A request for those of you calling Disney

[Tehanna]

Friends, this is upsetting. Finding yourself in a position to possibly change plans when you've been making plans for months, even years is frustrating and distressing.

It may be ruining some big things for you. My husband and I are only going to have one 25th anniversary in our lives, and we're facing the possibility that we won't be spending it where we've been dreaming of: at Castaway Cay. Our schedules are crazy, and looking for a date to rebook is challenging, to put it lightly.

For almost all of us, thousands of dollars are at stake. Health issues abound. Schedules and family reunions are involved. Some of you have mentioned that this is the last cruise with children who are going away to college.

And now you've got to call Disney. And the hold times are beyond intolerable. By the time you get to that customer service rep, your anxiety is through the roof and your anger is even more so. The situation is outrageous.

You're angry. Maybe even enraged. You've been waiting for hours.

And the customer service rep is giving you answers that you may not like.
Or they're tired, too, and have lost the "Disney Tone" to their voice.

I'd just like to ask you to offer kindness to that person. I'm betting that these call center jobs don't pay that well. I'm guessing they're being asked, or even pushed for overtime. It may even be mandatory.

That person on the other end of the phone is enduring conversations with angry, disappointed, anxious people for hours on end. They are under a ton of stress, too. And they didn't ask for this any more than you did.

I speak from experience. I worked in a call center once for a very beloved company that made a poor decision (that they ultimately reversed) that ended up being national news. I disagreed with the decision, but I cared about the company, and I desperately needed my job.

It was worse that I imagined. It stretched me to my emotional limit. There was verbal abuse from callers for hours on end from people who were upset to start with, and then had been on hold for hours.

Whatever you think about Disney's handling of things. Please try and remember that it's not the human being on the other end of the line's fault. Please remember they're doing a very difficult job today, and have probably endured angry people screaming at them for hours. I hope you don't get someone who is snippy and short with you, but if you do, maybe keep in mind what they're going through, as well. They didn't ask for this, either.

You have a chance to be the one person who is kind to them. You have a chance to be the person that gives them a break from the endless abuse from people who are (understandably) upset about circumstances beyond any of our control.

Be kind. Be patient. Express disappointment as you need to, but do it with kindness.

Please.

 

[princesscinderella]

I think that was very well said. This situation is unprecedented and is not anyone’s fault. We are all just trying to make the right decisions for our families and we just need to be patient with each other. Disney with faces with all the potential losses on the table aren’t going to hire more staff overnight to handle this initial cancellation and reservation moving around just to have to fire them due to all the lost revenue. My sister is a pharmacist and is not looking forward to a couple of months from now the drug shortages that are going to occur since most of the raw materials come from China and there’s been such a long supply chain interruption. There’s going to be ripple effects for this for a while. We just need to treat each other with respect.

 

[Tehanna]

bump

 

[DisLiss]

I also think that people should truly consider waiting a few days to call. They'll still be closed. The situation will still be happening. But the deluge of calls may have slowed a bit making it less stressful for the caller and the rep on the other line. Plus, given a few days, Disney may have answers that they had not thought of yet, or may tweak answers they have already given.

 

[caroline5177]

Well said, and I agree that calling in a few days is wise. That‘s my plan.

 

[DIS_MIKE]

I still have about 45 days to make up my mind and see how this all goes. No point in calling now. I figure by then Disney may end up stepping in and extend the no cruise dates so I'll just get that unfortunate email to either get a full refund or re-book a new cruise like so many disers have been dealing with who were scheduled to go on vacation this month.

The OP is totally right though. Have patience and know that the person on that other line is likely going through hell right now and the Disney magic has sadly faded in their voices.

 

[pointybubble]

Very well said. This is our first time using a travel agent and she is able to do all the calling for me - definitely a stress reliever!

I just wanted to throw out there that I was told that I needed to make a decision to keep the credit by my sail date which is only a few days from now (3/19). I would agree that those who do not have an immediate need to talk to Disney may want to hold out a little longer since there are many in the same boat as me.

 

[Joe Brig]

This isn't the employee's fault, but it's definitely Disney's, they made the decision to not allow online cancellations. We should be able to login and hit Cancel or Reschedule. Disney made the calculation that if its too easy to cancel, more people would do it. Just like XM radio and other poor customer service companies where you can sign up online, but have to call to cancel. Expressing displeasure with the call center employee might at least get the word up to Disney's bosses.

