SFKK posts hint for 2005...

Right Danny;).

Actually, it should be more like this:

Tekno: 1
Fat Dude: -4
Paul: 0 for not even trying

Hey Tekno,

Go buy your self a new pin-stripped suit!!!!

Ladies and gentlemen, we have a stalker.

Atleast I'm not ashamed to put my pic or full D.O.B. up. But, then, when you only have 4 posts, its not like people take you seriously anyhow...

You had 4 posts and no profile pic at one point Clint. Why do I feel like being the nice guy this week? I've given advice to like a dozen of the newbies in the past couple days and fought for equal n00b rights. ;)

+Danny, we were all there once...

But at 4 posts, I was starting decent topics with a point, and not calling out the regulars. Hey, after a while, nOOb bashing gets to be more fun than not. We did it to Kyle, and (thankfully) he's still around;).

I will tell you stright up anything you want to know about our park, and alot of Seasonal people work their butts off, working just 2 or 3 weeks short of being Full-Time. It just offends us when we know someone lies about our park. No offense or disrespect to you Tekno.

^I know for a fact that there are several SF seasonals that work extremely hard and are proud of their jobs, *but* there are some that couldn't give a flying carpet ride with Jasmine in all her animated hottness. Of course, same goes for every other park, business, etc. out there, but people at the top can evaluate and offer more to make it the best they can.

I've seen first-hand at various parks where seasonals go from slacking off and doing things they shouldn't to suddenly perfect condition when they see/hear one of the higher ups coming, so maybe the tops don't know and don't understand all the complaining. How will they know they have to fix things if they can't tell they're broken and you don't complain about them at Guest Relations while you're at the park? We can't help you on a coaster message board...

+Danny

I like reading the comments' of the ones' who bi_ch about the park, and always have a tendency of going back all the time. If you don't like hte park then stay the hell out of it and let us who do appreciate it, enjoy it!!!

ANYWAYS....back on topic...;)...

No one here is complaining and then going to the park every chance they get. The people here that are complaining have said that they have a bad experience every time they go to the park, and probably won't be back.

I myself didn't mind the park. Sure, Customer services wasn't as good as the day before in Cincy. Sure, the place needs paint badly. Sure, rides were closed. But I enjoyed every single rollercoaster, and will be back on my next visit to either PKI (Edit: Thanks Word:)) or Holiday world, as SFKK, for me, is an 'on the way park'. Whats sad is that it could be a destination park if only they'd work on appearence and Customer Service, and stop trying to hang with the big boys. *** Edited 11/18/2004 9:53:43 AM UTC by TeknoScorpion***

So...what is SFKK getting in 2005? Anyone?

Probably not their fair share of the profit...

I'm going to go with the ProSlide Tornado still though like we've been talking about. It's eye-catching, thrilling, fun, and kind of fits the teaser description on the site. They've been huge successes at PKI and HW, so SF following with the formula wouldn't be surprising.

+Danny

I don't know if it was clear in my last post, but 2hostyl hit it right on a few posts down when he said "I don't think it is an either-or situation". They need to improve their customer service, but that alone isn't going to bring people who already hate the place back. My problem with the biggest rumor (proslide tornado) is that it STILL doesn't give anyone any reason to choose KK 'OVER' HW or PKI. I am of the opinion that customer service can be fixed very easily with the right people in management forcing smiles and putting in the extra work, but I STILL think they need a new ride to get the 'haters' to come back and check the place out.

Build it and they will come... Prove it and they will stay... And come again.

I don't want them to "build it" until they can "prove it" at the same time. They need to start "building proof" before they finally build "it" though. Not sure if I'm getting that out correctly, but it sounds good to me. ;)

Ex: 2005 is SFGAdv's ultimate year to prove it now that they're building it and from what they did in 2003 and 2004 to improve visual quality of the park and customer service, I have hope.

At this point, no coaster or ride screams "you need to get back here and ride me!" at SFKK, so why should I care whether the rest of the park is great? If HW didn't have Legend, Raven, and some of the big waterslides, even if the rest was all nice and perfect, I wouldn't care about going back unless I was in the area or there was a big meet-up with friends.

+Danny

Honestly, in the fair share of Six Flags parks I've visited, I haven't had the honor of seeing the horrible service that is ever so "common". I don't doubt that some parks could up the ante in customer service, but something very significant would have to take place to convince me to give up on a park. As long as the safety of my party isn't in jeapordy, and there are coasters, I'll probably have fun.

Hey Fatguy,

A ride op asleep for at least fifteen minutes is a pretty bad thing and the reason there's the pic of me in front of GL is because it's been one of my favorite coasters since I was a kid going to Mariott's Great America back in the late 70's. Hey I do complain about SFKK but those complaints are honest and not just *****ing because I also do makre a point of pointing out the good like the fact that SFKK has a great ride package (along with my #2 steel which is GL) and has actually been improving in other areas (it's been years since I heard a ride op use the PA system to call loud kids some "mother f'ers") but still has a long way to go. It's called "Constructive criticism". I don't go looking for bad things at SFKK but a ride op asleep or several ride ops playing basketball in the garage while there's just one op struggling to keep up with the Tin Lizzies is kind of hard not to notice. I don't go to parks with blinders on or on a mission to rip it but I tend to see a lot more shocking things at SFKK than at any other park. No offence.

About being a regional rep I have never wanted that job so when and where have I been crying about it? I don't believe that you or I have met or spent time at parks so when did I cry about it to you? You're no expert on me but you know what at least I'm honest enough to put who and what I am online rather than hiding behind a pseudonym.

