Cannot get thru to CR IPO!

[PrincessShanShan]

We'll be at the Atrium Club Christmas week. I've been emailing the IPO off and on for several months now. I emailed last Saturday with a few questions and within 24hrs., one of the IPO (not sure if I can name names, so I won't) staff returned my call. They have all been wonderful to work with and each time an ADR or other reservation is made, I've gotten an updated itinerary emailed to me. I'm sorry you haven't been pleased with them. Hopefully you'll hear from them soon.

 

[Alicnwondrln]

its so random how some of you are hearing back and some arent
also whenever I get an email it is signed
by the CM most of my interactions were with brandon and trish
I agree with Tammi, disney needs to do somehting about this

 

[CR Resort Fan 4 Life]

Thanks CR FAn, but I did note that in my post by saying CR IPO. The IPO is completely different than the concierge staff Iteniary Planning Office is there to help you BEFORE you arrive. The Concierge staff at the Club levels are to assist you during your stay. I do know the difference. Don't want to sound like I have a snotty tone in my post I don't, I am well travelled and have been to many many hotels around the world. I have been staying CL at WDW resorts longer than I care to think about. I am also a Travel Agent, and have phone numbers that most people don't have and I still can't get thru to anyone. I know the difference in good service and poor service and I also know what to expect from IPO. My complaint is directly at the IPO and their inability to contact me, and apparently I am not alone. All I am looking to do is spend money to be honest! There are some things that I would like to order for our stay since it is our Anniversary. I don't think it is too much to ask to actually speak to someone when you need to order some very expensive things that will most likely cost $1000.00 or so. We celebrate our Anniversary at WDW every year and we always have a bottle of expensive champagne among other things. I know most people don't order a $700.00 bottle of champagne, but I would like to speak to someone about it.

I know the GF and the CR share the same IPO staff and they have the same number 407-824-1775, so it would be obivious to state which resort you are staying at. As stated above the WL and the Poly also share the same IPO staff, but must have better management because most people seem to be pleased with their planning office. Since we always stay at the GF RPC, I have noticed a change in service.

goofie4goofy I must have not seen your comment saying this was nothing against the Cast Members of the Atrium Club. I only wrote what I said because, there maybe some members here who may have never stayed on a Concierge floor in WDW & if they read this & not every thing you said, they might not realize this has nothing to do with the Atrium Club Cast Members & it has to do with the CR/GF IPO deparment.

 

[jmkrat]

I am still concerned, I have about 200 days ( plenty of time, I know) but I am staying on the 14th floor. I have dietary concerns(really have to have that addressed, I had problems at the Polynesian) and I want to make sure I get good Cirque seats. I have a TA too, but I think I will try to e-mail the Concierge next week or so. Hopefully if you e-mail them they will respond.

 

[irisbud]

My experience with GF/CR IPO has been um, interesting as well .
We are doing a split stay between GF RPC and AKL CL, and thankfully Don and Juanita at AKL offered to take care of everything for me when I offhandedly mentioned my troubles. As Iwishfordisney said, they are truly wonderful.

I have sent five e-mails to GF IPO so far, all of which were responded to, unsigned, and in varying (1 day - 3 weeks) amounts of time. One was an introductory e-mail, three were questions, and the last was me sending them my updated itinerary after AKL took care of things for me.

I became really frustrated when GF kept telling me to get the information I desired for myself. I asked about a split stay and moving luggage; I was told to call bell services. I asked about some recreational options; I was told to call Disney. I asked about getting a reservation for Victoria and Albert's and was told to call them myself. Fed up, I sent the EXACT SAME three e-mails to AKL, and all of my questions were answered more than adequately, and my reservations were made.

This may sound foolish, but part of the reason that I booked CL is that IPO would do all of the talking for me, so to speak. I am painfully shy on the phone and in person, and them doing these things for me has made my vacation better already. Being told to call myself ...well, I didn't like that. I had some specific questions for V&A's about food allergies that I have, and I likely would have forgotten to ask had it been up to me.

