Social Networks and Alton Towers - We Aren't The Voice of AT

[T]

Not sure where this topic should reside, assuming it has a place at all. Feel free to move to the correct place.

I'm a 'fan' (or 'Like') Alton Towers on Facebook, and have done for many years now. It's a great place to see updates from guests on any particular day, and even more so on days when something happens, as it did today. Guests ask questions, and Alton Towers respond accordingly.
However, it's also becoming more and more apparent that people in the Enthusiast community, including (but not limited to) TS members, are posting responses to unhappy guests, almost as if they are "The Voice" of Alton Towers, providing factual, and sometimes sarcastic responses to the initial comment left by the guest. Whilst this is good for general inquiries, such as Ticket prices, opening times and the likes, which happens a lot, I think there's a point where we, as a group, have to step back and leave it for Alton Towers themselves to respond to. For example, complaints shouldn't ever be commented on, or dealt with by us. Alton Towers are, at the end of the day, a company, and have their own teams to respond correctly to the issues internally.

Guests have picked up on this, so it isn't just me. On many occasions, I've seen people asking "who are all these people that are defending Alton Towers?" and "They all know each other". Also, I daresay Alton Towers themselves are aware of the Enthusiast community itself, and a certain few members, as there are many links with staff at the resort as we all know. So, not only is it beginning to look bad as a guest, but from AT's perspective, it may look as if we are wading into things we shouldn't be.

I don't wish to post members names, Facebook names, and other information, but here is a few screenshots of things I've seen today on the AT page. As this is publicly available for anyone in the world with internet access to see, I don't feel as if this should be removed from this post. The following are demonstrating my point, and in some instances, Alton Towers themselves have actually responded and asked (politely I must add) for people to leave it to them to resolve.

This first image involves a member of THIS board referring to the guest that commented as an 'Idiot':

If you are "Fed up" of reading people moaning, step away from the Facebook page. It is NOT for us to resolve!

This one says it all:

Yet another member of the public connecting the dots and noticing that the same people are repeatedly commenting and taking it upon themselves to respond:

Alton Towers themselves responding, after someone repeatedly took it upon themselves to respond to guests Tweets directed explicitly to @AltonTowers:

I find it awkward, and somewhat embarrassing if I am honest. It's been noticed by AT themselves (see the last image), but am I the only one? I think there's a fine line between being helpful, and becoming too involved, and I think that's being overstepped all too often..

Edit: I have further edited the two of the above images, to completely remove peoples identities. Sure, the post can be found by scouring Facebook itself, but that in itself is public, so I'm not really hiding anything that can't be located anyway. That's the internet for you; Once something is online, it's out of your control, and can be manipulated to many different circumstances. Just be careful with what is said.

 

[Dylan]

This is a very interesting topic. I've seen familiar names posting many a time on the AT Facebook page and thought to myself 'I'm sure Alton Towers are more than capable of defending or answering for themselves'.
Intrigued to see how this will pan out...

 

[LiamC]

Why have you posted this here? What members do on facebook on their own accounts is completely separate to the running, maintenance, operation or use of this site and has nothing to do with it. I don't see why this issue needs to be brought up on here?

That was me by the way who called her an idiot.

 

[BarryZola]

Has anyone got a link to the official Alton Towers Facebook page please?

On topic - Just comes down to individuals unfortunately. The majority of people will reply sensibly or at least non-aggressively, but there will always be a minority who go a bit too far, and I don't think that can be stopped to be honest.

 

[T]

Why have you posted this here? What members do on facebook on their own accounts is completely separate to the running, maintenance, operation or use of this site and has nothing to do with it. I don't see why this issue needs to be brought up on here?

That was me by the way who called her an idiot.

I completely understand that this is being posted on individuals personal accounts, however, when said profiles include Alton Towers members of staff, and it becomes painfully obvious the repeated responders are linked (see two above images where it's deduced), It could become somewhat of a problem. Again, whilst names of any sites aren't directly mentioned, it is sometimes easy, even for a member of the public, to put two and two together... And get 5.


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk HD

 

[Dave]

Indeed, we can't really police members outside of the forums. People will defend the park I suppose but you have to remember that Alton Towers has a guest services team and social media team who's job it is to work in those formats. It can be frustrating to see people moan about the park especially if you think its un-justified but one of the risks is people can start assuming you are a stooge or a staff-member.

That's my own personal view, its hard not to get dragged into the madness of the Internet. As stated though we have no control and are not going to start dictating how people should conduct themselves away from this site. It's a personal issue.

 

[Islander]

I completely understand that this is being posted on individuals personal accounts, however, when said profiles include Alton Towers members of staff, and it becomes painfully obvious the repeated responders are linked (see two above images where it's deduced), It could become somewhat of a problem.

If it's staff you're talking about, then I reckon Merlin would probably have a crystal-clear Social Media Policy that must be followed by staff - I'd imagine that it includes things about posting on company Facebook pages and the like.

If staff choose to ignore it, I guess at the end of the day it's their look-out.

 

[DiogoJ42]

This is why I aviod these pages.

