Rudeness To Staff

[aircanman]

its interesting, this lady just barged through the smiler que and said "that's my family is that ok?"
It wasn't mine to say because there were other people infront of her, so mathematically she needs to clear it up with each of them aswell. Twice it happened to me that day and because I try to be a good person I don't care but I am concerned with the other people that get pushed past.

You get people like that, because they have paid a fee they think they own the park, simply need to be put in their place, and most of the time by someone of authority, and it is up to the park to back that staff member up with no lenience.

[TheOutpatient]

E Cigs are fine for people to smoke where they want if you ask me, the problem is some staff members in all sorts of businesses are not trained to deal with people correctly, if you think about it, people who visit Alton Towers will come from all corners of the country, and I know for a fact that people need to be dealt with in different ways, that is not something your average 18/19 year old can do without experience, at the end of the day they all need to treat customers with respect, if customers are rude and complain further, a manager needs to step in.

The way people communicate is important. Generally speaking you just have to think for a second to understand the person and then what you internalized will externalize when you speak to them. Honestly I don't know how the girl was because I wasn't there but it just struck me as one of those times where the communication got ahead of itself.

[Coke]

E Cigs are fine for people to smoke where they want if you ask me, the problem is some staff members in all sorts of businesses are not trained to deal with people correctly, if you think about it, people who visit Alton Towers will come from all corners of the country, and I know for a fact that people need to be dealt with in different ways, that is not something your average 18/19 year old can do without experience, at the end of the day they all need to treat customers with respect, if customers are rude and complain further, a manager needs to step in.

The way people communicate is important. Generally speaking you just have to think for a second to understand the person and then what you internalized will externalize when you speak to them. Honestly I don't know how the girl was because I wasn't there but it just struck me as one of those times where the communication got ahead of itself.

Just to add to this, whether others agree or not, Alton Towers' own policy does state that E-cigarettes are included in the Designated Smoking Area rules: http://www.altontowers.com/tandcs/

I personally don't have an opinion but just keep in mind that the staff are only enforcing policies as part of their job, and I know how difficult it can be. You are right it is all about how you speak to people though. 

[Kendalgal]

I experienced how bad people can be to staff last night whilst waiting for my husband to come out of The Sanctuary.

I think the lad was called Dan - He was at the entrance to the mazes in the Towers? Anyways, poor lad was getting loads of abuse. People were shouting at him, being unreasonable and generally being pita's. It wasn't his fault that the power had gone and the lines had backed up. He was very good with us and let my husband in way after park close time. He was informative and I did feel sorry for him though as he was bashed all over from rude people. It's a shame people are like that (rude, obnoxious, threatening) because staff like him are hard to come by.

[Coke]

That's a real shame to be honest. People like that make many people's day - experiences like guests shouting at you don't want to make you return for the next year.

[NemesisDave]

I dont see peoples problem with staff at Thorpe Park, every member of staff working on the rides were very helpful and polite. Even saw a few people getting sent to the start of the line because they had been queue jumping which was nice to see. The worst example of rudeness to staff that ive seen is at Alton Towers when a group of about 6 people didnt want to get split up on air, they all wanted to be in the same row?  how stupid can you get really! haha and they were being really rude to the staff who were acting professionally and explaining that there was no possible way for them to all go in the same row and eventually security was called and on my way out of the park even saw 2 of them getting led away by police!
Oh and someone tried to tell staff on Thirteen that I had blocked their way in the queue when they were trying to get through to their friends (no one queue jumps past me  ) so yeah they told the ride host what I had done and they just replied "you should wait in line like everyone else then" and high fived me haha  :P

[andyuk200523]

It's understandable that people might be rude to staff sometimes, but a lot of the time it's an issue that can't be resolved by let's say a ride assistant. Eg a power cut or a ride that has malfunctioned. I think guests need to realize that moaning at staff will only decrease their moral and overall performance.

Where do you think it is ever understandable to be rude?!

Behaviour breeds behaviour, there is never any acceptable time to be rude, there will always be a nicer way of putting your point across without rudeness.

[rolicoli8]

There was a video on YouTube(I can't find it, I think it got removed) of a group of people with AT inflatable baseball bats, and attacked Sir Edward England with them. [-X

[Tom170499]

There was a video on YouTube(I can't find it, I think it got removed) of a group of people with AT inflatable baseball bats, and attacked Sir Edward England with them. [-X

No-one, and I mean no-one attacks Sir Edward England and gets away with it! 

[loulou87]

I once saw a group of chavs having a rant at one of the game attendants. Not sure what it was about but heard one of the girls call him "con man". I just thought "why are you showing yourself up for a big stuffed banana with dreadlocks, then have to lug it round the park with you for the rest of the day!"

[lf2001]

A few times I've seen people at the front of single rider queues, but not being able to sit with their friends/family, then arguing with one of the staff. But I think the staff always do the right thing by removing them from the ride.

[NemeJaney]

I can't think of any staff-abuse memories off the top of my head, but I think if I ever find myself in a situation where I am next to/near an abusive guest, I will definitely take sides with the staff, being as polite as possible in the process.

