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"Management
pushed the same message when Three Rivers opened in 1970 -- greet fans with
open arms, serve them with smiles and go the extra mile to keep them coming
back. But over time, communications broke down, guest-services phones rang
unanswered, employees became frustrated with lack of support and the place
got grungy. "Everything
you've said, we've heard," said Brenda Thompson, the Pirates' director
of guest relations. "And you're right. That culture has to change." The
incentive for everyone to be on top of his game is the fan, said Thompson.
"You are in the entertainment business. There are a lot of things a
family of four can do with $150 besides go to a baseball game." Thompson
reassured employees, who filled a ballroom of round tables that many
complaints will be moot at the new ballpark. Employees will have direct lines
to management, lots of phones throughout the park and guidebooks to answer
fan questions. They will have a break room, lockers, a shower and a $2 hot
meal before every game. They will be watched, yes, but when they are spied
lighting up a fan's day with what the new regime calls "wow"
service, they will get a "caught you doing something great" card,
she said. The card will go into regular drawings for prizes such as dugout
jackets, big-screen TVs and other perks employees say they've never had. Among
the ballpark's facets, one of the most striking improvements is
accessibility, said Joan Stein of Accessibility Development Associates Inc.,
a consulting firm. She has been working with the Pirates to make the ballpark
state-of-the-art. "We
went beyond the standards," she said, listing a few things that wow her:
16 private toilet rooms for disabled fans; prime baseline seating, with
swivel chairs for sign-language interpreters and battery-chargers so that
people who use battery-powered wheelchairs can charge their chairs while they
watch the game. "But you can have the most accessible
ballpark in the world, and if my friend who uses a wheelchair and I sit down
to lunch and the server asks me what my friend wants ..." She raised her
eyebrows in distress. "It happens all the time. I usually say, 'She's
sitting right there, why don't you ask her?'" |
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Pirates hope
congeniality training ushers out
the old bawl game |
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By Diana Nelson Jones The
day of the crusty usher is over, at least in theory. Three Rivers Stadium is
supposed to take the old culture down with it when it crumbles on Sunday.
Insolence, grouchiness, tips -- gone. But
time will tell, said some of the workers who attended yesterday's training
session at the Holiday Inn Green Tree. The Pittsburgh Pirates are holding
day-long sessions every Thursday through mid-March for all ballpark employees
on the fine points of winning over the fans.
Congress a decade ago to improve public access for people with
disabilities. |
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