SHUT UP and enjoy the Park

[innerSpaceman]

Heheh, but they do that already.


In fact, that's brilliant. We'll just post all complaints on micechat. Disney's prying eyes are all over it!

[Fab]

Originally Posted by innerSpaceman

The thing is ... the reasoning behind this is not to be rid of the admittedly absurd ton of STUPID complaints ... but to avoid trouble with lawsuits from suggestions that were so in synch with Disney's concept of good ideas that they were actually implemented.


I understand the analogy, then, to rejecting unsolicited scripts. But a simple disclaimer on the comment forms would accomplish just as much, without what I consider a guest relations nightmare of insisting a guest's verbal comment will somehow get to the right party to address or consider their concern.

The problem with a disclaimer, of course, is that it doesn't prevent lawsuits from being filed. Those suits can be gotten rid of quickly enough ... but not without paying lawyers to do it. I guess Disney feels that no written comment means less people will feel confident enough to file a suit absent the "evidence" of the "consulting" work they did for Disney when they suggested less salty popcorn.


But it's throwing out the baby with the bath water, imo. Returning mail sent to corporate headquarters if they so much as mention a Disney resort visit is disgusting. Most of the feedback may be garbage ... but to have a theme park and resort company whose policy is to refuse all written comment from paying customers seems pretty antithetical to the Disney (as in Walt) and Disney (as in land) philosopy of guest relations.

But it's not Disney as in Walt, and it hasn't been since Frank Wells died. I doubt if it ever will be again. Having seen the bs that people claim so that they can get goodies ("I got wet on Splash Mountain and it ruined my day!") I think this is a wise move.

I also think it will make the job easier for the frontline CMs that have to handle complaint after complaint from people who were told to complain by a website or two. You know?

I do know that if I get oil on my shirt like I did one time from the tram, they'll still replace my shirt; that if my dad's seatbelt comes off in the middle of Indy again, even though it clicked shut properly when closed, they'll do something about that. Manhole covers? Not so much.

YMMV, imnho only.

[Ghoulish Delight]

Originally Posted by innerSpaceman

So tell me, Mr. Delight ... what's the current system, and how does it not involve City Hall?. In fact, now it exclusively involves City Hall. That's the ONLY place you can register a comment of any kind ... you just can't do it in writing.

I'm [ETA: NOT] trying to say they've come up with a good solution. But at least now the managers whose job it was to evaluate CM performance will no longer have to be burdened with sorting through countless useless pieces of paper, filing them all away to do absolutely nothing with. It's a waste of time and effort that met absolutely no one's needs.

Whether the need has been addressed with any new system is a separate question. But I don't see how the guests are in any worse of a position now. Before they could write a complaint and have it ignored. Now they can say a complaint and have it ignored. Big loss.

As for there being no outlet anymore, I am skeptical of the description of how snail mail will be handled. If there is a legitimate issue in a letter, they'll be idiots not to address it. Miceage is still down so I can't read the article, but I'm guessing there's a bit of hyperbole involved here.

[Cadaverous Pallor]

Originally Posted by innerSpaceman

And yes, Alex, I pity the poor City Hall CM who's going to listen to me vent EVERY SINGLE TIME I'M AT THE PARK until this policy is reversed.

Why are you so keen to do this? You do realize that it solves nothing, feeds your anger, and puts a burden on that CM?

I guess the rationale is that it's somehow your park, your company. That you are a member of the Disney family, that you are a "guest". Right. It's their company, it's their money, it's their decision. Sure, I pitch a fit when they do things I don't like, or that I don't think are befitting the company, but we all know that this system is horribly abused by certain people. We don't have blinders on. The amount of time and money they spend on complaints is enormous. What a waste.

Originally Posted by Fab

I do know that if I get oil on my shirt like I did one time from the tram, they'll still replace my shirt; that if my dad's seatbelt comes off in the middle of Indy again, even though it clicked shut properly when closed, they'll do something about that. Manhole covers? Not so much.

Total agreement.

It's not even like the complaints affected anything...

[innerSpaceman]

Yes, but I'm one of the people who abused the system!!!



Seriously, I used to write letters of complaint or commendation to Disneyland Guest Relations, but tired of the form letters I got in return.

I stopped doing that about 15 years ago.


But two or three times in those last 15 years, I wanted to register a complaint. And I hoped someone would read it. Sure, it probably went nowhere ... but putting it in writing allowed me the ILLUSION it was going somewhere. A verbal complaint allows me no such illusion ... and it's why I insisted, over the usual deflections, on writing a complaint.


There were also 8-10 times I wrote a CM compliment, and 1 or 2 times something was so messed up I wrote a CM complaint. I think those are particularly important.

Yes, I understand it's their company and they can do as they please. I'm just saying I think their decision sucks. It's bad guest psychology at the very least ... and the less Disney recognizes the importance of guest psychology, the more PresslerHarrisized the place gets.



Yes, it must be tough handing the barrage of written junk from paying customers. Perhaps they can hire some people to handle that, perhaps by raising daily ticket prices the few more dollars to THREE FIGURES.

[Not Afraid]

I guess Disney popped the bubble of illusion.

[innerSpaceman]

Yes, the same bubble that Jiminy Cricket pops under the sea ... only to find out he's still underwater.

[Isaac]

Originally Posted by innerSpaceman

Yes, but I'm one of the people who abused the system!!!

Seriously, I used to write letters of complaint or commendation to Disneyland Guest Relations, but tired of the form letters I got in return.

I stopped doing that about 15 years ago.


But two or three times in those last 15 years, I wanted to register a complaint. And I hoped someone would read it. Sure, it probably went nowhere ... but putting it in writing allowed me the ILLUSION it was going somewhere. A verbal complaint allows me no such illusion ... and it's why I insisted, over the usual deflections, on writing a complaint.


There were also 8-10 times I wrote a CM compliment, and 1 or 2 times something was so messed up I wrote a CM complaint. I think those are particularly important.

Yes, I understand it's their company and they can do as they please. I'm just saying I think their decision sucks. It's bad guest psychology at the very least ... and the less Disney recognizes the importance of guest psychology, the more PresslerHarrisized the place gets.


Yes, it must be tough handing the barrage of written junk from paying customers. Perhaps they can hire some people to handle that, perhaps by raising daily ticket prices the few more dollars to THREE FIGURES.

LOL!

If you've abused the system & haven't used it for years then I think you're getting a little too worked up about this.

As we've already stated, there are still ways to file a complaint. You can tell the CMs @ City Hall or send an email via Disneyland.com. If you still prefer the old method of putting pen to paper, just write them a personal letter & mail it to them. Just cause Disney is no longer providing you w/ the pen & paper doesn't mean you can't write to them.

Don't get upset; get creative

I think this decision probably had to do with the more ridiculous complaints. Some people go to City Hall to complain about stupid things like 'why doesn't Disney sell Diet Sprite', 'why isn't there a Starbucks in Disneyland' and 'I can't wait 15 minutes for the monorail'. Eliminating the written form cuts down on the number of records of stupid complaints, and speeds up the process of dealing w/ the complaints. It makes sense.

[Moonliner]

I would seem to place a lot of power in the hands of the City Hall CM's.

An attractions CM accidently bumps one in the lunch line and the next thing you know a family of four from Boise has reported that the attractions CM leered at their pre-teen daughter.

[Alex]

At minimum they should place a keyboard under the counter so that CMs can be typing in the complaint given verbally by the customer. It need never be mentioned that the keyboard isn't connected to anything.