Best Encounter At Knotts EVER

[Freak]

Okay, so over at Xcelerator, we have two lines. One for car 1, and another line for cars 2, 3, 4, and 5. For some reason, our pink sign that said "LINE FOR FRONT CAR FORMS HERE" failed to inform guests enough. We then made two very large yellow roadsigns that also informed guests that they would be entering the front car line. My encounter went a little like this:

Guest: "Sir, why is this line moving so slowly?"
Me: "Well ma'am, youre in the front car line."
Guest: "Oh. Well can I switch lines? I dont want to wait for the front car."
Me: "Sorry ma'am, once you enter this line, youre in it for good."
Guest: "Well thats not fair at all, I saw no signs telling me that I was getting in line for the front car."
Me: "So you didnt see any yellow signs or a pink one saying youd be in the front car line?"
Guest: "No."
Me: "I see, let me see what I can do."

Im pretty sure if I wouldnt have turned around then, I wouldve ended up laughing in the guests face. I had to run back to my load position so I could laugh without being noticed by the guest. I was almost in tears. How do you miss three very brightly colored signs like that!?!? The world will never cease to amaze me.

[ThunderCat]

How do you miss three very brightly colored signs like that!?!? The world will never cease to amaze me.

True story.

Years ago, I worked for a large upscale hardlines retailer. At the front of the store, we had a set of glass Emergency Doors.

In front of the doors was a three foot tall sign on a pedestal reading "THIS EXIT IS FOR EMERGENCY USE ONLY. DO NOT ATTEMPT TO OPEN EXCEPT DURING AN EMERGENCY. IF OPENED, AN ALARM WILL SOUND."

Printed on the doors themselves were the words "EMERGENCY EXIT ONLY. IF OPENED, ALARM WILL SOUND."

To open the doors, you had to push on a black and yellow striped bar emblazoned with the words "TO OPEN DOORS, PUSH HERE. AN ALARM WILL SOUND."

At least once a month, we would have a customer exit through the doors, then look around with a shocked expression when the alarm went off.

[Freak]

^ Oh its the same at Xcel. People do indeed think that "Fire Exit" or "Emergency Exit" really means "Exit Here If You Dont Feel Like Waiting In Line" or something. :rolleyes:

[Disgruntled Ride Operator]

My best moment: Receiving a $2 tip from a guest for retrieving a dropped item on the ride. I spent it on some crappy, greasy food over at Lakeside (the employees' eating area at Knott's).

[felinefan]

And I bet that's the last time you'll do that again! BTW, have you read the horrific health inspections over on the KBFDrama.com site? Next time you're given a tip, spend it on something that won't send you to the E.R. or the bathroom in a hurry.

[mechurchlady]

Wow and I thought the Disney people here had it bad. That site sure has some disgruntled employees and for good reasons.

[Disgruntled Ride Operator]

These are some of my musings.

I've taken a look at KBFdrama.com, but as much as I find Knott's Berry Farm despicable, I find that this web site stupidguesttricks.com is fairly civil in comparison.

Some rides I've worked on were Hammerhead (before the management klutzes finally razed that heap of junk in 2004), the Wheeler Dealer Bumper Cars (teenage and parental hell and short of me assuming the role as quasi-babysitter), Wipeout (it's quite miserable facing the westward afternoon sun), and Sky Cabin (pleasant but boring ride to operate, but at least it has air conditioning).

Some shift leaders I had were undoubtedly jerks (those looking to giving out "tracks" or to talk down to employees for no reason whatsoever) and attention-seekers, others I got along with just fine. Guest-wise, the park attracts a low-class customer base for whom possibly couldn't afford to go to Disneyland nor want to either, and KBF ends up receiving more of the gutter people. In short, KBF is the "Poor man's Disneyland", although after reading post after post here, Disney is filled with guest idiocy all the same.

As a ride operator, I've stood out in extreme heat (fear of heat exhaustion and stroke), in drenching rain (fear of ammonia), in freezing and lip-chapping cold, as well as breathed in lovely ash (during the awful 2003 wildfires). All this brings to mind: where the hell are the supposedly safety-minded, pencil-pushing bureaucrats at Cal/OSHA? I've dealt with many a disgruntled and stupid guest as well as came to near physical assault, while working at the bumper cars, by a psychopath who had a daughter not able to ride due to the height rules.

I was late to work a few times, but never really absent nor have I called in sick. I tried to do my job right, even if it is rotten to the core and very much thankless. The turnover there is high, as the number of flakes and dedicated employees alike come and go. There was a lazy female ride operator sleeping in the Sky Cabin, but she was never really disciplined and was later cross-trained to work on the Log Ride (don't know if she's still working there).

