Six Flags: cut your hair or don't come to work

I make $7 a hour as a ride op at Carowinds

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Mindbender...Can you hear the Riddler chuckling?

I'm happy with my pay as a ride op, especially compared to my previous job, but hey- I would gladly accept more! :) *** This post was edited by Long Live The SKY WHIRL on 6/18/2001. ***

Rideman, re: beards --

I know some parks allow existing beards and short mustaches, but frown upon growing them. I've seen some ZZTop-quality beards at a few parks.

I make 8.25 an hour in food service at SFSTL and its only my second season and i am only 16.

Even though alot of society is still conformed to the certain look for people you have to admit that its pretty freakin shallow. Males with long hair can easily be clean, well groomed, and have great hygiene. We all know this and hopefully as generations progress, this will be accepted in society as a whole. Great strides have been made because I have seen this first hand. The amusement parks in the Chicago area have allowed lengthy hair for males, fad hairstyles for both males and females, earrings for both male and females, etc. Granted, I dont think they are allowing extreme styles because I havent seen that but strides have been made since I worked in the amusement park industry 13 years ago. I agree with alot of what Irondraggin said but I wont push it to far. My take on this is if you are clean, friendly, have a positive attitude, and definitely have proper hygiene, than most people in todays society will accept you when you perform your job.
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Chitown, who himself has lengthy hair and earrings, works for a world class medical manufacturing corporation, has co-workers that are in top management jobs with long hair, make 6 digit figures, and are respected. When stereotypes and ignorance are squashed, than people will see the big picture. A family park consists of all types.

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""Coaster riding is a disease and SFGAm is the cure!!!!!!!""

Didn't George Washington have a pony tail and wooden teeth? Who cares! People with short hair have served my food with hair in it. It's a part of life :> It's pretty discriminitory. When I worked at Cedar Point they brainwashed and bully-ed us to act and look a certain way (at the time, I didn't care too much, just was happy to be there!) Discrimination is not Christian or a family value, right? Or is that hate? Anyway, they should let that guy leave his hair. Maybe his girlfriend (or boyfriend) likes it! Rock on :>

While he has not been fired, Johnathan is looking for another job. He said it will be hard to leave Six Flags, the only place he's ever worked, but keeping his hair has become a matter of principle.
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This has been the only place he's ever worked, oh boy! I guess he needs a little seasoning about the way the world works. The world is just not fair. "Quit whining", as Arnold would say.
If he wants to stand on his 'matter of principle', he will 'suffer the consequences'.

Discrimination: Unfair treatment of a person or group on the basis of prejudice.

Prejudice: An unfavorable opinion or feeling formed beforehand or without knowledge, thought, or reason.

I think SFwoa made this unfavorable opinion with knowledge, thought, and a valid reason, which in turn would cancel out unfair treatment of this person based on so called discrimination.

Inconsistent enforcement or not, I think it was his responsibility to cut his hair. It was a requirement of the job and he shouldn't be allowed to keep the job if he doesn't obey the park regulations. It's that simple. If he wants to keep his hair, he should find another job (which he already seems to be doing)

Plus, I'd shave my head for $11 an hour.

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Life's too short to mind,
Just keep on with the sweet up and down

I agree with dmb-crush, for 11 dollars un hour i would cut my hair, he should come down here to florida and work he be lucky to make that mutch at one of the theme parks here,there pay is bad.

I still think most of you are missing the point that it's about money. Sure, I'm comfortable among the freaks at a Lords of Acid show, but I know that if I operated a family-oriented amusement park those would be the last people I want working there. They'd scare away people like my mom and I wouldn't make money.

Is it right? Probably not, but it's the cost of doing business. There are certain lines you have to draw. That's life.

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Jeff
Webmaster/Admin - CoasterBuzz.com

I'm very interested in knowing how his job search is going. I forgot who it was that said it but no the world is not fair and once again if he thinks he's going to make the kind of money he gets now somewhere else then I think he's in for a rude awakening. Someone may hire him but based on all the bad press he's already gotten I think he's in for a tough time. Also Jeff hit the nail on the head. The MAJORITY of people coming to a family park are FALILIES. They are not the people who look different. However even though these different looking people may be decent(I would say most are, based on expierience) they are just not accepted by the MAJORITY. Is it fair? Maybe not but then again there are alot of things in the world that are not fair. But as Jeff indicated if I owned the park I would deffinately want to appeal to the majority of the people. If the few don't like it, tough, cause I'm still making money and lots of it. That's why I'm in bussiness.

Sooo, in Ohio, having collar-length hair makes you a freak? Then I am SO glad that I live in Toronto, the most multi-cultural city in the world, where you are judged - in my experience - by who you are, NOT what you look like (although I did get flack at work when I cut my hair too short - people said I looked like a cop). It's called enlightenment, and I guess there's still not enough of it in the world.

-Michael (who, as a former long-hair, loved the testimony of both Soggy and irondraggon).

I am reminded of this movie "Heathers" (with Winnona Ryder and Christain Slater) that was set in Ohio. They said that being in Ohio, if you were a male drinking bottled water instead of chugging a brewski, then people made certain assumptions about your sexuality. Mayber this is a case of 'life imitating art'.
lata,
jeremy
--Put your war clothes on!

I am so glad that the descrimination issue has been addressed. It is Sexually descriminatory for female employees to be allowed to wear earrings and have long hair if male employees are not. And quite frankly, anyone who is more concerned with the length, color, or cut of an employees hair, over wether or not that employee has been trained properly and is not a screw up who is going to serve contaminated food, or leave a toilet unsanitary or injure or kill you on a ride, is an idiot, and probably the kind of person who ignores posted signs and ruins things for the rest of us

With the kind of people that typically show up at WoA everyday, I'm sure it is a minority that cares about that kid's appearance. You see all kinds of mullets there (believe I know, I take pics, thats where I got the name). If they are worried about the majority of their guests taking offense to this, they are wrong. However, like all workplaces (especially ones where food and people are involved) a dress code has to be enforced, and if long hair for boys is prohibited, then it is prohibited. My school does not allow long hair or facial hair of any kind (for boys). They are certainly allowed to tell the kid to cut his hair, but personally I don't and most WoA guests really could care less what the kid looks like.

Beards? I don't see why a park shouldn't allowed allow tasteful beards (except for foods and maybe ride mechanics - don't want to get your face caught in exposed machinery!)

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A bad day at Cedar Point is better than a good day at work.

I think the first thing that SFWOA should be concerned with is getting the rides functioning to proper capacity and improving their customer relations rather than being anal about hair(although I see the point about projecting a "family image", still pales next to a hour wait with only one train running).

Mamoosh,
My dad has seen resterants where EVERYONE in the kitchen has to where a hair net. There was a guy who had a shaved head like M.J. who HAD to ware a hairnet

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Cameron
Mommy, Chang made me sick!!!