"Abusing" Club Level privileges

[kimmie]

Oh my gosh! We will be at the Swan Club level over the Christmas holiday. I would never think of taking all that food! I would never allow my kids to do it either. I think the staff should keep their eyes open for the "cookie grabbers". Maybe they could politely tell them that there are other guests who maybe haven't eaten yet! Put 'em back!!! lol

I don't think a guest should have to arrive and line up right when they begin serving either. I am there to enjoy my vacation and will be dissapointed if everything is gone in the first half hour. Now I know I will have to make sure I get there right away too!

I am glad I am aware of this so I won't let it ruin my enjoyment of the club level.

I will hold my tongue but.... I can come up with many ways to make the "cookie grabbers" look bad. Peer pressure, right? lol

 

[ead79]

It does tend to surprise me how inconsiderate some guests are of other guests. I would never pile a plate high will all the chocolate covered strawberried there were. That said, I was sort of a part of a concierge lounge rude act. I was at the Poly concierge lounge with one of my friends on our 2001 trip. It was the day we were checking out, and my friend is a big water drinker. I got two bottled waters to take on the drive home with me (and I was already semi-embarrassed about having two water bottles), then my friend picks up 4 bottles for herself. I was too mortified to say anything to her, so I just high-tailed it out of there. I still can't believe she did that! I'm so embarrassed! As silly as it might sound, I think I feel better now that I've told the secret.

 

[Grumpy'sMom]

This thread reminds me of something funny my dd and I saw at Disney several years ago. We still laugh about it.

It wasn't at a concierge lounge - it was at the Crystal Palace. We were sitting outside on a bench waiting to be called for our PS. There was a lady and her young daughter sitting at a table inside against the long glass windows. The lady had ziplock bags and was holding them between herself and the window and filling them with chicken. She kept looking around the restaurant, I guess she was trying to be discreet, but I guess she never realized she was directly in front of the window and everyone outside was laughing. I still don't know what she was going to do with all that chicken, especially since it was about 95 degrees outside. I don't think I would want to eat that after a few hours! Luckily, the Crystal Palace doesn't run out of food.

 

[the disney queen]

I've never stayed Club Level or concierge so please take my question to be ignorance and not snide:

Why not just use the $100 to $150 per night to buy some amazing and yummy snacks rather than staying concierge and hoping that there will be some snacks left for you?

No offense taken. I have no problem paying the extra $$$ to stay in concierge, and I don't do it solely for the food (although being able to have a quick breakfast in the concierge lounge, as well as evening snacks etc. is a nice benefit). I also don't get riled up over or obsess about or feel the need to comment on those who do wish to take food back to their room (whatever the amount). I'm on vacation...hakuna matata! The point I was trying to make is that people who stay in concierge pay a premium for the services, and at least in my humble opinion (which is merely my opinion) the concierge staff should replenish the snacks, etc. as needed so that all guests can enjoy them at their leisure, during the designated times. The whole "run out of food" line from the staff is lame, IMHO. They have made a conscious decision to only have a set amount of food, and that is ridiculous, given the prices people pay to stay at the concierge level.

 

[johnsonet]

GrumpysMom, your story is just plain SAD. That woman had some problems - like the "cat hoarders" in the news...

And ead79, a few bottles of water ONE time is different from the woman I saw who cleared the plate of cookies in the HRH lounge and left! Others snuck out bottles of wine. What is their rationale? What about every other guest staying there? It is a total disregard for others - these people simply don't care, it's "not [their] problem".

Richard - I'm with you, brother. It's an overwhelming problem. The open bar thing is just a laugh riot - And these are MOST DEFINITELY the very same people who'll be the first to complain. I can't STAND it.

 

[DrTomorrow]

ead79:

Simply say 10 "Hakuna Matatas" and 2 "Hail, Walts" and all will be forgiven!

 

[Eeyore1954]

Originally posted by kimmie
I think the staff should keep their eyes open for the "cookie grabbers". Maybe they could politely tell them that there are other guests who maybe haven't eaten yet! Put 'em back!!! lol

Put them back? Ewww!

When my DW and I stayed at the BC last Nov., we saw all kinds of behavior in the lounge. I'll never get over the "Pink Lady" who appeared each morning in a bright pink nightgown with a sheer robe, pink curlers in her hair and fuzzy pink slippers. She'd shuffle in for a cup of coffee, look around with glassy eyes and shuffle off back to her room. Some mornings it was all I could do not to snort milk out my nose trying not to laugh.

