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Long story ahead. I've probably made six drafts of this trying to make it as short as possible but it keeps coming out overly long. Oh well. I'm a sucker for detail I guess.
The other day a guest approached me huffing and puffing about a team member they claimed was rude to them. The guest was a middle-aged woman, her child, and her mother. The woman actually approached me barking to speak to a manager but I was in charge of the area and its employees at the time so I offered to hear the complaint.
I knew I was in for a treat when she started her tale with these exact words:
"I've been arrested in the park once in the past and right now I'm so pissed off at how rudely I was treated by the nasty woman outside. My blood is boiling and I don't want to get to that point where I go off and get taken out of here in handcuffs in front of my child again"
Admitting that you've actually been arrested here doesn't really say much for your case. If anything it shows that you're irrational. Security is a last resort meant only for the most extreme of cases and even then most situations involving security end peacefully. Guests even being escorted out of the park is very, very rare. For her to actually get arrested? I'd love to hear the story behind that.
Anyway, she then proceeded to go on a two minute rant about all this supposed horrible treatment she'd just endured. She claimed the employee did the following:
(*Quick disclaimer if you haven't seen any of my frequent rants about strollers. Strollers are not allowed in the show stadiums. It's part of the fire code. The only exceptions are for children with disabilities which are given red tags to wrap around the handles so they can enter stadiums without being stopped. All you have to do is say your kid has a handicap and you're given the tag. We're not allowed to question it even in cases when it is obvious the parents are just saying so to get out of having to park their stroller)
The whole time was telling this elaborate story I was trying my hardest to suppress a smile for two reasons.
1) The employee she was making these claims about. I'll call her Linda. Never in a million years would Linda behave like that or say those things. Linda does not have an aggressive bone in her body. She is one of the sweetest, kindest, most gentle people I've ever had the pleasure of meeting. Linda is one of those people that even if she's having an off day still comes in with a smile on her face ready to work. She genuinely cares about people and just wants everybody to have a good time. When she has the opportunity to help someone it makes her day. She is maternal to everyone around her and goes out of her way to make sure that guests and co-workers are happy. I can't praise her enough.
This woman chose the wrong employee to target. It was an insanely busy, hectic day and there were a few others working that night that I could possibly see snapping (though not to that extent). Vanessa? Yeah, she can be a bit of a sourpuss. Anna? She definitely has that point where she stops giving a shit about being nice. Donovan? He can have a temper sometimes. Linda, though? Never. Ever. (All fake names obviously)
2) I was actually a witness to this woman's encounter with Linda. I just happened to be in the right place at the right time. I was doing my rounds checking in on my team and was standing right next to Linda having a bit of a chat when this woman and her family started walking up.
Here's a play by play of what was actually said.
Woman: [walking past the line of strollers with hers]
Linda: Good evening, Miss! I just organized the strollers and have a couple spots for you right up here in the front!
Woman: Well you're going to give them to someone else because I have the red disabled sticker on mine and I'm going inside so back off. (Which in all fairness she did, but the ramp was dark and her hand was covering the tag)
Linda: Oh, okay! I'm sorry, I didn't see it before but there it is. Enjoy the show!
- five seconds later the woman's mother comes stomping down the ramp -
Woman's Mother: [reeking of a brewery] HEY. YOU. BLONDIE. WHAT'S YOUR NAME?
Linda: My name is Li-
Woman's Mother: HUH? SPEAK UP. TELL ME YOUR NAME NOW.
Linda: Linda.
Woman's Mother: Alright, Linda.
End scene. That's it. That's all that happened. There was no shouting, threatening, or attempted kidnapping. Linda was polite and cheery as always. She did nothing wrong and was a lot sweeter about it than most other employees would be given this woman's attitude. This woman was the one with a chip on her shoulder. I was under the impression that the woman and her mother had been drinking throughout the day so maybe they did perceive the encounter differently but there's no way anything Linda said could've been mistaken for what they claimed she did.
After hearing her out I revealed that tah-dah, I was actually out there. She accused me of lying because she “didn't see me” and it "so convenient” that I happened to be there but I saw in her face that she knew she'd just been caught. All I could think to do was keep repeating that I saw what had happened. It was my subtle way of saying "No, keep going, I want to see how deep of a grave you can dig" without directly calling her a liar. She tried for a bit more but her story started changing and her speech began to get all jumbled up. Eventually she cut me off mid-sentence and walked away. She later came across my direct supervisor and tried to complain to him but he knows the kind of person Linda is so he pretty much blew the woman off as well. Nobody saw her or her family again the rest of the night so we think they probably just left when they realized they couldn't scam any of us.
Normally I would give the generic response of "I'm so sorry this happened to you. I will talk with them later. This is unacceptable" and offer then something like reserved seating or a merchandise voucher. Even when a person is a jerk we're expected to bend over backwards to turn the situation around and make them give them what they want. I just wasn't having it with these people who were being so blatantly manipulative and disrespectful of a wonderful employee.
As much as I hate to say this it's a pretty common tactic for people to swear up and down that their child is disabled and that they were mistreated by employees. Unfortunately it works most of the time and they're given what they want to silence them as such claims would be a PR nightmare even when it is obviously not true.
The worst part of the whole thing is how shaken up Linda was by it. She got very upset and started second-guessing if maybe she had an attitude but didn't realize it. Normally she can handle all the insults thrown her way and let them roll right off her back but this one really hurt her to the point of tears. She was terrified that they would file a formal complaint about something she didn't do but I reassured her that we all have her back. I mean I was there. I saw it happen and I'm ready to defend her to the death if anything comes to surface. She was doing her job exactly the way she is supposed to. It's out of her control if some people get a kick out of making others miserable.
