One of my constant complaints had been regarding Security. It is better since the change of Company, but there is still constantly Visitors misbehaving in so many ways towards the Animals. I have zero tolerance for this. I have given many suggestions on how to deter this behavior, they have not been taken into consideration. ... Recently I even got into a discussion on the Zoo's Facebook page, about ways to have the Respect the Animals message out there on the grounds more. The Zoo banned me from being able to post comments on their site.
I know part of it is they don't have enough Security on the grounds. I'm sure its a funding thing, but there are alot of Docents that then should pick up the slack and most don't. Lee and I both are very good at spotting misconduct and when its something we can handle, we have. Telling Visitors not to smoke, not to roar at the Cats, not to tap on the glass, ect.
On Saturday February 5, the Zoo was very crowded. After witnessing much unruliness in the Lion House we went to Bears. The Bear grotto area was packed and there was general unruliness, people running about yelling, and smokers. I made a call to the number posted on the Respect the Animals signs, that states to report any misbehavior. I requested they send Security regarding the smoking. I know the Security and figured when they got there I would tell them of the unruliness and they could handle it. When I hung up, Lee came walking toward me upset that she had seen a guy jumping from the Animal side of the barrier to the Visitor side. I suggested she call and report that, as there had been times in the past the gal answering the "ER" phone line doesn't dispatch the calls promptly. I had recently called regarding an Animal bleeding and on the follow up call learned she hadn't called a Keeper as I requested. Unbelievable! So, Lee called the number and reported "Seeing someone who had been over the barrier..." that was all Lee got out before the gal hung up on her, not listening to her full report that would state, that the person was now back on the Visitor side.
Soon, the Bear Keeper ran out and past us, with several other Keepers on his tail. Security and more Keepers swarmed the area and a vehicle blaring sirens was on the scene. We were shaken and horrified that the call was dispatched in such a way that an all out code red had been put into to effect.
We left the area as instructed but at this point there was no stopping it, so we went to the Lion House and spoke with one of the Security staff, Gisella. I gave the details of our calls and she said there had been a third call reporting, "Three people over the barrier." We felt good that Lee had reported what she witnessed, as if farther down more was happening and no one had called, who knows what the outcome would have been. ... I compare it to the Visitors who saw the Lions being taunted prior to the Tiger event. Had someone made a call then, Tatiana may still be alive.
After talking about it all weekend and still feeling shaken, by Monday I had decided I needed to go out there and talk to someone and let them know how Lee's call was handled, so they can identify any flaws in the way it was dispatched. Had I not, I felt they would never know and therefore not be able to fix things, which could have a dire result in the future.
I talked to the head of Guest Services, Durant and the head of Operations, Deb Howe, both said, "There was a third call reporting a couple and a solo guy. ... We were right to report what we witnessed. ... There were dispatch errors that they were working on." In fact, the Operations gal went into detail about how the calls are received, dispatched and what changes and training she was planning to implement. I was thanked for always reporting misbehavior.
I know part of it is they don't have enough Security on the grounds. I'm sure its a funding thing, but there are alot of Docents that then should pick up the slack and most don't. Lee and I both are very good at spotting misconduct and when its something we can handle, we have. Telling Visitors not to smoke, not to roar at the Cats, not to tap on the glass, ect.
On Saturday February 5, the Zoo was very crowded. After witnessing much unruliness in the Lion House we went to Bears. The Bear grotto area was packed and there was general unruliness, people running about yelling, and smokers. I made a call to the number posted on the Respect the Animals signs, that states to report any misbehavior. I requested they send Security regarding the smoking. I know the Security and figured when they got there I would tell them of the unruliness and they could handle it. When I hung up, Lee came walking toward me upset that she had seen a guy jumping from the Animal side of the barrier to the Visitor side. I suggested she call and report that, as there had been times in the past the gal answering the "ER" phone line doesn't dispatch the calls promptly. I had recently called regarding an Animal bleeding and on the follow up call learned she hadn't called a Keeper as I requested. Unbelievable! So, Lee called the number and reported "Seeing someone who had been over the barrier..." that was all Lee got out before the gal hung up on her, not listening to her full report that would state, that the person was now back on the Visitor side.
Soon, the Bear Keeper ran out and past us, with several other Keepers on his tail. Security and more Keepers swarmed the area and a vehicle blaring sirens was on the scene. We were shaken and horrified that the call was dispatched in such a way that an all out code red had been put into to effect.