 

[CarnotaurDad]

This isn't the employee's fault, but it's definitely Disney's, they made the decision to not allow online cancellations. We should be able to login and hit Cancel or Reschedule. Disney made the calculation that if its too easy to cancel, more people would do it. Just like XM radio and other poor customer service companies where you can sign up online, but have to call to cancel. Expressing displeasure with the call center employee might at least get the word up to Disney's bosses.

I actually think from an IT standpoint, it's not that easy just to add an option to Cancel or Reschedule. Their technology is not setup to do that as this is fairly unprecedented. There is manual effort that is needed and not something you can just throw on the screen for customer's to do what they want. And if it is complicated enough, Disney can't just throw more bodies at it as training is required to know how to do it. Delta and United, for example, are also having long call waits and they actually do have an online cancel/reschedule. It just doesn't work all the time.

 

[Tehanna]

Expressing displeasure with the call center employee might at least get the word up to Disney's bosses.

I don't disagree with this. But one can express displeasure without being unkind or raising one's voice to a person who probably feels like the world is crashing in on their head.

 

[spacecanada]

Extremely well said.

Please also extend the same kindness and patience to your travel agent. They're very likely working for no pay right now, working extremely long hours, and frustrated themselves with all the different and changing information coming from each different cruise line and travel provider.

 

[JulieBeeRN]

Nicely put. I told a CM at MK today that I thought they were doing a great job and she almost started to cry.

 

[SamFaniam]

Expressing displeasure with the call center employee might at least get the word up to Disney's bosses.

Please don’t do this. Disney is fully aware that people are unhappy and frustrated. Expressing displeasure to a cast member answering the phone at reservations will do nothing except make that cast member feel bad.

 

[JulieBeeRN]

This isn't the employee's fault, but it's definitely Disney's, they made the decision to not allow online cancellations. We should be able to login and hit Cancel or Reschedule. Disney made the calculation that if its too easy to cancel, more people would do it. Just like XM radio and other poor customer service companies where you can sign up online, but have to call to cancel. Expressing displeasure with the call center employee might at least get the word up to Disney's bosses.

I think that one should write an email to discuss grievances and not bring it up with the call center CM.

 

[Karin1984]

To give a face to the callcenter agents and help reduce call volume airline KLM released this video:

https://www.facebook.com/video.php?v=2594713060765848

I am sure this goes for all callcenters worldwide for every company in the tourist industry. Be patient and be kind.

 

[Intr3pid]

I'm betting that these call center jobs don't pay that well. I'm guessing they're being asked, or even pushed for overtime. It may even be mandatory.

No one should be rude to any person or individual esp. when that person isn't in control of what's happening. There is very little upside to directing anger or rage at anyone. In fact, a professional demeanor and empathy will likely win you more favors and help get what you want.

That being said, empathy - vs sympathy. A call center job not paying well, or being subject to angry customers, or requiring overtime comes with the territory. Just like any other job, it has its ups and downs, pros and cons. Disney CMs unfortunately are used to hearing too many happy voices, and their competence for this job is better gauged in such testing situations.

Now, if something is truly bothering you, state it clearly. Be kind and patient - but state what you would like confidently and clearly. If you feel the company needs to change something, there is nothing wrong with expressing it to the CM. (In fact, it's an effective way for the company to gather this feedback.) Just don't direct it at the person - underline that it's about the policies.

 

[smmco]

I actually think from an IT standpoint, it's not that easy just to add an option to Cancel or Reschedule. Their technology is not setup to do that as this is fairly unprecedented. There is manual effort that is needed and not something you can just throw on the screen for customer's to do what they want. And if it is complicated enough, Disney can't just throw more bodies at it as training is required to know how to do it. Delta and United, for example, are also having long call waits and they actually do have an online cancel/reschedule. It just doesn't work all the time.

Up until a couple of years ago you could reschedule but they took that away. Carnival allows you to cancel online.

 

[dprincessmom]

I also think that people should truly consider waiting a few days to call. They'll still be closed. The situation will still be happening. But the deluge of calls may have slowed a bit making it less stressful for the caller and the rep on the other line. Plus, given a few days, Disney may have answers that they had not thought of yet, or may tweak answers they have already given.

This, I have a ticket issue that is pending from the cancellation from our trip. I've decided that I will wait a week and then see where we are. I also have a July cruise that I plan on taking if they are sailing by then. It's hard when plans change, but it's the world we live in right now.