SFGAm rant

[EagleFan344]

So all I hear on this board is how SFGAms operations are so great and so much better than SFMM, SFGAdv etc.

When I went to the park today:
Bull had only 2 trains on all day and was stacking all day
Deja Vu was closed.
American Eagle had only one side operating.
Giant Drop was only using 3 cars or so, which is what, half capacity? Kept the line long all day.

So how are SFGAms operations so much better?

[LAFFfan4lyfe]

I've only been to the park on weekends so far, and I think the more staffing during the weekends helps it. I think all the four times I've gone so far this year, bull has had three trains going, maybe not all loading, but no stacking from what I remember. I know two of the weekends had two sides of AE running. Vu is closed, has been all year, but I hear it's being worked on or something along those lines.

What I'm saying is weekend staffing probably helps.

[themanoftheland8]

I was also at the park today (No way, right???). I'm hoping that in the next week or two things will improve, seeing as most high schools are just starting to get out. But, yes, I was also disappointed with the operations today.

Oh well, as you constantly said today, ya just gotta remember it's Six Flags.
(Oh, and by the way, we never did find X)

[CoasterDave316]

That doesn't sound that bad at all.

Ive been to Cedar Point when:
-Wicked Twister was closed.
-Millennium Force had extremely slow load times.
-Gemini only ran 1 side.
-Only 2 of the 3 sides of Power Tower were open.

Did I think that was bad, no not at all.

I had a Great time at SFMM even though:
-Deja Vu was closed
-Flashback Closed (of course)
-Batman 1 train
-X 1 train (3 hour wait)
-Ninja 1 train
-Psyclone 1 train
-Riddlers 2 trains and stacking
-Sky Tower Closed
-Few other flats closed and dis-mantled
-1 side of STE closed.

Also had a decent time at SFGAdv. even though:
-Kingda Ka 2 trains
-El Toro 1 train
-Medusa 2 trains...stacking, very slow loading!
-Both Sides of Chiller closed.
-1 side of Rolling Thunder Closed
-Space Shuttle Closed
-Sky Ride closed
-SUF and GASM closed half the day.
-The Ride Op had me help operate the Ferris Wheel
-Had fun looking at all the concrete where rides used to be.

So after recapping that, your day doesn't sound that bad.

[Cryptkeeper]

Ahh, SFMM, SFGAdv, SFGAm...

three parks that all have one thing in common - they're all Six Flags parks! What do, most likely, all three of these parks, and many other parks, suffer from early and the late in the season? Poor staffing. This problem has plagued SFGAm for years, and most likely the other parks as well. The one thing that sounded great about this year was that Shapiro promised much better staffing and park operations. I think he has delivered on some of his promises (many more characters, friendly employees, more advertisers), but on this promise, I don't think Shapiro has delivered. Is it a bit better than in previous years? Most likely. But IMHO, it's still a failing grade.

[Danhockey04]

Well, Bull running two is probably since some kids still have school and don't have the operators to run three, but once they have the capabilities, they will be running all the rides at maximum capacity everyday. Also, the Bull crew so far hasn't been too fast at all this year.

[Mr.SIX]

Well I was there today too and wow I have never ridden so little rides during this beginning of the season and it was probably the hottest day too add to that I know for a fact that bull broke down today because a retard in the loading dock got his shirt caught in the track but on the plus side I got on Daredevil Dive. So eaglefan344 come back on a Saturday it will be a lot easier and buy a fastlane a op said they weren't going to sell them until three and they would be half off but i guess that wasn't the case.

[BP317]

Raging Bull could be running 2 trains, stacking for 10 minutes each train, and get blown up by a nuclear bomb: and the line would still move a lot faster than Nitro with 3 trains.

[guitarhero119]

I too was a little disapointed, but high school kids in the area arent out yey. I know i graduate this weekend and so do about 5 other high schools. The reason so much was shut down is that they didnt have the high school workers. They had as much runing as they possibly could yesterday. Maybe if you noticed, the had three on station at Batman, and only two on station at whizzer; both bare minimums. When they did get more workers the tried to move things along better, and I'd say they did a good job. Seriously for what they had the did great, The longest line i waited in yesterday was 20 minutes for ragin cajun. Overall I cant really complain. The one thing that did bother me is that king chaos and orbit were not open at all.

[DejaVuGurl1203]

Raging Bull could be running 2 trains, stacking for 10 minutes each train, and get blown up by a nuclear bomb: and the line would still move a lot faster than Nitro with 3 trains.

Deja Vu was closed.
American Eagle had only one side operating.
Giant Drop was only using 3 cars or so, which is what, half capacity? Kept the line long all day.