Anyway, my long and rambling point is that I feel I have gotten more than my money's worth from AKL, and would gladly pay for CL from them again. Had I booked GF alone I think I would be very disappointed and regretting my choice at this point. I am sure things will be better when we arrive, as I have heard many great things about the onsite staff, but at this stage...

I would hate to see someone turned off from the experience entirely because of poor and frustrating service.

Have a great day!

 

[Cool-Beans]

I wasn't aware that your packages will go straight to your room. How does that work? Do you tell them at the time of the purchase you are staying concierge at your resort, or does the resort figure it out once the deliveries arrive at their gift shop?

You don't have to say anything when you buy it. The store clerks have nothing to do with it.

I just filled out the form, the same way I do now. The package was waiting on the bed for me. It is soo much better than having to go to the gift shop.

That is the one and only thing I miss about concierge...and it just isn't worth over $100/night for me. I do, though, think twice when shopping, "I'll have to carry this around or wait in the gift shop..." One time I was in there (OKW) for 30 minutes while they were tracking it down. Makes me shop less, which makes DH happy!!!

 

[TinkTatoo]

............I agree, the IPO service for pre planning is AWFUL. This is our first trip staying concierge and unless things are beyond my expectations during our trip we won't do it again. So far, I haven't seen any extra service, attention or even decent customer service. ...........

I think we are staying at the same time as you and our experience has been very different. I e-mailed and introduced myself not long after we made the booking and then sent my ADR list well before the 180 day window. In both cases I heard back from them with a nice e-mail. As my 180 window approached I made some changes here and there to the ADR's, they were all booked and we got everything we wanted.

Both our children have autism and we tried the dining plan for the first time this summer and ate in a lot of the restaurants we booked for Christmas. Some of them didn't suit DS at all and we needed to make quite a few changes, I e-mailed Beth last week and she was able to make all the changes expect one (and on that one we only wanted to eat an hour earlier)

My advice to anyone staying concierge would be to e-mail them as this seems to be the best way to get a response. I think I phoned them once and never did get a call back but when I e-mailed the same question it was answered the same day.

I hope you have a great time when you get there Lyeag as I know that for us this is a very special trip and I'd hate for it to be spoilt in any way.

 

[Aisling]

Couldn't care less about having the corners of the sheet turned down.

Cool-Beans, you don't even need concierge for turn-down service. In the deluxe resorts, all you have to do is call for turndown service, and it's yours for the asking, no extra fee. There's even a button on the phone marked "turndown", so how much easier can it get! Just thought you'd like to know, because it's nice to come back to your room after a long day at the parks, and have the bed invitingly turned down, the lamp on, music playing, chocolates on the pillows, etc., and for free!

Try it next time! You'll love it even more if you didn't have to pay an extra $200 a night for it!

 

[TheRustyScupper]

. . . I don't know if anyone in the Disney organization peruses these message boards, but this is an area that is sorely lacking in customer service skills. Whether they can't find the employees or if they don't pay them enough for this high profile position, I don't know, but they've been needing changes for a long time. Unfortunately, this is nothing new . . .

1) WDW people do read the boards.
2) Unfortunately, they do little as a response.
3) CM's and guests make suggestions/complaints, but no action taken.
4) It is common for lower level managers to tell "complaining CM's"
. . . the ideas come from above, not below
. . . just do your job and things will be fine
. . . there are reasons for everything and you don't need to know why
5) There actually is no vehicle for CM's to offer complaints/suggestions.

NOTE: Many CM's love their job and enjoy helping people enjoy their vacation at WDW. There should be a way for suggestions of better guest service and guest enhancement to be forwarded and then to be enacted.

 

[TammiMcMan]

NOTE: Many CM's love their job and enjoy helping people enjoy their vacation at WDW. There should be a way for suggestions of better guest service and guest enhancement to be forwarded and then to be enacted.

