Kim's Corner
Page 4 of 5

SoundStation pin release - the bad
OK - back to the event -

There is so much that went wrong that it's easier to start with the worst and work my way down -

The frenzy -

I understand that it takes hype to make a promotion a success. And - I understand that creating this frenzy drives the market. I understand that it’s the "perception" of scarcity that drives the pin market. I understand that there are parameters under which every event operates. I understand that there are channels that managers must go through to get anything done. I also understand that once an audience is disrespected - to the degree that the pin-buying guests have been - there comes a time when the trade-off becomes untenable. It costs much more to regain a dissatisfied customer than it does to keep them happy in the first place. Treating the guest with respect is a major tenant of Disneyland’s business code and the results of Sunday’s events were "bad show" in the extreme.

To the extent that the tacit abuse of those buying pins is deliberate - as I believe it to be as there is no other conclusion that can be drawn from what I experienced - there is absolutely no excuse - no rationalization - no defense for the thinly-veiled - or rather the "Disney-veiled" contempt between merchant and collector. There has to be a way to design an event that would take advantage of the capabilities of every venue and alleviate the strain on both guest and cast. It was done for those buying Marie Osmond’s dolls - why weren’t the same courtesies shown to those buying pins? In the final monetary analysis - those purchasing dolls spent somewhat less than did those purchasing pins.

The handstamp and receipt controls -

OK - I’m not going to go into the hysteria surrounding the "toxic" handstamp. Let’s just say that there are better ways to maintain a purchase limit - vouchers being a tried and true success - it’s worked at Disneyland - it’s worked at DCA and it works at WDW. At the WDW resorts guests are free to move from sales location to sales location - and from theme park to theme park - purchasing their two pin limit at each venue - the system to limit pin purchases is an acknowledged failure there. And - guess what? It failed here as well. One venue selling pins or twenty venues selling pins - if there is a way around the limits it will be found - and exploited. As long as there is an e-Bay there will be merchandisers and as long as there are limited edition pins there will be money to be made - and until there are some consequences for those who use the Disneyland Resort as their own pin stock room the problems will prevail.

Anyone walking into the restrooms noticed that several people were furiously scrubbing the insides of their wrists - the ink - it seems - washes off very easily. Someone explain why this was supposed to work. By 2pm there were pin buyers refusing to be stamped with the "carcinogenic ink" and cast members were so burdened with the whole hand stamp and receipt check and calling leads and managers to deal with disgruntled guests that they were giving guests a complete pass on the limit controls. It seems reasonable - to me at least - that if Disney is trying to establish consistent guidelines for every theme park - then stamping would be the control for all or for none - and as of today - there isn’t a glow-in-the-dark handstamp in sight at WDW.

It’s a control system that’s more time and trouble than its worth. Let’s try this perfectly reasonable scenario - you’re shopping in Toontown and buy a LE pin with some other stuff - your arm is scanned by a black-light and if no prior stamps are found - you are allowed buy the pin and are stamped- you then wander over to the Frontierland pin cart and find another LE pin - where the CM scans your arm finds the Toontown stamp and asks to see your receipt - fortunately for you, you didn’t put your stuff in the locker yet and produce the receipt - you are allowed to purchase the pin and are stamped yet again - OK - so - now you go to drop your stuff at the lockers and then wander over to the Premiere shop where the LE mystery pin of your dreams awaits - you’re scanned and the other stamps glow like mad - but WAIT! - your receipts are in the locker with your Toontown and Frontierland stuff - and without them you won’t be allowed to purchase your LE pin in Tomorrowland - nor will they hold it for you while you dash to your locker to get your proof - because it’s against DLR policy to hold merchandise. What a mess. The only way it works is if there is only ONE location in the resort selling LE pins and if you keep all of your receipts in your pocket on the off-chance you may want to spend your money on another pin.

Do I really mind the new controls? Yeah - I do - I mind that - because I choose to purchase and collect limited edition pins - that I am being treated differently than is anyone else making a merchandise purchase at the resort - simply because of the items I choose to purchase - I can’t help but wonder if those purchasing WDCC pieces would go through the same procedures in order to make their purchases. I do mind the extremes that the park is going through to assure that the two pin per day limit is followed. I do mind being stamped and black-light scanned by cast members looking to "catch" me doing something wrong. I do mind having my receipts gone through. I do mind being treated like some sort of criminal trying to get more than I "deserve". Is it any wonder that there is a CM backlash towards pin traders/collectors/buyers?

