"I don't know"

[DizMe]

Do you mind if I ask if this response was from the same CM or from different CMs? Were the questions of all different types or were you trying to find out something specific that no one seemed to know? I'm only asking out of curiosity and won't be offended if you prefer not to answer. The tone of the response can also do a lot, whether positive or negative. An irritated or indifferent "I don't know" with shoulder shrug is a little offensive, whereas an apologetic "I don't know! I'm sorry!" wouldn't be bad.

 

[PineapplePrincessCA]

There were three times I asked questions this week and was told "I don't know". One time I asked a CM when the last monorail ran. It was right by the ride and I didn't feel like hiking up the ramp to ask at the monorail, so I asked the CM at the ride below. I believe it was somebody working at the Nemo ride, but I'm not positive. Their response was "I don't know" and that was the end of the conversation. The other time was the day was the the turnstile. I asked the CM who scanned our passes when they expired. Their response was "I don't know" and that was the end of the conversation. Honestly, I forgot what the third question was. I'll post if it comes to me! LOL Yeah, I was just curious. Not a big deal, but was just surprised because I thought they were going against the "Disney policy".

 

[PineapplePrincessCA]

As long as they are friendly and pass me on to where I can find the information I think that is more than enough.

I totally agree. Didn't get any of that, though.

 

[tarheelalum]

I totally agree. Didn't get any of that, though.

When you consider the cost of living in southern California, DL employees are very low paid and it's surprising they act as nice as they do.

 

[DizMe]

There were three times I asked questions this week and was told "I don't know". One time I asked a CM when the last monorail ran. It was right by the ride and I didn't feel like hiking up the ramp to ask at the monorail, so I asked the CM at the ride below. I believe it was somebody working at the Nemo ride, but I'm not positive. Their response was "I don't know" and that was the end of the conversation. The other time was the day was the the turnstile. I asked the CM who scanned our passes when they expired. Their response was "I don't know" and that was the end of the conversation. Honestly, I forgot what the third question was. I'll post if it comes to me! LOL Yeah, I was just curious. Not a big deal, but was just surprised because I thought they were going against the "Disney policy".

That sounds rude to me. All it takes is an "I'm sorry; I don't know. I don't work that ride. You might try asking that person over there" or something to soften it a bit. I don't have a problem with them not knowing, but I wouldn't like being blown off about it. With the passes, they could explain that they can't see that information but you could check at X location. It doesn't take any more to say something nice than to say something rude so I don't think their pay should have any bearing on how nicely they respond.

 

[az4boys]

I have no problem at all when someone tells me they don't know an answer. I'd rather that than have them mislead me. (That is sooo frustrating.) But at Disneyland, it seems like they would at least tell you where to go or who to talk to to get the information you need. Hopefully it was just an off day and didn't impact you in a bad way.

 

[SMD]

There are also certain questions that no CM is going to answer. Saying they'll find out or directing a guest to another CM is not going to yield the answer. Maybe some CMs feel it is better customer service to say "I don't know" instead of "I can't answer that." The guests might not all perceive it that way, but I imagine it's hard to anticipate the expectations of hundred or thousands of people per day.

 

[DizMe]

There are also certain questions that no CM is going to answer. Saying they'll find out or directing a guest to another CM is not going to yield the answer. Maybe some CMs feel it is better customer service to say "I don't know" instead of "I can't answer that." The guests might not all perceive it that way, but I imagine it's hard to anticipate the expectations of hundred or thousands of people per day.

True. There would be legitimate times when a question would not be given an answer, though it still seems like it would be more polite to just say so, as in "I'm sorry, but I'm not allowed to answer that." The questions the OP mentioned, however, didn't fall into that category so it seems more likely the CMs were busy/tired/whatever and just didn't take the time to tell OP how to find out. "What time does the monorail close?" and "When do these passes expire?" don't seem like inside information a CM would be told not to discuss.

 

[White Rose]

I have worked in a Customer Service Leadership position for over 17 years, 10 years for a company that has been called 'the Disney of banking' - not kidding. (As a Customer Service SME, Senior Quality Analyst. Employee engagement specialist, morale officer and general goody-two-shoes.)

