Rude Cast Member...should I complain?

Hello All~

I’ve been home from the world for almost a week now and have been debating about what to do. On our last MK day I encountered an EXTREMELY rude cast member and am wondering if I should file a complaint. This was the 1st time I had a breakfast ADR at park opening and had been told by a co-worker and fellow Disney fanatic that I would be able to get in 30 mins before my ADR. This was not the case as the morning was an unorganized zoo!

Here’s what happened: had a BOG ADR for 8am and arrived at park before 7:30ish. When ADR was made, park was scheduled to open at 9am BUT then an EMH was added so tons of people were waiting for RD. At 7:40, I had asked another guest what was going on and how to get in for my ADR. She needed to get into the park for a 7:45 tour and was told she couldn’t enter yet. I saw a cast member helping someone with wheelchairs and saw another behind the rope who was free and went to ask that one for help. Phyllis (the one helping with wheelchairs) abruptly stopped me and asked me what I was doing. I asked her when I could get into the park for my ADR and she told me I had to wait with all of the others and wouldn’t give me a time. I said “Smile, you’re at Disney!” She replied back in a nasty tone, “I ain’t gotta smile” and I walked off as she continued grumbling. At 7:45, the rope was dropped and DH and I managed not to get trampled by the stampede.

Should I report her? Thanks!

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I wouldn’t. But that’s me. Who knows what might have triggered that reaction. Perhaps they had dealt with extremely rude guests! Not that it is okay, but I wouldn’t want to be the one who gets someone fired, potentially, for a one-time (possibly) problem.

She probably already quit. Sounds like she hates her job.

she doesn’t belong there. No accuse as other CM’s have their bad days as well and don’t resort to that tone. I have heard of others getting fired for less. I never had a problem in the park though I did at a restaurant at a resort over a dog near our table. Very rude answer so I simple put the restaurants name out here to make people aware of what happened. I was also treated badly by a Disney World booking agent and she even told me where to go and hung up. Must have been a bad day and I was told by another agent the she had just got up and quit. Guess Disney World isn’t always so Magical but mostly it is.

I probably wouldn’t waste my time… I also try to give people the benefit of doubt. Who knows what happened before her interaction with you…not that it’s ok but we are all human…

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I wouldn’t bother. Sounds like she was having a bad time. But, I agree that Disney might not be the best place for her to work.

Also, just to help you out if you try again, tours and PPO ADRs don’t typically get into the park until 7:45am.

What reaction did you expect when you said that? If you say something sarcastic I don’ t think that you should be surprised if you receive a terse response.

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Maybe apologise to her.

She didn’t do anything wrong, why would she apologise? I didn’t read it as saying it sarcastically at all. And regardless a CM shouldn’t be rude to a guest asking a simple question. I realise they are only human and take a lot of flak from guests, but they are paid to give good customer service.

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What would Walt do? If he had been standing there, wouldn’t he have at least corrected the cast member? I think so.

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But she wasn’t asking a question. She ‘instructed’ a CM to ‘smile, you are at Disney’. If I was the CM I would have bared my teeth…and it wouldn’t have been in a smile😉.

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Maybe he would have hugged the CM and said, 'we have to put up with some nonsense in this job’:wink:

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Then you should expect guests to complain about you. Not that I would complain in this instance, but I think the CM was out of line. If the worst thing anyone ever said to me was ‘Smile you’re at Disney’ I would count myself very fortunate indeed.

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“Smile, you’re at Disney” is a trite and maybe innocent statement, but the reality is the OP is at Disney. The CM is at work, probably for minimum wage or little more. Yes, the CM was ‘on stage’ at the time, but the CM also was handling other guests. In wheelchairs, which could have been difficult.

There have been times when I’ve said something silly, expecting a smile from the CM and I don’t get it. I get a firm line on policy or whatever, even though I wasn’t serious. That CM could have dealt with other guests, recently or many times over that start with innocent statements and then end with making a stink over wanting something special.

I know that’s not what the OP intended and she did have a valid need. But her statement is being judged by the hundreds of nasty guests that have started with statements like that before her.

I wouldn’t report her. I would chalk it up to learning to be more perceptive about all people’s circumstances before I open my mouth. And Lord knows, I personally have to keep relearning that lesson! lol :blush:

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If someone said that to you in work, I think you would believe that all your dreams had come true. :joy:

True story, I’d love to work at Disney! And it certainly beats the abuse I got in the jobcentre, when I was still expected to smile and offer excellent customer service. Because that’s what I was paid for.

It must have been awful.

It wasn’t Disney, put it that way. Though as I said earlier I know CMs get abuse too.

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Regardless if you decided to complain or not … The time to complain was then and there. Waiting this long a time simply diminishes the impact that your complaint will have.

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Thank you for all of the responses!

My bark is worse than my bite; I had a difficult afternoon yesterday and was venting. Of all the times I have complained and threatened to report issues with bad service (at many places, not just MK), I very rarely have. I don’t want to be THAT person who causes someone to lose a job.

I did find that of all the parks during my visit, MK had a different vibe; the CM’s just weren’t as friendly there as at the other 3 parks. I was there on high CL days and on my EP day, MK closed b/c park capacity was reached.

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