[Jonathan]

<a href='http://www.charlotte.com/mld/charlotte/business/9195018.htm?1c' target='_blank'>http://www.charlotte.com/mld/charlotte/bus.../9195018.htm?1c</a>

I'm curious to hear what some of the members think about this, especially some of the employees who post here, if they feel comfortable posting about it that is.

[CMT]

This is a good article. Personally, I'm happy to see that Carowinds is beefing up the "professional" image for business. Many times I have seen this problem, usuallyin the late afternoon in the park. I have seen many employees with their blue or white shirts (usually always un-tucked and name tags still on) with thier khaki shorts that ride so low the half moon always tends to show. Yes, it is a shame to the employees who do change clothes after work and avoid bothering fellow wokers on the clock. But for the past few season, this problem has only gotten worse. Perhaps Carowinds should be more selective with their hiring ( not that I'm asking for this miricle) but it was the kids choice to WORK there, not play in the park for free. All doesn't seem to be lost for the kids. Atleast they can still visit the park on their days off if they wish to play that much. However, they should still avoid "talking" with their fellow co-workers on duty. For the time being, atleast for the rest of the season, Carowinds should stick to this policy then review it in the off-season. All in all this really isn't much a "ban" but just an attempt to show a professional image to the almost $50-a-ticket guest.

[AMartin777]

From the newspaper article (Unknown employee)- "They should have picked out who was abusing the privileges and fired them instead of punishing the whole," he said.

Exactly! This is a classic case of punishing the whole for the sake of a few. I agree that off-duty employees should not be hanging around distracting on-duty employees but to enact such a blanket policy on its employees is unprofessional. A requirement to change clothes is reasonable ie. the Disney policy however.

- Jammin, you've gone and done it again with that yeller shirt!

[swampfox43]

Sounds like a case where a few bad apples spoil the whole bunch. A situation we see way too much in this society today unfortunately.

It also appears the real problem is the fact that the off-duty employees are still in uniform while doing their socializing. They should have tried implimenting a softer policy first such as having employees who linger in the park after shifts end to change out of their uniform.

But, I'm curious exactly what "compromising the guest experience" means? I have my ideas, but hey, that is a serious implication to throw at a bunch of employees. Something serious must have recently happened for this to come down.

[CarowindsThrills]

The ban all policy seems reasonable to me. It helps prevent any new problems relating to this from happening again. I wish I could get input from my friend who works at the park. I have not noticed this problem occurring at any of the rides, shops, food stalls, etc. The Observer shouldn't compare Carowinds to other well known parks such as Disney and Busch parks. They would have no problems there because they are always busy because of the amount of people visiting. I really think the park needs to be more selective on who they choose. Hiring nice working people never hurt.

[Trev32]

I have a question about this, can employee's visit if they aren't supposed to be workng that day??

[montumax]

I can see where the park is coming from. It was a couple years ago that I had an incident with an off duty employee on one of the rides. His whole attitude was "I work here. I can do what I want." (He was with a group of other off duty employees.) He still had his uniform on, etc. It really left a bad taste in my mouth. He did get reported. The superviser of the ride just basically laughed and commented "Don't pay them any attention." I realize all employees aren't like this but you know what they say about one bad apple.....

I don't know about the rest of you...but when I get off work, I'm ready to get out of there and go home.

[montumax]

I have a question about this, can employee's visit if they aren't supposed to be workng that day??

Trev..the article states that they can visit on their days off for free.

[Jonathan]

To quote directly from the article:

He noted that employees are welcome to visit the park on their days off for free

I've got very mixed feelings on this. It seems like the park is responding to comments about employees, and perhaps they were impressed by employees at another park. That I am extremely happy with, however, I'm not so sure they've done the right thing here, but then again I don't know what went down to cause this. It seems like the employees who could care less about the park are not going to be affected by this, but the ones who love amusement parks and Carowinds are going to be hurt severely by it. I know that I personally would probably reconsider working there (if I had other options). What employee wants to get in their car and drive back to work on their off-day? Then again, someone who really likes the park could easily purchase a season pass and not have to worry about this issue.

[carowindsfreak13]

The article sounds reasonable. It will stop the off duty workers from distracting on duty workers. Sounds okay to me.

[coasterdude89]

I cant wait for my summer going into my senoior year. I'll be 16, and will actually have a chance to work at Carowinds. I agree with the rule some. I don't think that they should do this to every employee. They should make you change clothes to visit the park when your off. And they should have some kind of system where if you keep getting "reported" on your off hours for doing something in the park, then your privilege should be taken away untill you clean your act up. But, lets just say that you are a good employee (like the ones at Dollywood) then you shouldn't get your privleges taken away just because of one bad apple. I hate it at school when the teachers/ administrators do this. Like my high school used to have dances back in the day. But, then some bad apples started doing some stuff under the bleachers (u know what it is) And they stopped the dances. We tried to get them to come back, but they said that we couldn't get them back becuase of what some people did years ago under the bleachers. Welp, I made my point that this is an unfair rule that needs to be re-done.

[AMartin777]

The bottom line for me is this:

If it is stated specifically to a hired employee what their conduct is suppose to be during off-duty hours and that individual employee does not conform to those requirements then that individual employee should be held responsible for their actions. Ie. Warnings, loss of privledges, firing etc. I think most would agree that off-duty should not be distracting on-duty employees. The problem is the management has taken a somewhat lazy approach on how to deal with these employees by creating a blanket policy. WRONG ANSWER! The supervisors/team leads should be responsible for monitoring the actions of the employees in their charge for such behavior and taking appropriate action. Not just, "Oh well, we just won't have anybody here after they finish work. They'll just have to leave." Which is my interpretation of the situation.

[swampfox43]

The supervisors/team leads should be responsible for monitoring the actions of the employees in their charge for such behavior and taking appropriate action.

I was wondering the same thing. Don't the rides have a supervisor or leader on duty at all times? If so, they are the ones that should be held responsible.

[Dukeis#1]

I give Kudos to Carowinds for actually giving a damn this time. I think this could help improve the atmosphere of the park greatly.

However, a bad side of this new policy is that it may take away possible employees for the 2005 season. I'm sure many people would wrather work in an air-conditioned mall than outside in 90-degree weather, and banning them off the property after their shift is over won't help much.

BTW: I'm sure it would be difficult to actually pin-point the specific employees that are causing the problem.

[The Anomaly]

Well the rules have gotten more strict this season. Every week or so it seems there is a new rule. It's to the point where males cannot have hair that passes their collar. Tucking the excess under the cap is no longer acceptable. Security won't let employees inside the park with facial hair, mustaches are the exception. Wardrobe has to be proper before entering the park. These people mean business this year. Just the other day I was talking with someone about all of these new policies, and we both agreed how it seems that these rules will run employees off or make new hires not want to work there. None of the policy changes really discourage me though.

Edit: I just noticed that this is really BIG news. This same topic is posted on another coaster website. Most of the replies are against the new policy.