Awful Trip, awful time, awful service!

[Willow25]

Even at Disney mistakes happen. I know we all pay a lot of money to have a "magical trip" but the reality is a place like Disney who services a lot of people during a day is going to have issues too. I don't understand why you fought with the restaurant manager who has no control of the dining plan computer system which told him you did not have enough credits for the meal. I agree it would have been irritating but you caused the delay of the evening at the party by staying and fighting over it.

 

[Halloweenqueen]

Sorry this happened, but why did the whole party have to stay to get the problem resolved?

I would have sent off my husband and kids to enjoy the parade.

 

[Mackey Mouse]

These are my thoughts this morning after coffee...

I am sorry OP that this happened to you and in the minute I am sure I would have felt upset, dismayed and confused over what happened with your credits..

I think I would put this all in a letter to Disney.. I would name names, hope you got them, and if there was no room service that you know of charged by any of the people in your party, I would definitely mention that. I would absolutely say that the cake that you specifically ordered was stale, what a disappointment.....I would put it all in a letter and request a response....I would also say that as a result of this trip that next year you are thinking of vacationing elsewhere..

Also.. I try never to judge anyone who is so annoyed at what is happening with their vacation... I am sure they had planned for this.. it was a grand gathering and how disappointing it must have been to them. I am thinking that maybe this was one of many disappointments....and maybe the crowning glory. I do not know if that is the case, but before we blame the OP.. yet again, let's give them the benefit of the doubt.

Disney is not perfect all the time for all the people. We all make mistakes but if you do not speak up how do mistakes get corrected.. JMO

 

[Sibahan]

These are my thoughts this morning after coffee...

I am sorry OP that this happened to you and in the minute I am sure I would have felt upset, dismayed and confused over what happened with your credits..

I think I would put this all in a letter to Disney.. I would name names, hope you got them, and if there was no room service that you know of charged by any of the people in your party, I would definitely mention that. I would absolutely say that the cake that you specifically ordered was stale, what a disappointment.....I would put it all in a letter and request a response....I would also say that as a result of this trip that next year you are thinking of vacationing elsewhere..

Also.. I try never to judge anyone who is so annoyed at what is happening with their vacation... I am sure they had planned for this.. it was a grand gathering and how disappointing it must have been to them. I am thinking that maybe this was one of many disappointments....and maybe the crowning glory. I do not know if that is the case, but before we blame the OP.. yet again, let's give them the benefit of the doubt.

Disney is not perfect all the time for all the people. We all make mistakes but if you do not speak up how do mistakes get corrected.. JMO

Thank you for being so understanding and rational...seems after i posted originally everyone seems to think i went off the DEEP end, and screamed at the lady about our mess ups...
i wrote to disney, just waiting on a reply....got a customer service email today...hopefully i will get a reply, but in the mean time, i am going back hopefully for a good vacation in march...

 

[joyfulscrapper]

I ran into a problem with our Dining Plan balance as well. We were 2 TS meals short, which I didn't notice until 3 days into our vacation. It was even harder to figure out and explain because we had adjoining rooms and they split our meals onto 2 cards. I phoned the front desk the night I noticed it and wasn't too upset until I was explaining it for the THIRD time and they were still trying to tell me nothing was wrong with it. FINALLY he realized I was right and put me on hold to fix it. I was on hold for quite a while only to be told he can't do it over the phone, I had to come to the front desk when I could. I didn't want to wait too long on it, for fear that they'd argue it again, so I went down the next morning. It took way too much time out of my vacation to get this resolved in my opinion. Apparently I was charged for one extra diner for HDR, which is 2 TS meals, and they take it off when you pick up your tickets, not when you eat the meal.

I was calm when I was there (but not so much on the phone the night before...although I always say that I know it wasn't their fault, but...), but completely understand why people yell. Sometimes you feel like you won't get anywhere unless they realize how upset you really are. They ended up fixing it and when I complained about the time it took, they gave me single use fastpasses for any ride for our family to "make up for the time lost in the park that morning". That was nice, but that day was ruined because we arrived at Holllywood Studios too late to get in the shows we wanted. It ended up being a horrible day for us.