Yes, there are cookie-grabbers and people in bare feet and food hogs and beverage hoarders... we just figured that (a) they didn't know better, maybe 1st timers to concierge or (b) they were trying to save some bucks on meals or (c) they knew better but just didn't care.

We figured the best course of action was to enjoy the show and not let it get us bothered or upset. I suppose we were fortunate because the BC almost always had something out everytime we went.

But don't get me started, though, on the kids who insist on touching or poking everything or the "precious" young tyke who sneezed all over a plate of desserts. (Yes, I did snag the plate and discreetly told the concierge staff to dispose of it. Ugh!)

 

[ducklite]

Sneaking out a bottle of wine is something I would think the concierge staff should be truly concerned with--if the person taking the wine then served it to minors I'm wondering if there could be legal ramifications. I know that everywhere at WDW they want to see the person you are getting the beer for (if you are ordering two at a cart) to make sure they are old enough.

Anne

 

[~Sparkly~Zoe]

Some people think of no one but themselves, the heck with others who might want to try something.

Personally I like staying concierge at times it just feels nice once in a while to get some extra treatment! Plus having the free drinks helps a lot when you drink as much as I do(or did)!

I think the breakfasts there in concierge help cut downt he cost of meals while at disney too. While it may not be a selection like that of a buffet, it's pretty decent and you don't have to rush out to get to that PS!(especially after a late night)

 

[ktulu]

My wife and I upgraded to conceriage at WL on our trip last week (Aug 9-16) and we didn't see anyone taking more than their fair share. We felt guility when we took two diet cokes back to our room for when we got back that night. I think if I saw someone emptying the cookies and such I'd have to ask them how big of a group of people they are staying with and what they do for a living to afford that many rooms on the conceriage level

Side note, what are those yummy little bars they put out at the WL, they had liike chocolate chips, coconut, maybe butterscotch chips, seemed like a little bit of everything, very yummy!

darren

 

[kimmie]

Eeyore1954,

You are right! I should not have said Put 'em back! LOL Poor choice of words. EWWWW is right, and YUK too. lol I can't even imagine that. I thought that maybe if some hoarders are aware of what they do to the rest of us they may think twice the next time? But then I doubt it.

 

[Eeyore1954]

Originally posted by kimmie
I thought that maybe if some hoarders are aware of what they do to the rest of us they may think twice the next time? But then I doubt it.

Kimmie, I agree. Unfortunately, I'm afraid some people are simply clueless about what constitutes rude behavior. Or maybe they don't care. However, it does make for some umm... interesting... stories for the DISboards. (Should I be embararred by all the giggles these posts have given me?)

 

[Aisling]

I think concierge is changing. I used to see it as a "first class" type of offering for those who want added luxury and can afford to pay for it. The food offerings were not intended to be "meals", but just a little something for people to munch on while they relaxed in the lounge. People are now using it as a way to save money on food. And it's attracting a different class of people. Flame me if you must, but I don't want to sit next to a man in his pjs while I'm having my coffee and muffin in the morning. So I don't. Concierge didn't used to be this way. People went Concierge for the pampering and luxury, not to save a buck. If you can save food money by going Concierge, go for it, but it is changing the whole feel and atmosphere, and now Concierge is looking more like the free buffet at the motel.

I am booked for AKL Concierge, but will most likely be changing it. From what I've seen at other Club levels/concierge at Disney and Universal, I think I'd rather use that extra money to eat in the restaurants.

 

[grlzmom]

I agree with all the posters in regards to taking more than "your share". However, I would be VERY upset if someone said something to me or one of my dds about taking more than my/their share.

We are a family of 9 and prefer club/concierge level for all the conveniences/extra perks. Often I will send the oldest dds to get cookies for their siblings while I am in the rooms/suites with the littler ones getting them settled. What would appear to be a cookie thief would really be the girls getting one a piece for their siblings. This has always worked for us and I am sure that many people think we are hoarding. Maybe it would be easier to drag all the kiddos down there and fill up all the chairs?

So, I agree about taking excess, but not everyone with a plate of cookies is doing that.

