Stupid Guest Tricks

This has happened to me SOOO many times and I still think it's hilarious after having bussed at Rancho for a couple days.

Funny incident #1:
I was closing at Riverbelle... polishing the brass to be exact... and some lady was knocking at the window by the cash register. I tried to ignore it because we had closed, but she started banging. I went to the window and opened it up.
G: Hello! Listen, I REALLY need a kids' meal and a coffee right now!
Me: I'm sorry, ma'am! We've been closed since 9:30!
G: Is it so much trouble just to get me a kids' meal and a coffee? I'm really frustrated!
Me: I'm sorry; the coffee machines have all been cleaned out and emptied, the food is all in storage, and all of our cash registers have been counted and locked away.
G: (to daughter) Alright "Betty", let's go! This evil man won't give us our food!

2 mins later...
A large family finds the secret busser access inside the restaurant and gets in line.
Man: Excuse me! Can I see the menu?
Me: i'm sorry sir, we're closed!
Man: Then why was the door opened?!?!
Me: That's how the bussers get in and out. The guest doors are actually all bolted shut.
Man: Well we should be able to get our dinner anyhow....
Me: (explains how we dont have anything ready, no cash registers, etc)

Funny incident #2
I was bussing at Rancho this past Friday, and the dining area was COMPLETELY empty, and the doors were all closed. Suddenly, a family was in the dining area looking in.
Man: "Looks like they've still got some food in there!"
Woman: "Well, open the door!!"
*man rattles locked door*
Man (to me): Excuse me, but can you open this door for us so we can get in?
Me: Sorry, the restaurant is actually closed til tomorrow!
Man: Well we just want some of them taco salads...
Me: Yeah, the restaurant actually closed at 9!
Man: Even for taco salads?!?!
Me: Yes. All food!
Man: So we can't even get in to get a taco salad?! Man o Man!! What's WITH this place?!?
Grandma: I can't believe this! They can't even give us TACO salads!! That's all I want, damn it!
Man: Well, thanks a whole heck of a lot!

Funny incident #3:
I was waiting for my friend to close down Peter Pan since he was giving me a ride home. The ride closed down and he was doing whatever they do... lining up the pirate ships? I don't know, but a group of teenie-boppers hopped the gate and ran up.
G: Hi! We have 7!
F(riend): Ummm yeah... the rides close when the park closes! And it's just about 12:30!
G: Awww come on! Please!! We tried to get on earlier but it broke down?
F: The ride hasn't broken down today!
G: Well well the line was long!
F: I'm sorry, Main Street is open until 1 if you want to hang out over there!
G (15 year old with cracking voice): Listen! We just wanna ride this ride! That's not unreasonable!
F: Actually, it is! I've been closing for a half hour!
G (cracking voice dude): Let's go... this jerk aint gonna let us ride.
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Wow. Do the guests really think we can just reopen magically and give them what they want :roll: ? "Leave your brain at the gate!" as they say! Anyone have any similar stories to share?

Oh yeah I've got a great one, one night I was closing the Haunted Mansion as the Greeter and we were closing at like 10. So at exactly 10 I let the last guest in the line and closed everything off, 2 min later they made it through the Stretch Room and then 10 min later they made it through the ride. Right after they were walking out the exit I realized it was them and went to start making my way to the break room, next thing I know a family stopped me to ask a question so I of course was willing to answer in any way I could.

Father: So Miss where is the Haunted Mansion?
Me: It's right here but it's closed right now.
Mother: What but we wanted to ride it, there's no way it can be closed.
Me: Well I'm sorry but all the rides closed at 10 pm with the park.
Father: Well I'm sure you'd be more than willing to make an exception for us right?
Me: Actually no sir I won't be making any exceptions for any one, the ride is now officially shut down and those folks walking out right now are the last ones to leave.
Mother: You've got to be kidding me, that's so mean.
Me: Well I'm sorry you think so but that's the way things have to be ran, I can't make exceptions for you and not everyone else. Now where would the fairness in that be?
Father: Who cares we're the only ones here.
Me: Well I do, besides like I said the ride it shut down. There is no way at this point for anyone to get on.
Father: But my little girl really wanted to ride, would you really break a little girl's heart like that??
*as he kicks the stroller that the girl is sitting in even though he knows I see it*
Little Girl: *cries* I want to ride please.
Me: I'm sorry but it's not possible. And now if you'll please excuse me I have to go fill out some paperwork, enjoy the rest of your evening.
*and then i walked away as quick as i could*

It was SO bad, and lets just say I walked away with a big headache....people are SO dense.

It never fails...once we close the doors to the store, people decide that they want to shop. I usually like to be the bouncer at the door because it makes me feel big. They always come to the door as we are trying to clear.