AND... a few hours later a new cashier messed up on our QS meals and charged us for 8 when we only had 5. That took a while to fix and DH finally lost it. He was yelling at the QS manager. She dealt with it well and was very nice. She let our kids choose pins from her for free and credited us with the 3 meals they accidentally took off plus 2 extra. DH apologized for yelling at her many times and explained how bad the day was going for us. I was very impressed with the way she handled it. But very disappointed that it was so difficult to keep track of and fix the DDP discrepancies.

 

[Mrs. Pookie]

I always get a kick out of the service people shushing the disguntled guests. People spend a ridculous amount of money (I know I have) to have that magical expereince and when it goes awry some how we have to shush and be pleasant. Pleaseeeeeeeeeeeeee.

Jeanne

Thank you! People shouldn't be so quick to assume the OP was at fault here. Sometimes the employee has an attitude to begin with, hence the OP getting upset. The customer is always right, and it is NEVER okay to make comments like "calm down" and "be quiet." I'd be irate too if I was talked to by an employee like that!

 

[MICKEEP]

We missed half of the Mickeys Not SSHP because we sat at the dinner table arguing with the MGR

You argued with the manager for two and a half hours......WOW

 

[glo]

When you are on vacation and suddenly you have to start paying out of pocket because someone made a mistake and no one seems to be listening...I would be upset, and depending on how many times I have had to explain and gotten no where...I would probably raise my voice. I find it funny that anyone would blame the OP at all. In these economic times everyone is penny pinching even on vacations and every cent counts. When you book a grand gathering for that many people and are giving a company a big chunk of money you expect good service. It is true that you catch more flies with honey, but no one can fault anyone for losing their cool. I am sure the OP also would know if someone had ordered pizza. I am sure it can be looked up quickly and even when everyone has suggested it over and over she has not said that was what happened.

It seems like saying anything negative about Disney causes people to come to it's defense. Disney is a buisness to make moeny. It is also a buisness that has prided itself in the past on customer service. It's employees have had to go through special training, and things like this can happen but they should be handled appropriately. They are in the buisness of making things magical, not ordinary. That is what attracts us to Disney...if we wanted and amusement park vacation we can go to the numerous ones around the country. What makes Disney stand out is its service....the comment below says it all!

I am sure they had planned for this.. it was a grand gathering and how disappointing it must have been to them. I am thinking that maybe this was one of many disappointments....and maybe the crowning glory. I do not know if that is the case, but before we blame the OP.. yet again, let's give them the benefit of the doubt.

Disney is not perfect all the time for all the people. We all make mistakes but if you do not speak up how do mistakes get corrected.. JMO

Oh and no one in customer service industry should tell a customer to be quiet unless they are screaming at them, and even then there is a way to do it without being rude.

 

[Booyakasha]

Thank you! People shouldn't be so quick to assume the OP was at fault here. Sometimes the employee has an attitude to begin with, hence the OP getting upset. The customer is always right, and it is NEVER okay to make comments like "calm down" and "be quiet." I'd be irate too if I was talked to by an employee like that!

The customer is always right is a bunch of BUNK. I deal with customers everyday and so do my employees. There are unfortunately a small handful of customers that are rude, terrible people and there is nothing you can ever do to make them happy. I instruct my people that it is not worth doing business with these type of people.
This has no relationship to the story the OP tells and I am not saying the OP is this type of customer as I was not there and don't know the situation. It is just to say that becasue you spend money somewhere does not give you the right to always be right.

B.

 

[disneyfav4ever]

I'm sorry you had a bad trip. I agree that sometimes the waits for buses seemed long. Once I waited 45 minutes at DTD for a bus to Pop last month.

 

[disneyfav4ever]

The customer is always right is a bunch of BUNK. I deal with customers everyday and so do my employees. There are unfortunately a small handful of customers that are rude, terrible people and there is nothing you can ever do to make them happy. I instruct my people that it is not worth doing business with these type of people.
This has no relationship to the story the OP tells and I am not saying the OP is this type of customer as I was not there and don't know the situation. It is just to say that becasue you spend money somewhere does not give you the right to always be right.

B.

 

[maxiesmom]

Thank you! People shouldn't be so quick to assume the OP was at fault here. Sometimes the employee has an attitude to begin with, hence the OP getting upset. The customer is always right, and it is NEVER okay to make comments like "calm down" and "be quiet." I'd be irate too if I was talked to by an employee like that!