Rusty, it is clear that many CM's do love what they're doing. I've been lucky to meet many such employees. I couldn't agree more with your suggestion. During a stay at the GF, I asked the front desk for a guest comment card and everyone there looked at me like I had two heads. I thought for sure that because you're given one at the end of every meal, that the resorts would surely have something in place to recognize a good employee or for the guest to make a suggestion for better service. They had nothing like that behind the desk and instead gave me a sheet of printer paper to write on and said I could leave it for the GM.

I don't know if the company is too diversified or if they basically don't care alot because we can certainly tell by new construction and the lack of available rooms, that they aren't having a problem filling the place up. Even with all the concierge grumblings, that level is still selling out like hot cakes.

Jmkrat, if you are using a TA, then it's highly likely that the CR staff does not have your contact information. Anything they send out, would go directly to your TA. Definitely drop them an e-mail. As to Cirque, those tickets are available 6 months in advance and concierge does not have "good" seats set aside. It's not like Las Vegas. You may want to check with Cirques on-line site and see what tickets are available. You are going to do just as well on your own, as you do with going through concierge. According to my family the seats in category 1, in sections 203, 204 and 205 are very good. There are plenty on the lower level too, but they liked not having to look up constantly.

 

[Cass]

I have only had good experiences in dealing AKL & BC Concierge, WL was more of a concierge-lite and they did not give the same level of service.

It is really frustrating to read these threads of poor service from the IPOs of various resorts, for the price you are paying you are really entitled to that extra level of service and should not have to fight for a response or a returned call.

 

[Demosthenes]

I am really surprised to read some of the negative reviews about the CR IPO. For the past several years, whenver someone would post a poll about the different IPOs around WDW, CR would be the number one pick by double the next office (which was usually the Poly).

I have had an extremely good experience working with Beth at the IPO office for our trip next week to the Atrium Club. She has been very quick to respond, and has secured every request I have made, usually within 15 minutes of our requested time. I would recommend contacting her directly.

 

[lyeag]

I think we are staying at the same time as you and our experience has been very different. I e-mailed and introduced myself not long after we made the booking and then sent my ADR list well before the 180 day window. In both cases I heard back from them with a nice e-mail. As my 180 window approached I made some changes here and there to the ADR's, they were all booked and we got everything we wanted.

Both our children have autism and we tried the dining plan for the first time this summer and ate in a lot of the restaurants we booked for Christmas. Some of them didn't suit DS at all and we needed to make quite a few changes, I e-mailed Beth last week and she was able to make all the changes expect one (and on that one we only wanted to eat an hour earlier)

My advice to anyone staying concierge would be to e-mail them as this seems to be the best way to get a response. I think I phoned them once and never did get a call back but when I e-mailed the same question it was answered the same day.

I hope you have a great time when you get there Lyeag as I know that for us this is a very special trip and I'd hate for it to be spoilt in any way.

Yes, we will be there the same time! I can't wait! The only way I was ever able to get a response from the IPO was when my TA complained. I emailed, left messages- nothing other than the very first email that was my form to fill out.

I am really hoping the IPO isn't reflective of what lies ahead.

 

[goofie4goofy]

I am really surprised to read some of the negative reviews about the CR IPO. For the past several years, whenver someone would post a poll about the different IPOs around WDW, CR would be the number one pick by double the next office (which was usually the Poly).

I have had an extremely good experience working with Beth at the IPO office for our trip next week to the Atrium Club. She has been very quick to respond, and has secured every request I have made, usually within 15 minutes of our requested time. I would recommend contacting her directly.