KBF was already bad when I first started in 2002. If what I have read about them lately is true (e.g., ride ops are lacking 200 employees), I guess word is getting out that it is a really poor place to work for. It seems like the mismanagement of KBF is really spiraling out of control. Hell, it's so bad over there, that the attitude-spewing dingbat scheduler Melissa G. is gone too (one time I was given a 15-minute shift, tsk.)

In 2004, I was de-certified from Wipeout by the then new supervisor Matt. The supposed reason was that a kid stuck his arm out of the ride and attempted to reach for a plant. Gee, the way the ride moves and positions during the cycle, it is difficult to catch and desist each and every guest-related stupidities. It didn't really matter because I put in my two-week notice previously and it was almost my last day at this theme park dump.

Service with a smile, indeed!

And Lakeside Terrace really reeks of odor, too.

[BRWombat]

... As a ride operator, I've stood out in extreme heat (fear of heat exhaustion and stroke), in drenching rain (fear of ammonia), in freezing and lip-chapping cold, as well as breathed in lovely ash (during the awful 2003 wildfires). ...I've had that same fear of ammonia! And other cleaning products as well. (Sorry, couldn't resist! :twisted: )

Welcome, DRO. You'll fit right in here.

[mechurchlady]

I've had that same fear of ammonia! And other cleaning products as well. (Sorry, couldn't resist! :twisted: )

Welcome, DRO. You'll fit right in here.
My mother cleaned homes and those cleaning products get into your system and ruin your health. I knew you made a typo so I let the smart people post first. Hugs and welcome.

I think this site is way tamer than the Knotts site also. When Knotts got rid of all but a few token Indians then that was the end for me. Those people were kind, compassionate, taught kids lots of neat stuff and were very nice to me. Knott's used to be fun just to walk through to talk with people, see shows and maybe ride a few rides. It was a happy place then piece by piece it started being less family and more corporate.

[LittleDollClaudia]

I remember working there. :shudders: I know I posted this somewhere but anyways, Knott's is notorious for leaving their employees to the elements. I worked one year at Haunt on a cart with no phone and it was pouring rain. After three hours of standing there with power cords all around??!?!, I finally said screw it and called the office on my cell phone to find out what the hell to do. We did close my stand after the lead bitched about us losing money. I had not had one guest since the rain began! I got talked to, but I always kept my cell phone on me after that. Came in handy when I ran out of change or supplies and a manager maybe came by every two hours. During Haunt, stuff runs out quick. I feel your pain.

[felinefan]

I believe DRO means pneumonia. I hear ya, guy. Once I was at Charlie Brown Speedway in the pouring rain, no shelter, and my shift lead comes over and casually mentions that it's too bad she can't give us trashbags to wear over our costumes to keep us dry. I don't think anyone wore their issued storm suits (good jacket, crappy pants). That, or they hadn't gotten around to actually issuing them.
Another time I was at Calico Railroad, pouring rain all day, hardly anyone in the park, and I didn't realize we'd be there all day; usually if there are fewer than 1000 guests in the park they close due to inclement weather. I and my co-workers were soaked to the bone, the train crew and bandits were dry on the train, but we conductors were forced to stay in the depot. We had to be visible to the guests, so we stood outside until it became obvious that we weren't going to get any riders, then moved inside.
Twice I've gotten sinusitis from kids coughing and sneezing in my face; once I was able to go to the doctor and get medicine (along with a lengthy lecture about my high blood pressure); the second time I got it, I still have it because there's no money or insurance for the doctor. I tried the saline stuff that's supposed to be good for sinusitis; no good.
Then there was the lovely time I got laryngitis, again because of guests, and the idiots that run the park insisted I had to do the rides with the longest spiels that I was certified for; wouldn't let me rest my voice. You can imagine how I sounded.
I used to rank the rides by amount of shelter from rain or sun; in Camp Snoopy, Huff 'N' Puff had the best shelter (plenty of trees, plus a canopy over the "depot"); the absolute worst was Woodstock's Airmail (no shelter at all). The Calico Railroad depot had a leaky roof, and broken AC and heat. Outside, the only shelter was on the train, or under the eaves of the depot. Every once in a while, a guest would express pity over our working in rain or hot sun. Right after GR8SK8 was opened, ride operators who were certified on it (I never was, for some reason) kept getting sick from heat-related illnesses. One poor girl got heat stroke and had to go to First Aid in a wheelchair; I saw her.
Believe me, those of us that post at KBFDrama have a right to complain. Actually, I understand that they are short over 500 employees; ride operators are working 12 hour days 7 days a week. This year is the first time that Knott's has had successive hiring events all year; usually they hire in spring and fall. I wouldn't be a bit surprised if a riot broke out over there, and Knott's had to close. Or if everyone staged a sickout, and never returned. Maintenence is the pits, none of the food places for either guests or employees has ever passed a health department inspection (the Chicken Dinner Restaurant is literally CRAWLING with cockroaches!), and OSHA , the labor board and other entities are working hand in glove with Knott's. One day, a few days before I was walked out, we were told that OSHA and the health department had been there all week (very unusual), and that they'd had to close 4 rides because they weren't opened properly. Of course, those rides--don't know which ones, they didn't say, probably in Camp Snoopy--were reopened that day. The idea is, if a ride breaks down, fails an inspection, or has an accident on it, it's supposed to be shut down until fixed, investigation is finished, or has been worked on so as to pass inspection. It's truly a miracle nobody's been maimed, killed or otherwise injured at that park on a daily basis. I honestly think Knott's is paying them off. When I tried to file a complaint against them for the way I was suspended, the labor board said I had no case, and they talked down to me, saying perhaps I should just wait for retributive justice. Only trouble is, I'm not terribly patient--I want to see those fools suffer NOW! :twisted: The whole place is a lie built upon a falsehood built atop a prevarication and crowned with BS. Walter and Cordelia must've cremated themselves in their graves from all the spinning they did over what Cedar Fair has done to the park. They used to have Smokey Bear, by the Wilderness Ranger Station, but they got rid of him, too. Also Thomas Edison's Workshop, and they've gotten rid of Judge Roy Bean between Calico Railroad and the Stagecoach. What next?

