From Hurt to Hugs.

 Yesterday was tough on me at work.  I had a guest go to a manager and complain about me.  This has not happened to me in my Disney Career.  Or at least this was the first I heard of it. 

 A mom with her baby got to the merge point of our attraction and asked for a rider switch.  This means she was going to hold the baby while the rest of her family rode the ride, and then she would go on.  First the mistake was if she wanted this she should have asked at the very front of the attraction.  Because for me to give her the rider switch it would mean making her leave the attraction with the baby, and go back through the line she just had waited in.

 When she asked for the rider switch, I just told her that she did not really need one that everyone could ride, including babies.  The baby would be safe on her lap and then told her how they should do the seating, her and her baby and husband, and their two boys (about 10 and 11) right behind them.  She did not say anything else to me but went up the stairs and rode the ride.

Little did I know that she rode the ride but then searched out a manager to complain about the fact that I refused to give her a rider switch.  GRRRRR! had she really wanted one it would have been no problem and I would have given it and sent her back out the door.  But nooooooo I was the bad cast member making their family miserable by my actions!    It was completely soul wrenching to me that someone left that park thinking of me in a bad light. sigh.

But to make it a bit better the manager did tell me that when the guest had said my name he knew right away that I had not done anything inappropriate.  But still he had to talk to me about the issue.  Its his job.

Today was a day that made up for the day before.  I had found a family outside of the attraction with a lovely woman in a wheelchair wearing a birthday button.  Ends up she was celebrating her 89th birthday.  Well I could not let that pass, got her and her family some fastpasses.  But also made sure that everyone on Pixar Place knew there was a celebrity  in their presence in this dear lady. 

I was lucky enough to see her get off of the ride and she gave me such a hug.  And that made the day for me. 

As I was driving home it hit home how lucky I am to work someplace where I can get a hug from someone that I have made happy.  I don’t know how many cast members get hugs.  I know there are probably quite a few.  And we are so very lucky, we may not get paid the big bucks, but we get magic!