[swampfox43]

6 News (NBC) just did a brief clip about this new Carowinds policy. I can't believe this would be a TV news worthy topic, but there it is....

[TheFluffyGun]

OK Here is an Opinion from a Park Employee. I do agree that there are employees that hang out after work and are still in their uniform, and that it looks bad. I also agree that it looks bad when your shirt is untucked etc. and you are walking around the park. I personally try to keep a very professional image even when I am off the clock and trying to walk out of the park. I’m always asked questions about where something is etc. As far as the “New Rule” I think it’s a little tooo much. I can understand if I was to hang out at my ride and chat with my friends, or as soon as I get off walk around and ride rides in my uniform. It was already a rule that you can’t ride any rides while in uniform.
Now if you were to change clothes and play in the park without bothering any of your Co Workers. (Acting like a regular guest) I wouldn’t see where the problem would be. But one bad Apple can ruin it for the whole bunch. Currently right now I have Fridays off and those are some of the busier days. I mainly have wanted to go to the water Park for a day. Since on Fridays the water park can become packed I don’t see myself going at all for the rest of this season.
I do agree with what a lot of what everyone has said here in this post. As stated earlier in this post It was a rule that employees ARE NOT Allowed to play in the park while in uniform. I have noticed a good amount of employees this season wanting to “Test” the rules. My coworkers and myself would tell employees that they are not allowed to ride since they are uniform. Some would go so far as to take off the shirt and carry it around with them.
At the beginning of the season I sat in an orientation class and they stated that they have been very selective in who they hired this season. Does this say anything at all about that?????????????????????

I also have noticed some media coverage about this……Are they hurting for stories????????????????

[thewinds]

I would like to reply to this topic by referencing a post made back from December 8, 2003. (Note that Rob Rankin is no longer the GM.) It is my opinion that we are now seeing the effects of changes which were made during the off-season.

"The name of the new coaster is "the borg"
Now that that's over with...
How about addressing one of the worst days in park history which occurred a
couple of weeks ago. Approximately 22 full-time Carowinds employees were
laid off, in what the new general manager, Rob Rankin, calls a "focus on
front line employees." What was not said in the press release was that
much of the staff had 20 or more years dedicated to the park. There were
even a couple with 32 years in, now leaving the park with no members who
had been there since the park opened. These managers were
professionals. They knew how the park operated, and they knew what the
Carolinas wanted and needed in an amusement park. They also provided the
Carolinas with one of the safest records in the amusement park industry
-worldwide. Rob may be able to get away with this kind of action in Santa
Clara, where there are more students, and entertainment -seeking employees
who can easily step up to a seasonal management position, but here in the
east, he's got a much more difficult task ahead. Replacing these
professionals with seasonal management isn't fair to the full time members
working with them, the seasonal replacements themselves, nor the customers
in which they serve. Those positions were year round jobs, which include
medical and retirement benefits, and it's not fair to the seasonal
management to do the same job for less. Paramount Parks has made a poor
decision with this action. Those managers were fellow Carolinians, and
Paramount Parks has just demonstrated how important Carolinians are.
Jonathan, I apologize for the "tone" I may have placed in this email. I
enjoy your site very much. Your site is an example that Carowinds has
brought something enjoyable to your life as it has many. I just hate to
see such a poor decision by Paramount Parks affect something that so many
Carolinians have come to enjoy."

Management's struggle is now becoming apparent.

[RollerBee]

What a butthole, firing the older people. The collage kids have more of hyperness and are hard to deal with where the older staff is more polite and useful.

[Dukeis#1]

They must run things very differently over in California than the way people here in the Carolinas do. (Not that I don't approve of this new rule, but I stand by my opinion that the 20 senior employees didn't need to loose their jobs either.)

Seems like they would have just promoted somebody that was already familiar with the park and worked at it to GM instead of bringing in someone new. Carowinds is very different from Great America, but evidently this hasn't occurred to the GM.

Oh well. It's the way corporations work.
:rolleyes:

[swampfox43]

Management's struggle is now becoming apparent.

So, is this just the tip of the iceberg? Is there a way to stop this man before it's too late? I too have heard some appalling stories about the parks GM and his "style" of management. I have a feeling the worst is yet to come.......

Hang on! The road ahead may be a bumpy one........

[RollerBee]

What about petitioning Paramount Parks to replace him, or boycotting Carowinds, in US history thoose two methods are effective however this is a different problem has we do not want Carowinds to close but change GMs. I bet I am going to get laughed and fussed at for posting this.

[Dukeis#1]

^Why not? We all know the Coaster Preservation Club's Carowinds boycot certainly saved the Carolina Sternwheeler. lol. :rolleyes:

Not being an ***, but that post has "flame me" written all over it.

[Jonathan]

Please, let's not bring up that staff lay-off topic again... I'm not going to stop it from happening, but it got pretty nasty last time and I really see no need to re-kindle burnt fires.

[RollerBee]

^Why not? We all know the Coaster Preservation Club's Carowinds boycot certainly saved the Carolina Sternwheeler. lol. :rolleyes:

Not being an ***, but that post has "flame me" written all over it.

Will ya'll stop with that, no one ever boycotted Carowinds over the Sternwheeler. It was simply a suggestion that was asked for.