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Manager made a Big stink!

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Manager made a Big stink!

Robins Hood

:)
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As the title implies, me and a few traders were at the little green men store at DLR and one of the traders i knew had traded some rack pins to a manager for a couple of hidden mickeys. About ten minutes later the manager came back to the pin trading tables searching for the person who traded him the pins. The manager went up to my friend and in front of a few other pin traders and random guests of the park he proceeded to tell him the pins he gave him to trader were fakes in a very rude and some what loud tone of voice. He ask to be given 2 different pin or to trade him back in which the pin trader asked how did he think or know they were fakes. The manager said they where magnetic at which the pin trader told him he had gotten both the pins ( which where vinal pin from the random box) out the store earlier that day. In the end he just gave him two different pins for the trade but does anyone think its right for a manager to handle that situation that way it was handled?
 
Absolutely not. I can understand being annoyed by receiving a possibly fake pin but acting like that in public no less is immature and unprofessional. Not to mention there are a few posts I've seen that mention that whether a pin is magnetic or not doesn't prove if a pin is real. I'd write a personal complaint to the district manager about that, seriously. I mean, being pointed out in a crowd as to possibly trading a bad pin can really spoil a person's possible future trades.
 
That was rude and definitely very UN-Disneylike. I hope you went to City Hall and complained--I would have.

I have a question, what do you mean about "magnetic" pins? Do you mean like a hinged pin with a magnet feature (like a door)? Because there are plenty of authentic Disney pins with magnets. Just curious...
 
There was a study on the magnetic theory. Half of the rack pins were magnetic & half of them were not here at WDW. I don't know if the study was at DLR or not but someone should definitely try it if they get the chance to just to prove the theory is a bit lopsided.

Obviously, this manager has little knowledge about pin trading. Regardless, he shouldn't of acted this way... yet alone in front of other peers. He should've at least pulled the trader aside and had a one-on-one talk. Definitely complain to whomever will listen and they'll do something about it. Managers for this company are known to be less than friendly when something they think is off, which don't get me wrong, is their job but what this manager did was way over the top and uncalled for. I'm very sorry this has happened to the trader.

Complain...and complain hard. Do you happen to know the name of this manager and remember what he looks like? That will help the case if they decide to ask. Someone higher up would be your best bet (to talk to).
 
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Well i was thinking of writing a letter to Disney about this so that at the very least it wont happen to another person again. I know LOTS of people do buy fake pins and trade just to try and get the upper hand but i also know A LOT of people who don't know they have fakes and its just wrong to make a mockery of the situation in front of Guest and fellow peers. The one thing that i felt was really weird was its was 10-15 minutes later when the manager came back looking around the pin tables for this trader just to confront him.
 

I mean, why would you even do that? I work retail and if we confront a customer (go chasing after them) for stealing that's just a huge no-no. I'm sure Disney has the same policy. This is just terrible.
 
We all know it is a very delicate situation to even correct workers on a job these days. There are all kind of rules dictating the way one has to approach co-workers to tell them they made a mistake etc. The main rule is not to confront the person in public.

The Disney manager had to have been taught all of this, and still chose to embarrass the guest. I see it as a power move. There are several Disney employees that like to boss people around, like those that do things that make no sense at all. This guy is one of them and he had absolutely no right at all, and I am sure Disney will agree, to embarrass your friend.

I would definitely go past City Hall. They always say they are going to do something, or they will just apologize, and soon all is forgotten. A letter is the way to go.
 
Sounds like this CM / Manager went a bit bonkers! The managers have maroon colored lanyards (I think).

CM's don't have to pin trade, they don't have to wear a lanyard, I have never seen anything like this happen. Sounds pretty unpleasant. Hearing about it after the fact, it's easy to say that you would do this, that, or the other, but I don't know. I have had a few things happen with CM's over the years at DLR that I thought were deserving of a letter to the management. But, then decided to just let it go.

Here is some pin trading information available online.

http://eventservices.disney.go.com/pintrading/page?id=getStarted#cast

GUIDELINES TO DISNEY PIN TRADING
Click on the link below to download a .PDF file about Disney Pin Trading Etiquette

http://eventservices.disney.go.com/files/Etiquette122004.pdf

The most important thing to remember about Disney Pin Trading - "Have fun!" Disney Pin Trading can be a great way to interact with and meet Cast Members and Guests from around the world.

I don't know if this information has been updated, but here's more info:
http://eventservices.disney.go.com/files/DisneyPinTrading_PinFormationGuidelines_April2009.pdf
 

We tried this test ourselves at DLR. Magnetism proves nothing. This cast member perpetuated myth needs to stop. I would have challenged the lead on the spot and asked to see his magnet. I would have marched him in to his own store and pulled it across all the rack pins just to see his reaction and then ask, "So, are all these fakes? Are you selling fake pins to customers?" Had I been so embarrassed, I would have had no problem belittling him back in front of his employees. Totally 100% uncalled for.


Very, very well said. Please, please do not let this go unchallenged. I would have asked to see his boss (everyone has one) right then and there on the spot. Right in front of everyone. Never ever forget the old saying "The squeaky wheel gets the grease". Make enough noise and you will get results.
 
This is what Disney has come to now? Other than clueless and rude CMs, horrible customer service from ds.com etc, now managers start to insult guests in front of others???

I think it is sad more than anything. A place we turn to for a good & fun time causes heartache and embarassment to its guests. This is a huge dis-illusionment for me to add to what I have seen in this past week.

