Merlin's General Poor Attitude - your experiences.

[BigAl]

My point was that that's been the only bad thing regarding Merlin staff as they didn't really listen when we went to customer services to say that they need to wake the staff in the Cantina up a little.

Besides that and the drinks bottle scenario this year which I posted over in a different topic, that's been it.

 

[TheMan]

I think this thread's become a classic example of the old 'blaming Merlin for a chip on the floor in one park restaurant'.

If you have dodgy service from a member of staff, complain to the park, on the day - it's a local issue, same as you wouldn't send a letter to the US Wallmart headquarters to complain about a member of staff in an ASDA in Croydon...

My intention was not to nit pick, so I hope you aren't inferring that was the intention of the OP. It most certainly wasn't. I have not been happy with an overall attitude of the company, and see things filtering down that I find concerning, and that have no question affected my experiences on visiting their parks.

The complaints procedure it self, whilst negated by helpful members, is indicative of the issues them selves - one complaint, on it's own, may seem insignificant. What I am trying to build here, is a wider picture of a broad range of experiences, which will paint a fuller picture.

I have mentioned several times, those whom have had good experiences, good on them! I'm glad - but having only complained once park specifically before, there are plenty of examples of when service has been poor - and certainly not up to the standard that it was, or rather that I experienced, even only 2 years ago.

What is more, it got worse from last year.

Whilst it is easy to get on Merlin's back, I have praised them plenty in the past - but I am seeing a movement away from fundamental key issues of service, in favour of rapid colossal expansion, which is leading to massive stretching of the budgets, that will have a downward pressure on parks, prices, staff morale, and ultimately the quality of a day out... which is the only reason we visit.

The fact, their own complaints system doesn't even work properly, has no cohesion, and is unclear to the lay person is quite indicative of this point. The facts are there, the full effects of this may not be being felt yet, but when you piece all the pieces of the puzzle together there are obvious issues.

This is not remotely, about a chip on the floor, and neither one on my shoulder either. In fact, in speaking with owners of smaller parks only a couple of years ago, I was suggesting that if they want examples of staff and service quality (what I had experienced to that point) - they should in fact LOOK to Merlin/ specifically AT, for examples!

I would say quite the opposite now, certainly from a centralised perspective. The fact is, Merlin own and brand these parks - and their decisions are starting to affect the parks.

For me, the downward trend started, the moment we got a Tax lesson at the gate of our day out... what makes me chuckle, is you all know, should that VAT be removed, all that would happen is prices would rise and they'd make more money. That's fine, I'd have no issues with that, if it wasn't made such a big deal of.

 

[Benzin]

The parks (in my opinion) are essentially branches of Merlin, whilst they own them however, they are all separate workings of the same company...

Hence really, as Magrathea said, if there are specific staff based problems or on park incidents (as an example from last year, Legoland had no Sprite anywhere, why would I complain to Merlin when it is Legoland's fault?), complain to that park in whatever way you want to (be it Guest Services, talk to team leaders/managers, write a letter, or send an email)...

For complaints regarding cutbacks to opening hours or general budgets, then it sounds like a complaint should be sent to Merlin rather than the specific park... It's all about the problem and situation... Merlin do not control how the park's actually train their members of staff directly in their methods of delivery to guests, otherwise we wouldn't see such a gulf in ability between the parks in how staff work, deal with guests and the like...

 

[GAGrathea]

I think you also need to look at different parks' approaches to handling complaints: earlier this year on the first day of Feb Half Term at Towers when the ridiculous amounts of ice around park meant that a lot of rides just could not open, Di Jones and the Welcome team were handing out letters from the very beginning of the day entitling all guests to a free day later in the year, and AP holders to free fasttrack. And similarly on days earlier this year when park closure was forced midday, the guest services team were instrumental in dishing out compensation to everyone as quickly as possible.

Meanwhile, when Thorpe have had absolutely dire days entirely through the fault of their own (see AP day last year), from what I've gathered it took people making the effort to go and complain to see any kind of compensation.