 

[Dave]

Looking at it some of the comments are from members but others seem to be residents of other enthusiast groups so its not a TS only issue. I know Alton Towers know we don't control our members actions (they don't ask us to neither) and we rarely interfere in freedom of expression on the forums never mind someone's FB activity.... Waaayyyy beyond our sphere of influence.

As said I would personally advise people to be careful when posting on the AT social media outlets as for a start its exasperating arguing with natural born complainers, causing yourself needless stress and it can cause Towers issues. But that's just my personal advice and not any team directive.

 

[Martin]

Facebook posts are like Youtube comments. They're stupid on a level science has yet to fully understand.

But that's no excuse for us to be rude or condescending just because we know more about things than they do.

It's not our job to police the comments and I don't understand why anyone would want to get involved. Alton have staff who are paid and trained to deal with the comments, just leave them to it.

 

[josht]

People get really touchy on Facebook :/

 

[Jordan]

Whilst I don't think naming and shaming people on the forum is a good approach to this, it has irritated me for a while that people from the enthusiast community in general take it upon themselves to pile on and defend the park from criticism on Facebook. I've even seen posts in the past where individual members of management have been named and accused as responsible for the problem in question. It tarnishes everyone's reputation, and only causes more issues. Remember - people who post public complaints on Facebook are usually just looking for a reaction, and it's never a good idea to feed a troll.

I also take concern at enthusiasts replying to genuine guest questions on the Facebook page. Whilst I understand it can sometimes be helpful to guests to have a quicker answer from someone else, having an unofficial answer (or conflicting answers from both enthusiasts and the park) creates unnecessary confusion and ambiguity, which doesn't help guests nor the park.

On a related note, I'm sure there's a relation here to how some members of the enthusiast community treat the park like they own the place, but it's probably not the right place to dig deeper into those issues.

 

[Ben]

This is clearly odd. From a purely personal point of view, why on earth would you sit looking at Alton Towers Facebook / Twitter etc just to interfere? Its like them old ladies (and men) that hang out of their windows to nosey what the neighbours are doing.

Where do they find the time? I just dont get it. At all.

 

[Rose Of Dawn]

In a way, I kinda understand why people would be quick to defend Towers in these kinds of posts.

I realise that on the internet, and indeed in real life, you should never argue with idiots. We're all used to seeing these kinda posts clogging up Facebook walls, where someone will start a rant against a large business (as opposed to getting in touch with their customer service department) where they'll mention in a long winded post how outraged they are about something - usually it involves single mothers or 'hard-working families' for some reason - then to get themselves more 'likes' they'll mention benefit scroungers, 'R TROOPZ' or a little girl with cancer. Well, not in every post, but you know exactly what I mean here. These complaints on Facebook are never about anything productive, and usually get out of control with more likes and inane comments.

When these often crop up, they will usually be aimed at something like a supermarket, or fast food, or a cinema. Nobody really cares too much about these companies. Would you ever get passionate about Morrisons? But with a theme park it's different, as we all know that real communities develop around them. So when you see someone laying an ill-informed 'attack' on something that you are passionate about - particularly when you know exactly why this person is wrong - the whole idea of 'don't argue with idiots' goes right out of the window. I don't blame anyone for defending Towers, whether they are right or wrong to do so isn't my place.

But I also agree with Liam - what people do away from TST is their own business. Also, it's unfair to just single out people on this forum. It won't just be people on Towers Street, or Towers Times or any of the enthusiast boards, but it could just be other enthusiasts who aren't aligned with any other community.

 

[IanB]

Its an interesting problem Towers has with its social network.

The fact anyone can post anything on the wall, and anyone can respond to it at any time of the day. It is a full time job running the social network for Towers, and if there is a power cut, I imagine its not an easy job to do from a mobile phone.

That being said, most of the complaints on Facebook, that I have seen have not had any official reply from Alton Towers anyway, and I think when people who are fans of Alton Towers see that they have not responded, they want to try and defend the park. I think when you have a partner, or Friends who work at the park, you could take it as a insult on them, and want to defend the park even more.

I was not on park, but the general feeling I get from reading the Facebook comments, is that its not the power cut that they have a problem with, but how the park handled it in regards to passing information to staff around the park. Hopefully Towers can look at this, and see if they can come up with a solution, so that all staff can be kept better informed on the current situation, so they can better advise customers.

I think extending the ride time, offering visitors the chance to return again (Although they have only lost out on a £1 doing this) was very good, and the best the park can do. Again, there is little you can do for Annual Pass holders, but there was the extra ride time, and hopefully parking will have been refunded if they do not have a premium one.

With regards to Facebook (and Twitter to a certain degree), your real name is linked to all the comments you make, or posts in Public places, and lets not forget what happened to Paris Brown, when her older posts were viewed after she became a public figure. More and more companies are going to start looking at your social networks as part of the interview process, and posts that are made in public, are view able by anyone, so it is worth thinking about.

There is nothing Towers Street can do to stop this, just like there is nothing Towers Street can do to stop members getting carried away on park when they visit on there own but if people think it does not have a negative impact on the community when members cause issue, or insult members of public on Towers Social Network, we are going to have to disagree.

