Six Flags was interesting. You know you've worked in entertainment/operations/area management/guest service too long when you just absolutely cannot believe how mismanaged an attraction can be. You can't enjoy yourself because you're so frustrated about the lack of service, absence of on-site staff, and completely ignorance of the ones that are there.
Me: "Can you tell me if insert name of ride here is open today?"
Useless on-site host: "I dunno. Have you asked anyone else?"
No, fuck head, I asked YOU! Jaysus, if I got my hands on the management of that place, I'd probably get so frustrated working with them that I'd go postal ask them why they're so incompetent.
As we exited at the end of the day, we asked a Customer Service Rep, "Why are there so many rides that are......"
He interjected: "Closed? Ya, we've just been sold and our new owner is really big on making sure that all the rides are undergoing maintenance."
OK, I applaud that inititative -- and wonder about the lack of commitment to regular maintenance that the old owner apparently demonstrated. But I know about mechanical maintenance after working in Whistler for a billion years. You plan a window during the year when you're not open, and that's when you schedule your maintenance. Not while you're open to the public!
Seriously, half of the rides weren't open at all. Not that we knew exactly how many because of the complete incompetence of the on-site staff who didn't have a goddamn clue! And in fact, at one point we counted 8 staff "operating" one of the roller coasters. To be true, it was one person running the controls, two people pretending to seat people and lock their lap bars, and 5 people standing around doing absolutely nothing. No wonder each departure featured, on average, 3 empty seats that could have accommodated single riders from the line. Damn, it ain't no different than loading a chairlift -- and if Caro had been in control, there wouldn't have been an empty seat for a single departure!!
So the day would have been a complete and utter disappointment, except for one shining episode. The Superman ride was open, then closed, then open, then closed. So we asked someone if and when it was likely to reopen. She, like her counterparts, didn't know. But at least she was pleasant and smiling and witty and interacted with us as we tried to cajole her into giving out as much information as she knew. She told us they were running a test on it, but that she didn't have a radio to hear the progress. (PS: Honey, get a freakin' radio or borrow one so you can have an idea of what's going on and relay that information to your paying guests!)
We could have walked away, but I had a feeling. So I convinced my party to wait for 2 minutes. The Coach was skeptical, but I convinced him that I had a reallllly good feeling about it. So we waited, and then they opened the ride with us as the very first guests in line. No standing in line for an hour. Instead, we just walked right on and enjoyed a pretty cool ride. And then, because there was nobody else waiting in line yet, we got to do it 3 more times! And each time, my stomach and brain felt a wee bit more scrambled. Finally, after 4 times, we couldn't take any more scrambling and we bailed. But in those few brief minutes, our day was nearly salvaged.
Working for leading companies like Whistler Blackcomb and the circus, I realize that I understand a lot about how attractions and events and shows and operations should be run. And I understand that few of them are run as well as they could be. I wish Six Flags could take a lesson from the same school of management that I attended. But what are the odds.
