Changed ressie to FW & wasn't treated very welcoming

[pcrmommy]

I'm not usually one to complain or even fill out a survey giving someone bad marks for customer service, but WOW! I had to call the reservations line & switch our entire trip, now I know that any agent answering would have been rolling their eyes when they heard what I needed to do, but seriously...this is their job & I was very nice and extremely organized in telling them what I needed to have done. From the get-go "Leon" didn't sound overly thrilled, I got the vibe that this was more work than he normally had to do for a future guest. At one point he commented sarcastically "basically all that stays the same is that your coming to Disney World". Well, yes Leon that is true, but circumstances change from time to time, and ours has like many, many other folks. Then the comment was made "have you ever stayed at FW before", and it wasn't like he was gonna rave about it, no the tone was that he couldn't believe I was changing my ressie to "this".

So, after the reservation was changed, I did the phone survey and gave him some less than stellar marks.

We're still very excited about our upcoming trip, we may not be staying at The Poly, like we originally planned, but we are coming to FW and gonna love every minute of it Leon!!!

 

[Judy in Texas]

... we may not be staying at The Poly, like we originally planned, but we are coming to FW and gonna love every minute of it Leon!!!

No, you won't be staying at The Poly... you will be staying at The Fort which by far and away a much superior Resort, thank you very much! You will have a grand time! The Fort offers lots of amenities that The Poly doesn't. Give yourselves lots of time to explore and enjoy them!

 

[clkelley]

I'm sorry you had such a bad time with a Disney Reservation Agent. Unfortunately, most of them DO NOT live in Orlando or California, have NEVER even set foot on property and don't care!!

 

[MomofSixinSC]

Or...Leon has been to FW, loves it, and hopes that by making it sound like a lesser choice, he will be able to keep it the way it is.

Praying you will have a blast on your trip!

 

[des1954]

Sound like Leon needs a serious time out....as in out the door!!

Don't worry - you have made the better choice!! If I had a choice of an all expenses paid stay at the Poly or, pay for it myself stay at the Fort, the Fort will win, hand's down!!

Leon is a perfect example of why I turned down a supervisor's position with Disney's CRO. They get paid enough that no matter what a guest throws at them, they can make that guest feel like they're the only person that matters at that moment. If the CRO rep can't do that, they need to get a job flipping burgers at McDonald's. That's about all they are worth, IMO.

 

[thegoofyfamily]

They are horrible.....and very low paid, and not very well screened. About a year ago, I started working for a company working from home where I took incoming calls. It was great money. I worked for a very well known emergency roadside assistance company. I was making @ $12 per hour....

Anyway, the big joke within the work from home industry and this particular company was they did the outsourcing work for Disney reservations, dining, and the main line. Disney paid less than any other client. And, the hoops they made these agents jump through for the least amount of pay was HORRIBLE! They severely cut their pay rate (not sure if it was the company or Disney or both), but most of the somewhat talented agents jumped ship. They've been desperately scrambling to find people for over a year and they are scraping the bottom of the barrel.

And, yes.....most of THESE agents are based in Florida. I hate calling the res line for anything.

 

[CooperPrincesses]

I'm sorry that you got such a grumpy CM. We also switched our whole reservation from the Contemporary-CL to Fort Wilderness. The Contemporary was my pipe dream from being a little kid and riding the monorail through it each time we went to WDW, however I think that Fort Wilderness will be right up my families alley.

After reading numerous posts of fantastic stays on this board, I think that this resort will definately rank right up there as the best. Obviously Leon was having a very very bad day.

Enjoy your trip!!

 

[ftwildernessrick]

First, welcome to the Fort.

As you have probably found out, that not all CRO's are the same, and very few are even familiar with the Fort, much less the different types of RV's & hook ups.

So now to the good stuff.
Are you staying in a cabin or RV?
What are your vacation dates? Kids? Significant other? or any info you might want to give. We love to read posts and give opinions & advice. It is our way of returning what we have received, not to mention to help pass the time until our next trip.

There is a lot of info posted at the top of this forum, and feel free to ask any questions.

 

[wak648]

There is a lot of info posted at the top of this forum, and feel free to ask any questions.

Just dont ask us to convince you!

 

[des1954]

They are horrible.....and very low paid, and not very well screened. About a year ago, I started working for a company working from home where I took incoming calls. It was great money. I worked for a very well known emergency roadside assistance company. I was making @ $12 per hour....

Anyway, the big joke within the work from home industry and this particular company was they did the outsourcing work for Disney reservations, dining, and the main line. Disney paid less than any other client. And, the hoops they made these agents jump through for the least amount of pay was HORRIBLE! They severely cut their pay rate (not sure if it was the company or Disney or both), but most of the somewhat talented agents jumped ship. They've been desperately scrambling to find people for over a year and they are scraping the bottom of the barrel.