For whatever reason you can't take somene giving constructive criticism about your park but trust me my words are not an attack on the park or employees. I just call the good and bad like I see them and I always make a point to go to GR and let them know the good and bad as well as thanking them for what they do. I don't do that for kicks or to tear them down but as a customer I'd like to see them succeed so that there are more coasters for me to go and ride. Yes I'm selfish for wanting a few more coasters near me to have access to.

Have Fun

Paul Drabek

I'm not here to call anyone out, but I am here to have a questioned answered. Paul, the picture you keep referring to of a ride operator sleeping at the wheel, is of the ride operator outside the ride. Now, the simple fact of him looking like he was sleeping is still horrible, but was this the person working or was someone else working the ride?

Thanks for the help!

I think the bottom line here is that we all agree that SFKK has great potential. It has always had that potential.

Why, when the park was simply KK, the aresenal of rides they were installing year after year was flabbergasting. Unbeknownst (sp?) to SF (Premier,) the park was hugely in debt because those ride purchases were made on "time" by Ed Hart. Thus SF inherited a park over-it's head in debt.

In the meantime, SFKK has had to dig itself out of a financial hole to breakeven. Thus the park sits idle with very little change, additions or improvements year after year. I believe that SF corporate looks at the park and says that it is not, nor will be a cash cow, and they simply expect it to maintain itself.

But back to the point at hand, SFKK has incredible potential. Louisville is the gateway to many, many metropolitan areas. St. Louis, Nashville, Indianapolis, Chicago, Atlanta, Cincinnati, Columbus, Charleston etc etc area all within a 7 hour drive. This region has proven itself as a mecca for tourism... why PKI being one of the highest attended seasonal parks, has proven that.

Not to say that SFKK is on tap to rival PKI or HW. Or could they?

You see I would welcome SFKK upping the ante and profiling itself as a good stiff rival to PKI and HW. It would provoke all three parks to strive for more, for bigger and better... and I do not mean rides.

You see SF has simply turned a blind eye to what guests are wanting. PKI and HW have recognized it, embraced it, and are garnering returns and success year after year.

The key is listenting to your guests. It's offering them what they want, and developing rewarding experiences that they will remember and share with others. It is crucial for a park to find their niche, and accentuate it. I don't think that SFKK has ever been able to find their niche, nor have they been given the ability to pursue it. HW and PKI sure have, and they are pursuing those niches to the hilt.

Is SFKK operated horribly? No, not at all. As a matter of fact I do not think it is nearly as bad as what people like to say. But again, it's experience is one of mediocrity. And in a region where you have two parks that consistantly raise the bar for the industry, mediocrity is simply not acceptable.

I know it has the potential to find it's place. I know that the Marketing Managers and the General Manager of SFKK have the smarts to do it. I just wish they were given the leeway to pursue what they need, and were given the ability to make goals for the park and see them through.

That having been said, I have no personality issues with anyone on this board nor do I care to single anyone out. But I personally have never liked it when someone posts pictures that concentrate on the flaws of a park.

It is mean and really serves no purpose other than to embarass and pick on them. I say that because I know that such pictures, when viewed by the industry, can wreak havok. A person in management could lose their job over such a picture. IMO, it would be terribly unfair for a manager's performance to be called in question over such a thing. I know that had they been notified of the incident when it was happening, they would have immediately corrected it. Such pictures can, and have been, used in investigations in the past. They also label enthusiasts as tactile guests, and constrict the desires of parks to invite or welcome us to their parks.

You are bound to see such infractions at ANY park you attend. There is such a thing as a bad employee. But again, I do not think many parks are given the necessary tools they need to educate them. As I said before, many seasonal employees do not have other work experiences to gage off of. Instead the parks are forced to offer low wages, take whatever people apply, quickly orient them and thend send them off to their position. It's unfair to the park, it's unfair to the employee and it is unfair to the guests. It's lose lose.

IMO, the success lies with a solid base training program followed up by regular reviews and assesments. Parks should offer great incentives for potential seasonal employees creating a desire/demand to work there. That way, they have the ability to choose among candidates, and weed out under-performing ones.

By effect, the attitudes will change among employees culminating with a change in perception among guests.

Will we see it? I hope so. And I'd love for SFKK to lead the pack. Sadly, I am not counting on seeing it anytime soon.

Shaggy

It's also too bad that a few years ago they didn't go through with moving the park to a more rural location. At first I had thought these were just rumors, but obviously they were looking for land at the Kentucky Speedway according one article posted on here years ago. That would have been a bad location given the closeness to Cincy I think.

I had heard about 4 years ago that they were looking to move it somewhere outside of Louisville towards Lexington on I-64. This was the same time SF was spending $70 million per park on improvements anyway, so I figured it was pretty reliable. That would have changed the park a lot I believe, and it would have kept it from being a teenage (or younger) hangout I think, which in turn might have kept the employees on task, which would have allowed more guests to vist... anyway, you get the point. However, it's obvious that is not going to happen.

I remember about two or three seasons ago, SFKK was one of only a few SF parks that made money, and the odd thing was that the only new thing they really added that year was Friday Night "Wrasslin."

With adding little to nothing lately, I can guarantee that SFKK is still making a profit. If their attendance is stable and income is stable and they're happy with that, I think it's fair for them to make few additions. It would be nice for them to spend on a training problem and evaluate their employees more.

I agree with Shaggy about almost everything there.

I think taking pictures to show the bad of a park and then posting them on the internet is really rude. If you were taking a shot of the Giant Wheel and then got home to realize something bad was happening in the shot, that's fine, but to specifically photograph that stuff is pretty sad. Whatever makes you sleep better at night.

+Danny *** Edited 11/18/2004 5:48:30 PM UTC by +Danny***