Sorry if this has been posted/debated before, but this has really bothered me since getting back from my trip on Friday and would like to hear your input/thoughts/experiences.
Last week, we did a split stay - three nights at Port Orleans Riverside and four nights at Animal Kingdom Lodge. Because I had never stayed at either resort, I spent a good deal of time exploring and experiencing each resort. That, along with walking to and from the room, eateries, and the pool, made for me walking past many CMs.
I cannot tell you how many CMs I encountered on my stay who I walked past who did not acknowledge me. At all. I'm not talking about me being one of a long line of people filtering out of the pool area. I'm talking about me and a CM in a corridor or pathway and getting NOTHING. I would smile and they would just continue to stare straight ahead - it started to become almost comical. But really, I began to feel like I was a ghost.
The first time it happened, I wrote it off. The second time, I thought it was weird. After the third time, I started counting. I would smile at every CM I came into contact with (not anything different from what I would normally do). Many of them would smile or offer some kind of greeting, but the number of them who did not was staggering, especially when you keep in mind that a simple greeting is so easy! Depending on how picky I want to be with the acknowledgements, it was around 15 CMs over the course of 7 days. Ouch.
Now, I'm not saying that each CM I run into needs to give me a standing ovation or sprinkle rose petals for me down the hallway, but isn't it the first rule of good hotel hospitality (and normal social decency) to at least acknowledge a person with a smile, hello, or at least a nod, especially if you are the only two people on a pathway/corridor? In that regard, I was treated better by complete strangers in the hallway at times!
I know that this was a small detail in an otherwise smooth trip, but small details go a long way, especially when you're paying $200-$300/night to stay there.
If this is how CMs are going to treat guests, what would keep me there, especially when there is a Four Seasons opening soon right on the outskirts of Disney??
Last week, we did a split stay - three nights at Port Orleans Riverside and four nights at Animal Kingdom Lodge. Because I had never stayed at either resort, I spent a good deal of time exploring and experiencing each resort. That, along with walking to and from the room, eateries, and the pool, made for me walking past many CMs.
I cannot tell you how many CMs I encountered on my stay who I walked past who did not acknowledge me. At all. I'm not talking about me being one of a long line of people filtering out of the pool area. I'm talking about me and a CM in a corridor or pathway and getting NOTHING. I would smile and they would just continue to stare straight ahead - it started to become almost comical. But really, I began to feel like I was a ghost.
The first time it happened, I wrote it off. The second time, I thought it was weird. After the third time, I started counting. I would smile at every CM I came into contact with (not anything different from what I would normally do). Many of them would smile or offer some kind of greeting, but the number of them who did not was staggering, especially when you keep in mind that a simple greeting is so easy! Depending on how picky I want to be with the acknowledgements, it was around 15 CMs over the course of 7 days. Ouch.
Now, I'm not saying that each CM I run into needs to give me a standing ovation or sprinkle rose petals for me down the hallway, but isn't it the first rule of good hotel hospitality (and normal social decency) to at least acknowledge a person with a smile, hello, or at least a nod, especially if you are the only two people on a pathway/corridor? In that regard, I was treated better by complete strangers in the hallway at times!
I know that this was a small detail in an otherwise smooth trip, but small details go a long way, especially when you're paying $200-$300/night to stay there.
If this is how CMs are going to treat guests, what would keep me there, especially when there is a Four Seasons opening soon right on the outskirts of Disney??
. I think some people let the littlest things bother them.
