caffeine_demon
Strata Poster
marc said:
Ugh - I prefer pepsi!
Thorpe Park Rebrand
- Thread starter Nemesis of oblivion
- Start date
Ugh - I prefer pepsi!
nealbie
CF Legend
marc said:
The security at Thorpe are beyond useless and basically hired thugs.
When I worked there the only time I ever saw them do ANYTHING was when someone refused to pay the car park fee and after almost an hour the guy there called the rest of the security team who created a guard of honour and clapped the car out as they lifted the barrier.
The topics of conversation on turnstiles between themselves were also far from professional. Raised this with team leaders several times and I was the one who got in trouble!
Robbie
Hyper Poster
SaiyanHajime
CF Legend
The other stupid thing people aren't really thinking about is that this advert will turn off the audience that gets the most out of Thorpe.
It may help their numbers short term if they deem said audience to simply not be visiting, but as Furie says next year those families will not return.
Personally, and I've always said this, I think people think way too much about specific audiences sometimes. Especially regarding a theme park that is an entire day experience and relies on variation. I think in Thorpe's case, they'd do better to remove themselves a little and simply advertise what they have. I think they try to hard sometimes to push the concept behind something instead of what it actually does successfully. It would be like advertising the 360 as gourmet sit down when no one cares unless you actually say it and they find out it's a blatant lie.
All you need is an advertisement that shows the rides. Let guests make up their own mind. Telling them it's for families is just so awkward even if it were true.
As for Thorpe and it's problems, their staff are just shocking by majority. There are some gems who shine though, the rare minority who love their job. You compare their staff attitude to Chessington and it's easy to see why despite the terrible offerings and limited new atttractions at Chessington they have still managed to sustain attendance in recent years. Thorpe is going downhill because, for years, they've added more and more big budget attractions that for a while worked whilst neglecting everything else. Chessington didn't have the budget and worked hard to improve in ways that cost little or are free. That's my 2 pennies.
It may help their numbers short term if they deem said audience to simply not be visiting, but as Furie says next year those families will not return.
Personally, and I've always said this, I think people think way too much about specific audiences sometimes. Especially regarding a theme park that is an entire day experience and relies on variation. I think in Thorpe's case, they'd do better to remove themselves a little and simply advertise what they have. I think they try to hard sometimes to push the concept behind something instead of what it actually does successfully. It would be like advertising the 360 as gourmet sit down when no one cares unless you actually say it and they find out it's a blatant lie.
All you need is an advertisement that shows the rides. Let guests make up their own mind. Telling them it's for families is just so awkward even if it were true.
As for Thorpe and it's problems, their staff are just shocking by majority. There are some gems who shine though, the rare minority who love their job. You compare their staff attitude to Chessington and it's easy to see why despite the terrible offerings and limited new atttractions at Chessington they have still managed to sustain attendance in recent years. Thorpe is going downhill because, for years, they've added more and more big budget attractions that for a while worked whilst neglecting everything else. Chessington didn't have the budget and worked hard to improve in ways that cost little or are free. That's my 2 pennies.
CookieCoasters
Giga Poster
I would agree with that. The people at guest services are always very helpful
Nemesis of oblivion
Strata Poster
Here is Another ad, quite similar to the previous one.
http://m.youtube.com/watch?v=-MYvUjxQ_9Y
http://m.youtube.com/watch?v=-MYvUjxQ_9Y
SaiyanHajime
CF Legend
What operators do on announcements is a love-hate thing... But with how staff behave in more personal situations, Chessington top Thorpe. Even friendly staff at Thorpe I find will be inappropriate in their discussion or give an awkward vibe.
When Scarlet and I were joking about a fatty on Swarm, an attendant overheard and joined in. Stuff like this.
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When Scarlet and I were joking about a fatty on Swarm, an attendant overheard and joined in. Stuff like this.
