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Cuts 2015: How the consistency of the product is being eroded.

See i don't "agree" with removing any SRQ however, the Nemesis one did not function very well, it often slowed down dispatches and not many people knew it existed. I know that was a boon for geeks but trying to take a step back and see a bigger picture the removal of the SRQ's on Rita and Nemesis are the ones i can see "some" justification for and has minimum impact on MOST guests days.
 
Dave said:
See i don't "agree" with removing any SRQ however, the Nemesis one did not function very well, it often slowed down dispatches and not many people knew it existed. I know that was a boon for geeks but trying to take a step back and see a bigger picture the removal of the SRQ's on Rita and Nemesis are the ones i can see "some" justification for and has minimum impact on MOST guests days.
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It only slowed down operations when staff weren't making an effort, when they were working as efficiently as possible then it worked fine. On busy days the SR queue was often past the bottom of the steps, so people definitely did use it - and on quiet days it's a convenience for people who do use it, and they should be aiming to please guests regardless of whether it's the majority or just a few anyway.
 
Jamie said:
It only slowed down operations when staff weren't making an effort, when they were working as efficiently as possible then it worked fine. On busy days the SR queue was often past the bottom of the steps, so people definitely did use it - and on quiet days it's a convenience for people who do use it, and they should be aiming to please guests regardless of whether it's the majority or just a few anyway.
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I agree hence why i said i don't "agree" with it, but if you have a gun to your head to cut 15-20% of the budget it's one of the decisions i can understand and has a lower impact.
 
The thing is Merlin Entertainments is a public company and thus must show signs of growth both in guest figures, revenue and profit.

Merlin have recently conducted research which shows people are happy paying £50.40 entrance fee and feel that doing just 2 rides makes them feel like they got good value for money. Merlin Entertainments are very competitive compared to other attractions and offer much better experiences. Our research also shows that if guests really want to make the most of their day then they will pay a premium for fast track to make those memories even more memorable.
 
Thinking back to the weekend, while they didnt have enough staff to run Oblivion, or open Dark Forest at 10am, or have people in Sub Terra, or open all the food outlets, they did seem to have enough to open the games stands and the games arcades and the small stalls selling sweets etc.

Oh yeah while I remember, one of our group went to buy something in the Thirteen queue line refreshment unit and was told they dont do annual pass discount there. I know some of the stalls without checkouts cant do it because the staff are not able to calculate 20% off something (shock horror) but I thought the queue line ones did have electronic checkouts in them...?
 
AP discount should be offered at queueline stands!!

I got it at Smiler and always have at the others before!
 
GaryH said:
Thinking back to the weekend, while they didnt have enough staff to run Oblivion, or open Dark Forest at 10am, or have people in Sub Terra, or open all the food outlets, they did seem to have enough to open the games stands and the games arcades and the small stalls selling sweets etc.

Oh yeah while I remember, one of our group went to buy something in the Thirteen queue line refreshment unit and was told they dont do annual pass discount there. I know some of the stalls without checkouts cant do it because the staff are not able to calculate 20% off something (shock horror) but I thought the queue line ones did have electronic checkouts in them...?
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All till points should offer MAP discount and the Smiler queue shop was. I would contact them about that as i would guess that's a training issue.

As for the game stalls they are run by an external company. Though i will say F&B and Retail haven't had any budget cuts (see the rather splendid Corner Coffee refurb) it's just park ops... Because you know... Noone goes to a theme park for the rides according to the latest research.
 
Kieron said:
The thing is Merlin Entertainments is a public company and thus must show signs of growth both in guest figures, revenue and profit.

Merlin have recently conducted research which shows people are happy paying £50.40 entrance fee and feel that doing just 2 rides makes them feel like they got good value for money. Merlin Entertainments are very competitive compared to other attractions and offer much better experiences. Our research also shows that if guests really want to make the most of their day then they will pay a premium for fast track to make those memories even more memorable.
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Their research is selective, it basically says "this is how to make as much money as possible, ignore everything else to do with running a park." Anyone who suggests that £50.40 for two rides is good value needs their heads looking at.
 
The thing is at Disney World one of the reasons they extend openings during the day is to make more money, more time to spend that money!

I know you can't really compare but I find it funny
 
Kieron said:
The thing is Merlin Entertainments is a public company and thus must show signs of growth both in guest figures, revenue and profit.