Sorry, I have worked in retail for many years, and some people get so out of hand that telling them to "be quiet" can be the nicest thing you can say to them, and still let them know that their behavior needs to stop! Think about it, yelling at someone who is trying to help you is not only rude, but not the best way to get help.

Sense when has spending money at an establishment given people the right to act any horrible way they please? You are paying for a service or goods, not the right to abuse the employees.

 

[2Princes2Princesses]

Sorry, I have worked in retail for many years, and some people get so out of hand that telling them to "be quiet" can be the nicest thing you can say to them, and still let them know that their behavior needs to stop! Think about it, yelling at someone who is trying to help you is not only rude, but not the best way to get help.

Sense when has spending money at an establishment given people the right to act any horrible way they please? You are paying for a service or goods, not the right to abuse the employees.

I also work with people on a regular basis (one job is labor and delivery.....VERY high emotions). I have, in the past, used the following phrase: "Sir (or Ma'am), please calm down. I cannot help you if you are yelling at me. If you lower your voice and talk to me, we can calmly figure out the best way to get this fixed for you"

If that makes me rude, so be it. At least I don't say what I am thinking, which is usually "I can fix this problem in 2 minutes if this guy would stop yelling long enough to listen to me."

I think I do pretty decent customer service. I once had a guy call in freaking out.......I explained why things were done the way they were. He got NOTHING out of it but an explanation. The next day, I received flowers from him for helping him out. Sometimes a "please calm down and let's figure this out" is the best start to any heated customer service conversation.

Seriously, yelling and screaming is not going to help. Even when I get pretty worked up about a mistake and I know I am going to be a little snarky or heated.....I always preface what I say to the customer service person with "First of all, I KNOW this is not YOUR fault and I am not blaming YOU, but <insert issue here>." Most of the time, they fix my problem and are extremely kind when they do.

Again, OP, I am not directing this at you. I don't know how you handled your situation, and I do think with a pile of problems, I would have been pretty annoyed myself. I hope your next trip is nothing but magic for you from start to end. It sounds like you had your quota of screw-ups by them for at LEAST a year or two.

 

[ElizabethB]

To the OP: You have my sympathy and, yes, WDW is going downhill in some respects in my opinion.

We did a Grand Gathering recently. I have to say the Dining Plan with a Grand Gathering is nothing short of an outright mess. We had 11 people in three rooms. I can't begin to express the frustration we felt in trying to eat together and in trying to eat separately. It was always a disaster.

For one thing, I was treating everyone, so I undertook to pay the gratuity. And, our gratuity was already set in most instances since we were a party of 11.

But, every room had to have its own credits deducted and its own gratuity. If two people chose not to join us, we'd have to sort out which rooms they were in and make sure we didn't deduct credits from their rooms. To make matters worse, we had moved people around in the rooms a bit because I had called and added a couple of additional family members to the room in the last few days before we arrived. Because the eager beavers in the group then purchased tickets using their one-day credits that came with the packages, the hotel people weren't able to re-do who was in what room. Holy cow! Impossible to keep track of credits in this situation.

If people had something extra like a glass of wine, I would use the Discount Card formerly known as the Disney Dining Experience. That would mean an extra couple of pieces of papers.

We would finish up a meal, and the waiter would deliver me something on the order of 14 pieces of paper to sign for deducting credits on a per room basis, charging the gratuity on a per room basis, charging for the non-DDP items, adjusting those non-DDP items for the Discount Card formerly known as the Disney Dining Experience and then adding the mandatory 18% gratuity for the non-DDP items discounted with the Discount Card formerly known as the Disney Dining Experience.

I finally told the manager at one restaurant that I've closed billion dollar loans with less paper than 11 people dining together on the DDP took.

Then, five people in our group who were total newbies went to Wolfgang Puck's at my suggestion to spend counter service credits. They meant to go to Express but by mistake didn't know there were two different places and went to the restaurant. They didn't realize until they'd already been seated and ordered. They said they couldn't walk out at that point. So, there went five TS credits that we hadn't planned on spending that way. But, they were gone through a mistake.

