On our recent vacation at Universal Orlando Resort, we waited over an hour in line for Rip Ride Rocket and they closed the ride right before we were about to get on. At that point, the park was closed and we didn't get to do anything else and had essentially wasted the last hour or two of our time in the park. There was no compensation for us or any others waiting in line. We left the park very disappointed and frustrated, along with countless other guests- not a good lasting impression for first time visitors. I understand there are mechanical problems, no big deal, especially if they are early in the day. My issue is that it was the end of the day and there was no attempt at correcting the feeling that our time and money had just been wasted- the two most important issues for me as a park guest. At Disney, they give you fast passes good at any park for x number of days. Thus their customer service will always be better in my eyes.
A little off topic, but I absolutely hate it when parks make you fill in a form when you complain instead of dealing with issues on-site where possible. It, like you say, leaves guests with an awful impression of the park if they leave dissatisfied - especially if they actually went to complain and were just handed a sheet to fill in. I actually shall be writing a blog post on the matter shortly following a recent experience. Disney's customer service is world class, but other companies are pretty on the ball too. I personally think the Merlin parks are very good at dealing with on-site complaints and leaving guests satisfied, which is especially unusually high customer care in the UK.
ReplyDeleteTo be honest though, I think leaving the park without a ride on Rip Ride Waste of Time is a good day at universal. :P We had trouble getting on it when I was there over a year ago and boy was I disappointed when I finally got a ride.