Stupid Guest Tricks

As a tour guide, thank you for reporting him! (I'm at DLR, so I don't know who it is) It may have been that he was drunk, it may have been something like diabetes, but that is the manager's job to call him in and make a determination of what was actually going on. You did the right thing by simply reporting what you saw. When one of us is having a really hard time - a family member passing away or the like - we know we can always go to our fellow CMs and ask them to take out a tour for us. There are always going to be days when you just can't be "Disney", and they know that and will cover for you.

It could be diabetes related.

Several years ago while slowing down for stopped traffic on an interstate someone slammed into the back of me and turned me around. I was in a company van and I was fine.
The person who hit me was very erratic and incoherrent. Several people stopped to say they saw him weaving back and forth.
The state troopers said he passed a breathalyser test with no problem. They did mention he had a medic-alert bracelet identifying him as a diabetic.
Once all the paperwork was done, my van was driveable and I left the scene. I have no idea what his final outcome was.
His car was definately not going anywhere. Major front end damage.

The sad thing is that high or low sugars must be treated immediately so it is possible for someone incoherent to be sent to the drunk tank to sober up but they die.

mechurchlady wrote:The sad thing is that high or low sugars must be treated immediately so it is possible for someone incoherent to be sent to the drunk tank to sober up but they die.

They should update the Miranda warning: You have the RIGHT to eat chocolate! Should you choose to eat chocolate, all calories may count against you.....

I realize it could have been a medical condition, which is why I was hesitant, but if nothing else somebody needs to talk to him about his comments about getting drunk on the job. That concerned me more than his other behaviors, although certainly they kept the tour from being enjoyable. I have a friend who has diabetes and have seen him with low blood sugar, this guy did nto appear that way to me, although I suppose it's possible. The long and the short of it (to me is), when you have a CM talking about getting drunk at work, and the guests are all asking each other if he is drunk, then something should be said. I don't want him to get fired, but at the same time, somebody needs to counsel him.

Near Philly wrote:It could be diabetes related.

Several years ago while slowing down for stopped traffic on an interstate someone slammed into the back of me and turned me around. I was in a company van and I was fine.
The person who hit me was very erratic and incoherrent. Several people stopped to say they saw him weaving back and forth.
The state troopers said he passed a breathalyser test with no problem. They did mention he had a medic-alert bracelet identifying him as a diabetic.
Once all the paperwork was done, my van was driveable and I left the scene. I have no idea what his final outcome was.
His car was definately not going anywhere. Major front end damage.

And you hit on a problem that law enforcement has had to deal with. A lot of times if the behavior looks like DUI, but the facts don't add up, the next thing that they start to look for is a medical condition. I know that there have been several instances of traffic accidents, that at first they witnesses said the car operator was drunk, but when they police looked into it, the driver was having an episode. In one case the driver realized what was happening, and managed to pull over without getting hit by another car. (a neat trick on a California freeway!!)

Another one that I remember was a poor lady actually had a stroke while driving, she did crash, but when the witnesses told the police about the erratic driving, they told the EMS, who then started looking for other things when they realized she was not drunk. (she did survive, had a broken leg if I remember right)

All that being said, The tour operator might have been hung over, or hadn't sobered up from a night out!

GRUMPY PIRATE wrote:And you hit on a problem that law enforcement has had to deal with. A lot of times if the behavior looks like DUI, but the facts don't add up, the next thing that they start to look for is a medical condition. I know that there have been several instances of traffic accidents, that at first they witnesses said the car operator was drunk, but when they police looked into it, the driver was having an episode. In one case the driver realized what was happening, and managed to pull over without getting hit by another car. (a neat trick on a California freeway!!)

Another one that I remember was a poor lady actually had a stroke while driving, she did crash, but when the witnesses told the police about the erratic driving, they told the EMS, who then started looking for other things when they realized she was not drunk. (she did survive, had a broken leg if I remember right)

All that being said, The tour operator might have been hung over, or hadn't sobered up from a night out!

I recall seeing or reading a phrase sometime ago to use when you call in on someone driving erratically, and I've used it ever since (on the rare occasions I've had to do this): "I'd like to report a possibly impaired driver." That phrase alerts the police to a problem and can cover a lot of possibilities -- chemical, medical, physical, mental, etc. -- without leaping to any conclusions.

As for the OP, Eeyore's Butterfly, I agree with those who said you were right to report the CM. While the cause may be innocent, the effect to the guests is the same and needs to be addressed.

DisneyMom wrote:or maybe he had no sleep! last night I was watching a program on the effects of lack of sleep and lack of Deep Sleep, and the effects were much like being drunk, and the kicker is that people who are chronically sleep deprived ACT as if they are intoxicated even if they feel they are perfectly fine- another scary thing- if you are deprived, your mind can go to sleep even if your eyes are wide open!
I got pulled over by the CHP once for weaving coming home from a late shift at the hospital- Scared me enough to stay awake the rest of the way, but I was always exhausted, got about 4 hours of sleep a night for years when the kids were little....

At Disney World, this could certainly be it. I know what it's been like for me when I get stuck and wind up working anywhere from 24-48 hours in one sitting (my longest was almost sixty!), and at the end of that I even offend myself. In fact, I can tell when I am really, really tired because I can swear like a sailor and think nothing of it except some amusement that I heard those words come from my own mouth.

Still, one should never make comments about drinking while at work, while at work. The one exception was the other day. Walking toward Harambe from Cheers, a mom and dad said something to their kids about going swimming, then said something quietly to each other about having something strong to drink. Being within earshot, I asked if I could come along, and because of that wound up helping them. They didn't realize after their first day was at MK that Disney does have full-service bars within their other parks, and because I (very jokingly) said what I did (and I didn't say anything offensive or anything), I was able to help them.

I love playing with the guests.

mechurchlady wrote:The sad thing is that high or low sugars must be treated immediately so it is possible for someone incoherent to be sent to the drunk tank to sober up but they die.

And usually it is fast..that is why I am not so sure it could have been Diabetes. He would have gone down. You were on a tour and he was this way for how long? I know the Seeds tour is about an hour, right? If he was diabetic, he would not have made it that long...He would have fallen and gone into a coma in that amount of time I would think. I know when we had Orion and he had bouts of low blood sugar, being diabetic we HAD to get sugar into him quickly, so we would give him Karo syrup all over his tongue and the inside of his mouth, then rush him to the all night vet for a shot of glucose. It does not take long for someone to go comatose, seize and even die in a hypoglycemic situation as a diabetic.

Orion would stumble around and walk into walls and his eyes got so big and round he looked scared. :( Probably was. I would just clutch him close to me and Ralph would drive like a maniac to the vet. One time his glucose level was 40 by the time we got him there and I had given him Karo syrup before we left the house and he was still that low. He had to have been at about 20 glucose level which is VERY BAD!!!!!!!!! Normal is @ 100.
Susi

Tell me about it. I actually like to try and keep my glucose about 120 to 130, although I probably shouldn't. I start getting the shakes when I get to 90 or below. Also, I always carry glucose tablets with me, just in case. If, for some reason I don't have them, a sugary soda or drink is the fastest way to get it into your system.