I would absolutely love to speak to Beth.....but how do you get a hold of her???? It must be something new at the CR/GF IPO, now when you call you cannot hold for the next available CM to help you. You have to leave a name and number and they will call you back because "We are unable to take your call right now, please leave your name, arival date and reservation number and we will call you back shortly". I have been hearing that for over 2 weeks now. The problem is NO ONE calls you back. The E-Mail address for the CR IPO is not a personal one, so it goes into the "pool". When you call the CR hotel and speak to one of the operators there, they just cut you off and either direct your call to the wrong department or the IPO line....where you are told to leave a message.

So if anyone has any ideas of how to get a hold of an actual human being, I would love to know.

 

[lyeag]

I would absolutely love to speak to Beth.....but how do you get a hold of her???? It must be something new at the CR/GF IPO, now when you call you cannot hold for the next available CM to help you. You have to leave a name and number and they will call you back because "We are unable to take your call right now, please leave your name, arival date and reservation number and we will call you back shortly". I have been hearing that for over 2 weeks now. The problem is NO ONE calls you back. The E-Mail address for the CR IPO is not a personal one, so it goes into the "pool". When you call the CR hotel and speak to one of the operators there, they just cut you off and either direct your call to the wrong department or the IPO line....where you are told to leave a message.

So if anyone has any ideas of how to get a hold of an actual human being, I would love to know.

Well, when I finally did get to speak to someone (thanks to my TA) it was Beth. She told me that when I left my message on the voice mail to say specifically that the message was for Beth. I would try that. Perhaps if you use one of the CM's names it will get sent to an individual rather than left in a pool of guest messages for anyone to answer.

 

[Alicnwondrln]

if you have a TA you are going to have to email them and intro yourself

 

[X2WDWCP]

I would absolutely love to speak to Beth.....but how do you get a hold of her???? It must be something new at the CR/GF IPO, now when you call you cannot hold for the next available CM to help you. You have to leave a name and number and they will call you back because "We are unable to take your call right now, please leave your name, arival date and reservation number and we will call you back shortly". I have been hearing that for over 2 weeks now. The problem is NO ONE calls you back. The E-Mail address for the CR IPO is not a personal one, so it goes into the "pool". When you call the CR hotel and speak to one of the operators there, they just cut you off and either direct your call to the wrong department or the IPO line....where you are told to leave a message.

So if anyone has any ideas of how to get a hold of an actual human being, I would love to know.

Maybe you should get ahold of one of the travel agents that advertise on this site and put your reservation with them. I have always had good luck with reputable agents, they always know the ins and outs and shortcuts. There was a post a few weeks ago and people discussed who the best agents were. Good luck!

 

[goofie4goofy]

Maybe you should get ahold of one of the travel agents that advertise on this site and put your reservation with them. I have always had good luck with reputable agents, they always know the ins and outs and shortcuts. There was a post a few weeks ago and people discussed who the best agents were. Good luck!

I appareciate all the great info Thanks everyone

The funny thing is I am a TA - I own my agency. I can honestly tell you from all my years of not just being a TA but travelling, I have never had this kind of problem. Resorts do answer the phone or call you back because it means a guest is requesting something. Requests = MONEY, so I don't understand this at all. Also my trip is paid in full and we arrive in 2 weeks. I don't think anyone will be in tomorrow (Labor Day) so I will try again on Tuesday. I am just thankful this is happening to me and not one of my clients. If they don't change I will not be selling concierge level rooms at WDW for a while....it's just not worth it.

Remember the days when the IPO would actually call you a month before your vacation to see if tehy can assist you???? Those days are long long gone, but they still charge like they offer the same level of service.

 

[CR Resort Fan 4 Life]

Remember the days when the IPO would actually call you a month before your vacation to see if tehy can assist you???? Those days are long long gone, but they still charge like they offer the same level of service.

They must have stoped this service recently because a week before my family arrived in WDW last Christmas, we checked our messages from Clearwater Beach & we got a call from the Contemporary IPO department asking what time we would be checking in & if we needed anything else? I thought they would have done the samething for our trip last month, but they never called. So when we go away this December, I won't be expecting them to call.