THE QUESTION: My friends and I are thinking about doing the zip line. This might be a silly question: how do you stop at the end of the zip? PARK SPY
Park Spy fans may recall that we posed this exact question for a Spy mission back in 2016 and, surprisingly, many staffers struggled with it as much this time around as they did back then. Why is that surprising? The same reason it was seven years ago, when six out of 10 employees scored 5 or less: this is a question that only a zip line neophyte would call to ask, so providing a straightforward answer should be automatic. Some of the 2016 responses were eerily similar to 2023, too, such as “the guides will teach you” how the braking works (which doesn’t answer the question at all), and telling callers that hands are used to brake (ouch!) but ne- glecting to say that gloves are provided until the Spy asked. Some staffers nailed it, of course, with simple, friendly explanations. But nailing the basics should be easy, espe- cially in late August when these calls were made. Been asked a tricky question this season? Send it to jack@adventureparkinsider.com for the Spy to pose to other parks. We won’t tell anyone the question came from you. Plus, if we use it, your park will be immune for that issue.
PARK #1, MN First Contact: Female (sounds chipper). API: Stated question. Staff: It’s self-braking, so we give you gloves and a brake pad, and the guides will give you hand signals when you need to start braking. Then you just stop or slow yourself down. API: OK. So, you just use your hand to slow down or pull the line down? Staff: Yep, you just need to put pressure on the line. The first two lines are where the guides will teach you how to do everything. So, you do get to practice before you move on to the bigger lines. So, yes, they will teach you how to do everything. API: Oh, great. Staff: (with enthusiasm) Yep, our guides are great and will help you learn everything! Are there any other questions? API: No, I think that was all. Thank you. Staff: You are welcome. Goodbye.
Score: 8 Comment: She was in a great mood! Her presentation of the information put me in a good mood, too—and made me con- fident that we could handle the zip line. PARK #2, TX First Contact: Female. API: Stated question. Staff: So, we have a self-braking system, which basically means you have to stop yourself... (long pause) . You will ride with your dominant hand stretched above your head and you will have a leather pad over a glove. Then you will take that arm and you will pull down on the cable. API: OK. And do the guides let us know when we should start braking? Staff: Uhh... (long pause). Yes, they will give you a signal and tell you when to start braking. API: OK, great.
Staff: Was that all? API: Yes, thank you. Staff: Goodbye. Score: 5
Comment: She painted a pretty good pic- ture of how to stop, but she was clearly multitasking while on with me, which was annoying. PARK #3, TN First Contact: Female. API: Stated question. Staff: Our braking system is like magnets. API: OK. How does that work? Staff: It will slow you down (muffled noises) . It will slow you down until you reach the platform. API: OK. So, we don’t need to do anything? Staff: Pretty much. It will help you get stopped (voice fades off).
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