Anyway, We had a policy in place to avoid 'just answering' "I don't know." If the employee was asked a question where there was no instant answer available, they were supposed to provide additional options to get the answer. So, "I don't know, but let me find out!" is fine, but just "I don't know." is considered bad customer service. Like saying "I don't know, I'm new" is not acceptable either...

"So, because you are new, I don't get an answer! Oh okay.."
"You don't know.. well then I guess my question was just not important enough for you to direct me to someone who does know!"

I would assume similar policies are in place in most customer service cultures. There should never be a reason, at Disney, where someone could not direct you to someone else who does know the answer. In places that are not customer service driven, it happens all the time. Employees are left alone without help or without a way to resolve an issue.

"You know Sir, that is a great question, but unfortunately I do not know the answer, but I think my manager should know where to direct you." Or another option.... "I bet Guest Relations has an answer for you. Do you mind waiting a moment while I get you additional help?"

Just hearing "I don't know." would annoy me....but I'm picky and mildly sensitive to it because of my background.

 

[SMD]

True. There would be legitimate times when a question would not be given an answer, though it still seems like it would be more polite to just say so, as in "I'm sorry, but I'm not allowed to answer that." The questions the OP mentioned, however, didn't fall into that category so it seems more likely the CMs were busy/tired/whatever and just didn't take the time to tell OP how to find out. "What time does the monorail close?" and "When do these passes expire?" don't seem like inside information a CM would be told not to discuss.

I've worked at studios, so having dealt with the overzealous fans before, I would never imply that I knew something I wasn't allowed to discuss. It just invited further conversation, and to be honest, harassment from a guest who then thinks I'm withholding something from them. I would probably say, "I'm sorry, I wouldn't know."

When I was younger, being a CM was common job for college friends or a second job for co-workers. Many, many times I've heard stories from friends where over enthusiastic guests would challenge the CM's on what they thought should be protocol. Like telling a ride operator that there was trash in the queue and then getting bent out of shape when the CM didn't pick it up. There shouldn't be trash, so they reported it. Then they'd have some level of indignant response ranging from mild to major, not really stopping to think that the CM can't leave their assigned position to pick up some trash. There are custodial CMs for that. What I've read of this thread strikes me the same way. A CM, alone, near a ride, possible working on another ride (in an assigned position) or maybe working alone at a cart was asked what time something closes. The answer didn't meet with what the guest read on the internet as "Disney policy." So what? A CM scanning in hundreds of people per hour (something people on this board complain about takes too long daily" didn't have access to personal information about when a guest's AP expires (something the guest can easily look up online or in the app) and responded with an honest answer instead of stopping the line to formulate a personal response. What was the expectation here?

 

[Indiana Scott]

I've worked at studios, so having dealt with the overzealous fans before, I would never imply that I knew something I wasn't allowed to discuss. It just invited further conversation, and to be honest, harassment from a guest who then thinks I'm withholding something from them. I would probably say, "I'm sorry, I wouldn't know."

When I was younger, being a CM was common job for college friends or a second job for co-workers. Many, many times I've heard stories from friends where over enthusiastic guests would challenge the CM's on what they thought should be protocol. Like telling a ride operator that there was trash in the queue and then getting bent out of shape when the CM didn't pick it up. There shouldn't be trash, so they reported it. Then they'd have some level of indignant response ranging from mild to major, not really stopping to think that the CM can't leave their assigned position to pick up some trash. There are custodial CMs for that. What I've read of this thread strikes me the same way. A CM, alone, near a ride, possible working on another ride (in an assigned position) or maybe working alone at a cart was asked what time something closes. The answer didn't meet with what the guest read on the internet as "Disney policy." So what? A CM scanning in hundreds of people per hour (something people on this board complain about takes too long daily" didn't have access to personal information about when a guest's AP expires (something the guest can easily look up online or in the app) and responded with an honest answer instead of stopping the line to formulate a personal response. What was the expectation here?

