These next few weeks should be the busiest of the summer! Please be prepared. If you haven’t logged into any of the ticket stores in a while, please do so to make sure they are still active and you have the correct logins and passwords. Check your supplies and make sure you order more according to the procedures for your location. Make sure you have plenty of Disney shells, printer paper, credit card and POS rolls. Be sure to look carefully at the Disney shells for Adults and Kids. The adults are coded with a “78” and the kids with a “79”. You should have at least 3 – 4 times as many “78” shells as “79”. Get to the locations early to make sure you have time to relax and get prepared for your day. Be sure to do your “Blind Counts” for all inventoried items at the beginning and end of your shift. If you develop a line, make sure you acknowledge everyone behind the person you are helping with a pleasant “Good morning folks! I’ll be right with you!” While they are waiting, hand them a FunPak, Activity Guide, or some dinner show brochures to look through while they are waiting. By acknowledging them, this will tend to keep them from leaving your line to buy the tickets at the park. Remind them that the lines to buy tickets are long this time of year and that when purchasing their Disney tickets from us, they can set up 3 Fast Pass times in advance. Also, it’s important to remind your guests that because of it being Summer Season, they can expect longer than normal waits at the attractions. Every year we get complaints about this and people want refunds. So warn your guests in advance, and have them consider buying Express Passes at Universal.

LEAD PROMOTIONS

We are very excited to announce the following lead promotions: Premier – Ricardo Bazan & Jenn Janiewicz, with Nicholas Harvey training; VIP – Keysha Shelby. Rachel is stepping down for GOOD reasons, and we are happy that she is staying on with reduced hours!

BE THOROUGH WITH TICKETS

When selling all tickets, be very specific about entitlements! Be sure they know WHAT PARKS are included with the tickets as well as how long they have to use them. Many people confuse Hollywood Studios and Universal Studios so be very clear and where they are and what tickets they’re included on. Be sure to READ BACK THE TICKETS OUTLOUD, so the guest can HEAR if they’ve purchased BASE or HOPPERS and they can confirm. Make sure with the multi-day Disney tickets that they know they have 14 days to use all entitlements on the tickets. Be sure to READ the UNIVERSAL tickets OUT LOUD to the guest so they can HEAR if they purchased BASE or PARK-TO-PARK tickets. Be sure they understand that any multi-day ticket that they have 14 days to use the ticket, with the EXCEPTION of the 7 Day Gifting tickets, which are only 7 consecutive days. Also, make sure you show them where the parks are on the map so they know where they are going. Be thorough with all sales!

LEGOLAND / BUSCH SHUTTLES
When selling tickets to either Busch Gardens or Legoland, make sure you are asking your guests if they want to take the shuttle. Many times over the summer these shuttles will be full, so it’s important that you offer them right away when you sell the tickets. For Legoland, do it in the ticket store. For Busch Gardens, use this web address for bookings: http://secure.mearstransportation.com/MearsExpress/BuschGardens.asp

SEA WORLD
With it being 4th of July weekend, Sea World is having a special concert performance by Lee Greenwood on 7/2 & 7/3 at 6:30 pm at Bayside Stadium. This is included with park admission. Reserved seating is an additional $15. Also, on the 1 Day tickets, your commissions are now higher! Great reasons to sell Sea World!

CIRQUE HIGHER COMMISSIONS!
Cirque has lowered their ticket cost to us, while keeping the retail rate the same. What does this mean? You make MORE when selling Cirque! Almost $1 more commission per ticket. Let’s suggest Cirque to every guest!

DISNEY SUMMER INCENTIVE!
You all did so well on the Spring Incentive, we’re doing it again! From 7/3 – 7/30, Sell 3 Day or higher MYW tickets! If we reach a company goal of $1.15 million, the top 5 sales people will receive Gift Cards in this order: 1st – $300, 2nd – $250, 3rd – $200, 4th – $150, and 5th – $100. In addition the next 10 will receive $50 Gift Cards and we will also be doing a raffle for a new $40” Flat Screen TV! Sell 3 Days or higher!!!

TIN ROOF GUEST SERVICES PARTY
There will be a Guest Service Party on Wednesday, 7/13 from 5 pm – 7 pm. Food, drinks and live music! Sorry no guests and no day off requests will be approved. RSVP to dpmarketing@cfl.rr.com.