Meh all those are open running full capacity today.

So, you're saying Vu is gonna be open too? I want to go on Tuesday after school, but only if Vu is gonna be open which probably won't happen considering it's a weekday...

[Cryptkeeper]

I think it's time for people to stop making excuses for the park when it comes to staffing. Most people say, whenever the topic is brought up, that "school is still in session," hence, you see poor staffing. However, where is it written in stone that only students can work at a Six Flags? I think it's far beyond time for parks to think outside the box. International employees can help fix staffing issues at a park, but what if you don't have enough of them? How about, gasp, hiring adults, or even senior citizens, to help staff the park? Before you laugh, take a visit to Adventureland in Iowa, a park that, every time I've been there, has many rides run by senior citizens, and is run pretty damn well. If you can hire a few seniors, they could be placed on a few of the flat rides or games, something a bit slower paced. Or, I'm sure there are still quite a few adults who need a job who might work at a park at least for awhile. I mean, consider that Chicago alone has about 3 million residents...with that many people there, the suburbs, in Wisconsin... with that many people to draw from, staffing shouldn't be as much of an issue as it usually is.

Also, for those who say, "just visit on a Saturday" is silly. It's not like everyone can go to the park on a Saturday or Sunday. Some people work, have other things going on in their life, want to go with other people who can only go on certain days, etc.

People who go during the week pay the same prices to park, eat, drink, up-charge attractions, etc., but don't get the full experience that weekend visitors most often do because of staffing issues (that is, early and late in the season). So, hopefully, to fix this inequality, I hope that Great America, and any other park that has staffing issues, considers my staffing solution that I listed above. (yeah, I can dream )

[T.K.]

Ok It's time to press E- STOP First of all, i'm very sorry for those who had a bad experiance at Six Flags that day. It is not about lacking of ride ops. AE one side open and RB 2 trains yes, that's b/c of staffing. DejaVu....... I know how it was last year. Vu would have been open before the day it actually did. We had enough people to run Vu but other rides needed staffing, so SFGAm didn't care if Vu would have open or not, people think it's always down anyway, so they just borrow people. When they will have enough people on other rides, then Vu would will be open. Now about stacking the trains. RB two trains and stacking, come on guys you suck. they had enough people to run two trains. It's the crew that was bad that day. I think Six Flags should talk to crews and tell them, "we are paying you to NOT stack the trains, that all u have to do, move fast enough not to stack the trains". I had never hear that froma sup. so team members think stacking the trains is OK. And when other employee wants to move faster, then the others are like "we don't get paid for that", cause they don't care. SFGAm leads and supervisors should talk to crews NOW about moving fast, and that 7$ an hour includes moving fast not stacking the trains. if they won't tell them that now, then it's gonna be too late.

[EagleFan344]

I think it's time for people to stop making excuses for the park when it comes to staffing. Most people say, whenever the topic is brought up, that "school is still in session," hence, you see poor staffing. However, where is it written in stone that only students can work at a Six Flags? I think it's far beyond time for parks to think outside the box. International employees can help fix staffing issues at a park, but what if you don't have enough of them? How about, gasp, hiring adults, or even senior citizens, to help staff the park? Before you laugh, take a visit to Adventureland in Iowa, a park that, every time I've been there, has many rides run by senior citizens, and is run pretty damn well. If you can hire a few seniors, they could be placed on a few of the flat rides or games, something a bit slower paced. Or, I'm sure there are still quite a few adults who need a job who might work at a park at least for awhile. I mean, consider that Chicago alone has about 3 million residents...with that many people there, the suburbs, in Wisconsin... with that many people to draw from, staffing shouldn't be as much of an issue as it usually is.

Also, for those who say, "just visit on a Saturday" is silly. It's not like everyone can go to the park on a Saturday or Sunday. Some people work, have other things going on in their life, want to go with other people who can only go on certain days, etc.

People who go during the week pay the same prices to park, eat, drink, up-charge attractions, etc., but don't get the full experience that weekend visitors most often do because of staffing issues (that is, early and late in the season). So, hopefully, to fix this inequality, I hope that Great America, and any other park that has staffing issues, considers my staffing solution that I listed above. (yeah, I can dream )

Great post, said everything I was gonna say.

[zjohn1988]

Finally....a rant worth arguing about.