And, yes.....most of THESE agents are based in Florida. I hate calling the res line for anything.

It's possible that Disney has done some outsourcing with CRO as they did with janitorial services. They have brought janitorial back in house where they can have more control. I don't know about their CRO department. I interviewed for and was offered a position as a supervisor in either the Temple Terrace or the Dr. Phillips offices in 2005. The money was good. It was very good. It was more a year than what I made after 30 years with Verizon. At that time, the hourly paid CRO rep's starting pay was more than Verizon's starting pay (both substantially more than minimum wage). Whenever I call CRO (several times a year) I alway ask which office the CM is in (because I've been in both offices). I've never had one say anything other than Temple Terrace or Dr. Phillips. BUT that does not mean Disney isn't contracting to a low bidder to handle reservations. It would explain Leon.

 

[ftwildernessguy]

I just called CRO and asked for Leon. I needed to change my reservation. He offered to buy me a Southern Smothered Hot Dog when I come to the Fort.

 

[dfg02790]

I have found the best way to book reservations at any Disney property is through "Magic travel for less".Cindy@themagicforless.com will take care of all your travel at Disney. She gets back to you promptly and will advise after you book and adjust any applicable discounts as they arise.
Don

 

[Disneylitch]

You will love The Fort. We stayed at The Contemporary for our honeymoon 30 years ago, it was nice, but I still prefer The Fort. We just came back from celebrating our 30th anniversary at The Fort. You won't be disappointed.

 

[mnsprk]

They are horrible.....and very low paid, and not very well screened.

We do all our reservations on the phone and I have never had any issues with a CM. They have always been very cordial and always try to get me the "best deal", even when I call back to make changes or look for discounts.

You have to remember anybody could have a "bad day" or maybe the person who called before you was an absolute "A--".

 

[SinceDay1]

I have made some changes to our ressies today, as well as dinner ressies and the CM was so wonderful to deal with, even asked a couple of times if I had any questions or anything else they could do for me... I hate to hear you had less then expected service, who knows, maybe they were having a bad day...
Glad you are still excited about your trip and I am sure you will have a magical time!

 

[ZeroMyHero]

I had something similar happen to me, but not through Disney. I was booking a trip for next May through an agency that specializes in Disney vacations that we used last time we went to WDW. At first we were going to stay at Caribbean Beach. We then decided we'd rather have the room a cabin at FW would offer. The agent tried to talk me into getting a family suite at All-Star instead because FW was "really spread out and harder for families to get around", but I told her we'd stayed at FW before and found it to be completely family-friendly, so she booked the cabin and that was that.

Then I found out about the Disers here who rent their RVs. DH and I know that will be a great experience for our oldest DD and much cheaper than a cabin, so we changed one last time to a campsite. The travel agent, who was very friendly and helpful when we were talking about hotels, sent me a short, almost rude email telling me I'd have to book through Disney because she wasn't allowed to book campsites, only actual packages. What I ended up booking myself online *is* a package: lodging, tickets, even a dining plan - it's the same package I asked for except instead of a hotel room I have a campsite. I don't know for certain, but it sounded like she didn't *want* to help me, not that she *couldn't*. After reading what the OP posted, it no longer surprises me that the agent downplayed FW if Disney agents themselves are doing it.

 

[clkelley]

I had something similar happen to me, but not through Disney. I was booking a trip for next May through an agency that specializes in Disney vacations that we used last time we went to WDW. At first we were going to stay at Caribbean Beach. We then decided we'd rather have the room a cabin at FW would offer. The agent tried to talk me into getting a family suite at All-Star instead because FW was "really spread out and harder for families to get around", but I told her we'd stayed at FW before and found it to be completely family-friendly, so she booked the cabin and that was that.

Then I found out about the Disers here who rent their RVs. DH and I know that will be a great experience for our oldest DD and much cheaper than a cabin, so we changed one last time to a campsite. The travel agent, who was very friendly and helpful when we were talking about hotels, sent me a short, almost rude email telling me I'd have to book through Disney because she wasn't allowed to book campsites, only actual packages. What I ended up booking myself online *is* a package: lodging, tickets, even a dining plan - it's the same package I asked for except instead of a hotel room I have a campsite. I don't know for certain, but it sounded like she didn't *want* to help me, not that she *couldn't*. After reading what the OP posted, it no longer surprises me that the agent downplayed FW if Disney agents themselves are doing it.

Most so called "Disney Specialist Travel Agencies" have no clue either. A couple of their agents or manager goes to a class and are sent promo material every year, that's about it.

Also, even though they are a board sponsor, there are only a "few agents" (mainly Rhonda), that will book the campground at Dreams Unlimited.