STILL LOOKING FOR GREAT PEOPLE!
If you know of anyone who loves the parks, is responsible and dependable and can work ANYTIME, please have them call the office for an interview. If a referral is hired and they stay at least 90 days, you will get a $100 Visa Gift Card!

ORLANDO CITY SOCCER
The next home match will be Friday, 7/8 against the Houston Dynamo at 7:30 pm. We have 12 company seats available – Section 101 Corner Level Pricing. You get an additional $10!

UPCOMING EVENTS IN ORLANDO
Here are a few of the events we can sell through TickPick: Demi Lovato/Nick Jonas – 7/2; Culture Club – 7/5; Sugar Ray – 7/11; Guns & Roses – 7/29. We can also sell Orlando Pride, Orlando Predators, and Tampa Bay Rays tickets!

Employee Notes: Happy Birthday to Dimary on 7/4 and Shirley on 7/5! We hope you all have a very safe, prosperous, and Happy 4th of July!

We cannot continue having the number of call-ins that we’ve been getting. On a weekly basis, we have 10 – 12 people calling in sick and this cannot continue, especially through the summer. You all need to understand that this job is not one that can be covered easily. There is NO ONE to cover your shifts when you call out because everyone is already stretched thin. In addition, different locations use different POS systems that some of you don’t know. Because of the hardship this has been causing, effective immediately, all sick calls must be accompanied by a Doctor’s note. If you are that sick that you can’t make it to work, we expect you to go to the doctor. We will also be calling the doctor to verify the visit. Anyone with 3 call outs during a consecutive 3 month span will be subject to a reprimand and/or termination for poor attendance. Summer is one of our busiest times of the year. You should WANT to work and we expect you to work. We expect all of you to be responsible and dependable, and if you cannot respect us enough to have good attendance, then you should look for a job elsewhere. As for the rest of you that always show up, on time, and with a good attitude, THANK YOU! A lot of you have been with us for many years, and we appreciate your dependability and dedication. Please know that it does not go unnoticed!

A NOTE FROM ARMANDO
I want to thank all of you for your hard work and dedication! Finally, we are seeing a lift in sales. Many of you have discovered what works and does not work. It shows in your paychecks. Keep up the sales and remember all you need is one good sale to break your daily commission goal. Focus on Sea World, Universal 2 Day PTP and higher, Legoland and Night-time attractions. Keep recommending. Sales are a numbers game. The more “no’s” you get the closer you are to a “yes”. The managers and leads are here to support you if you need anything. Please reach out to us for any questions or concerns. We will do our best to assist in any way. Keep up the good work!

SEA WORLD UPDATE
Mako is now open! This is a GREAT selling point for your guests to purchase Sea World tickets! Remember, if a guest just asks for One Day to Sea World, you should also ask if they would like to add Aquatica, Busch Gardens, and Adventure Island! This is a GREAT value for all 4 parks, and if they get the Unlimited pass, be sure to mention the FREE PARKING at all 4 parks. Also, don’t forget that when printing Sea World tickets, you should always print “Sea World Single Day” tickets. The “Choose Your Adventure – 1 Visit” tickets should ONLY be printed for Busch Gardens. By the way, “Cobra’s Curse” at Busch Gardens is NOW OPEN! Use the opening of these 2 new roller coasters as a selling tool!

ITICKET POS NOTES
Please make sure you “Log Out” at the end of your shift. If you don’t do this, the next shift will not be able to log in. Starting Shift Says “Out of Balance”. Enter “$0” first and see if it says “In Balance”. If it does, call a manager and have them add cash to your drawer. If it doesn’t, then enter what cash you count. Note how much it is “Out of Balance” and call a manager to look at the previous shift. End of Shift says “Out of Balance”. Call a manager to log in to computer and “View Records” and look at your “Drawer Records Shift” to see if all transactions were entered correctly. PRINTING UNIVERSAL AND MERLIN TICKETS – This is VERY important. When you go to print these tickets, they MUST be printed on the BROTHER PRINTER, not the STAR printer. When the print window pops up, be sure to change the printer to “Brother”, not STAR. The turnstiles at Universal are having a hard time reading the bar codes on the small receipts SO YOU NEED TO PRINT THESE TICKETS ON REGULAR PAPER, not the receipt paper.