Finally, on the last day we were down to the just enough credits for Narcoosees for those of us who wanted to go. But, when we got the bill, it turned out in a couple of cases, there was one credit left on one room and one credit left on another (due in part to the earlier Wolfgang Puck mixup). Although I didn't know this at the time, they couldn't combine the credits, so I ended up with a bill of $186 to pay for two entrees and two desserts I hadn't planned on paying for. The desserts they had even brought out even though part of our party had left and said, generously!, take them back to the room and they can enjoy them later. I ended up paying for them and they were thrown away.

I spoke with the manager and he told me not a problem, that he had spoken with GF front desk and they would take care of it. I spoke with GF RPC the next morning of our departure. She wasn't sure they could combine the credits but said she'd do her best. She later called me back and said they couldn't. But, by then we were on our way to the airport and -- out of the manager's hair, so at least he got rid of us with a minimum of hassle on his part by saying it wouldn't be a problem when it would be and was!

We decided no more Grand Gatherings for us. When we have 11 people in our group, again, we're going on a cruise where everything is pre-paid and I don't have to exhaust myself trying to keep track of credits, make sure people don't spend credits by mistake, make sure credits get used if people choose not to join us for a meal they had planned to join us for!!! It was too much effort and stress and removed any spontenaity.

To the OP -- you have my complete and total sympathy!

 

[DisneyMom92]

Really, you think you get more by being call and quiet than by showing your upset? I, too, work customer service, have worked retail and my dh worked sales all of his life. He was constantly complaining that if someone yelled at his manager, she caved and gave them whatever they want. Our society is training people to escalate to get what they want, not what they deserve. This is not directed at the OP, because, believe me, I would be angry and dismayed at the original situation and telling me to calm down and be quiet would only result in more irritation. I don't know how much the rest of you deal with angry people, but usually telling them that their anger is misplaced or represented incorrectly only results in more anger. If the original customer service person could not help the OP or could not diffuse her anger so that she could, she should have walked away and found someone who could.

Every company makes mistakes, but it's how they correct these mistakes that define them as great service companies or just so-so. Each person the customer talks to represents that company. The person who told her to be quiet and calm down was a bad representative that day. People in customer service need to be trained to diffuse angry people because they will be confronted with them regularly. If they cannot do this, they should work in another industry.

We have never had anyone in Disney do a bad job of customer service. We have had varying degrees of not bad service, ranging from wonderful to just ok. Customer Service on the West Coast is not the same as customer service in the south and is certainly not the same as customer service on the cruise. However, Disney customer service is way better than any other hospitality company we have dealt with.

OP: Sorry you had to experience that. Obviously staying calm is better but caring about your vacation and your family is nothing to be ashamed of. Some people cry, others yell, others are apathetic. It happens. I hope your next experience is better, but just thin k if this was your first experience, there wouldn't be a next one. And that's what people in the customer service industry have to remember. Especially today, when their numbers are so bad.

 

[DISNEY1975]

Finally, on the last day we were down to the just enough credits for Narcoosees for those of us who wanted to go. But, when we got the bill, it turned out in a couple of cases, there was one credit left on one room and one credit left on another (due in part to the earlier Wolfgang Puck mixup). Although I didn't know this at the time, they couldn't combine the credits, so I ended up with a bill of $186 to pay for two entrees and two desserts I hadn't planned on paying for.

Im a little confused by your post. I am going next week with a party of 11. We, too, are in 3 rooms. We are all on the Deluxe Dining Plan. If one room uses all their credits and I have extra credits attached to mine, I cant use them?

Was the "combining" an issue because Narcoosees is 2 TS?

When we eat together, can we give the waiter/ess 3 different cards?

To OP..I dont blame you at all! After spending a few dollars under $3000 for 6 on the dining plan, if anyone came to me and asked for $500, I would have to be escorted out in a little white jacket!!

I hope this wasnt LTT. I have a dinner ressie on MVMCP night.

 

[Mrs. Pookie]

The customer is always right is a bunch of BUNK. I deal with customers everyday and so do my employees. There are unfortunately a small handful of customers that are rude, terrible people and there is nothing you can ever do to make them happy. I instruct my people that it is not worth doing business with these type of people.
This has no relationship to the story the OP tells and I am not saying the OP is this type of customer as I was not there and don't know the situation. It is just to say that becasue you spend money somewhere does not give you the right to always be right.

B.

