Disappointed in housekeeping... any point in providing feedback?

maxiesmom · Nov 25, 2015

Unfortunately when you arrive later at night they are pulling your room from what is left of their inventory. That means that anyone who arrived before you got more preferred rooms. It could be that they had more guests staying that night then they thought (I was once told many guests extent their stays) and you ended up in a not so great room. I do hope you send off an e-mail and let them know about the state of your room.

Nancyg56 · Nov 26, 2015

ArwenMarie said:
I disagree, they don't care.

Several years ago the Poly was the subject of many housekeeping neglect stories. I had read about plates and food left in hallways, dirty bathrooms, carpets left unvaccummed, etc. We booked anyway, but I was a little worried, even then it was an expensive stay.

WE were no tin our room two hours, which was spotless BTW< when there was a knock on our door. The Housekeeping manager, as well as the resort manager dropped by to get our feedback on the state of both rooms we had booked. BOth asked about areas that I had read about, asked if we needed more of any supply than had been left, and promised my lovely little DGD a little surprise....towel animals appeared throughout our stay.

The problem is that many people wait until they return home and call what they think is DIsney housekeeping to complain. WHile that should get sent to the proper areas, we all know it may not. Disney does care if their guests are happy with the rooms conditions.....there is no way they can continue to generate the kind of revenue they want from each room category if folks experience sunstandard conditions and then just stay elsewhere. SOme may be willing to accept dirty rooms, btu most are not willing to go back and pay top dollar for the priviledge of fingerprints, hair and glasses left behind. They may not complain there but they do not go back.

Nancyg56 · Nov 26, 2015

ArwenMarie said:
We will have to disagree then. I have had many interactions with Disney on housekeeping specifically and I will stick with my conclusion that they do not care. While I am there, I will voice concern over a non-negotiable, of course. As I said above, the bathroom and sheets are non-negotiables for example. Fingerprints, dust, etc. Eh, I just pull out my own wipes and move on.

But I would never bother writing a email about anything after the trip, which I believe was the OP's original question. In my experience, it's not worth my energy.

WEll then you must accept that there will not be changes on your behalf. I have had an entirely different experience when I expressed concerns, and know by personal experience that DIsney does care. I have spoken to resort management after I returned home because if I feel strongly about something I think that they may as well.

SOme of these resorts are crazy big and like anywhere that there are employment tiers, there can be an informational black hole between front lines and upper management. I think that they cannot fix with they believe is running okay, and the few times that I felt the need to make that call (yes, I used a phone and got a manager at the resort) there was a response that indicated there was a disconnect they were unaware of. After the fact communication should not be the first communication, IMO, but it can be effective.

Aurora0427 · Nov 26, 2015

DisMJ said:
I acknowledge that I could/should have said something at the time.

I believe I mentioned in a previous post that I think my issues are less to do with housekeeping and more to do with the overall experience of staying at a deluxe resort. I expected better. Plain and simple.

I do not think it is unreasonable to stay at a deluxe resort (or anywhere, but especially when paying deluxe prices) and expect that there is not a lot of visible wear and tear on the room. I also don't think it is unreasonable to expect that you get a room where things have already been wiped down so that you aren't dealing with the previous guests' handprints all over the glass doors and handles. I'm not talking about a couple of fingerprints, I'm talking about handprints all over handles and surfaces that we are also going to be touching. To me that makes me question how much attention that room has been given. I wiped those down myself with wipes that I brought with me as that is something I do when I go to a hotel room regardless, but it left a very bad first impression with me.

Perhaps that room is on the list to be refurbished... or maybe all the rooms are like that. I will never know. We arrived at about 8pm after a 3:30am start to our day that included several airports, etc to get to WDW with two small children, so I hope that some people can appreciate and understand that when we arrived, we were exhausted and just wanted to get settled.

I am disappointed in the fact that these things were so noticeable and wanted to know whether it was worth complaining about after the fact. Thanks for your responses. I appreciate the perspective.

Just wanted to say I totally get where you're coming from and agree!

I know the Contemporary had a hard goods refurb around 2008, because we stayed in the garden wing that July, and those rooms had just been completely redone. I think the tower rooms were next. So if they've only done soft refurbishments since 2008, I can see why the rooms looked rundown.

Actually one thing I always research before booking at Disney is the last room refurbishment. I'll try to book refurbed rooms/resorts if at all possible. Those rooms at the end of their life can be bad!

disneyAndi14 · Nov 26, 2015

We stayed at the contemporary garden wing in September and we had some issues as well, one day housekeeping totally didn't come at all and we were missing the alarm clock, and when I called to get an alarm clock I was asked where is the one for the room in a critical way (like I stole it). Our room was ok upon arrival but you could tell housekeeping was at a minimum, I really liked the beds and we had a nice view of the lake and water parade so loved that. I really enjoy coming back after a park day to a clean room so some what disappointed in the decline of mouse keeping the last couple stays.

leebee · Nov 26, 2015

Not a Disney hotel, but the airport hotel we stayed in the night before our flight to Disney. We checked in around 9pm and wanted to get to bed quickly. I noticed that our in-room coffee service had 2 decafs and 1 tea, but no regular coffee, so I went down to the front desk. We got the regular coffee, no problem. I filled our water bottles and when I opened the fridge to store them, I discovered a bottle of beer, half a leftover sandwich, and a take-out container that appeared to have lasagne in it. No biggie; I put our bottles in the fridge and we went to bed. At checkout the next morning (6am), I mentioned the coffee service and leftovers in the fridge. I made perfectly clear that these things in NO way impacted our stay, the room was otherwise great, and I just wanted to let them know. Front desk was pleased and said they'd contact housekeeping. We went on our way, had a great trip, came home. Yesterday my credit card statement arrived, and I noticed that the hotel credited us $50. Totally surprised, didn't expect/ask for it, in fact I told them that our stay was find and of course we'd happily book again. They gave us the credit, unknown, anyway.