CIRQUE DU SOLEIL – 50% OFF KIDS
From now through September 3, we will be offering children at 50% off. Make sure you choose the 50% kids line in Connect.

FLORIDA MALL EVENT
There will be a Concierge Mix & Mingle at Florida Mall on Wednesday, June 29, from 7-9 pm. There will be entertainment and prizes, and the team with the most spirit will win a shopping spree at Florida Mall! To RSVP, e-mail lorena.wolf@simon.com by Monday, 6/27. No day off requests will be honored.

MANGO’S CONCIERGE EVENT 6/28
Don’t forget to RSVP for the Mango’s Concierge event on Tuesday, 6/28 from 6:30 – 8:30 pm. RSVP to rafael.benitez@mangos.com. Sorry, no guests and no day off requests accepted.

STILL LOOKING FOR GREAT PEOPLE!
If you know of anyone who loves the parks, is responsible and dependable and can work ANYTIME, please have them call the office for an interview. If a referral is hired and they stay at least 90 days, you will get a $100 Visa Gift Card!

DISNEY AWAKEN SUMMER INVITES
Some of you have received e-mails for the Disney Awakens Summer. Just to clarify, you can go any day from 6/27 – 7/1 from 9 am – 11 am to pick up your 2 Day Hopper tickets. This must be done at the Transportation and Ticket Center at the Magic Kingdom. You do NOT have to use your tickets the day you pick them up, but you have 14 days from the first use to use BOTH days on the tickets. All days must be used in their entirety by 7/15. If you don’t go to the park on the same day you pick up your tickets, you can park for 15 minutes at the Guest Drop-off area at TTC.

ORLANDO CITY SOCCER
The next home match will be Saturday, 6/25 against Toronto FC at 7:30 pm. We have 12 company seats available – Section 101 Corner Level Pricing. You get an additional $10!

UPCOMING EVENTS IN ORLANDO
Here are a few of the events we can sell through TickPick: WWE: Live – 6/26; Justin Bieber – 6/30; Demi Lovato/Nick Jonas – 7/2. We can also sell Orlando Pride, Orlando Predators, and Tampa Bay Rays tickets!

Employee Notes: Happy Birthday to Steve on 6/28!

Our next Mandatory Meeting will be NEXT THURSDAY, 6/16 from 3:30 – 5:30 at Mango’s Tropical Café at the corner of Sand Lake and I-Drive. The Tampa Bay Bucs and Mango’s will be sponsoring this. We know that many of you may be working properties that we cannot leave uncovered, so you will be excused for the meeting. Otherwise we expect everyone else to be there. This is a company meeting for ALL teams to kick off the summer! Food & drinks will be provided and you will be paid for attending.

UNIFORMS ARE NOT OPTIONAL
Team, you have no idea how many eyes are watching you. For our Premier locations, the managers of the properties as well as Expedia managers (for the ELE contracted locations) stop in to make sure you are wearing the proper uniforms. If you are working these locations, wearing a black jacket and a white dress shirt is MANDATORY and is not up for debate. YOU CANNOT TAKE YOUR JACKET OFF AND YOU CANNOT ROLL UP YOUR SLEEVES. If you are hot, buy a small personal fan, keep it in your car and take it to the locations with you. The same goes for our VIP locations. Anyone not following proper uniform standards will be reprimanded and/or terminated. Also, for those of you on the Premier team, we now have generic nametags. Please let us know if you haven’t received one.

STANDING LOCATIONS
We are getting far too many complaints from some of you who are not willing to work at the locations that require you to stand. You all need to realize that this is a HOTEL policy, not an AGS policy, and you CANNOT bring a chair and put it behind the desk. If you are unwilling to work these locations, we will be requiring a doctor’s note stating the reason why. This really limits us on scheduling and may lead to you being removed from certain teams. We know it’s taxing to stand all day, but we have no problem with you taking a few 5 minute breaks to sit down in the break room or walk around the lobby when it’s not busy.

SUMMER IS ALMOST HERE!