Being stamped and having every purchase I make the object of question is not my idea of "fun" - nor is it my idea of a "magical" experience.

The line -

It seems to me that the level of disrespect allowed to those buying pins - an EXTREMELY lucrative product promotion for the resort’s bottom line - is so much greater than that shown the audience for any other merchandise item. It offended me - deeply - to see the lack of simple respect and regard shown those - like me - in line. We were in line for "only" 2 hours - we chose to be in line for those 2 hours - no one forced us to be in line for 2 hours - we were virtually ignored in line for 2 hours - and if I hadn’t known a few of the event managers we would have been. And - sure - we bought the pins. We spent the time in line grumbling about merchandise managers and those spending their days in corner offices on the fourth floor at TDA - and wondering why they weren’t there watching this event - and playing "If I Ran the Division" - a favorite game. I think that the greater pity was that we fully expected to be ignored - we expected to be disrespected - we expected to be really sunburned when the day was done.

As I learned later - from some friends who were able to watch the day unfold as they waited in line - there was a lack of guest control. The venue itself is small - 30 guests is full and 45 is unsafe - and impossible to secure as I hear that the "shrink" for the day - pins and other merchandise leaving in pockets and not in shopping bags - was in the double digits. Guests who had made their purchases were staying inside waiting for their friends in line - often insuring that they were able to purchase the "mystery" pin - and not being asked to leave. With a limited consumer space and with half of that space being taken up by people who had already purchased their pins - made for a very slow flow of guests into and out of the shop.

And - so - since I had some time to puzzle this mess out - I started to wonder what it was that was different about this particular pin release. Where they genuinely surprised by the turn out? Could they have misjudged the popularity of these pins that badly. Didn’t it occur to them that those who make their living reselling their limited edition pins would be bringing their friends with them to get their "quota"? Was it the two pins per day limit? Nope - we’ve done a two-pin limit before. Was it the handstamp? No - we did handstamps for the mystery pin releases. Just how many registers were in the venue? 4? 5? 6?

And what about the ODV pin cart? Surely it had a shop key. And as to the pin cart - whoever decided to release the two site specific pins - space mountain and the completion logo pin - at the pin cart - and thus allowing those of us who didn’t care to get the other LE or rack releases to by-pass the rest of the line - is my hero - at last someone who had the courage to think outside the box! The whole process was slowed by the need for the CM at the register to shuffle through at least three receipts and scan every arm in search of the glowing stamp. It went from bad to worse and was saved by the quick thinking of a veteran pin-release savvy CM who had the line do the work before they got to the register.

It wasn’t the worst event we’d ever been to - not even the worst line we’d ever stood in - or even the most disorganized pin release we’d ever seen - it could have been the best - it wasn’t. It should have been.

SoundStation pin release - the ugly
And - at the end of our 2 hours in line - we felt sorriest for the cast members who had taken the heat for the poor planning of their managers. It wouldn’t surprise me if most of those who "took it" all day went home and swore never to return. I watched people that I respected being reamed by those I knew to be dealers and watched as those I knew to be casual collectors take the resulting backlash. There is no reason to give the kind of "personal" abuse I saw dished out. It’s no wonder that the turnover within the halls of TDA is so high - that cast members in store operations last less than 2 years before they quit - that fewer and fewer cast members want to wear lanyards - that more collectors have stopped buying pins than there are new collectors coming in to take their places.

Events like this one are not only bad for business but also disastrous for Cast Member morale. They’re not paid enough for the amount of abuse they took - which was proportional to the amount of abuse the guests took - which was the responsibility of their managers and ultimately the responsibility of the guy in charge. It all broke down - and it all filtered down. There is evidence that positive guest experiences lead to increased revenue in the theme park business - as in any other business - there must be research that shows that unhappy guests are expensive.

SoundStation pin release - the future
If Disneyland is dedicated to "show" then this "show" is nearing the end of its run. Cast Members don’t deserve the strain of the abuse they took - just as guests didn’t deserve the disrespect they were shown - there is a breaking point for this promotion at the DLR - and it’s rapidly approaching.