BWI-Great Location/Mediocre Service

[wilda]

This "Have a Magical Day" reply to just about everything wore off pretty quick on our trip last week.

We were give a room right above construction that was being done on a roof directly below us. Hammers, saws, you name it; they were using it. A telephone call got us moved to a courtyard view that was much quieter; no hassle/very responsive. The rub for me was the hotel was not at capacity, so why did the CM put us there to begin with? Wouldn't it be more customer friendly to avoid putting anyone into that location unless they were completely sold out and had nothing else available?

"Have a Magical Day"---Try to get a newspaper before the gift shop opens at 7:00; if you can finangle that, it will certainly be a magical day. There was a stack of newspapers in front of the gift shop at 6:00 a.m. this Saturday. I approached the front desk and asked if I could leave the money and take a paper. "No you can't. It's our policy to count the papers." How about if I leave a note with the money telling them I took one paper? That way they will have the correct count, would that be alright? "No maam, you have to wait until the gift shop opens at 7:00." This happened both Saturday and Sunday.

A couple of things here; don't use the word policy with me, don't call me maam, and work with me please, not against me. Am I the only one that thinks it's a bit odd that "USA Today" is delivered to the door Mon-Fri by 5:00 a.m. without a problem but it takes an act of Congress to pay for a paper on the weekend?

Please don't misunderstand, this was certainly not a big deal in the grand scheme of things. No it did not ruin my day, hour, or entire vacation. But it does make me wonder why the CM on either day did not take some initiative to make the customer experience a positive one. I understand that there are guidelines that must be adhered to. But to tell me "no" and then advise me to "have a magical day" just didn't sit well with me. Also, please get rid of the word policy, it is the brick wall that stands between the customer and satisfaction, and the CM stood safely behind it.

I have the general managers name and will be sending him an email and encourage him to review the "policy" regarding weekend newspapers. Just my opinion- thanks for letting me vent

 

[Booyakasha]

Wow! I would hate to see what would happened if something really went wong. I understand that it was frustrating that the CM wouldn't help you but it really is only a Saturday paper and you would have been able to get one in less than an hour.

BTW what is the "word policy"

B.

 

[rosiep]

It's the principle of the thing. You would hope that the CM's try to anticipate problems and avoid them. As far as the paper goes, it wasn't an outrageous or unreasonable request.
The OP clearly stated it didn't ruin her vacation...she was just venting. That's what the boards are here for.

 

[MickeyisanNDfan]

I would have just left the money and taken the paper without even asking the question..every store where I live has a pile of papers out in the am with little piles of change where people have taken the paper and this is in the city. I wouln't even have thought twice about doing this at Disney.

 

[Booyakasha]

It's the principle of the thing. You would hope that the CM's try to anticipate problems and avoid them. As far as the paper goes, it wasn't an outrageous or unreasonable request.
The OP clearly stated it didn't ruin her vacation...she was just venting. That's what the boards are here for.

I absoulely agree with the OP that it was not an outrageous request and that she should have been given the paper. But why get so upset over a paper? Upset enough to post about it on a public forum and to write the GM of the Boardwalk. Just doesn't make sense to me.


B.

 

[wilda]

I absoulely agree with the OP that it was not an outrageous request and that she should have been given the paper. But why get so upset over a paper? Upset enough to post about it on a public forum and to write the GM of the Boardwalk. Just doesn't make sense to me.


B.

Who said I was upset? What I am... is surprised that the CM's showed more initiative enforcing the policy than they did trying to insure customer satisfaction.

As far as writing the GM, if it was my hotel I would want to know. Some of the "little things" are very easy to fix, and go a long way in creating the magic!

 

[Booyakasha]

Who said I was upset? What I am... is surprised that the CM's showed more initiative enforcing the policy than they did trying to insure customer satisfaction.

As far as writing the GM, if it was my hotel I would want to know. Some of the "little things" are very easy to fix, and go a long way in creating the magic!

Sorry, I associate "venting" with being mad or upset.

B.

 

[Maxwell]

Is the newspaper that important? When we are at Disney I do not want to know what is going on in the world. It's too depressing in such a magical place.

 

[GinnyFavers]

Hey OP, I totally get where you're coming from.

There's a nasty trend toward beurocratic nonsense lately in all walks of customer service.

Joe and I surmise it's all about avoiding work, on the part of young people, who are the group most prone to automatic "No".

We call it "Just Say No Customer Service," when "no" is the go to position and then they think of a reason to justify it.

We think it's partly a generational hallmark, and partly it comes from fatigue from dealing with an often hostile public. Disney needs to find a way to rotate on stage positions so they are fresh and *helpful* and *kind* when they're dealing with guests.

Bringing back Traditions the way it used to be, and empowering CM's, expecting CM's, to make things happen for guests is what's really needed.

At the VERY least, the hotel manager needs to stop leaving the papers out in plain view, taunting people. Common sense, if your goal is to be *helpful* and *kind*.

Not a lot of that going around in the world anymore, it's a shame.

 

[Mr Vincent]

The Boardwalk Inn is classified as a luxury resort.

Someone at Disney needs to get the message across to employees that the customer is spending cold hard cash, and alot of it for their vacation. Give the customer whatever the heck they want within reason. Who cares about a newspaper! The employee should give a newspaper for free and then offer to bring coffee to their room for free. This is not saying that this stuff should just be done all the time, but it is obvious that having a newspaper was very important to the OP. So just give it to him.

Thats what gets people to not only come back to WDW, but also come back to the hotel and spend more buckets of cold hard cash.

...and shame on them for putting you in a room with construction going on. That should haver never happened in the first place.

 

[frdeb1999]

I have to agree with customer service coming first. While it may not be a huge deal in the scheme of things. To some that is how they wind down or start their day. I think the GM should get this kind of information. If they are told about all the things that could/should be done to make people's stays better then maybe it would be happening. And I'm with you....when your paying for one of the deluxe resorts....or any for that matter they should try and make things happen for the customer....especially if they're within reason.

 

[micmacmissy]

I agree with the OP. Reasonable requests should be met at all times. These CMs need to learn to think out of the box.

Disney needs to train its people in the Dale Carnegie method of customer service:

Rule #1: the customer is always right.
Rule #2: if the customer is wrong, reread Rule #1.

 

[G8r4evr]

The Boardwalk Inn is classified as a luxury resort.

Someone at Disney needs to get the message across to employees that the customer is spending cold hard cash, and alot of it for their vacation. Give the customer whatever the heck they want within reason. Who cares about a newspaper! The employee should give a newspaper for free and then offer to bring coffee to their room for free. This is not saying that this stuff should just be done all the time, but it is obvious that having a newspaper was very important to the OP. So just give it to him.

Thats what gets people to not only come back to WDW, but also come back to the hotel and spend more buckets of cold hard cash.

I completely agree. Any decent GM would want to know too...its often the small things that build repeat business.