Only one complaint that i want to address

[Donald - my hero]

We went to the World from December 5th thru the 12th to celebrate our 25th anniversary and had a GREAT trip. Now it was crowded at times but we didn't care. We had the BEST time ever and met some incredible CMs all ready with a smile and willing to help with whatever we asked.

Only problem we encountered was with the front desk staff at the AKL. We felt that our comments fell on deaf ears. We had "requested" a King sized bed and knew before we got there that is was only that. A REQUEST. When we arrived around 2 p.m. our room was ready and we were told point blank that there are no rooms available to suit our requests and we understood but asked if there might be one available to following night. LONG story short, they went to ask a manager who came out and told us the same thing -- ok ok we get it please stop telling us what we know. we were polite just wanted them to respond in kind. We were told that they would give us one the following night but we would need to check in and then out in the early am. SO we set alarm and got to front desk to be told the same story but with more force the 2nd day. Amazingly enough the "back room" visit provided us with a positive answer -- come back at noon and your new room will be available. So come back we did, and were told in no uncertain terms that we must have heard incorrectly since there was no such room ?!?!?
By 11 this night we were given a room with a king sized bed and we felt awful -- it was a handicapped room. Hubby went down and told them that we would move back to a double queen room so that this would be left for someone who needed it. He was told to stop complaining and since the hotel was at 100% occupancy we would not be moved. Strange thing here? a couple beside him was getting their stay extended another 2 nights no problem ?? where did that room come from??

There sorry for such a long rant -- guess i just want to know how do i pass on this complaint?

 

[catyanna]

sorry to hear about this. we had some issues with service at one of the retaurants at MK when we were there in Ocober. Unfortunately the quality of service has gone down a bit in recent years. It is no longer "the cutomer is always right" anymore.

 

[ols386]

Definately sounds like there was some confusion involved. I've run into situations like this before at WDW, where I've asked a cm about something, they gave me an answer, and then later, another cm told me differently.

Maybe they gave that other couple that you saw checking-in, the room you had moved out of? I don't know, just a thought?

 

[PrincessKsMom]

I'm sure I'm probably wrong, but I always thought all rooms with king beds were handicap accessible. I didn't think there were king rooms that weren't.

 

[kaffinito]

I had a lot of trouble with staff at AKL during both visits there. The staff there just doesn't seem to get that they work at a "deluxe" resort.

Sorry you had trouble with the front desk and hope you have a wonderful rest of your trip!

 

[Daisy&Max]

sorry to hear about this. we had some issues with service at one of the retaurants at MK when we were there in Ocober. Unfortunately the quality of service has gone down a bit in recent years. It is no longer "the cutomer is always right" anymore.

That is probably because customers have become more and more entitled and they have had to draw a line where "the customer is always right."

OP...I'm sorry you had a back experience with staff. I haven't been there in 5 years, but back then they were fantastic. You would have thought they would have put a note on your account to show where you were told this and that.

Daisy

 

[ols386]

That is probably because customers have become more and more entitled and they have had to draw a line where "the customer is always right."

OP...I'm sorry you had a back experience with staff. I haven't been there in 5 years, but back then they were fantastic. You would have thought they would have put a note on your account to show where you were told this and that.

Daisy

That's true....and sometimes the bottom line is, that the customer isn't right. I'm not referring to the op's case, but sometimes. But if the customer isn't right, they should still be dealt with respectfully (as long as they aren't standing there shouting and calling the cm names or whatever).

I was recently at the Poly, and was walking by the concierge desk, and a guest was yelling at the cm behind the counter. I'm not sure what it was about, but I did hear the cm asking the guest to please stop yelling, and he said, "I'm not yelling, this is how I always talk." ....Yeah, right.

 

[TheRustyScupper]

1) Based upon the resort, approx 1/2 of all King Rooms are handicapped.
2) The confusion could be that rooms become available then unavailable.
3) It is very possible that the promised room was given to someone else.
4) They try to accommodate, but there are circumstances that arise.
. . . the promised room could have been given to someone lese at the counter
. . . the promised room might have had the current people stay later
. . . the promised room might not have been able to be cleaned

 

[jagafen]

I'm sure I'm probably wrong, but I always thought all rooms with king beds were handicap accessible. I didn't think there were king rooms that weren't.

