Stupid Guest Tricks

Employees required to park at a designated parking lot where the Employer provides a "shuttle" service to transfer employees from the designated parking lot to the work place, shall not be held responsible for any tardies that occur as a result of the "shuttle" service having a mechanical breakdown, malfunction, becoming nonoperational due to driver negligence, or other reasons beyond the control of the employees after boarding the "shuttle."

Now, if the union reps can have the phrase "after boarding the shuttle" taken out, it might make things less ambigious. IE: "other reasons beyond the control of the employee" seems to take the blame away from the employee, but "after boarding the shuttle" puts it right back on the employee's shoulders.

So if you are waiting for the CM shuttle, and an earthquake opens up a crack in the earth, and swallows the shuttle, its your fault you are late. In some defense of management, they really have no way to know when (what time) you have pulled into K lot, and are waiting for the shuttle. However, if you board the shuttle, but the shuttle makes a side trip to LAX, you are covered.

If I were being lawyerly, I'd at least try to make the argument that the phrase "after boarding the shuttle" applies only to that last part of the sentence. To explain, it would be diagrammed this way:

Employees ... shall not be held responsible for any tardies that occur as a result of the "shuttle" service:
(1) having a mechanical breakdown,
(2) malfunction,
(3) becoming nonoperational due to driver negligence, or
(4) other reasons beyond the control of the employees after boarding the "shuttle."

It actually makes more sense this way -- why would employees be penalized if all the shuttles broke down before they boarded? Or if a driver wrecked the shuttle as it was approaching the loading area? (Of course, "sense" and "Disney management" don't seem to be on speaking terms these days, to judge from the posts here!)

SRT_GB wrote:I've also heard somewhere that if there's a transportation issue that will cause a lot of CMs across the resort to be late or absent (e.g., a huge accident shuts down the 5 or 57) those CMs can't be penalized. I've also been told if an act of God prevents you from getting to work (e.g., a flood shuts down the only street leading to your house) you can't be penalized. Again, they would probably only pay you for the time you actually work, but no points on your record.

I've had a few friends get penalized for being late due to accidents because....get this.... they were the only one to call in and report that they were stuck in traffic because of an accident on the freeway. How freaking stupid is that!!

Wizard69 wrote:I've had a few friends get penalized for being late due to accidents because....get this.... they were the only one to call in and report that they were stuck in traffic because of an accident on the freeway. How freaking stupid is that!!

I believe CalTrans has a site that reports problems, possibly CHP as well.
If you can, print a copy of the daily log when you get home and take it to
your Union Rep and see what can be done. If it gets used as a part of your termination process you can take it to the State Labor Comissioners office and and get a hearing using the report as evidence. One State Agency is very
unlikely to say that another State Agencies data is wrong and will probably
take your side.

My god, I'm teaching you guys to become COMPLETE WEASELS!!! :D:

I guess I'm just a product of a long term weasel environment. Oh, well.

one post on here made me really think. it was i believe a castmember who said that he/she would not give could customer service. i very much sympathsize with the castmembers and what they are currently having to deal with. I am a former castmember and I know uppermanagement is very clueless. I work for USAIrways-America West and the management can at times be very annoying. But i think no matter how bad the management is, you should never take it out on the guests. It is not their fault that you have work 6 or 7 days. It not their fault that the pay is horrible. They even the stupid ones are coming to Disneyland to have a good time. The Behind the scenes stuff shouldn't distract from that good time.

as far as i'm concerned, if it weren't for the excellent guest service i'm able to provide on a daily basis, i wouldn't still be at disneyland. i love making people's day!

however, it would be nice to get some support from management in those rare difficult guest encounters... i'm so tired of being told to enforce rules... and then management turning around and bending those rules when a concern arises... either we have rules or we don't... going above my head and disregarding those rules makes me look like an incompetent cast member.

Sixteen store locations will be closed today. Seven counter service restaraunts will have over an hour wait just to order. Tables will not be bussed for an
average of 15 min. There is one Custodial CM for every 2500 guests today.

How would the guest experience NOT be effected today?

But that's ok. The TDA peeps still sit in their cubicles and get their paychecks. Not their problem.

saidthekat wrote:however, it would be nice to get some support from management in those rare difficult guest encounters... i'm so tired of being told to enforce rules... and then management turning around and bending those rules when a concern arises... either we have rules or we don't... going above my head and disregarding those rules makes me look like an incompetent cast member.

Oh hello, they've been like that for the past 15-20 years. If it makes you feel any better, you're not the first. Certain managers/supervisors just crumble when it comes to guest pressure.

saidthekat wrote:however, it would be nice to get some support from management in those rare difficult guest encounters... i'm so tired of being told to enforce rules... and then management turning around and bending those rules when a concern arises... either we have rules or we don't... going above my head and disregarding those rules makes me look like an incompetent cast member.

Unfortunately, this policy is not unique to Disney. Quite a few large retail companies use this same type of appeasement strategy.