SEA WORLD UPDATE
Mako is now open! This is a GREAT selling point for your guests to purchase Sea World tickets! Remember, if a guest just asks for One Day to Sea World, you should also ask if they would like to add Aquatica and Busch Gardens! This is a GREAT value for all 3 parks, and if they get the Unlimited pass, be sure to mention the FREE PARKING at all 3 parks. Also, don’t forget that when printing Sea World tickets, you should always print “Sea World Single Day” tickets. The “Choose Your Adventure – 1 Visit” tickets should ONLY be printed for Busch Gardens. By the way, “Cobra’s Curse” at Busch Gardens is scheduled to open NEXT FRIDAY, 6/17!

BE A “LOBBY AMBASSADOR”
If you don’t have a guest at your desk, please make sure you get out in the lobby and greet guests! Pass out stickers to the kids. Introduce yourself as the Concierge and let them know you are there to assist with any question they may have. Be sure to let them know you also have all the attraction tickets as well. This is what will lead to sales and also GREAT COMMENTS. If a guest wants to compliment your service, tell them the best thing to do is leave a comment on Trip Advisor for the hotel and also the AGS Facebook page. This will help the hotel’s scores as well as our reputation!

CIRQUE DU SOLEIL – 50% OFF KIDS
From now through September 3, we will be offering children at 50% off. For those of you with access to Connect that print your own tickets, be sure to choose the “KIDS 50%” on the bottom line of the page where you choose the quantity. If you don’t make this selection and you choose the regular Kids tickets, we will be charged the higher rate and this will be charged back to YOU.

AGS LOCATIONS ONLY – DISNEY WATER PARK TICKETS
For those of you with pre-activated Disney Water Park tickets (hard ticket inventory), please DOUBLE CHECK THEM. Again, if you have any dated PRIOR to 5/24/16 and they say “DATED” or “WITH BLOCKOUTS”, please turn them in to the courier and let the office know.  These tickets are all expired and need to be returned to Disney.

CONVENTION TICKET SALES
Of course we want to sell as many Disney Convention tickets as possible because your commissions are much higher. However all sales MUST be qualified. The guest must be in a meeting or convention and you can sell tickets to them and their families or guests. Please check for a badge or the sales office to make sure they are in a meeting or convention. Thanks!

RENTAL CARS – ACTION INCENTIVE
Action is our back-up and they are having an incentive. They will be doing drawings for cash prizes as long as you book a minimum of 8 rentals in the month of June.

STILL LOOKING FOR GREAT PEOPLE!
We still need to hire about 10 – 15 more people. If you know of anyone who loves the parks, is responsible and dependable and can work ANYTIME, please have them call the office for an interview. Remember, if you send someone and they are hired and stay with us for at least 90 days, you will get a $100 Visa Gift Card!

HOSPITALITY DAYS
Gatorland – You and 1 guest free from now through 6/17. Bring a pay stub.

ORLANDO CITY SOCCER
The next home match will be Saturday, 6/18 against the San Jose Earthquakes at 7:30 pm. We have 12 company seats available – Section 101 Corner Level Pricing. You get an additional $10!

UPCOMING EVENTS IN ORLANDO
Here are a few of the events we can sell through TickPick: Cyndi Lauper- 6/10; Selena Gomez – 6/10; Celebrity Mascot Games – 6/17; WWE: Live! – 6/26. We can also sell Orlando Pride, Orlando Predators, and Tampa Bay Rays tickets!

Employee Notes: Happy Birthday to Jody on 6/11 and Roxie on 6/15!

Effective 5/27, Universal has announced a gate price increase on only ONE DAY TICKETS that will now match Disney’s variable pricing format. As of 6/3, we have changed the pricing in our old POS and ITicketPOS to match the gate prices. Obviously this will give you an opportunity to more than DOUBLE your commission when you sell the tickets at gate price. However, we do NOT want you to lose sales. So if a guest tells you they saw them Universal’s website cheaper, go ahead and MATCH the price, but you will need to add in the 10% convenience fee to bring it back to what we were previously charging. If you are on ITicketPOS, you will need to go to “Special Offers” in order to match the online prcing. For those of you using AlDesk, we will continue to charge per ELE’s rate. If you have questions, call your lead.

DISNEY PEAK TICKETS
After putting out numerous messages about this, just yesterday we had someone on AlDesk sell and print Disney “Regular” tickets. The guest got to the gate and had to go to Guest Relations and they were very upset. PLEASE GUYS, MAKE SURE YOU ARE CHARGING FOR AND PRINTING “PEAK” ONE DAY DISNEY TICKETS THROUGH JULY 23RD!

