The Last Hour of my Opening Day

[w00dland]

If you are looking for how my day as a whole went - It was fantastic, I though AE was running better than ever because of a really amazing crew and a real lack of trim brakes at the bottom of the huge helix. DV was down but I wasn't real worried about it. Wiggles looked great and employees seemed happy.

Now my rant.

I was on first dispatch back row of Raging BUll in the morning, and my keys fell out of my pocket (First time losing anything at SFGAm). I went to lost and found and filled out a form and was bummed about it. Later in the day we rode bull again and I actually spotted where my keys were on the ground, right below the final turn into the brake run. Great. I asked the supervisor for RB if they could grab them at the end of the night and she said No problem, thats the last place we look for items before leaving for the night. I told her what they looked like and exactly where they were located and she said they'd meet me at lost and found after they shut the ride down. So after a few nice rides on bull to end the night my group went by lost and found and waited. My friends Erik and Dan were with me in my car but also Dan, Ally, Jan, Chris and his friend were nice enough to stay and keep us company for awhile. After a solid hour the park was getting dark and a guy who looked like Security sup or management asked us why we weren't leaving the park, I told him the situation and he said fine and stood behind us. Soon after the people from Bull came with the lost items from the ride. They hadn't found my keys after all. I was in some pretty hardcore disbelief because now I had no way of getting home but the first thing that is said to me is "Ok time to go" by the security officer behind me. I asked him nicely if he could just take 5 minutes of his time to walk behind Bull and I could show him exactly where the keys were. He refused and asked me to leave. So I said fine and thanked the ride ops for atleast looking for my keys. Only to hear the same security gaurd yell "Don't be a smart mouth!" (Keep in mind, this guy looked like supervisor or management) Now I was getting really upset because I was seriously thanking those two and he went off on ME. I told him that he would be frustrated too if part of Six Flags supervision promised him his keys at the end of the night only not to deliver them and to be basically stranded at Six Flags for a long time.

After this I started walking out of the park when a normal security gaurd walked by. I asked him if he wanted to be a really nice guy and donate 5 minutes of his time for the same cause. He agreed to take only me back there to find my keys. Walking through Hometown Square the other security man just started screaming "NO NO NO NO" as he walked around. He yelled at me again and told me that I need to get out of the park now. And that Six Flags doesn't do these things for people. Now after he walked me back to the Carousel and then said something that included me behind my back. I turned around and said that I thought it was completely unacceptable for him to have said many of the things he said and to call ME the smart mouth when he was the only one being sarcastic or yelling only made Six Flags look bad. I then reminded him that he never even once said he was sorry for what had happened tonight and that his customer service skills needed some serious working.

I walked out of the park a very unhappy guest to the park, not mainly because I hadn't gotten my keys but because of that security officers behavior. The only thing in his mind was getting me out of the park at any cost. Not even offering me alternative ways of getting home. He basically stranded three 19 year old people in a Six Flags parking lot (which was closing soon) with no alternative ideas of getting out of the park. This was totally unacceptable.

Once out of the park it was Erik, Dan, Dan from this site, Ally, and I wondering what to do next. I called my Dad and explained the situation to him, needless to say we were both fuming over what had happened, only in different ways. He needed to drive 45 minutes back and forth at 9:30 to pick up his kid and I was upset about what had happened with this security gaurd.

Luckily I caught a huge break here. I got a call back from my Dad who said that my sister (who also had visited the park that day) was still in Gurnee eating at Olive Garden and had a spare key to my car. Ally was nice enough to drive me to Olive Garden and I got the key. She then broke about 6 different laws to get back to SFGAm parking lot before it closed because there was a giant accident on Grand Ave infront of the entrance. The key worked and I left the park at 9:40. An hour and forty minutes after closing.

I would like to take this last moment to thank Dan, Ally, and Jan for sticking around with me that entire time, because without them I wouldn't have had a ride to Olive Garden at all. I really appreciate it, you guys are amazing people for staying with us.

So that concluded the worst experience I've ever had at a Six Flags park. I really hope that something like this doesn't happen to someone again, although I'm sure its inevitable.

Goodbye.

[jjp5225]

Dude, thats horrible! kind of ironic too. I went to the brewers game and my friend lauren lost her keys but to have security treat you like that.... thats just wrong if you ask me. Its about the customer or the guest not about the workers.

[Bob O]

I would agree that the security guard should have showed more concern and they should have went the extra mile to help you find your keys. It wouldnt have been a big deal for security to escort you and another employee to RB so you could point out where your keys were. In the future I would demand to speak to that guards supervisor and xplain the situation and I hope you got the name's of the people involved amd make sure you contact someone as far up the management rank you can and explain what happened and how upset you were over the lack of service.

While the park may not have the ability to provide a ride home they could have AT LEAST provided a phone so you could call someone for help.
From reports I have read it wasnt a good day on the pr situation for the park!!

