Those Darn Execs

[hobie16]

From MiceAge

Mister Ed

Meanwhile, as Anaheim girds for another round of updated attractions heading its way for 2007, Ed Grier has been trying to settle in as President of the Resort. He's been saddled with the two unenviable tasks of not only moving his wife and children across the ocean from Tokyo to Southern California, and also trying to fit into the very big shoes left behind by the beloved Matt Ouimet. Ed scored some points by inviting the Anaheim suits to a fancy cocktail party with an open bar over at the Disneyland Hotel last month, and he's shown up for a few rare meet n' greet appearance with the hourly CM's. But aside from those occasions, he's been sort of off the radar screen in Anaheim. He certainly hasn't been seen walking the resort incognito in jeans and a sweatshirt early on a weekend morning as Ouimet used to do regularly. Nor has Ed been seen much wandering around in business clothes and a nametag in the afternoons greeting customers and CM's alike, which was another Ouimet hallmark.

Ed may not realize it, but his honeymoon period is coming quickly to an end with many CM's up and down the totem pole in Anaheim. Ed Grier is certainly a personable and friendly enough person when you do talk to him, but he's not had nearly the exposure to the CM's in his first 90 days that Ouimet did and continued to build on in the all too brief years that followed. This growing perception has popped up on some TDA radar screens however, and you can bet there will be a marketing campaign in November to get Ed out and about amongst the CM's all over the Anaheim property and increase his exposure amongst the masses.

One of the few times Ed has been seen out with the CM's is when he's ridden in the new Cast Member limousine that is being used as part of the Year of a Million Dreams promotion with the CM's. The massive Cast Member parking lot located on Katella Avenue is a dreaded part of the workday for all who are unlucky enough to be relegated to park there. It's not so much the parking lot itself that is universally despised, as it is the fleet of creaky shuttle buses with dingy upholstery and broken air conditioning that force CM's to ride in standing room only steerage conditions for the trip up to the CM entrance off Harbor Blvd. So as part of the Year of a Million Dreams campaign the Cast Activities department has leased a big black limousine to occasionally pick up CM's waiting for the next broken down shuttle bus to come by. Ed Grier has spent a couple of trips riding in the limousine with the CM's and doing the typical executive meet n' greet shtick with the front line troops, with a company photographer conveniently on hand to capture the scripted moment for the employee newsletter.

The limo taking CM's to work is admittedly a clever gimmick, although out of the thousands of CM's who park in that lot each week only a tiny percentage have received a limo ride thus far. What Ed should also be doing is replacing the broken down shuttles for the short term, and in the long term demanding to know who let the entire system get that bad in the first place. With a turnover rate of hourly CM's that continues to spiral out of control, and seemingly no accountability placed on the recruitment department to hire someone who can remain on the job more than 90 days in the first place, the daily indignities and hassles that most hourly CM's have to go through just to get to their work location out in the parks somewhere really should be addressed immediately. Hopefully there will be more to Ed Grier's tenure than just pre-packaged photo ops with the front line employees in a rented limo.

Unfortunately, the buzz circling in both Anaheim and Burbank that Jay Rasulo is on very thin ice with Bob Iger hasn't helped Grier's tenuous start in Anaheim. There's been quite a few rumors amongst the executives and senior management that Rasulo will be gone before Christmas, and that obviously has many folks in Anaheim wondering what that means for Ed Grier. Ed was clearly picked for a meteoric rise up the executive totem pole by Jay Rasulo in the last three years, and there's no telling what would happen to someone so closely connected to Rasulo if Rasulo is handed a golden parachute sometime soon. Like most of those senior executive departures, we likely won't know more than those highly placed rumors until the Burbank press release comes out announcing Rasulo will be resigning suddenly to "spend more time with his family."

[BirdMom]

Hmmm...

Saw him once and he didn't seem very approachable. We had bosses like that back in the bad old days of the 80's after Eisner came on board.

[Wizard69]

The limo taking CM's to work is admittedly a clever gimmick, although out of the thousands of CM's who park in that lot each week only a tiny percentage have received a limo ride thus far. What Ed should also be doing is replacing the broken down shuttles for the short term, and in the long term demanding to know who let the entire system get that bad in the first place.

I've never even seen nor ridden in the limo so far! And, I've never seen Ed Greer either.

With a turnover rate of hourly CM's that continues to spiral out of control, and seemingly no accountability placed on the recruitment department to hire someone who can remain on the job more than 90 days in the first place, the daily indignities and hassles that most hourly CM's have to go through just to get to their work location out in the parks somewhere really should be addressed immediately.

Not to mention the BS we have to put up with from the crap scheduling department.... "Business needs" my ASS!

Don't deny mine and my fellow CMs day off request on a weekend just because you are too stupid to hire or retain CMs. It's no wonder people are quitting left and right... due to stupid crap like that as well as not working with people's school schedules.

