Let’s bring Joy, not Anger, to others… The title of this piece is a direct quote from a Cast Member. My daughter and I were at Epcot, and we had a question about something. There was a hospitality Cast Member not too far away, so we decided to ask her. A couple was walking away from her as we approached, and they obviously seemed upset. The Cast Member did as well. When we got close enough to say hello the first thing that she said was “Please don’t yell at me!” Honestly, it hurt that she was having such a bad day, and that the guests were making it worse. We ended up having a great conversation with her. She answered our question, then we chatted for a while. I was so impressed by this young woman that we left her a Cast Member compliment. I would have anyway, she was that good, but I hoped that knowing that she had made our day more special would help to turn her day around.
Even though this happened weeks ago, it is still on my mind. I will never understand why someone would take their frustrations out on a total stranger who was only doing her job. I’m pretty sure that the initial problem was that the couple had not been wearing their masks properly, and she reminded them of what the rules are. It’s been my experience since Walt Disney World reopened that 99.9 percent of the people who aren’t wearing masks properly know exactly what the rules are, they just choose to disobey them.
Cast Members work hard, and they receive a lot of grief from guests. Hardly a day goes by when I’m at Walt Disney World when I don’t see a guest being rude to Cast Members. Where are people’s hearts? How did we get to the point that it’s acceptable to yell at someone just for doing his or her job? Only a small fraction of the displays of anger have been about masks. People get upset about Mobile Ordering, social distancing, even the prices in the stores. The Cast Members who end up getting abused over these things (and many more) don’t make the rules and don’t set the prices, but they end up on the receiving end of so much wrath.
I always try to treat others as if they are having a bad day and a kind word will make that day a little bit better. For me, it all goes back to my grandmother. She was a beautiful woman who lived by the Golden Rule. When she died, I had a job in customer service. When I went back to work after her funeral, people didn’t see my grief. I took care of both nice people and jerks that day, all while nursing my own broken heart. None of the customers knew my pain.
I do know that not all Cast Members are perfect. I’ve run across plenty of rude ones as well. I still don’t feel like I need to be rude back. Two wrongs don’t make a right. If someone is rude to me, I try to be extra nice. At least then I’ll know that I did what I could.
My point is that we never know what someone else is going through. Being a jerk can ruin someone else’s day, and yours as well. Being nice, on the other hand, can be contagious. I prefer to be as nice as possible to Cast Members these days. Right now, they can’t see my smile, so I have to try a little harder to spread some kindness. Those who work for Disney are under a lot of extra stress these days, I don’t want to add to it. I don’t ever want to be the person who is walking away angry as the Cast Member says to the next guest “Please don’t yell at me”. I know that whoever is reading this feels the same way.