Yes, there are lots of rude people out there. Some of them do get out of hand. I'm not disagreeing with that. But people seem to think that since it's Disney, the employee must have been a perfect, helpful, shining example of a person, just like on the vacation planning videos, and the OP was a crazed lunatic. Well that's a bunch of BUNK. There are rude and unhelpful employees everywhere, and that includes Disney World.

 

[Tricia1972]

Finally, on the last day we were down to the just enough credits for Narcoosees for those of us who wanted to go. But, when we got the bill, it turned out in a couple of cases, there was one credit left on one room and one credit left on another (due in part to the earlier Wolfgang Puck mixup). Although I didn't know this at the time, they couldn't combine the credits, so I ended up with a bill of $186 to pay for two entrees and two desserts I hadn't planned on paying for.

Im a little confused by your post. I am going next week with a party of 11. We, too, are in 3 rooms. We are all on the Deluxe Dining Plan. If one room uses all their credits and I have extra credits attached to mine, I cant use them?

Was the "combining" an issue because Narcoosees is 2 TS?

When we eat together, can we give the waiter/ess 3 different cards?

To OP..I dont blame you at all! After spending a few dollars under $3000 for 6 on the dining plan, if anyone came to me and asked for $500, I would have to be escorted out in a little white jacket!!

I hope this wasnt LTT. I have a dinner ressie on MVMCP night.

Everyone should always use their own cards to pay for their own meals. Credits are non transferrable so you would not be able to use your card to cover someone else's meal - even if they are part of your group and you have extra credits.

 

[centurythree]

The customer is always right is a bunch of BUNK. I deal with customers everyday and so do my employees. There are unfortunately a small handful of customers that are rude, terrible people and there is nothing you can ever do to make them happy. I instruct my people that it is not worth doing business with these type of people.
This has no relationship to the story the OP tells and I am not saying the OP is this type of customer as I was not there and don't know the situation. It is just to say that becasue you spend money somewhere does not give you the right to always be right.

B.

I couldn't agree more, and I work for a very big company. We do make mistakes, and we will bend over backwards to correct them. However, when it comes to "fighting" with employees or "arguing" with them for hours . . . well, if you're interfering with our ability to do business, you don't need to be in our place of business. Not only are you monopolizing that employee's time to the detriment of other customers, you are interfering other customer's enjoyment of the product and/or service we provide. Seriously, I can't tell you the number of stories that I've heard over the years of customers breaking into applause, congratulating staff, etc., as people are bounced out of stores, restaurants, hotels, and so on for their obnoxious treatment of employees.

Oh, and the "I paid $x! for this!" line never gets you anywhere, either. That's usually followed by the employee completely losing interest in helping you as well as the next person in line for whatever asking the employee why you bought/dined/stayed there if you couldn't afford it, and much laughter at your expense.

I'm not necessarily talking about the OP's behavior, of course, since I wasn't there to see what happened to cause it or what her behavior actually consisted of. I am talking about that .00001% of customers that truly believes that the saying "the customer is always right" (which no successful company truly follows) entitles them to abuse employees.

 

[patsal]

Finally, on the last day we were down to the just enough credits for Narcoosees for those of us who wanted to go. But, when we got the bill, it turned out in a couple of cases, there was one credit left on one room and one credit left on another (due in part to the earlier Wolfgang Puck mixup). Although I didn't know this at the time, they couldn't combine the credits, so I ended up with a bill of $186 to pay for two entrees and two desserts I hadn't planned on paying for.

Im a little confused by your post. I am going next week with a party of 11. We, too, are in 3 rooms. We are all on the Deluxe Dining Plan. If one room uses all their credits and I have extra credits attached to mine, I cant use them?

Was the "combining" an issue because Narcoosees is 2 TS?

When we eat together, can we give the waiter/ess 3 different cards?

To OP..I dont blame you at all! After spending a few dollars under $3000 for 6 on the dining plan, if anyone came to me and asked for $500, I would have to be escorted out in a little white jacket!!

I hope this wasnt LTT. I have a dinner ressie on MVMCP night.

Just be sure when you are seated to mention that the checks will need to be split up. Point out the members in each party and then double check the checks to be sure they are accurate for the party size. It really sounds more complicated than it is. We had to do this way back in 2005, when we were a party of 9. It really was no big deal at all. Since credits are non transferable it is important that all credits that belong to one room only be used for that one room.