[Main Streeter]

I've never even seen nor ridden in the limo so far! And, I've never seen Ed Greer either. ... Don't deny mine and my fellow CMs day off request on a weekend just because you are too stupid to hire or retain CMs.

This makes 2 of us Wizard! Honestly a freakin limo ride is not my wish in YMD, nor will the limo ride enhance my shift on stage. :twisted: I'd love to see Ed Greer behind my cashwrap offering to wrap & bag for me. Bet he'd not do a stock check... even if I explained. :mad: Just have to throw my 2 cents in to your above post. Told scheduling Feb 05 I needed Nov. 5, 05 off. When the appropriate time came I turned in ADO with an explanation - no whining, no lies - simply the truth & how very important Nov. 5 was. The schedule came out & guess what? Yup, I had a shift. Shift wasn't until 9 p.m. but this screwed my entire family night up. Scheduling stated "We really need you in NOS as we are already short." Whatever. I left a beautiful wedding & dinner early only to find out new CMs were being ERd. I was more than a little . Really don't see Ed Greer as an answer to much at DL. Who wants my soap box now? :)

[BirdMom]

Told scheduling Feb 05 I needed Nov. 5, 05 off. When the appropriate time came I turned in ADO with an explanation - no whining, no lies - simply the truth & how very important Nov. 5 was. The schedule came out & guess what? Yup, I had a shift. Shift wasn't until 9 p.m. but this screwed my entire family night up.

That sounds so familiar. When my hubby and I got married, the majority of our bridal party worked at the park. We got our days off because we had put in for vacations awhile back, but the poor schmucks who asked for ADO's nearly got nothing. We were sweating it out at the church hoping everyone would be able to make it. More of the same at the reception - people having to come late or leave early because of scheduling. And our wedding was at the beginning of December - not the crowdfest attendance that the park gets closer to Xmas. As far as I'm concerned, there's no point in being honest because they won't bother to work with you even if you give them months and months of notice. People may as well call in sick for something like a wedding if they don't normally get the weekends off. I don't recommend that for hangovers, etc, but for a big family ocassion I feel it's perfectly justified.

And I agree, a limo ride wouldn't make me feel more validated about working there either. BFD - any fool with cash can rent one. How about pay raises, free food, a little back-up from management instead of ducking out on "rules" that CM's are supposed to make the guests abide by. Biggest dream for y'all (aside from raises)??? Get rid of effin' CDS. Seems like the people who were maxing before it came along are still maxing, and there is no variety in rotations, so what's the effin' point??? Just listen to the stories, managers. It's more than broke. It needs to be gotten rid of, that will fix it.

[Wizard69]

That sounds so familiar. When my hubby and I got married, the majority of our bridal party worked at the park. We got our days off because we had put in for vacations awhile back, but the poor schmucks who asked for ADO's nearly got nothing. We were sweating it out at the church hoping everyone would be able to make it. More of the same at the reception - people having to come late or leave early because of scheduling. And our wedding was at the beginning of December - not the crowdfest attendance that the park gets closer to Xmas. As far as I'm concerned, there's no point in being honest because they won't bother to work with you even if you give them months and months of notice. People may as well call in sick for something like a wedding if they don't normally get the weekends off. I don't recommend that for hangovers, etc, but for a big family ocassion I feel it's perfectly justified.

Sounds like what my friend went through. He was the FREAKIN' GROOM and didn't get his ADO. My friends and his future wife got their ADOs though. Needless to say he called out.

I always put in my ADOs a month ahead of time (which they say is the earliest we can put them in) for a family event or something I want to attend. And, on most of the weekends, they get denied. WTF!? If I put in a month ahead of time, you can give me my one day off I request and put a CR or someone with lower senority (I'm an RFT) to work the one day I request off. But NOOOOOOOOOO they are too stupid to think that way. Well guess what, I have points to spare so I end up using them. And, i'm not the only one who does it.

And I agree, a limo ride wouldn't make me feel more validated about working there either. BFD - any fool with cash can rent one. How about pay raises, free food, a little back-up from management instead of ducking out on "rules" that CM's are supposed to make the guests abide by. Biggest dream for y'all (aside from raises)??? Get rid of effin' CDS. Seems like the people who were maxing before it came along are still maxing, and there is no variety in rotations, so what's the effin' point??? Just listen to the stories, managers. It's more than broke. It needs to be gotten rid of, that will fix it.

A agree with all your points there. And, CDS is a crock of crap. It needs to GO!

[PirateJohn]

Hmmm...

Saw him once and he didn't seem very approachable. We had bosses like that back in the bad old days of the 80's after Eisner came on board.

I had the pleasure of meeting Matt Ouimet several times. He truly is a remarkable person and I know that he is going to do extremely well in his new ventures.

Grier had some huge shoes to fill upon his arrival, and spending his time wining and dining the execs while not actually visiting the front lines where the hourly CMs are working every day is a mistake. Ouimet's strength is that he knew what was going on.