[Disgruntled Ride Operator]

Putting aside the weather and elements...

I don't know if this has been covered on these forums, but I really wanted to get it off my mind and chest. For the bored and lonely pedantic souls out there, I don't care if I make grammatical (present tense, past tense, BAH!) or spelling mistakes.

The acoustics - that is, for Dispatch to deliver safety spiels - on the ride attractions range from mediocre to terrible, at least at the Boardwalk at Knott’s Berry Farm (I wouldn't know about the other themed dumps around KBF or at Disneyland, so I can't overgeneralize). Most of the time the guests can’t or won’t hear your instructions, because:

a) the so-called loudspeakers are misplaced, are garbled-sounding, and/or have too low of a volume to be heard in this kind of environment
b) the microphone is of low quality - sometimes the flexible and bendable-type of microphone sags and won't stay in place!
c) the ambient muzak blaring cheesy themed music, such as on the Boardwalk (even worse during the Knott's Scary Farm Halloween Haunt when you can't even hear yourself think)
d) the guests are ever too stupid, zoned-out and have short attention spans and couldn’t give a damn of what you say - after all, they’re there to have mindless fun and not to engage in deep thinking or to follow rules

The sound system is so bad on some rides and it gets frustrating, Dispatch really sometimes have to yell into the microphone to be heard. This can come off as "rudeness" and "unprofessional" to the ever-discriminating, complaint-happy guest and to the passerby supervisors/stalkers.

There is no automatic or any official pre-written spiel on Wheeler Dealer Bumper Cars, so commonsense ones are utilized and spieled, such as to remain seated at all times, to keep the lap bar down while the ride, where to exit and so on. But acoustics are really poor on that ride, as there is like an echo in there. Some idiot decides to jump out from his car and heads for the exit while all the other cars are still bumping about and that volts of electrified ceiling is powered on! Some people put their lap bars up anyway because they say it's uncomfortable and too heavy. People constantly forget their items on the ride after being instructed via microphone-and-speaker to check and double-check their cars for personal belongings before leaving.

On Wipeout, the rule is that larger riders sit "outside" and riders of smaller stature sit "inside" so that the scrawny person wouldn't be crushed by the relatively heavy-set partner. When boarding, people would do the opposite, despite the spiels in the queue. During my time working at this ride, the acoustics on Wipeout sounded like something at a fast food drive-thru or 2-way radio transmission. I don't know if this is the case now.