All this kind of thing is not managed from the very top

 

[TheMan]

I agree with you Benzin. That would make me chuckle to complain to Merlin for a lack of Sprite at Legoland ;D - unless of course, you didn't get a satisfactory response from the park in and of itself.

There were issues that were specific in my complaint, and issues that were general, that I believe from my experience, were contributed to by general Merlin issues - if that makes sense.

To not have a company wide staff training procedure, in a £2.2bn enterprise to me, is also ludicrous. It will never be perfect, because humans aren't lol - but why as a brand as big Merlin, would you not want a level of continuity?

I've not read anything yet, that makes this make any more sense to me I have to say. If anything, I'm being left with more questions. As I say, I was far from a Merlin basher, quite the opposite. I don't think it can be denied though, that service/value is most certainly not on an upward spiral?

 

[Benzin]

I think it's the way Merlin act as a company is the reason why there isn't a entire company wide training procedure for all attractions they own... I see it more as backers to the rest of them, focusing on the monetary side of things whilst the parks/midways do what they want to do within the objectives that the backers set to them...

It's hard to say how Merlin actually operate as that's info privy only to those higher up bods, but that's how I see it, they do very little in the front, and prefer to operate behind their branches, letting them take the problems...

 

[TheMan]

All this kind of thing is not managed from the very top

So what I pointed out earlier, that when you do receive good service, it is generally in spite of, not because of, Merlin protocol.

It is good to hear those Tower's solutions, what else in that circumstance could they do? Nothing more for me. Acts of God, as they call them!

Agree with the Thorpe issues too, you have to bend their arms back to get anything (though on my first visit, we had some issues, and they were magnificent and I sent in letters of thanks!), when I complained last year I had to take the manager to task over issues that were unjustifiable, and essentially had my right to complain questioned - resolved in the end, satisfactorily, but not without an experienced elbow! That was a clear, park issue - but that park issue, also led to me thinking twice before contacting the park again, over incidents this year. So what do I do then? Well you go a step higher don't you, and complain to the bosses bosses, and whilst I am there mention all the points that Benzin alluded to - as taken individually, they could be argued as being a bit, pedantic or even unreasonable I guess - but as a whole = crap time, not to put to fine a point on it ;D.

I'd certainly have had a different perspective for example, if I had not had to shell out a fortune for said day out... if I pay 3 quid for sausage a chips, I expect a decent feed, on the cheap, with a few burnt chips and no doubt some slightly undercooked ones, and I'm not remotely bothered. If I go to the Fat Duck however, and I get undercooked/poor service etc, for a premium price - some of which I paid extra for, you better deliver on it!



I've not heard of the forced midday close, what was that about?

 

[TheMan]

I think it's the way Merlin act as a company is the reason why there isn't a entire company wide training procedure for all attractions they own... I see it more as backers to the rest of them, focusing on the monetary side of things whilst the parks/midways do what they want to do within the objectives that the backers set to them...

It's hard to say how Merlin actually operate as that's info privy only to those higher up bods, but that's how I see it, they do very little in the front, and prefer to operate behind their branches, letting them take the problems...

Mr Varney is quite brisk in taking credit though I have noticed! It is not difficult to find him in articles praising himself - this is why this time, I thought "you know what, the parks are not getting this, I can see this is an issue created by a larger issue" and therefore, landed this one straight in Merlin's lap!

Let the parks deal with on the day customers, and their day out - doing what they should be doing. Merlin want the profits, and the overall company credit, so in this case - they can also take some responsibility for it!

 

[gosling]

I've only had two experiences with Merlin (well, specifically Alton Towers itself) that have urged me to complain. I'm generally not a complainer so I don't know if I got "acceptable" responses but I was satisfied with both, ultimately.