We left the area as instructed but at this point there was no stopping it, so we went to the Lion House and spoke with one of the Security staff, Gisella. I gave the details of our calls and she said there had been a third call reporting, "Three people over the barrier." We felt good that Lee had reported what she witnessed, as if farther down more was happening and no one had called, who knows what the outcome would have been. ... I compare it to the Visitors who saw the Lions being taunted prior to the Tiger event. Had someone made a call then, Tatiana may still be alive.
After talking about it all weekend and still feeling shaken, by Monday I had decided I needed to go out there and talk to someone and let them know how Lee's call was handled, so they can identify any flaws in the way it was dispatched. Had I not, I felt they would never know and therefore not be able to fix things, which could have a dire result in the future.
I talked to the head of Guest Services, Durant and the head of Operations, Deb Howe, both said, "There was a third call reporting a couple and a solo guy. ... We were right to report what we witnessed. ... There were dispatch errors that they were working on." In fact, the Operations gal went into detail about how the calls are received, dispatched and what changes and training she was planning to implement. I was thanked for always reporting misbehavior.
There isnt anything more I can add to this, it's all true, it's stated as the event happened. People were unruly, the crowd was huge, and security was nowhere in sight. Once seeing someone coming back over from the Polar Bear enclosure, I knew I had to call the front desk as the signs state. I had no idea what this person has done or why they were on the other side. I made the call according to the law stated on the sign in front of the animal enclosure. If dispatch doesnt know how to field calls, that should not have been on me.
ReplyDelete@Lee- Exactly. Plain and simple. You made the call according to the guidelines on the sign. The problem was in the way they have the dispatch system set-up. It is curious that they are concentrating on your call, when there was an additional call. Which call was the code red dispatched based on? Yours, in which you were trying to report someone who was back on the Visitor side, which would warrant only Security, or the other one which reported three people on the animal side? If yours, then it was dispatched with flaw, if the other, it was dispatched properly. The problem is, they are calling the whole thing a "false alarm" and laying unjustified and slanderous blame on you and it seems on me by association. Operations told me that they dispatch a code red anytime a barrier situation is reported, but admitted that there were flaws, because she hung up on you, didn't get a description of the offender, ect. Regardless of which call or how it was dispatched, that is a Zoo issue. You as a member of the public made a report, that was the extent of your responsibility.
ReplyDeletei remember reading those signs when they first went up after tatiana's unfortunate demise and wondered how many people would actually use the number to report misbehavior, which i see allthe time at the zoo! i believe that many children love the animals at the zoo, but many of them haven't developed an appreciation for animals yet and like to run around and chase them, throw things into the exhibit, and/or taunt them. i often wish the parents of these children would take them away!!! i'm so sad to hear that you were punished for standing up for the animals. it's too bad the zoo management didn't look at this incident and say they could learn from it and make adjustments in their system instead of blaming you for doing something they ask people to do!
ReplyDelete@anonymous- Thank you again for the comment. Yes if you are a regular Zoo go-er you see alot of misbehavin'. Unfortunately they do not have enough Security and virtually no staff roaming the grounds. As well I rarely see Docents watching for this type of behavior and confronting it. I see it constantly, but maybe I'm so sensitive to it that I am more aware than most? I don't know. I think its just that I am concerned for the Animals safety, esp after the Tatiana event. Its also unfortunate that most of the offenders are adults and Parents! I see more Parents allowing their kids to chase after the Peacocks, bang on the windows, roar at the Animals, ect. I have voiced my opinion about this with suggestions for more than just those signs, but it is never been taken into consideration. In fact, I posted it very clearly to the Zoo's Facebook page and was banned from posting there! You would think that they would want to take all suggestions to help deter this kind of behavior (as well any suggestion to better the Zoo) into consideration, but that is not how the Zoo operates. If every thing at the Zoo was at optimum I would have nothing to suggest, but its not. I don't look for negatives, in fact at one time I spent hours responding to Yelp reviews with negative comments, since no one on the Zoo staff does. Why, because I love the Zoo and want it to thrive. The Zoo Management really believes they are doing a bang up job keeping the place going. Maybe most Visitors agree. I happen to think there are things to improve to make it the best it can be. The Zoo Management does not agree and that is possibly the problem. They don't like it and have created a way to retaliate. ... I digressed again, I apologize, this has all been a very frustrating situation BECAUSE its a place I am passionate about. ... Regarding the Bear incident, yes you would think they would learn and tweak. I thought after the conversation I had with the Head of Operations, THAT was what was goign to happen. Instead it seems (allegedly) they may not want any faults to become public and create a negative stir, so instead of owning the faults, they (at least the Director) have blamed Lee (and I assume me by association) for an alleged "false alarm."
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