CIRQUE DU SOLEIL – 50% OFF KIDS
From now through September 3, we will be offering children at 50% off. For those of you with access to Connect that print your own tickets, be sure to choose the “KIDS 50%” on the bottom line of the page where you choose the quantity. If you don’t make this selection and you choose the regular Kids tickets, we will be charged the higher rate and this will be charged back to YOU.

AQUATICA 50% OFF WEEKDAYS
Today, Friday, 6/3 is the LAST DAY to sell these tickets. For anyone wanting tickets after this date, you must print and sell the regular One Day Aquatica admission tickets.

SUMMER IS ALMOST HERE!

SEA WORLD PRICING UPDATE
Effective Monday, 6/6, the $30 off special will NO LONGER BE VALID and Sea World will go back to $20 off. You will continue to print the “Sea World Orlando Single Day Tickets” in EZ Ticket. You will just be charging $10 more. The “Choose Your Adventure – 1 Visit” ticket will ONLY be printed for guests purchasing Busch Gardens by itself.

GAY WEEK
For those of you on AlDesk or ITicketPOS, please make sure you are mentioning the Convention Tickets to anyone visiting this week for gay week. They DO qualify for these tickets and your commissions will be MUCH HIGHER. The main day for years has been the visit to the Magic Kingdom on Saturday, 6/4. We need to be sensitive to the needs of all of our guests, so without offending anyone, you need to assess the attitude of your guests and make sure they are aware that some of the parks on particular days will be very crowded – particularly the Magic Kingdom on Saturday, 6/4. So if you have families with smaller children, you may want to direct them to another park on that day.

LEGOLAND BOGO OFFER
McDonald’s is offering a coupon for a “Buy an Adult Ticket, Get a Kid Free”. We will honor this coupon using the Legoland Gifting (Touring) store. Remember, the adults MUST BE AT FULL PRICE and you must have an EQUAL number of Adults and Kids tickets. If you have an odd amount, you must print them out of the Legoland Guest Services (Non-Touring) store. For example, if you have 2 Adults and 3 Kids, you would sell and print 2 Bogos out of the Gifting Store (2 Adults and 2 Kids Free) and sell 1 additional child and print it out of the Guest Services store. If you have any questions, please call a lead or manager.

UNIFORMS – CODED ON WHEN TO WORK
We now have 3 different uniforms for the various teams. When you look at your schedule in When to Work, you will see either nothing, or “ELE” or “AGS”. Here are the uniforms for those locations: ELE – Black Slacks/White Dress Shirt/Black Jacket; AGS or Blank– Black Slacks/AGS Uniform shirt; VIP Locations (Embassy, Courtyard LBV, Delta, Clarion Palm Parkway, Oasis, Radisson LBV, Sheraton LBV, Paradise Palms, Windsor) – Black Slacks/White Dress Shirt/Black Jacket/AGS Branded Tie or Scarf. Be sure you are wearing the proper uniform for the location you are working.

RENTAL CARS – ACTION INCENTIVE
For our AGS Teams, as usual, Dollar/Thrifty is our first choice. Action is our back-up and they are having an incentive. They will be doing drawings for cash prizes as long as you book a minimum of 8 rentals in the month of June.

STILL LOOKING FOR GREAT PEOPLE!
Remember, if you send someone and they are hired and stay with us for at least 90 days, you will get a $100 Visa Gift Card!

HOSPITALITY DAYS
Gatorland – You and 1 guest free from now through 6/17. Bring a pay stub.

ORLANDO CITY SOCCER
The next home match will be Saturday, 6/18 against the San Jose Earthquakes at 7:30 pm. We have 12 company seats available – Section 101 Corner Level Pricing. You get an additional $10!

UPCOMING EVENTS IN ORLANDO
Here are a few of the events we can sell through TickPick: Copa America – 6/4, 6/6, and 6/8; Cyndi Lauper- 6/10. We can also sell Orlando Pride, Orlando Predators, and Tampa Bay Rays tickets!

Employee Notes: Happy Birthday to Cindy on 6/8, Mahvash on 6/7, Laura Martinez on 6/9, and Jenn on 6/7! Congrats to Nick for 1 year on 6/2, Lisette for 1 year on 6/8, Petra for 1 year on the same date, Maria for 11 years on 6/6, Kim for 3 years on the same date!