#1 was when I fell on the park and shattered the right side of my right hand (little finger hanging off - grim stuff). I complained a week or so later, after surgery, via the comments form on the AT website. And someone got back in touch with me via e-mail a few days later, asking for a bit more info, they then offered me entry into the park for myself and one other for £9, during Scarefest. My "complaint" was that the staff (mainly the medical staff) were ridiculously inefficient in dealing with the situation, to the point where it actually made it a whole lot worse and distressed me more. There was a genuine (or seemingly genuine) apology from the park attached to the cheap entry tickets. To be honest I wasn't expecting any freebies, I just wanted to make someone aware of how much of a poor show it was on their part and to acknowledge it - which they did. So I was happy with that. But some other people have told me they wouldn't have "settled" for that. Heh.

#2 was far less serious tbh. We went up on the day the park was forced to close due to extremely bad weather. And we'd all (a group of six) been planning it for quite a while, booking specific time off work and traveling quite far (via train, which is obviously non-refundable) to get to the park. And when they closed we wanted a refund for our tickets which we'd booked on our card. At first guest services were trying to offer us half price return tickets and the woman who dealt with us was really not very helpful, saying that she couldn't change the refund policy (which is true enough, she couldn't), but then refusing to find a manager when we asked and telling us to "move out of her way and go home" when we insisted we would be happy to wait until she had time to get somebody. I didn't complain about her though because I know how tough customer service is when you've got an office full of angry people, all yelling at you. But when a manager finally showed up (half an hour later, once they realised we were serious about staying all day if we had to) I explained the situation to her, had a bit of a rant about it, and had to put my foot down a bit to eventually get her to agree to give us all a full refund. And again - I'm not normally one to complain but there was just no way we'd be returning to the park for the rest of the year, until Scarefest, and the return tickets were only valid until July. So I'm not losing out on the money it cost us to book those tickets - regardless of it not being within the parks control. It stung enough that we spent £50 quid on train tickets that we couldn't get back. But the park did refund us in the end, I was happy, we left disappointed but satisfied with the parks cooperation.

Aside from those two cases, I've never had to deal with poor customer service or Merlin's reaction to feedback about poor customer service. I hear mixed reviews - some people are really pleased with how they handle feedback, some people feel like they're really not up to scratch. I don't know if it maybe depends on the nature of the feedback? (complaints, praise, suggestions, angry ranting, etc) And also the seriousness? (like having my hand shattered compared to someone's table being wobbly).

 

[TheMan]

Great reply Gosling, and great insight also.

I can understand the issue with customer service, and like you, have been there!

There should be a very clearly defined set of principles in dealing with a closed down day. Weather or not, that's not good enough, if you pay for a service you don't receive, small print get out clauses actually hold no weight in law if they're not deemed fair.

It would not be deemed fair, for an attraction to close, and not refund. Well done for standing your ground, it is a shame you had to, as that is what caused the issue. If you have to close due to weather or things like that, very early - give the people their money back, take it on the chin - alternatively, annoy everyone, ensure they tell their mates what a poor service they received, and have your reputation take a bashing. This is shown by the fact, you still recount this issue!

Customer service, whilst difficult, isn't rocket science. When you have an issue such as what you are mentioning, a manager should be on hand straight away to deal with it. When I was supervising or managing, if there was a major issue, you did not expect your "normal" staff to just deal with it. This is my main gripe with Merlin, they make decisions, and the proverbial rolls downhill whilst no one of an elevated position seems too interested in dealing with it. That includes Merlin decisions, affecting service at park level, which they don't then give a toss about because they're no where near the coal face.

As for the other issue, being so subjective, it's hard to comment on - but certainly, when in a place under their control, you would expect to be treated better by the sounds of it!

Bureaucratic corporatism at it's worse. The people doing the very best work, are those at the coal face, they are without question making up for MUCH that is poor about Merlin right now.

Thank you for sharing your experiences.

 

[Benzin]

It's really difficult for staff to deal with those days though, especially as management are probably scattered all over the place trying to sort out other things... It's an extremely difficult situation for staff to deal with as a constant stream of angry guests will always take it's toll (regardless if said people in question are nice, it's just that snapping point, especially when the staff are not to blame and are giving the most they can in the situation)... It's just the way it goes... Indeed, I'm sure the majority felt that Towers dealt with the whole situation then as best they could...