That's customer service.

toodycat · Nov 26, 2015

I've never had a housekeeping complaint in all my visits to WDW, but I have at other resorts. I've always let management know during my stay. I'm not looking for an upgrade, but I want a clean room and I don't want dirty glasses or sheets to pose a health risk. However, if you are asking if you should write after the fact, then it is still bothering you, so yes, write and let them know how you feel. I'm sure someone will write or email you in response. Maybe they will give you a credit; maybe they'll just thank you for your feedback and speak to housekeeping. Either way, you will have been heard. I would recommend writing to the head of housekeeping or GM of the Contemporary, not the general customer service department.

midge3426 · Nov 28, 2015

Disney is seriously overcharging for their rooms. In the past, your room was kept immaculate and, occasionally, the maid would do fun things around your room. Now, your are lucky to get your room properly cleaned. The current housekeeping staff does not deserve the name mousekeepers because they are not taking care of business. Maybe I should really blame Disney management because they have been really, really manic about making budget cuts while simultaneously raising prices. I keep returning, hoping maybe, just maybe, that Disney has returned to their excellent customer service roots. I am about to erase them from my vacation list. You should NEVER, EVER have to clean your own room or request more towels when you are paying an exorbitant amount of money for small rooms and poor service.

maxiesmom · Nov 28, 2015

midge3426 said:
Disney is seriously overcharging for their rooms. In the past, your room was kept immaculate and, occasionally, the maid would do fun things around your room. Now, your are lucky to get your room properly cleaned. The current housekeeping staff does not deserve the name mousekeepers because they are not taking care of business. Maybe I should really blame Disney management because they have been really, really manic about making budget cuts while simultaneously raising prices. I keep returning, hoping maybe, just maybe, that Disney has returned to their excellent customer service roots. I am about to erase them from my vacation list. You should NEVER, EVER have to clean your own room or request more towels when you are paying an exorbitant amount of money for small rooms and poor service.

I still have had immaculate rooms during my trips. I have never cleaned my own room to make it acceptable.

As far as requesting towels go, if I use a bunch, I will request more and not think twice about having to do so. But they should be providing an adequate amount to begin with. Adequate to me doesn't mean accounting for the days when I take 2 showers, or the days where I take towels to the pool.

Nancyg56 · Nov 28, 2015

maxiesmom said:
I still have had immaculate rooms during my trips. I have never cleaned my own room to make it acceptable.

As far as requesting towels go, if I use a bunch, I will request more and not think twice about having to do so. But they should be providing an adequate amount to begin with. Adequate to me doesn't mean accounting for the days when I take 2 showers, or the days where I take towels to the pool.

I agree. I have never had to address any housekeeping issues. My family geerally needs extra towels, we tend to showe twice a day and I have no problem asking for more. I do nto believe the mousekeepers shoudl be mindreaders.

MouseOfCards · May 24, 2016

eliza61 said:
How sad the state of things when "expecting" a clean room and good housekeeping is now considered "too Much".

Sorry I don't pay 500 bucks a night to have to go somewhere and dust. I can do that for free at home.

eliza61 said:
that's cool, I guess the difference is in what you consider "small".

Usually staying at a Deluxe entails some financial sacrifices during the year so once again, blowing that commitment is not "small" stuff.

I haven't reached that level of zen yet.

Funny.

eliza61 said:
Op, I have a better suggestion, write a nice (or not so nice) review on tripadvisor and yelp. I review just about every place I stay at and people do use those sites. Disney may not care but a lot of first timers will at least know what to expect.

Aurora0427 said:
Actually one thing I always research before booking at Disney is the last room refurbishment. I'll try to book refurbed rooms/resorts if at all possible. Those rooms at the end of their life can be bad!

Good tips. Thanks!

Minniesgal · May 24, 2016

To me the way to address this is to go to the front desk straight away ask for a manager explain the problem and ask for it to be fixed

I actually think it is a little unfair to say nothing at the time and not allow them the chance to fix and to complain after the fact

cornflkgrl · May 24, 2016

From a former housekeeper (not mousekeeper) for a hotel (not Disney), if you arrive to an unclean room, take photos on your phone and go show the front desk/management. Even better, get a manager physically in the room with you to do a walk through and SHOW them what is not clean. My theory about the whole thing is that if one large portion of the room is not clean (say, the bathroom floor and tub) there is no way you will convince me the rest of the room was cleaned properly or at all. I think it is very hard though to deal with this AFTER your stay. It needs to be addressed while you are there. You are going to have a hard time convincing anyone that your room was too unsatisfactory or unclean for you to be in when you stayed in it the entire time (regardless of why you might have kept the room -- arrived late at night, wanted to get to the park, didn't want to repack, had kids with you, etc.)

Disappointed in housekeeping... any point in providing feedback?

maxiesmom

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Nancyg56

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Nancyg56

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Aurora0427

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disneyAndi14

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leebee

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toodycat

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midge3426

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maxiesmom

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Nancyg56

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MouseOfCards

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Minniesgal

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