All I see is people 15-26 working in the park (overall). Like mentioned, there are not enough people to staff everything and SF needs to show support to all ages who may be looking for a job. But many people don't come back after a season ends. There is poor management in many areas and most employees don't get respected as they should. SFGAm is just like most high schools..nobody in different sections likes to talk to each other. Rides hates games, rides hates JPM, attractions hates rides, foods hates games, everyone hates custodial..everyone is there for the same reason, to keep people happy. But to do that management has to allow it..there are many things i did for guests which made them happy. According to policy i was wrong for doing it and I would get yelled at most of the time. But the guests were happy so i didnt care (which eventually got me fired with some other crap). People demand service and employees need to fulfill their needs and wants no matter what. Training needs to be better too. Many trainers will eventually give the answers to tests to trainees. Many people still fail those tests. Also, backstage areas are run down..why would any employee want to come back for another season when they cant even get a decent spot out of the heat during their breaks? Rides should be testing earlier. March isnt early enough for some rides, such as deja vu. Weather does play a part but there is work that can be done. Six Flags needs to get their act together. They dont realize how bad theyre doing. The only reason our park gets decent numbers is because there is no theme park competition at the same level. Corperate needs to focus more on the parks and make more than one visit per year. Management needs to think more about the happiness of employees. Each park needs its own marketing strategy, not to draw crowds but future employees. Supervisors need to realize first years may want a career in the amusement industry but by the end of the season, they want nothing to do with it. Employees standards are to strict, many people get fired each day even for things that they possibly didnt do. Six Flags is a failed business and it is holding on by threads. More people are realizing the problems with six flags and eventually numbers will drop even more than they are today.

[coastercrazy111]

RB two trains and stacking, come on guys you suck. they had enough people to run two trains. It's the crew that was bad that day. I think Six Flags should talk to crews and tell them, "we are paying you to NOT stack the trains, that all u have to do, move fast enough not to stack the trains". I had never hear that froma sup.

Actually the last time I was at the park when RB had 3 trains running, they were stacking due to an issue. A sup. walked up to the station and was checking on things and I overheard her saying to one of the op's "you guys need to work a little harder at not stacking the trains. Also, take off your necklace please." So they know not to, whether or not they follow the rule I don't know.

[zjohn1988]

it's hard not to stack any ride with 3 trains. Demon is almost impossible and Bull gets harder every time you don't stack and if you manage not to stack bull with 3 trains 6 times in a row, it will set-up.

[T.K.]

zjohn let's face it...... how many employees care? Out of RB crew last year? not too much, if 2 move fast and 2 move slow, then LOL sorry.

[zjohn1988]

exactly, why care when pay is crap and you get treated like garbage?

[T.K.]

I think for what we do we get paid good, it would be nice to get paid more.

[Mr.SIX]

I totally agree with what all the workers have to put up with and not having a decent pay that's just awful to the workers and to the six flags company because then the current workers won't recommend working there to their friends and then six flags will get less employees and all that adds up to this problem.

[T.K.]

Just so others know in my last post that I edited, I put that employee have to work hard in hot weather, and six flags doesn't want to EVEN install fans

[diggerg56]

Next time you notice trains stacking take a hard look at what the cause is. Many times it's not the employees, it's the people getting on/off causing problems.

They try to take items on they shouldn't.

People with kids that are marginal as far as the height requirement don't bother to get measured and get a height wristband.

They don't exit the station and hold things up.

They insist on taking pictures of each other and holding things up.

Just a few examples of how the public slows things down as well.

[BMRider]

I find it funny that the ex employees come on this website to complain about everything.

First- Not many adults apply for the rides department.
Second- International workers do work at the park. It isn't our fault the US government limits the time they can come over here on a work visa

It Is really hard to respect employees who try to please guest by causing downtimes John. You must have really liked the job after they fired you the first year to ask for it back again. And TK, how do you know what six flags does and doesn't want to do?

The people I worked with loved it and came back another year. It really seems like the ones who hate the management are the ones who get in trouble.

Cedar Point employees are the same way. They are there to get their bonus then they are gone. Alot of them aren't happy being forced to work 60 hour work weeks with no overtime.

Every place is short staffed one in a while. Every employer has their peak season for employees. Take Jewel. There are days when you will wait in long line to purchase something. They don't have enough employees. Same for Six Flags, when the employees are still in school they do the best they can. If you don't like it go work at the park, but some of you can't seeing that you caused yourself to get fired. Until you can sit down and talk with management and see what was done to prevent this and what they are doing to open more rides don't rant.

[T.K.]

I'm not an EX employee, and based on my experiance I know how managers at SF are. And i'm not complaining, i'm just saying what would be nice to add, to help employees coma back next year. I love the park, and will always stand up for it.

[sfgam1992]

I really hate when people get on a ride then chicken out. Why get on in the first place? They get on then they ask to get off and the ops have to unlock the seats and wait for them to leave the station.

Also I can't wait to apply for a job there next year in the rides department. I love the park and I think it will be great working there.