I didn't read the entire thread, but I remember reading somewhere that there are only 21 king rooms in AKL (which seemed kind of low to me) and that 90% of them are accessible. We had a king bed on our first trip, and that room was a standard, on the Ostrich trail (I think) and was most definitely not accessible.....there was a tub in the bathroom....somehow, I find it hard to believe that there are only 2 un-accessible king rooms in all of AKL>....

 

[puffkin]

Sorry about your problems. We were at Kidani the same week and had really good luck with the front desk. The manager actually checked us in, checked on our groceries/luggage transfer, and was beyond helfpul. When we checked out we had a $60 fee on our bill we couldn't figure out and they removed it for us with no issue....they think it was for Camp Kidani program which we never reserved/attended. Great service otherwise!

WE had a horror story with King beds but it was Disney who insisted we needed one Checked into Pop early morning July 4th on our honeymoon (back in 2004). They gave us a king bed for our honeymoon, but it wasn't ready. I verified it was non-smoking...I said we didn't really care about the king bed, most important was non smoking. No problem, we hit the MK all day for the 4th activities. Get back to Pop walk into our room and it is a smoking room. We opened the door and a CLOUD of smoke wafts out. Horrible. Plus our bags were sitting in their all day and stank. Called the front desk, no rooms anywhere at Pop. I said check any other resort, I don't care where just a non-smoking room. They called back adn said we can't find you a king bed anywhere. I said I DON"T CARE ABOUT THE KING BED, I WANT A NON-SMOKING ROOM. They finally called back and had a regular room at Pop for us. That room was fine for the one night, we were checking into the Poly the next day. They just couldnt' comprehend that we didn't need/want a King room, just non-smoking! The whole ordeal took 2 hours to sort out after a long hot day of park touring. Plus, we had to wash all our clothes the next day to remove the smoke smell.

 

[DebbieB]

According to allearsnet, there are 79 king bed rooms and 65 accessible king rooms at AKL. I think this was before the DVC renovation because it says there are deluxe rooms on 5 & 6, I believe those are all DVC now.

http://www.allears.net/acc/faq_akl.htm

 

[bethclayton]

i'm sorry the front desk was not so hot. we were there jan-feb 2009 and i have to admit, as much as i love AKL, most of the front desk cm's were awful. some of them were rude to us, one outright lied to us and told us that all rooms in the entire lodge have a wall for a balcony. most of them really never even looked up at us when we spoke to them. it was really shocking, actually. i don't know why they were so cranky! we could not have been any nicer when dealing with them, and we weren't even complaining about anything, we just wanted to know if we could pay to upgrade to pool view (and we said right off the bat that it was totally fine if we could not). two of them, who we encountered later in our stay were very nice and i thanked them profusely for their help!

 

[catyanna]

I understand that they have to draw a line and maybe the customer isn't always right, and I know that some people will make up anything to complain about in hopes of getting something out of it. But when the resort makes a mistake, they should at least try to make it right as soon as possible and not take the "Oh well" attitude. After all Disney prides itself on Outstanding Customer service.

 

[shellybaxter]

I'm sorry you had a problem with changing rooms. I had the same kind of problem with AKL back in 2004. We had requested a bunk bed room (back when that wasn't a regular booking catagory) and when we arrived (just after mid night due to flight delays) one wasn't available. I expressed my disappointment - not by yelling or anything - just said, "oh that's too bad - this is my niece's first trip and she really loved the pics of the "bunky beds". The CM offered to move us the next day. I said "great - we just won't unpack tonight". We went off to bed and woke up early - got ready for breakfast at Boma and I realized I hadn't found out what to do with our bags. I called the "front desk, which I didn't know at the time wasn't really the front desk, and asked what we should do. They had no record of us moving. I calmly explained what had occured the night before - they huffed and puffed and finally told me to take my bags to bell services. We did so and went to breakfast. I wasn't completely comfortable with the phone call so after breakfast I went to the front desk to make sure everything was alright. The front desk CM yelled at me and told me "you didn't speak to this front desk" - which was true, but exactly how was I supposed to know that? It finally turned out well when we returned from the parks and were given not only bunk beds but an upgrade to Savannah view. The process was VERY unmagical and I'm sorry to hear it doesn't appear to have been fixed in all these years

 

[kmk1180]

Sounds like you created your own frustrations.
A request is just a request. Doesn't guarantee anything.
Yet you continuely tried to force the issue.
Sounds like they tried to go out of their way to give it, by looking ahead and seeing, something might open. But by the time arrived, couldn't do it.
This is the result of people thinking they deserve whatever they wish.
Can you imagine any hotel much less a Disney hotel constantly trying to grant everyones wishes by changing rooms, 3 times in 3 days?
Check in 1 room, change rooms, still not happy about it, and changing back? No hotel could keep everyone happy with those expectations.