[jackgcse]

I must admit I have been rude myself on a really really bad day and I am not proud to admit it. But we all have to be honest and say we have been rude to a member of staff, whether that's theme park or supermarket at some point in our lives, and unfortunately there will be people who are always rude...which is a shame.
However some will never stop, and that is part of the job. Hospitality is all about customer relations and generally as long as the staff smile and never stops smiling ("Kill them with kindness") most of the time it's alright, however some still want more.
It is a shame, and I love customer service, it's my bit of expertise, even though I can currently only show my knowledge and passion in the supermarket self service checkouts...but there is still time for Alton! :P

[JoshC]

Last month I was on Ripsaw and the entire ride was held up because a man refused to pull his OTSR down! :/ He was simply removed from the ride. The way he spoke to the poor ride attendant was appalling. I later found out that the same guy had been sat next to me on The Smiler haha

You don't pull the restraints down on ripsaw there mechanically operated ? :/ so either wrong ride or there's some white lies there

On Ripsaw, the OTSR are locked when they're up then the opperator unlocks them and they fall a bit then you pull them down then the other lap bars come down mechanically

Sorry to go off topic slightly here, but I just need to correct you on that. Ripsaw's restraints are mechanically operated and they do not need to be pulled down or pushed up by the riders. They are operated by the ride host, who pushes a button to lower the OTSRs followed by the T-bars, once the ride has stopped they will then push another button to bring them up.

Have you never wondered why the operator says "activate the restraints please" before the harnesses come down? They wouldn't need to say that if they expected the riders to pull them down themselves

So not sure what happened in your situation, could be that the man was a bit large and the harness wasn't down enough to lock, in which case the host may ask them to give it an extra pull just to get it that little bit further down. Either the guy got angry about being singled out and was kicked off, or he was simply taken off the ride because he was too large for the harness.

Hope this clears things up a bit

[Henry]

Back in 2010, I went to the park to ride 13 for the first time (not a long time after opening) it was closed and i heard people shouting at the staff at the entrance to the ride saying "I drove all the way from ......... to ride this ride and its not opening!" 

People were being so rude and he was trying to explain that it wasn't his fault and there was no way the ride could open but they were just shouting at him. I felt so sorry for him.

[Dom]

Rudeness to staff just shouldn't happen. They are trying to do their job. Nothing gets accomplished by being rude, apart from them thinking your a horrible person. Simple really!

[bensaund]

The only way people realise how rude they are being is when the shoe is on the other foot.

I worked in retail for 7 years and I just couldn't believe how rude people could be if an item sold out for example.

Because of the abuse I got when I worked in retail, I always will be polite to staff, you need to be firm and get your point across when you are not happy, but shouting isn't going to resolve the problem.

I'm not saying I have not been frustrated when you are just about to get on Rita and it has a failed launch and you have to leave after waiting 45 mins.

Don't Alton Towers have a zero tolerance policy on this behaviour?

[Burniel]

The staff at alton towers resort are (mostly) genuinely very friendly people, who actually care about your enjoyment and NOT just their pay. I remember on my first visit to towers (aged 10) anxiously going up to a staff member (by air) and asking for directions for the runaway mine train. The woman smiled and kindly gave me directions past nemesis and duel into Katanga canyon. Since then, they've always been the same (though it's been a while since I've asked for directions!)

I don't want to work at AT when I'm older, but I do want to be like a person who works there for friendliness and personality. They do not deserve any abuse, they try their best.

[DeanGaryCox]

After working in retail now for almost 2 years, and seeing staff and customers elsewhere, I can understand some staff are rude themselves and don't really care about the customers, but on the whole it is mainly the customers who expect everything and don't understand how things work, and then start kicking off... I personally go out of my way to not help these people, where as if they were calm and understanding I'd try my best to see what I could do to resolve the issue.

Customers are not always right and expect everything their way, when in reality that isn't going to happen...

Unfortunately in general the rude ones demanding things are the ones who get what they want, whilst the calm and understanding just walk away and nothing is done... Can't just have one rule for one and not for another?

[scw55]

This is in another tourist attraction (a National Trust Garden property).

I overheard this "conversation".

This was at the exit of the attraction where there were little shops were resident artists worked and sold their wears.
This family went up to one of the Artists and said:

"Can you enter the garden from here?"

The Artist replied: 'No you can't. It's almost closing time so they won't accept any more admittances'

"But we drove all the way from Liverpool to get here!"

'I'm sorry. That's how it is'

The family walked away fuming and sulkingly.
-
1) If you want to go to a tourist attraction, farmiliar yourself with the closing time.
2) Aim to get to the park way ahead of time. You will be able to spend more time looking around and get more value for money. Don't expect to be let in for half an hour just because you turned up half an hour before hand.
3) If travelling a long distance, understand how long it will take for you to get there and take consideration of that when leaving your home
4) It is not a residental artist's job to answer your weak querie. Talk to an employed member of staff of the place but don't expect time and space to bend to your whim and favour. You are late. It's no one's fault but your's.

I'm sorry if my judgment of these strangers is so blunt, but I have zero sympathy for individuals who can fail so significantly at planning and then expect the fabric of reality to forgive them. You planned poorly and wasted your day, it's not the artist's fault.