[SFaddiction84]

You will be calling management tomorrow and telling them how it is tomorrow right?!!! Seriously, we need to show 6 flags that they need to seriously EVALUATE there customer service skills!

1 good customer service skill would be to PROMPTLY retrieve your stuff!

[T.K.]

Woodland No Problem. Remember I'm 100% commited to guest first service. LOL At least some of cast members I hope u will find ur keys and you will have a better day next time

[DejaVu2001]

Please tell me you got the Security Guard's name and filed a complaint. That was absolutely unacceptable behavior, someone with that attitude should not be working at SFGAm.

[Danhockey04]

None of us got his name, but we all know exactly what he looks like and will retrieve his name next time we go to the park.

[SFaddiction84]

the Six Flags GA website allows you to Submit a forum. for comments/concerns. if anyone wants to complain about anything

[Carlo]

I am not surprised that that security treated you that way. Security at SFGAM is garbage. And top Management does not do anything about it.

[Trailblazer Tony]

Were is that Six Flags security guard that just started posting here?! I smell a suspect...

Sorry for the crappy experience, if it makes you feel any better, i was stupid enough to lock my keys in my car the same day. That, too, is a giant process, but luckily Steve the locksmith is a great guy.....

[sixflagsdude]

That is awful, I am so sorry you had to go through that. I had a similar experience when I lost my keys and cell on Superman but I seriously raised a fit(not that what I did is acceptible behavior). a week later I got my keys shipped in the mail with an appology letter and a "up the exit" pass. hope you are compensated for this.

[CoasterDave316]

Wow that sucks. I hope your able to find out his name and report him.

I know the feeling of losing key's, I lost mine in the park in 2005. I had no idea where I lost them, so I had no hope of finding them. I realized I lost them so late in the night I had to wake up my parents and ask them to drive a hour to drop off a pair of keys.

Thanks to the great people at Lost Items, I was able to fill out a form with a description of my keys, and they came in the mail a few days later.

[zjohn1988]

Who was the supervisor at Bull? Keys are a "valued item" and usually if you know exactly where they are and can prove it, they will shut down the ride to retrieve it. You aren't supposed to stay at the ride if you lost something, but there was a group in 05 that lost their keys at Bull and stood in the exit after we closed until we retrieved them. Someone unfortunately for you forgot about it and they should have gone back to retrieve them. By then it was probably clear to enter the ride area. Don't bother complaining to GAm Management, as most complaints get thrown out without consideration. Write to corporate, the only ones left who slightly care....

[rctfan1556]

Wow....this just proves my point about how bad the management is at Great America. I've been on both sides of the guest/employee spectrum and it just surprises me how things haven't changed a bit. I really think that SFGAM needs to look the way they run the park cause things like this should never happen. That is just really bad customer service. I really hope I don't have this bad of an experience when I go to the park this season(well....whenever that is, need $ 1st. ). Sorry to hear about what happened. Hopefully you never have an a experience like that again cause SFGAM can be a great place to go.

[w00dland]

Thanks for all the wishes guys. I'm still trying to find the name of this guy (really should've looked) so I can write a formal complaint about the incident. Who knows whehter or not anythign will happen. I'm still hoping my keys get sent to me up here at school because I really need to get my mail and have no keys for it.

[LAFFfan4lyfe]

Your welcome Nick. I'm always willing to help out a friend

[Carlo]

If you do not get a response thru the Normal Channels, email Shapiro and he will take care of it.

[RVD420]

It was probably the guy on the forum known as SFGAM security...lol just kidding. You definitley should've got his name.

[Trailblazer Tony]

^That's what I said/was thinking.

Oh, and Woodland, you should also let them know that school is winding down and you'll need those keys REALLY soon...

[LAFFfan4lyfe]

I remember it was an assistant manager. I have no clue what his name was. I wish one of us would have thought to look at it.

[Danhockey04]

I tried to look, but it was dark and his name tag was hidden, hard to read from my line of sight.

[LAFFfan4lyfe]

exactly. Maybe we'll see him around the park sometime soon, and then you can do something about him Nick.

[Chitown]

Very unfortunate situation and totally uncalled for.

However, remember this rule: Cargo pants or Cargo shorts are your friend.

I now always where Cargo's when visiting parks with the zipper pockets. It's a piece of mind thing when riding and not losing stuff.

[w00dland]

It was a bad call on my part because I had forgotten I put my keys in my sweatshirt pocket from before, I generally never keep stuff in there.

The good news is that my keys somehow got delivered to my house today back in Milwaukee. Luckily my parents were already coming up this weekend to help move out of the dorms so I'll have them by the end of the year. So atleast I got them back.

[Jackluver18]

At least you got your keys back. A friend of mine lost his glasses on Bull and he never got them back. Congrats on getting them back.