The other day a guest approached me huffing and puffing about a team member they claimed was rude to them. The guest was a middle-aged woman, her child, and her mother. The woman actually approached me barking to speak to a manager but I was in charge of the area and its employees at the time so I offered to hear the complaint.
I knew I was in for a treat when she started her tale with these exact words:
"I've been arrested in the park once in the past and right now I'm so pissed off at how rudely I was treated by the nasty woman outside. My blood is boiling and I don't want to get to that point where I go off and get taken out of here in handcuffs in front of my child again"
Admitting that you've actually been arrested here doesn't really say much for your case. If anything it shows that you're irrational. Security is a last resort meant only for the most extreme of cases and even then most situations involving security end peacefully. Guests even being escorted out of the park is very, very rare. For her to actually get arrested? I'd love to hear the story behind that.
Anyway, she then proceeded to go on a two minute rant about all this supposed horrible treatment she'd just endured. She claimed the employee did the following:
- Screamed at her in front of other guests
- Attempted to snatch her stroller (with child inside) away to forcibly park it
- Demanded she park her stroller even with the red tag*
- Questioned if the child was actually disabled since he "looked fine"
- Swore at her
- Called her a bitch
- Talked back to her
- Followed her and made her feel threatened
(*Quick disclaimer if you haven't seen any of my frequent rants about strollers. Strollers are not allowed in the show stadiums. It's part of the fire code. The only exceptions are for children with disabilities which are given red tags to wrap around the handles so they can enter stadiums without being stopped. All you have to do is say your kid has a handicap and you're given the tag. We're not allowed to question it even in cases when it is obvious the parents are just saying so to get out of having to park their stroller)
The whole time was telling this elaborate story I was trying my hardest to suppress a smile for two reasons.
1) The employee she was making these claims about. I'll call her Linda. Never in a million years would Linda behave like that or say those things. Linda does not have an aggressive bone in her body. She is one of the sweetest, kindest, most gentle people I've ever had the pleasure of meeting. Linda is one of those people that even if she's having an off day still comes in with a smile on her face ready to work. She genuinely cares about people and just wants everybody to have a good time. When she has the opportunity to help someone it makes her day. She is maternal to everyone around her and goes out of her way to make sure that guests and co-workers are happy. I can't praise her enough.
This woman chose the wrong employee to target. It was an insanely busy, hectic day and there were a few others working that night that I could possibly see snapping (though not to that extent). Vanessa? Yeah, she can be a bit of a sourpuss. Anna? She definitely has that point where she stops giving a shit about being nice. Donovan? He can have a temper sometimes. Linda, though? Never. Ever. (All fake names obviously)
2) I was actually a witness to this woman's encounter with Linda. I just happened to be in the right place at the right time. I was doing my rounds checking in on my team and was standing right next to Linda having a bit of a chat when this woman and her family started walking up.
Here's a play by play of what was actually said.
Woman: [walking past the line of strollers with hers]
Linda: Good evening, Miss! I just organized the strollers and have a couple spots for you right up here in the front!
Woman: Well you're going to give them to someone else because I have the red disabled sticker on mine and I'm going inside so back off. (Which in all fairness she did, but the ramp was dark and her hand was covering the tag)
Linda: Oh, okay! I'm sorry, I didn't see it before but there it is. Enjoy the show!
- five seconds later the woman's mother comes stomping down the ramp -
Woman's Mother: [reeking of a brewery] HEY. YOU. BLONDIE. WHAT'S YOUR NAME?
Linda: My name is Li-
Woman's Mother: HUH? SPEAK UP. TELL ME YOUR NAME NOW.
Linda: Linda.
Woman's Mother: Alright, Linda.
End scene. That's it. That's all that happened. There was no shouting, threatening, or attempted kidnapping. Linda was polite and cheery as always. She did nothing wrong and was a lot sweeter about it than most other employees would be given this woman's attitude. This woman was the one with a chip on her shoulder. I was under the impression that the woman and her mother had been drinking throughout the day so maybe they did perceive the encounter differently but there's no way anything Linda said could've been mistaken for what they claimed she did.
After hearing her out I revealed that tah-dah, I was actually out there. She accused me of lying because she “didn't see me” and it "so convenient” that I happened to be there but I saw in her face that she knew she'd just been caught. All I could think to do was keep repeating that I saw what had happened. It was my subtle way of saying "No, keep going, I want to see how deep of a grave you can dig" without directly calling her a liar. She tried for a bit more but her story started changing and her speech began to get all jumbled up. Eventually she cut me off mid-sentence and walked away. She later came across my direct supervisor and tried to complain to him but he knows the kind of person Linda is so he pretty much blew the woman off as well. Nobody saw her or her family again the rest of the night so we think they probably just left when they realized they couldn't scam any of us.
Normally I would give the generic response of "I'm so sorry this happened to you. I will talk with them later. This is unacceptable" and offer then something like reserved seating or a merchandise voucher. Even when a person is a jerk we're expected to bend over backwards to turn the situation around and make them give them what they want. I just wasn't having it with these people who were being so blatantly manipulative and disrespectful of a wonderful employee.
As much as I hate to say this it's a pretty common tactic for people to swear up and down that their child is disabled and that they were mistreated by employees. Unfortunately it works most of the time and they're given what they want to silence them as such claims would be a PR nightmare even when it is obviously not true.
The worst part of the whole thing is how shaken up Linda was by it. She got very upset and started second-guessing if maybe she had an attitude but didn't realize it. Normally she can handle all the insults thrown her way and let them roll right off her back but this one really hurt her to the point of tears. She was terrified that they would file a formal complaint about something she didn't do but I reassured her that we all have her back. I mean I was there. I saw it happen and I'm ready to defend her to the death if anything comes to surface. She was doing her job exactly the way she is supposed to. It's out of her control if some people get a kick out of making others miserable.
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