this is the straw that breaks the camel's back, so to speak, but we have no way of knowing how many people there are.

---

Just like the $15 parking was that final straw?

How can they educate the customers more? No one reads any signs, brochures or websites. No one listens to announcements... What else can they possibly do but post a security guard at each entrance?

---

Crashmando said:
I kind of wonder what half these people have in these bags.

---

If people feel that their day is more enjoyable, or safe, with these items then why does it matter? Can't a park reasonably accommodate it's guests who want to have more than a wallet, camera, and keys handy without charging them each time they want to go on a major coaster? *** Edited 6/12/2008 1:36:47 PM UTC by matt.***

I honestly do not mind the locker policy...as long as it gives results. The coasters at SFGAdv seem to really have excellent dispatch times this year and the times I have been there, all rides have had minimal to no stacking at all. However, on Superman at SFNE, there is NO reason the train on the brakes should be sitting there for 3-5 minutes EACH time. El Toro and Nitro have the same number of employees working and number of seats, yet both can get the train checked in half the time. Both use lockers as well. If the lockers don't give results, the park has two options in my eyes: Remove the lockers or get rid of the inefficient crew.

---

eightdotthree said:
Just like the $15 parking was that final straw?

---

For many people I'm sure it was. Or the crazy food and beverage prices. Or the perception that you can't have a good time without paying more for Flashpass. Or gas prices. Or competing technology that keeps families entertained without going to a park.

I mean until attendance at SF starts going back towards what it used to be or per-caps start rising to compensate how can you say the cost, with things like $20 parking $4 soda (and now, potentially $1 per coaster) aren't prohibitive to potential guests?

There are all day rental lockers at the enterence to the park. If you don't like the policy then rent one of those or leave your stuff in the car.

...or just don't go because you don't feel like you're a guest at the park, you feel like you're being hassled. Which obviously a lot of people do.

I also think a lot of this bad will could be fixed by changing the way the lockers work, why not just have a one use policy on them, instead of by the hour. I have yet to see anyone complain about CP's policy on MF and TTD. That way people who "need" their bag the whole day can take it out once they are done, and those who feel they can go a few hours (and rides) without the bag can keep it there.

I'm not sure how much weight to put behind this particular venue---the site where "consumers bite back" sounds a lot like a self-selecting sample to me. Of course everyone there is complaining about being nickled and dimed, because that's what folks on that site do.

CP *has* been doing this for a long time---"no loose articles" is still the policy at a handful of rides that load/unload on different platforms, and for a while was done on all of them.

There was a little bit of grumbling, but nothing close to what I'd call full-scale revolt. Personally, I wish they'd go back to those days---the bins are horrid for dispatch times.

---

Brian Noble said:
I'm not sure how much weight to put behind this particular venue

---

It's probably the most influential and popular site on the web regarding consumer issues, that's the only reason I brought it up. I don't think comments on a blog like this (or on any blog) are going to be representative of the GP as a whole but I think it does give some pretty unfiltered, interesting looks into consumer thinking. The consistent good regard for Universal and Hershey is just as interesting as the negative comments about SF locker policy. I think it's also interesting how quickly people zero in on the discrepancies in enforcement from park to park.

Well, I'm going to bet that Consumer Reports probably got more click traffic than consumerist.

In any event, though, the folks visiting this blog---and *absolutely* the folks posting on it---are the tail of the "consumer" distribution. Just as we are the tail of the amusement park visiting public distribution.

It is dangerous to draw conclusions about consumer sentiment from consumerist, just as it is dangerous to draw conclusions about the park-going public's sentiment from discussions here.

I went to Disney for the first time since I was just a little kid, and they had loose article nets on almost every ride....conveniently located right in front of the seat, so people don't have to run over to bins then back to their seat.

I've never seen that mentioned on this site before, but why don't other parks adopt this concept?

Do they actually enforce the time limit on the lockers? Is there any way for them to do so? I assume they just put it there to make you feel like to have to remove your stuff, even though nothing would happen if you left it there all day. (See "door close" button on elevator).