And, before anyone flames me, I pay for two rooms/suites on club/concierge level and all my kiddos are entitled to their nightly cookie or treat.

Jeanne

 

[Peter Pirate]

Asling, you may want to still go to AKL Concierge. From most reports they are still the best - Though all it takes is one or two louts to ruin it.

This is a funny discussion though. I agree with Asling that what Concierge is supposed to be and what most people are trying to get from it at WDW are two different things and two different philosophies.

I find it sad that everything has to come to entitlement. Because of these boards so many people want to step up in class to Concierge because they read about and don't want to feel "less" than any fellow Dis'ers. So they scrimp & save and make that reservation and by gosh they're going to get their monies worth!

Concierge was intended to pamper those guests to which money is not a concern. It is not be to be quantified as "worth it". As it stands now I wonder what Disney is considering for the future for these "whale" guests (if you pardon my using a Vegas term)? The true "monied" crowd certainly isn't going to put up with these shenanigans for very long.

BTW, I am not in the concierge catagory, meaning I cannot spend this kind of money without it being an issue. I have been upgraded to Concierge on two occasions and really enjoyed it, but my current status is deluxe with a discount or moderate...

 

[Kay1]

The cookies you're describing sound like 7-layer bars. They're very easy to make and a good idea for Christmas cookies since most people seem to like them. You can get the recipe from the internet or many cookbooks.

I really don't see the attraction for concierge service. After dealing with people in the parks all day, it's more appealling to me to just open my own bottle of wine and bags of snacks and relax in my room or on the patio. We just brew coffee in our room and have muffins or whatever, but to each his own.

 

[johnsonet]

Peter Pirate and Aisling thank you for saying what I wanted to but held back from...concierge has turned into something different from what it once was and from what it was intended to be

 

[PghDisney]

The rude behavior is not just limited to diseny, once we were at a restaurant waiting for a hostess to come back and take our name, in front of the line, while she was elsewhere seating others and a couple came up, walked to the front of the line (which by this time was five couples long) and actually wrote their own names on the waiting list . . . that said, we go to restaurants to be pampered, vacations even more so, and I suppose that many expect or at least wish for a bit of disney magic to rub off making that place immune from this . . . concierge all the more so as you are paying for the priveledge and yes, you expect a higher class of people and to be honest you usually get that when you pay those sort prices elsewhere . . . and that is the point, when ones act in ways such as the examples that we have all been reading about they are not just taking advantage of Disney, the one or two or even five abusers, out of the couple hundred there, who act that way shake you from the feeling that you paid for at minimum, or even worse, leave you none of the special things you paid for to relax with even if it is a scone or two, or a chocolate covered strawberry . . . so I agree, the staff is faced with a tough choice here, but unless truly egregious, they should keep the plates full and just let the disapproving looks the hoarders get perhaps keep them somewhat in line . . . and to adjust slightly a quote that Ms. Roosevelt once said, none can make you feel small without your permission, my being warned here of the possibilities, if I see such behavior I will not allow that person or persons to ruin my enjoyment.

 

[ducklite]

Peter Pirate-

A couple of months ago there was a thread about what type of hotel WDW should build next, and my response was a small (200 rooms) boutique style ultra-luxury hotel to accomodate exactly the type of guest you describe.

I think there is certainly a market for it. The GF and other WDw resorts do not offer this type of class of hotel, probably the closest would be the Ritz-Carlton or maybe the Gaylord Palms. WDW is certainly losing a market share to these properties for service type reasons.

Anne

 

[deb305]

Yes, it is frustrating when concierge runs out of food. We stayed at GF in January and saw some hoarding, not much. DD then 4.5 yrs loved the gouda cheese wedges. We got back late one night as they were tearing the food table down. DD was disappointed to have missed her cheese. The wonderful staff person told her to wait, and came out a few minutes later with a small plate of her favorite cheese wedges. Talk about your magic moments, DD was overwhelmed by thougtfulness. Same wonderful attendant had me bring down DS's (1yr) bottles every night, after the food, and she filled them up with milk for us. (We had in room fridge for their medicines anyway).
We enjoyed Concierge, especially at breakfast. We made the kids go down there to eat so they could practice their manners. The staff was always welcoming, and the atomsphere set the day.

We've tried to teach the kids not to worry about other peoples manners, just to mind their own. Please don't let other peoples less than perfect behavior ruin your experience.