April 30, 2012
By Allen F. Weitzel Recently, an industry friend from a notable amusement facility asked me to comment on the subject of providing electrical recharging services to park guests. I answered his question and then realized that this subject might be of interest to our TAP readers. Feel free to join in with your ...
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April 30, 2012
By Allen F. Weitzel Machine Gun Kelly and his gangster mob from the 1920s and 1930s were not exactly stand-up people. On September 26, 1933, in Memphis, Tenn., the gang was broken up, and ceased to carve up and fracture the law. It seems, however, that they are still around – somewhat. Our management lesson ...
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March 12, 2012
My favorite form of gratification and amazement is seeing what great things employees are able to accomplish when they are trained and encouraged to perform. The Leader’s Job As I preach in my “Train The Trainer” classes, a leader often has to provide encouragement to rookies on the job, letting them know that they can ...
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February 14, 2012
By Allen F. Weitzel There are times when a small item or incident can have a giant impact on people, whether at work or at home. I am always looking for lessons learned from such events. Here is one incident example for all of us to consider. Worker’s Comp A Worker’s Comp insurance representative told ...
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January 18, 2012
By Allen F. Weitzel Employees have an obligation to follow procedures and work safely. Management has an obligation to know procedures, train employees on them, and then monitor employee actions to make sure employees remember and follow those procedures, and remind them when they do not. When it comes to safety, management must understand their ...
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December 20, 2011
By Allen F. Weitzel What can you expect from employees? How much of a difference can their actions make? What impressions will guests take away from a day at your facility? What Kind of Impressions? My wife, Susan, and I were in Santa Monica, California recently. We stopped for lunch at a popular, build your ...
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October 31, 2011
By Allen F. Weitzel This may appear to be a redundant question: How Many Bosses Do Your Employees Really Have? You might say “one,” but it probably is more than you think. Who Is a Boss? Most employees will respond to any person of a higher rank, but, ideally, an employee should only have to ...
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October 10, 2011
By Allen F. Weitzel People ask me how I collect so many business and personal stories. Well, our family has been blessed with good memories and the ability to gather events from daily life; applying them to lessons learned. Why Are They Needed Social network organizations identified that we were becoming a socially fractured society. ...
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September 21, 2011
Customer Service! Everyone has a customer service story. So do I. However, I hope to give you an angle that you may not have encountered. Understanding the Problem My brother, Warren, and I were managing a western amusement park in California. We received a call that there was a guest complaint at our petting zoo. ...
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August 12, 2011
This topic will raise some eyebrows and spark comments. Should your trainers be required to train on subjects or philosophies that they strongly disagree with? Some would say, “It is their job. It does not matter if they agree or disagree!” But, let me tell why this may not be the best policy. What Makes ...
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July 1, 2011
By Allen F. Weitzel In my 45 years in this business, I have heard it hundreds of times, “We can never complete evacuation drills because we can never schedule the whole crew together for training at one time.” Evacuation training does not have to be worrisome. Here are some tips about evacuations. Why Would You ...
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June 7, 2011
By Allen F. Weitzel Hello again. Thanks for reading and sharing your thoughts. I look forward to your comments, suggestions and ideas. After reading, please let us know your networking ideas and success stories. I will be sure to respond. Network, Network, Network The “Networking” phrase had become a tired business cliché until the explosion ...
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May 6, 2011
By Allen F. Weitzel Welcome back – I am looking forward to seeing your comments on our new management topic. I hope you enjoy what you read and gain some insight into this topic. Please post your comments to be shared with all readers. Thanks to the Disney folks for their kind words last month. ...
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April 27, 2011
By Allen F. Weitzel Welcome to Tourist Attractions and Parks Magazine’s Management Blog. I hope you like what you read and post your comments, so together we can generate good ideas and advice in the all-important area of amusement facility management. As a business professional, it drives me crazy when I see managers who do ...
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