I think a serious complaint letter is in order, but I doubt their response would go beyond an apology. Even then, please please tell him to write that one letter. You never know what will come out of it and I will keep my fingers crossed for your friend.

Please let us know what comes out of this.
 
This is unacceptable. As a former cast member, I can say that I would have never treated a guest this way. I feel like cast members just don't treat us pintraders the same way as other guests! They need to remember how much money we fork over monthly! Please go to city hall and file a complaint. Those are taken very seriously. I hope you got the cast member's name.

On a different note, does this mean you were pin trading at tables in front of little green men store? Are the tables back there???!!
 

Now that I think about it, when/how/why did this myth start in the first place? I haven't slid a magnet across my own personal pins but I'm curious now.
On the other hand, I agree. I would've took him into the store with his magnet and proved him wrong, to his face in front of everyone.
 
I think a letter will be put forward in regards to this matter of the "Pin Hunter" (which I've come to call him) manager who was bad-mannered toward a guest in the park. I was more embarrassed at the situation than upset when it first came into being but right after he left i was very upset thinking how he found to "Seek out the bad man" (LOL) to get justice for his magnetic pin. On another note yes, the tables are back up at Little Green Men store in DLR along with umbrellas.
 
Pudgethefish: I think the magnetic feature being talked about is something like a hinged pin, like a door on the pin that has a little magnet on it so the door will stay closed until you open it and see the picture inside the pin. Like this: http://pinpics.com/cgi-bin/pin.cgi?pin=82011&sid=2733.1317754317.v2

Come to think of it, I probably would've done the same thing, AND told that manager in no uncertain terms that I was going to complain about him/her in writing to Disney (and I would've had all the pertinent info to give: name and physical description of manager, store, incident, day and time of day, etc. so Disney would know and have no doubts about which manager was involved), and in that letter, further ask Disney if they approve of any CM treating a guest in that manner. I'm guessing I'd get NO response, but who knows, but better to let someone know than for it to just go by without a peep.

Re Merriweather's response, and my own 2 cents: I've never been treated this way by any CM, in the years (decades) I've been going to DLR. Most CMs I've interacted with are polite if not chatty (and most are very friendly). I'm sure this manager is just one of those bad apples, and I wouldn't let it spoil my entire DLR experience.
 
I always wish the Disney would do something about the scrapper problem. Even though the manager was wrong with the whole magnet theory, I'm glad he wants to stop the spread of scrappers. If the guy had been trading scrappers, he would have deserved to be called out about it.
 
Trade Winds Pins said:
I'm sure this manager is just one of those bad apples, and I wouldn't let it spoil my entire DLR experience.
Click to expand...

We definitely have quite a few of those down here at the MK. Especially in Adentureland/Fantasyland since those are the two most popular renowned places because of the attractions. They've very strict with their employees/guests wherever the most popular attractions are. I've learned that from being yelled at by (literally) the most downright, snarky manager there ever is. The CMs are afraid of him and I so happen to get a piece of his mind about the bouncing on the carpets. Long story short, he's looking for my group & I but he'll never find us. *evil chuckle*
 
I was there when this occurred and it was just shocking. I understand wanting to put an end to scrappers but the guy didn't have scrappers as he had bought the pins beforehand at the park. The way this manager went about it was just very unprofessional. I'm just glad there wasn't a big crowd by the tables at the time it happened or else that would have been just wrong if he would have tarnished the guys pin trading credibility.
 
I think, in this context, they are just talking about pins that react to a magnet. Take a magnet off the fridge, touch it to your pins. Some will stick, some won't. It is NOT an indicator of a counterfeit/fake/scrapper pin.
 
PudgeTheFish said:
Not really an expert trader.... what does magnetic pin mean?
Click to expand...

:soapbox: Ahem.

As pin traders, we are always searching for a way to protect our investments against fraud. Fakes are becoming a bigger and bigger problem, so we keep looking for ways to tell the difference between a real pin and a fake one. Somewhere along the line, a well intentioned trader wondered if real pins reacted differently to a magnet being held up to them than would a fake. They tried it on a handful of pins, and they thought it worked. Instead of being thought of as a new idea to be tested, it was held on to by many traders as fact. This then got passed on to employees (Cast Members or CMs) and I have seen more than one CM in the park that has a magnet for testing pins. For some reason, no one bothered to question if this works or not, they just kept repeating what they heard from someone else over and over and over again.

The myth goes something like this:

"Hold a magnet up to a pin. A real pin will stick to the magnet, but a fake won't."

The idea was supposed to be that real pins had metal in them that were magnetic but that fake pins, since they are made so much cheaper, do not. Depending on who you ask, sometimes it is the other way around. We have disproved the accuracy of this "test" quite a few times, done by several DPF members including myself. We took magnets into various pin stores in various parks and pulled our magnets across whole racks of pins, knowing that they were all 100% real and legitimate pins. Some pins stuck to the magnet and some didn't, even though they were ALL real. This "magnet test" is pointless, meaningless, and false. It all just depends on what metal alloy (mixture) Disney had on hand in the factory when they made a pin as to how it reacts to a magnet.

It became a problem when Cast Members and Managers (leads) got a hold of this idea and started perpetuating it and in this unfortunate case enforcing it. It is not the first time I have heard of this; something similar happened to me. I was refused a trade early on in my pin trading days by a CM who whipped out her magnet, held it up to my pin, and told me that sorry, she couldn't accept my pin because it was fake.

Moral of the story: Leave your freakin magnets at home on the fridge where they belong dammit!!!

/Climbs down :soapbox:
 
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