Guest: "Are you open?"
Me: "No, we're closed."
Guest: "But there are still people in the store."
Me: "They are the last ones...after them, I'm closing the door."
Guest: "Can't we just come in? We know what we want."
Me: "What do you want?"
Guest: "That shirt, I can see it right there."
Me: "You can also probably see it in the Clothiers Shop, Emporium, or World of Disney. If you don't find it there, here's our DeliverEARS number. We're closed."
Guest: (Turns to family) "Let's go to Main Street."

I don't know about the rest of you, but for some reason, I love telling guests what they can't do (sit on walls or tall planters, they can't smoke here etc.). It makes me happy. Does that make me mean? 8)

Since I was part of the opening crew for the Snow White show, we got lots of this. People showing up 5-10 min after the last show started wanting in, we'd tell them it's full and they'd beg, plead, etc.
My favorite though was when they'd tell us that this is the whole reason they came to Disneyland. I always wanted to say, well if it was that important why didn't you come to one of the 3-5 early shows, or maybe show up to this one before it actually started.

i agree with shorty, i do get some sort of stange satisfaction with telling people no, probly because i've been told no sooo many times, to soo many things. still kind of a complex for me. each day i get closer and closer to snapping though, i'm sure some of you have noticed with my post when i'm getting close. but yeah, i love when guests try and threaten me, or get me to do something about the ride breaking down. "so what is open, the matterhorn is closed, space mountain is closed" those are scheduled refurbishments, that are available online, or though disney information lines. they usually try and cut me off, so i tell them that this is unplanned we'll be open later today, keep checking back. and then when they try and argue further, i just start speiling, and let them figure out that i'm done with them.

shorty1219 wrote:I don't know about the rest of you, but for some reason, I love telling guests what they can't do (sit on walls or tall planters, they can't smoke here etc.). It makes me happy. Does that make me mean? 8)

This is THE BEST part very often for me. Nothing "mean" when following DLR policy. Ain't it a thrill? 8)

madhatter04 wrote:Wow. Do the guests really think we can just reopen magically and give them what they want :roll: ? "Leave your brain at the gate!" as they say! Anyone have any similar stories to share?

Actually I do think guests really believe we can & will reopen just for them. Always shake my head when I hear stories like yours. Sometimes my keys show & guests will swear I have ALL the keys to every closed attraction & restaurant they feel in titiled to. This may be the only downer to closing shift. If they only knew these "magic" keys are my own.

shorty1219 wrote:I don't know about the rest of you, but for some reason, I love telling guests what they can't do (sit on walls or tall planters, they can't smoke here etc.). It makes me happy. Does that make me mean?

you guys are lucky, we don't have any smoking areas anywhere in legoland, and and i think that there is only one ashtray anywhere that guests can get to, so we can't really say that they can't smoke a a place. but we can send them out of a eating area a building or a line if they don't stop.

anyways, i havn't really experienced one really bad guest at closing time, but i do get the "what do you mean you're closed? you can't be closed!"
i'd respond "yes we are closed and no we ae not making any exceptions"

i was even bribed once, by a kid, who thought that 2 dollars would be enough to make me open again, HA!

shorty1219 wrote:I don't know about the rest of you, but for some reason, I love telling guests what they can't do (sit on walls or tall planters, they can't smoke here etc.). It makes me happy. Does that make me mean? 8)

It's funny, even though I'm not working, I feel i want to tell a guest that they can't smoke here. Even when I went to SeaWorld, I see guests smoking, I just want to tell them that they can't smoke. I then stop myself and remember that I am NOT at work!!

As for my incident:

I think last week on Wednesday, I was at End Of Line waiting for the announcement to go off. When it did go off, I closed the line. A couple of mintues later I was hanging out at exit and a family comes up wanting to watch the show, but I told them that it we are closed. Then the dad tells me that we are cheating them and showed me the time. His watch was slow. And this was AFTER the fireworks!!!

madhatter04 wrote:Anyone have any similar stories to share?

Well, this isn't a 'closed' story, but it's still a stupid guest trick.

Me: working Pieces of Eight shop one evening. Mother with stroller comes in, asks me if she can "have" a pirate hat feather for her son. Rather than try to explain the whole "if I gave you one, that wouldn't be fair because I'd have to give one to everybody" story (why don't people really understand the word "fair"? "Fair" doesn't me, "favor me over everybody else" it means treat everyone the same. But enough digression) so instead I tell her - and this is also true - "We only have enough feathers for the hats we sell; I can't give you a feather because then we'd run out of feathers before running out of hats." "Oh", she replied, and pushed her son out of the store.

Not 30 seconds went by, and a man about the same age as the mom who just came in, burst into the store and stormed up to me, saying, "My son lost the feather from his pirate hat and you won't replace it?!" Of course, same kid, different parent. I just looked calmly at the father (who was obviously expecting this ruse to work), and said, "Of course I'll replace it - I just need to see the receipt for the hat."

He looked at me for a second, realized he'd just made a BIG jackass of himself and left the shop without saying a word.