I'm not saying the OP was doing this in this case but it seems like some guests perceive CM's as part of the entertainment and "test" them for amusement.
People that work retail are all too familiar with customers that come in just to abuse someone and see how much they can make a person squirm.

 

[DizMe]

Oh, ok. I get what you're saying and I see what you mean.

 

[calilou]

I'm surprised no one has mentioned this yet - Disney has a whole arm of their organization called The Disney Institute that offers training for other companies in customer service and organizational policy based on their business model. The company I used to work for adopted it. This makes Disney's customer services practices widely known and available to follow.

You are correct OP, CMs are trained to never use the phrase, "I don't know." They are directed to help the customer find the answer to their question or at the very least empathize with them. Properly trained CMs should always use phrases such as, "My pleasure to assist you" among others. Having gone through the Disney Institute training about 16 years ago, working for a company that enthusiastically adopted all of it and being a Disneyland regular, I've seen the customer service model in full swing, and I've also seen it go through periods of time when it's not properly implemented with CMs. We were in the parks this week too, and I was disappointed time and time again by lackluster customer service and unenthusiastic CMs. Disappointing. Obviously there's an ebb and flow to strong management.

Like any company, employee training and policies are internal. Disney's been around a long time and has high turnover, so many people have shared things. But also keep in mind that there usually isn't any central training. Most people have a trainer and/or are trained for a few positions. As a customer you are not entitled to know Disney's internal rules for their employees, nor is any answer you read on the internet going to apply to every front line position and should not be considered reliable.

I disagree. Disney does not keep their training practices internal but has created a whole business component compromised of how to create the Disney "magic" and customer service in your own company. I do admit that consistently training the extremely large numbers of employees they have in a consistent manner is quite challenging. Overall they do pretty good IMO. However I do feel they're going through a current down time in the overall quality of their customer service - maybe because of increased crowds and more turnover? Who knows.

When you consider the cost of living in southern California, DL employees are very low paid and it's surprising they act as nice as they do.

I don't care how much someone is getting paid and what the cost of living is, you can still perform your job with a smile and great customer service.

 

[tarheelalum]

I don't care how much someone is getting paid and what the cost of living is, you can still perform your job with a smile and great customer service.

You cannot expect Four Seasons service at McDonald's wages. You get what you pay for in life.

 

[Rubygoose]

You are correct OP, CMs are trained to never use the phrase, "I don't know." They are directed to help the customer find the answer to their question or at the very least empathize with them. Properly trained CMs should always use phrases such as, "My pleasure to assist you" among others. Having gone through the Disney Institute training about 16 years ago, working for a company that enthusiastically adopted all of it and being a Disneyland regular, I've seen the customer service model in full swing, and I've also seen it go through periods of time when it's not properly implemented with CMs. We were in the parks this week too, and I was disappointed time and time again by lackluster customer service and unenthusiastic CMs. Disappointing. Obviously there's an ebb and flow to strong management.

I had a situation where I would have just preferred the CM to say "I don't know" or get someone else to help me. I was at the WOD store in DTD and I was looking for Mad Hatter Tea, which I have bought there before, so I knew which area it would be in, but I couldn't find it. I asked a CM that was walking by - I think she was on her way to a back room. I asked her where I could find that Alice in Wonderland tea. She said "Tee shirt?" and I replied "No, tea... the hot drink." She looked at me with a confused look and then said "We don't have that here. Maybe check in California Adventure where they have the Mad Tea Party." Turns out the loose leaf tea I was looking for was 2 shelves over from where I was standing.

 

[beachdreamr1229]

I have worked at 2 of the competing parks. While it's polite and policy to go beyond (ie not just saying I don't know), there are times where it's hard to find the answer. Obviously OP's questions should have had a better response (check with the monorail operators, guest services can help, etc), but sometimes, especially if it's hot or busy, you're going to feel overwhelmed and take the easy way out. On the 24 hour day, I observed someone being bounced back and forth from area to area of the parade route because everyone was deferring the question to someone else. The lady got really annoyed. In those situations, I think an I don't know with and apology would have been better than continually redirecting her to others who were equally clueless.