Photo TR: A Bad Night At SFMM.

Thats to bad your evening at Magic Mountain didn't go to well. I was there about a week ago, and I thought it was pretty nice. All the employees were doing their jobs. I was probably just there on a good day though, because I have heard it can be pretty bad. Also, there were not to many lines, so I got to do 13 of the coasters.

Wow...all I can say is, wow. I was so impressed back in May when Tatsu opened. I almost want to cry... these are some of the last images we'll have of this park and...ugh.

And next year at this time, it's entirely possible we'll have "Fort" Knott's and cash cow Disney to choose from.

Thank God I'm moving to Florida next year. This is just sad.

who do the middle management report to....... upper management......If the middle management guys are crap then fire them...... they are not going to fire themselves are they...... the proplem ultimatly belongs to the person at the top

and to think i wanted to work there .....no wonder the bulldozers will be coming soon

I say you send those pics straight to Snyder and get they arses fi-yahd!

Well, atleast you got Ninja in. And maybe that fire will close SFMM sooner than we thought

Great TR!

It would be hilarious for someone to go around with a video camera finding employees off the job and then point-blank asking them what they're doing.

(Then send it to Shapiro)

Sad, I was actually very impressed with my visit for the tatsu media day. My first and only trip to SFMM. Now it looks like I may not be able to go back to take Julia. I couldn't take a park run like that. Amusement parks are supposed to be fun (hence the name) and I don't think I would have much fun on a night like you had. Hopefully word will reach SOMEBODY and something will be done, but the past record doesn't seem too encouraging.

-James Dillaman

Wow, looks like they're already trying to tear/burn down the park to build them houses.

Dan... nice going.

YaY for loud annoying drunk guys!

I dont' really know why everyone keeps blaming Del. I don't think he's the root of all evil that people think he is. Think about it, most employees never even meet the guy, let alone have any face time with him. The middle management is the problem.

 

Think about how awesome Hurricane Harbor is. They have a great manager who isn't afraid to go out and take tickets, pick up trash, and knows ALL of the employees by name!

......

 

Mr. Holland, is the general manager of MM, he needs to take responsibility for the parks preformance. Wether or not all the parks problems are his fault or not he does direct the parks staff and needs to do a better job at it or have someone else come in who can. As you stated regarding Huricane Harbors manager taking initiative and getting out in the front lines, this is exactly what MM needs from a general manager right now.

^ I agree with this post completely. It is the sole responsibility of the GM to have control of his mid-management level team. Unless 6F has a different corporate structure within the management chain, I see no excuse for this whatsoever. Although my management experience with BGE was quite challenging and rewarding, we (mid-mgt) had responsibilities to perform and report to GM (and vice-versa). Part of the failed-system at 6F is mid-leve managers are not acting as a "team" and failure to communicate with the GM and the employees.

Of course no system is "fail-safe" and always can use some tweaking, but the corporate policies allow for those items to be addressed in a civilized and constructive manner. 6F manager(s) more than likely lack those skills and/or really don't believe in an open door policy. Mr. Holland may be a good manager or may lack in some skills in motivating his mid-level managers (or lack in skills in delegating authority), but that is just an observation. He IS to blame in most of the case(s) presented. If his "hands-are tied" then delegate or hire a manager willing to perform those tasks. **Which may be difficult within itself (the system), because Shapiro himself stated that they needed to aggressively seek out more "qualified" managers (especially mid-level).

Still, it is the GM's SOLE responsibility to ensure the overall operation of the park-period. I'm not trying to 'bash' him as a GM, but it is apparent that the management structure (as a whole) is a failed system. Part of the problem also (may be) that mid-managers don't give a s**@)# and do not inform the GM of any issues. So, in that case I would not blame Mr. Holland in whole, but blame the management as a system-wide problem (serious problem at that).

Nice photoshop job. Looks so real. You even left in the red eye. Good work!

The fastlane is a rip off at SFMM. When went in 2004, they only had fastlanes (q bots at the time) for aselect rides, where the line was moving, but they did not have one for X, whcih was stupid because it was a 3hr wait, when we get there. There was this guy standing right before you get on the ramp that was supposed to releive the wait, but only made it worse. While we were waiting the ride breaks down for 30 mins, starts operating for 10 mins, and breaks down for 2hr. I asked one of the ride ops whats wrong with the ride and he says "I don't know , why are you asking me?" While waiting in line we see Goliath breakdown 3/4 of the way up for about 45 mins. But when I FINALLY got my chance to ride X, it was so AWESOME, even thouht it sucked waiting for a reason that could have been prevented. But the weirdest thing was that the ride ops were handing out tickets at the entrance, and there was a guy taking the tickets up before you get on. If any of you have seen this before, do you know why they do this

^First of all SFMM never had Qbots, so don't quite know what you're talking about there.

Also, Fastlane is plenty good if you don't want to wait in lines for SELECTED rides. Right off the bat they tell you it's not good on X or Deja Vu.

As for the tickets. They are numbered in order to prevent line jumping. They work really well and I'm glad some of the parks use them.

I don't see this happening anytime soon, but BGE was exploring that option in using a "fast-pass" system. I think the idea is good for 6F (and even Disney), but I believe the experience at A-B parks would actually 'create' line jumping and so on.