Acoustics were also terrible on Hammerhead (for those not in the know, it's the precursor of the current RipTide). For one, the sound is squeaky, mouse-like. First, you can't get the guests to raise their arms most of the time - after repeated attempts - and then when you do, not to move the safety restraints while in the process of locking. We announce to them it takes a few seconds to lock - in response, we constantly get, "Excuse me, mine's not locking!" We get people trying to adjust it! If any rider does so, the ride would induce the ever-lovely RTL. Second, after the ride is over, we would instruct the guests over the Dispatch booth and in-person (physically pointing where to go) to “Exit to the RIGHT towards the Boomerang”. But, sadly, half of the row, surely comprised of half-witted guests, try to exit to the LEFT back towards the Loading/Bullpen area. Then some of them proceed to inquire, “Is this the exit?” when everyone else is exiting on the other side. Tsk.

There were pre-recorded spiels on Hammerhead's queue advising riders that the ride will be going upside down, some guests (ethnic hoodlums and white suburban soccer moms alike) then asked, "Does this ride go upside down?"

A daredevil father is dangling his baby, Michael Jackson-style, over the bridge at Perilous Plunge (Common sense? I think not.) and not heeding the constant warnings by the Dispatch over the microphone and garbled speakers. The guy still can't or won't hear it and continues his action anyways.

With the amount of money that the management flunkies of KBF spend on rides and marketing/advertising to attract more idiocy to the park, at least they could put better sound systems in place.

Oh well. Enough with ranting.

[UpTooLate]

Ugh...I'm taking KBF off of my "To Do" list.

Oh yes, I've been lurking since last night and spending too much time on here. Fascinating and funny stuff...and sad...so, so sad...

Where is natural selection when you need it?

[Main Streeter]

I've been lurking since last night and spending too much time on here. Fascinating and funny stuff.We all spend too much time here but SGT site is great CM therapy! :welcome: UpTooLate. Cool name. :cool:

[DLRFantasmic!Dan]

At least once a month, we would have a customer exit through the doors, then look around with a shocked expression when the alarm went off.

Hahaha, same here!! I would be at the patio of the Inn Between when all of a sudden I see guests go through a door from exiting Star Tours. It's locked form the outside, so some good hearted CM just would walk up to them and lead them the right way out into the park, lol!!

[Polar33]

Hahaha, same here!! I would be at the patio of the Inn Between when all of a sudden I see guests go through a door from exiting Star Tours. It's locked form the outside, so some good hearted CM just would walk up to them and lead them the right way out into the park, lol!!Yep, been there. One night I was down there eating with some co-workers, one of which was having a rather "NC-17" rated conversation and wasn't exactly being quiet about it. Out of nowhere (which I now know to be that darn door from Star Tours), a boy and his father walks up behind her and asks us how to get back to the park. They were quickly escorted back to the park but when they walked away from the CM that was escorting them he heard the boy ask "Daddy, what's an orgasm?".

The rest of us had a good laugh over it, but it was probabaly a near miricle that nobody got repremanded.

[leftcoaster]

The rest of us had a good laugh over it, but it was probably a near miracle that nobody got reprimanded.

Nuts! I realize it's Disney, and that "the guest is always right" :rolleyes: But if a guest is in an area that he or she does not belong, the guest should not expect to "have a Disney experience" offstage.

Then again, reading here about the wackos, and the idiot managers, logic is not the front line CM's friend. And I feel for you guys. *waves

[DLRFantasmic!Dan]

Nuts! I realize it's Disney, and that "the guest is always right" :rolleyes: But if a guest is in an area that he or she does not belong, the guest should not expect to "have a Disney experience" offstage.

Yeah, like Mickey having "his" head off and it's a girl or Cinderella smoking a cigarette, hahaha!!

[LittleDollClaudia]

orgasm.. :snickers: :twisted:

[leftcoaster]

Yeah, like Mickey having "his" head off and it's a girl or Cinderella smoking a cigarette, hahaha!!

The SG would then file a lawsuit, because their wacked kid suffered "emotional trauma" for life. :rolleyes:

"Here's your monetary reward: $1" :twisted:

[Main Streeter]

SG would then file a lawsuit, because their wacked kid suffered "emotional trauma" for life.Been done in 2000 or 01! Sad isn't it?

[leftcoaster]

Been done in 2000 or 01! Sad isn't it?

Hopefully they were thrown out. But, I'd bet that Disney settled.

[Freak]

You know, as bad as Knotts comes off to some of you, it depends on how you look at it. Ive learned that being pessimistic will NOT help you. I enjoy working there at least, despite the drawbacks and negativity from the park. Sure, its hard work and high turnover, along with thanklessness and not the highest pay, but you have to make the most of it.

Anyways, *gets off soapbox* nothing else new, and yeah I still work there.