Merlin have recently conducted research which shows people are happy paying £50.40 entrance fee and feel that doing just 2 rides makes them feel like they got good value for money. Merlin Entertainments are very competitive compared to other attractions and offer much better experiences. Our research also shows that if guests really want to make the most of their day then they will pay a premium for fast track to make those memories even more memorable.
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I'm assuming this is sarcasm, it's clear from reading Tripadvisor & other reviews guests expect a lot more than two rides.

On a related note Disney apparently implemented FastPass plus where you prebook three rides as research showed guests weren't getting the magic 8.5 rides/shows they expect to get per day.

At AT my expectation is to get about one ride per hour on most visits, so I should get the big six and a few smaller rides in. This is what they need to aim for.
 
It will NOT be possible for most guests to ride the big 6 based on Saturday standards unless they do not break for lunch and ride nothing else.
 
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AstroDan said:
It will NOT be possible for most guests to ride the big 6 based on Saturday standards unless they do not break for lunch and ride nothing else.
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That kinda ruins their summer marketing scheme ;-)

Although Air, Nemesis, Oblivion, lunch, Smiler, Thirteen, Rita could work but I would want to ride duel after lunch as a break from coasters...
 
Jamie said:
Hearing about the way AT was run last weekend gives me little enthusiasm to make the effort to visit. Opening so many attractions late is just poor, there's no excuse for it and the removal of the SRQ for Nemesis takes away what I enjoyed most about the park. As for AT not liking their fanbase, that to me highlights how little they care about what people think about the park, aside from what makes them instant money.
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With all due respect I don't think that removing SRQs indicates that they dislike their fanbase. SRQs were an extra (and free) service which was introduced in order to increase throughputs by filling empty seats. If throughputs are lower on certain rides because it's slowing down dispatch times then they aren't achieving what they were designed to do. If they really didn't care they would have removed them on all rides not just two, but they didn't. They've kept them on all their rides except those where throughputs were affected. Thorpe park did the same when they removed their SRQs on Stealth, Nemesis Inferno and various other rides a few years back. It was only a matter of time before Towers did the same.

As for the late openings, it does make me chuckle that you're criticising Towers for doing something which BPB (the park which you always seem to champion) do to a much worse extent.
 
The two SRQs that were removed both required an additional staff member to operate them. If anything, Rita will get lower throughput without an SRQ as platform staff will now have to close the restraints themselves, which slows things down.
 
If i'm reading the VIBES right then is seems Towers want the public support to sort these cuts out.

Anyone remember Fanta?? How about the enthusiasts get on the case and highlight these issues to all the guests and encourage them to fill in the bad feedback forms? It seems the touch screens are the only thing that they care about in Poole.

Couldn't we organise some sort or action at the front gates that 1, highlights the issue to guests arriving and 2, encourages them to submit feedback?

The problem with the touchscreens is you're only going to use them if you've had a really good day or really bad day. They need a more general consensus.

The point about the workers is a big one, I bet it's much much worse for them and they have the joys of having little choice of where to work and little or no union to back them up so theres no chance of them getting on the gates. It's up to us to do it!

:):)
 
John said:
The two SRQs that were removed both required an additional staff member to operate them. If anything, Rita will get lower throughput without an SRQ as platform staff will now have to close the restraints themselves, which slows things down.
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Maybe they could take the two people who are manning the closed fence at the entrance to fountain square in the mornings and move them onto SRQ? :eek:
 
God, it's a sad state of affairs when the only busy topic on a theme park enthusiast forum is about operational cuts and is full of suggestions about how the business should allocate staff to save money.

Nearly two years since I last visited the park and Nemesis is the only thing that would ever tempt me back.

Very depressing times indeed. :(
 
Dave said:
All till points should offer MAP discount and the Smiler queue shop was. I would contact them about that as i would guess that's a training issue.
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Yep, he tweeted them, to which the response was:

"whilst we endeavour to make the saving available at as many locations as possible some carts, stands & stalls are excluded"
 
I read somewhere in the bumph the other day that Discount was available at merlin branded outlets or something similar which seemed odd as I thought it would be easier to say it was available at all outlets. Maybe it's another loophole?
 
Croftybaby said:
I read somewhere in the bumph the other day that Discount was available at merlin branded outlets or something similar which seemed odd as I thought it would be easier to say it was available at all outlets. Maybe it's another loophole?
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There are still a couple of non Merlin outlets (Eastern express at Towers) and they have never offered the discount.
 
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