I'm not really sold on the pricing structure in using a fast-pass system, but I can see it being useful in spending less time in lines for rides and getting the most out of the day in attending shows also.

^^^When I went, I was surprides that these systems were not already installed. When I went, there was not much of a wait, so it wasn't too bad. I was just rrying to imagine the lines during a Saturday in July

No one will be successful as the GM of SFMM unless LOTS of stuff outside of his or her control change. How are you supposed to lure top "talent" to the park when you offer salaries/benefits well below what all your local competitors are offering? How are you supposed to develop "talent" from within when your wages/benefits for your line employees are laughable? How are you supposed to expect improvement from you're already sh*tty middle management team when all employees have their pensions frozen (and rumor has it they lost some of their bonuses too)? You need these mid level managers just to keep the park operating at all (albeit horribly), so it's a lot easier said than done to improve things mid-peak season with what you are able to offer. I won't even get into how they can't afford to get rid of a lot of the bad line employees since there is no one to replace them...

Basically it's a failed system from the top (CEO of the company) all the way down to the bottom of the management chain with the leads.

Del Holland did what was asked of him from the people above him (old management). It *IS* the responsibility of the GM to oversee the operation of the park, but to his bosses "operation of the park" can have a totally different meaning. And by that, I mean keep the money rolling in. Which SFMM has done. The unfortunate result of that is the current state of SFMM. Will that change? I guess only time will tell. But I can't fault a guy for doing the job he was asked to do by his bosses, nor can I expect drastic changes overnight when there is so much to fix. That doesn't excuse how crappy things are by any means, but still...

However, Shapiro has been "talking the talk" thus far and getting the ball rolling for changing all of this. If he backs up his words with actions, then we should see change. If Shapiro gives Del Holland everything he needs to be successful, and nothing changes after a few seasons...then we have a real leadership problem. Until then, everyone is just kind of playing the hand they have been dealt.

They just need somebody to get in there and start slapping people around LMFAO

I really, really think that this should be brought up with the park.

If I had gone into a store like "Old Navy" and seen some workers on their cell phones I wouldnt care so much, but their JOB at an amusement park is to keep people safe. They are being payed to operate a ride and make sure that people are safe, and if they're good at their job, make people have a good time. I think the fact that a girl in the gift shop was sitting behind the register and that ride ops were talking on phones is absolutely inexcusable and those kids should not be working there if this is how serious they take a job like that. Those pictures should be forwarded to the park and those kids should be reprimanded both for hurting the park's wallet and their image.

^ Agreed, no ride op should ever be on a cell phone while working the ride, they need to be alert in case a safety issue comes up. This is what can cause accidents from negligent operators. There is no excuse.

-James Dillaman

100% Agreed. There's already a dedicated place for all employees of any job at any place of work around the world to place cell phone calls......it's called the break room. If I'm correct, Disney employees aren't even allowed to carry their phones with them on duty. Correct me if I'm wrong, mouse employees.

You'd think that parks would have some way to check their employees or strictly prohibit them from bringing cell phones into the park. Hell, make them pass through a metal detector before they start their shift and that will trip the detector if they have a cell phone on them (I think). I think some parks do make you do that anyway. There is absolutely no need for an employee to have a cell phone in the park.

Parks should offer a free re-visit to any park goer that photographs a employee using a cell phone during their shift. And them maybe a three strike rule for that employee to abide by.

^We have no other place to put a cell phone. The park wont let us bring in backpacks or anything, and not everyone has a car to put in in...after all, the majority of ride ops are under 18. Frankly, the cell phone rule is uninforcable and impractical for a park like SFMM. They need to be more real, not for us persay, but for themselves.

This is the thing. You act like its the employees fault for sitting down, using the cell phone, etc. Well sure, it is. But at the same time, would any other workplace allow that to fly? As far as I'm concerned, we're a victim of the management. Sure, we're told not to use the cell phones. But thats a hollow demand. It isn't enforced, as the enforcers are never around. And in my expirence, once the nightly saftey checklist is signed off (which can be as early as 5-6pm), your bound to not run into a supervisor for the rest of the night. In my honest opinion, I'm rather upset that the park is doing all of these teenager-workers a diservice by letting this fly, because they're going to get to their next job and reality is going to hit them in the face!

-Jahan

^Good point of view from an employees perspective, but I would be curious to see what the rule book states (if there actually is one..lol). Again, it all falls back on mid and upper management (including the GM).

It's not just MM, but all amusment/themeparks in general are really struggling to tap into the market to get employees (good or bad). Not only is it becoming increasingly difficult to hire for park positions, but quality-management positions as well. Times are really changing in the market (for themepark operators) and the figures are backin up that trend as well as written/posted reports across local media markets.

Many parks are agressively using "job fairs" to tap into the search for employees and some parks are even offering sign-on bonuses just to hire them. BGE is a good example of having a hard time to just tap the local market (as compared to when I worked there). Look how many "foreign" workers are there now.

^^ I'm surprised they don't work more on enforcing the rules. If rules aren't enforced, of course most employees aren't going to take them seriously. Even a few surprise employee checks throughout the night would help a lot since employees would be worried about getting caught doing something they're not supposed to be. Like talking on cell phones.