The shattered hand thing, did you not go to the Medical Centre? Why then did you have to go and complain to them via Facebook? I'm not sure on that one, any major injury like that should be gone over to the Medical Centre and dealt with through there, then you have definitive proof it occurred on park and the like...

 

[gosling]

I did go to the medical center when one of the staff asked my mate how to make a sling to hold my arm upright. That was after we had walked over to a kiosk on the park to explain that there was something seriously wrong with my hand. The lady behind the desk pointed towards the park entrance (we were by Rita at the time) and went: "walk to medical, tell them". Then, once my boyfriend pointed out that it was a serious injury and we didn't know WHERE specifically to go, she rolled her eyes and went: "is the fall the parks fault?", I said "no" (because to be fair, it wasn't caused by park negligence), and her reply was: "I don't have to go with you then". CHARMING. So after walking to the medical place near the park entrance, we had to wait for one of the staff to come to us, who then asked my mate how yo make a sling. Then they said to go to A&E. We'd gotten a taxi into the park from Stoke station so we said we didn't have a car to drive to A&E and I was in a LOT of pain, my finger on my right hand was Z shaped (turns out it was snapped into a jagged point at the base, and the knock on effect had dislocated my elbow, and jarred all the way up to my shoulder for which I still have physio), so they said we would have to call a taxi. We said we didn't have the number of the taxi company that brought us in because we usually Google it on one of our phones when we're ready to leave. Their reply was: "well you can get on the bus service from the park, or have a look for the nearest company on your phone". Maybe I'm being too fussy but I was SORT OF expecting them to, at least, give us a number to call if they're unable to call for us. But at the time I was just really distressed and wanted to get to hospital so my boyfriend got the number himself and we ordered a taxi, which took us to Stoke A&E, who couldn't treat me right away because I live in Birmingham so would need to see the surgeon and physiotherapist here. So the doctor just numbed it, yanked it back into place (which was agony like I've never known in my life!), gave me lots of pain drugs and we had to travel back to Birmingham in the early hours of the morning, where I was taken for surgery after they saw my x-ray. Blah blah ANYWAY. I digress. The medical staff at the park only asked me two questions: "is the fall our fault?" (which is what the kiosk staff had asked me) and "do you think it's broken?"....

So YES. I'd say my complaint was pretty warranted in that instance. And I didn't complain via facebook. I wrote to them via the AT website comment form, asking for someone to contact to make them aware of this situation. They replied promptly with all the info and requested more details, as I said. And it was resolved how it was. I was actually very satisfied with the apology because the guy who wrote me back seemed genuinely upset that I'd had that experience with them. And the reason I waited a week or so to write was because I'd been in surgery, had to recover, was drugged off my face (that part was alright tbh), and couldn't really TYPE very well a first. So. There you go. Heh.

However, that being said - I do realise that I probably had a very rare experience with the staff. At least I hope so. I don't know if it was just a bad day for them or what but I can't help thinking that this CANNOT be the normal level of service in treating injuries and injured guests, otherwise there'd be a whole thing about it? I've had a look around online since and only found a handful of people who've been really unsatisfied with the medical treatment at the park, all for various degrees of injuries. Mostly people have had good experiences.

 

[TheMan]

Gos, that is HORRENDOUS service!

I think they owe you a letter of thanks, to go with that apology, for not making a significantly bigger deal of that affair than you did!!

That's awful, awful, awful service. Taking your story at face value here (which is all we ever can do) - I'd advise anyone to take a step back and think before defending those particular members of staff in this case.

In a public place, words fail me, they really do. One staff having a bad day? Maybe - but two half soaked members of staff, one in the med centre, that doesn't know how to make a sling?!

I've seen you around for a while on these forums Gos (lurker), or I honestly would struggle to believe that story is true.

Terrible!

 

[Benzin]

Full story makes more sense and is perfectly acceptable... Hiring a medical person who doesn't know how to make a sling is very bad, and the lack of assistance from the kiosk (who should've phone control to get a member of the medical team to come to you) with the lack of real help with travelling to A&E, a real circus there...

Really, really poor show...