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Screaming Coasters
Strata Poster
marc said:
Sorrryyyy.... The laughing thing was my fault. I started it off in 2007 and ever since then, everyone stole my style and rolled with the laugh. Oooops :/
nealbie said:
I disagree. Thorpe staff are some of the most clueless staff I have ever seen. They have no comment sense. Example: When I first went on Swarm, there was an empty seat going, and I sat in a row by myself too.. So instead of just dispatching the train and just load the other train, the op thought it was a great idea after all the restraints had been checked, to open them, move me to the other free seat and find another 2 people to jump on.. The whole train wasn't dispatched for 5 minutes! That train could have had 3 cycles in the time they faffed about.
Most of Thorpe staff (not all, because there are some gems) are clueless no-brained slacks...
Nemesis of oblivion
Strata Poster
^ yep, that Swarm dispatch thing sounds like Thorpe Park. Their staff are very mixed. I find the staff on Saw as well to be useless at guiding you to the right row and cause havoc with the bagging area. I will say though they're quite efficient with Colossus and Nemesis Inferno. Plus some of them can be a great laugh. As I've said before though, Flamingo Land are the worse for staff, very few looked like they weren't going to commit suicide.
Nemesis Inferno
Strata Poster
To be fair, the Vampire ops laughing isn't the actual issue, it's the volume of which the operator's PA is at that I'd be surprised if it doesn't cause the platformers to be deaf after 3 hours on there...
Both parks have pretty crap staff though, Chessie don't know where to draw the line on guest interaction/talking (not dispatching Fury because I haven't "flapped my wings like a dragon" is my least favourite example), whilst Thorpe just seems unprofessional in the way staff are more than happy to piss about and the like, even if it suits the park's brand...
S'all hit and miss...
Both parks have pretty crap staff though, Chessie don't know where to draw the line on guest interaction/talking (not dispatching Fury because I haven't "flapped my wings like a dragon" is my least favourite example), whilst Thorpe just seems unprofessional in the way staff are more than happy to piss about and the like, even if it suits the park's brand...
S'all hit and miss...
SaiyanHajime
CF Legend
Vamp PA isn't so loud from exit side. THAT'S the problem. The speakers face the bays.
I agree with Benin, and Erol. It's the not knowing where to draw the line and lack of common sense that let's everyone down.
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I agree with Benin, and Erol. It's the not knowing where to draw the line and lack of common sense that let's everyone down.
Sent from my HTC Wildfire S A510e using Tapatalk 2
Just come back from a 2 day stint at Thorpe Park and found this discussion interesting and thought I would share some of my thoughts on TP.
We are a family of 4 with 2 girls 15 and 9. My youngest is just over 1.4m now so could ride anything in the park. She however didn't feel ready to ride everything although she braved braved Nemesis at the end.
My point is that when you visit somewhere if you don't do your homework when visiting a park then you only have yourself to blame. I see no point in taking toddlers or kids in pushchairs etc to a park like this-and those that do only have themselves to blame if they are bored etc.
On the whole we found the queue times OK and just need to do some strategic planning. Staff were helpful and pleasant in the main although there were a few plums when dispatching rides for quickness.
The place was generally clean although I agree tired in places and no real theming. Overall we enjoyed it and would go again as a family.
I hated the saw maze when it opened and thought it a waste of time and money. I was pleased to see this closed and after the fright nights really hope it goes as I feel it doesn't bring anything to the park.
We are a family of 4 with 2 girls 15 and 9. My youngest is just over 1.4m now so could ride anything in the park. She however didn't feel ready to ride everything although she braved braved Nemesis at the end.
My point is that when you visit somewhere if you don't do your homework when visiting a park then you only have yourself to blame. I see no point in taking toddlers or kids in pushchairs etc to a park like this-and those that do only have themselves to blame if they are bored etc.
On the whole we found the queue times OK and just need to do some strategic planning. Staff were helpful and pleasant in the main although there were a few plums when dispatching rides for quickness.
The place was generally clean although I agree tired in places and no real theming. Overall we enjoyed it and would go again as a family.
I hated the saw maze when it opened and thought it a waste of time and money. I was pleased to see this closed and after the fright nights really hope it goes as I feel it doesn't bring anything to the park.