 

[fottafamily05]

We went to the World from December 5th thru the 12th to celebrate our 25th anniversary and had a GREAT trip. Now it was crowded at times but we didn't care. We had the BEST time ever and met some incredible CMs all ready with a smile and willing to help with whatever we asked.

Only problem we encountered was with the front desk staff at the AKL. We felt that our comments fell on deaf ears. We had "requested" a King sized bed and knew before we got there that is was only that. A REQUEST. When we arrived around 2 p.m. our room was ready and we were told point blank that there are no rooms available to suit our requests and we understood but asked if there might be one available to following night. LONG story short, they went to ask a manager who came out and told us the same thing -- ok ok we get it please stop telling us what we know. we were polite just wanted them to respond in kind. We were told that they would give us one the following night but we would need to check in and then out in the early am. SO we set alarm and got to front desk to be told the same story but with more force the 2nd day. Amazingly enough the "back room" visit provided us with a positive answer -- come back at noon and your new room will be available. So come back we did, and were told in no uncertain terms that we must have heard incorrectly since there was no such room ?!?!?
By 11 this night we were given a room with a king sized bed and we felt awful -- it was a handicapped room. Hubby went down and told them that we would move back to a double queen room so that this would be left for someone who needed it. He was told to stop complaining and since the hotel was at 100% occupancy we would not be moved. Strange thing here? a couple beside him was getting their stay extended another 2 nights no problem ?? where did that room come from??

There sorry for such a long rant -- guess i just want to know how do i pass on this complaint?

I really wouldnt say "deaf" ears...I know that is a common saying to some but our son is deaf and encounters many many surgeries and what not and I just think its rude and inconsiderate.

 

[2BOYMOM]

Sounds like you created your own frustrations.
A request is just a request. Doesn't guarantee anything.
Yet you continuely tried to force the issue.
Sounds like they tried to go out of their way to give it, by looking ahead and seeing, something might open. But by the time arrived, couldn't do it.
This is the result of people thinking they deserve whatever they wish.
Can you imagine any hotel much less a Disney hotel constantly trying to grant everyones wishes by changing rooms, 3 times in 3 days?
Check in 1 room, change rooms, still not happy about it, and changing back? No hotel could keep everyone happy with those expectations.

Wow.

 

[Cedarmom]

Hmm. Interesting. I was at AKL at approx. the same times you were and had nothing but positive experiences with the front desk. The manager on duty every time I noticed, Hassan, was nothing but fabulous. Every time I stood looking slightly confused in the lobby he was right there to answer questions and was incredibly helpful. He helped us move bags, he pointed out where things were to get us oriented with the hotel, and he made the kiddos all the more excited about the animals on the savannah.

Was it perhaps that the hotel was at 100% capacity for another of the nights that you were going to be staying and that's why they couldn't move you? Or perhaps the other couple was in another class of rooms (CL, standard or whatever) and that's why they could be extended and you couldn't?

I'm sorry you had a bad experience but I'm confused as to why you want to complain about getting what you wanted?

 

[ols386]

I really wouldnt say "deaf" ears...I know that is a common saying to some but our son is deaf and encounters many many surgeries and what not and I just think its rude and inconsiderate.

I certainly don't think the poster was trying to insult you or your child. It's an expression, plain and simple. What it really means, is that they weren't being listened to. That's all.

 

[Donald - my hero]

I really wouldnt say "deaf" ears...I know that is a common saying to some but our son is deaf and encounters many many surgeries and what not and I just think its rude and inconsiderate.

I'm terribly sorry for being insensitive! That was not the intention -- i should be more careful since we have a family member who suffers from an invisible disability and is constantly reminded how the world is not open to her problems.

I whole heartily apologize