Why Six Flags Is Not Disney

Six Flags pretty much sucks.

(If you are outside the U.S., Six Flags is an amusement park chain.)

The employees are almost all teenagers and, quite frankly, customer service is not high on their list of priorities. Let me give you just one scenario:

There was a concert there that my kids wanted to see. A guy by the name of "Drake Bell." (He is an actor on a show for kids called "Drake and Josh." And, just as an aside, the concert was much better than I ever would have expected.)

Obviously, it's hot as heck here in Atlanta so I go to get the kids and I a drink and some food. I get in line which is fairly long but not massively long. Two windows are open but one of them is only for "free refills" on soda. There is almost no one in this line. For most of the time the "teenage girl with attitude" is just standing behind the counter with nothing to do. Meanwhile, the line I'm in is not moving but is growing in length.

A number of people suggest that the girl in the "refill only" window help out. Nope. She emphatically states that the window is, indeed, for "refills only."

I kid you not that I am in line for 35 minutes before making it up to the window. (I also kid you not that there were only about ten people in front of me when I got in line.) I can see why: It takes the teen employees about 5 minutes to pour a coke and hand it to the customer because they move so slowly.

Anyhoo, I get up to the window and order, a coke, a hot dog, a pretzel and popcorn - which is clearly on the menu. I am informed that they do not have any hot dogs, pretzels or popcorn but they do have melted cookies and nachos with luke warm, bording on cool, cheese. Yum!

I wait. I wait. And finally ask where my Coke is. "Oh yeah", is the reply. The Coke is poured. I wait. I wait. And then ask where my nachos and cookie are. The nachos come but without a cookie. "Oh, you ordered a cookie too?", I'm asked. "Actually, this will be the third time I ordered the cookie", I reply.

I trudge back to my seat just in time for the concert to start.

If you contrast the experience I just had at Six Flags with the almost anyone's experience at a Disney theme park, you will instantly see why Disney is so wildly successful. Disney actually cares about their customer's experience and makes sure the management and the employees care as well.

What kind of experience are you giving to your customers. Are they writing blogs like this about you?

Hmm, something to think about. I know I am asking myself that question and coming up with a list of things that I need to improve.

How 'bout you?

Kick butt, make mucho dee-nero!

~Dave Dee

P.S. Finally, finally, finally, my "How To Turn Your Passion Into Profits" mega course is going to be ready on Friday. (I had to re-record over six hours of material.) More details are coming up soon!