I also think the initial post does not do a very good job of keeping the persons identity anonymous, although anyone visiting the Facebook page will quickly find out who it is. I would be interested to hear this persons views on this topic.

Ian

 

[T]

Has anyone got a link to the official Alton Towers Facebook page please?

Here you go - Clicky

I also think the initial post does not do a very good job of keeping the persons identity anonymous, although anyone visiting the Facebook page will quickly find out who it is. I would be interested to hear this persons views on this topic.

Would that be me, or the people(s) in the screenshots I posted? I figured that, without actually naming people I've noticed (as others have noticed them too), I would blank out their details. That way, I haven't actually named anyone. If other people decide to hunt down who said what, that's down to them, and is nothing to do with me. If the person posting the response in the first place has a problem with people finding out who they are, simple answer is, don't post such utter tripe in the first place. Calling other guests "idiots" just because they are annoyed that the park isn't functioning is really rather rude, and shows what some Enthusiasts believe - that they are higher, and somehow above the rest of the paying public, which is absolutely not true.

Also, who sits on the AT FB page and refreshes constantly, all day in order to respond? Some people do, as the responses (sarcastic, etc as above), are posted within minutes of the guests post to AT. Take a look for yourselves, it happens all the time!

With regards to this topic, I'd like to make one thing clear; This post was not to indicate particular members, and name and shame them, at all. It also wasn't about linking TS with said peoples posts on Facebook. It was merely asking everyone else if they;

A) Have noticed this, too.
B) Ever done this.
C) Approve of this happening on a repeated basis, when it is not out job to do so.

Of course, TS, and other sites can do nothing to stop their individual members taking to the pages and commenting, and I never expected, nor wished they did. It's down to the individual and always will be. However I think for that individual, they could be getting themselves (and others) in more trouble than it is worth.

Take note: If your profile photo depicts an Alton Towers member of staff, and you're insulting other guests, then 'something wicked this way comes'...by which I mean, you could find yourself inadvertently dropping said member of staff in a very difficult situation..

 

[James]

Would that be me, or the people(s) in the screenshots I posted? I figured that, without actually naming people I've noticed (as others have noticed them too), I would blank out their details. That way, I haven't actually named anyone.

In the first screenshot there are three comments with the persons first name in. I immediately knew which TowersStreet member that was without looking at the Alton Towers page. I'm sure many others will know who this person is too.

The other two screenshots you cannot gather anything from (although I knew who Jack is from a comment in the second screenshot, despite him not being a member of this forum) unless you go down and dig through the page, but then that's up to others if they wish to find out anything more.

I think it's a bit unfair these comments were picked out, as it kind of names and shames people when there is a bigger group of people posting on these pages. Personally I think your original post should have been put in Corner Coffee to form a little debate/discussion. As with it in here it makes me assume that this topic is targeted at the TowersStreet community when in fact the people commenting on these pages extends to the whole enthusiast community.

That's not me saying you'e made this to aim it at TowersStreet, although I am concerned about how this topic may be perceived by guests and those casual readers of the forums. To an outsider this looks like it's just the TowersStreet community being rude to Alton Towers' guests, and that the original poster (you) is unhappy with the people on here specifically acting like this. If this were in Corner Coffee I'd have no issue. The team seem happy with this topic in here anyway, so I'll leave them to knowing where this is suited best.

Like I say though, I know your views are generalised to the whole enthusiast community - but (in my opinion) this looks more TowersStreet member focused to an outsider, mainly due to it being in this part of the forum (where usually TowersStreet site and member matters are discussed).

May I say I do entirely agree with your views. You do make some very valid points.

 

[Towseriv]

Surley, although it would be a very severe move AT could block the offending names or PM the members it takes exception with.

 

[T]

Surley, although it would be a very severe move AT could block the offending names or PM the members it takes exception with.

I have no doubt they could, but in the thousands of people posting..

 

[Fredward]

I'm going to try and go all psychological, even though I'm no psychologist...

Maybe fanboys (i know that word is other used, but in this case I think its an apt reason) believe that Towers is the only thing they have and would defend the place to the earth because of it, its the place/thing they know the most about, they visit very frequently and have a merch collection that stretches to the horizon. They blatantly believe they are better then as they say the 'general public' as if they are more deserving of the place.

They seem to enjoy to flaunt their knowledge of the place on their wall and Towers. Just like jocks in stereotypical highschool TV programs flaunt their success of American football.

People find it very annoying. I even have a lot of people like that as friends on fb (no idea why they added me, they aren't even on TST....nor have I even spoke to them) And every single one of their posts are about rollercoasters and theme parks.

Its funny because one of them posted why he doesn't have a girl friend and what their problem is... Sorry but its a problem with you, you annoy people all day with you constant AT updates belittling anyone who knows less then you.

These people aren't enthusiasts they are fanboys. They've annoyed me for a while and makes it embarrassed to call yourself a fan of the place or even an enthusiast.

even seeing these people around park is embarressing, they may aswell have worked there, wearing their uniform of smiler merch!