Here is a letter I emailed to Disney this morning:
I am writing to let you know of the experience we had on May 6, 2006 upon trying to depart the All-Star Music resort via Magical Express. We were told our pick up time was at 9:55 am. We arrived out front at the loading station at 9:35 am. At 10:15 we inquired inside about the bus and the Disney folks make it clear that Magical Express was a separate entity from them and they couldn't help us. We proceeded to wait till about 10:30 and again asked for help, they finally said they would make a call and then told us a bus would be coming in about 10-15 minutes. Had we known that all this was a lie, we would have grabbed a taxi and made it to the airport with enough time. After 20 more minutes had passed we had a Disney employee out there with us and she said she was on the phone with them and that the bus would be coming around the corner in a moment. After about 15 more minutes, she was dumbfounded as to what was going on. Finally at 11:25 a bus pulled up - not the extra bus that they were sending, but the normal 11:25 route bus. We hurried and boarded along with about five or six other families that had waited for over 1 and 1/2 hours for this bus. We literally RAN through the airport to our check in - with all of our luggage. My 8 year old daughter was in tears knowing we would not make our flight. We are very Thankful for a gentlemen at Southwest Airlines. I asked him if there was anyway we could still make our flight and he went out of his way to personally take us to the front of the line and check us in himself. He then helped us take our luggage to the screening station and showed us the quickest way to get through security and make our flight. HE is the only reason we did make it. That was our only 'Magical' experience for the day!! And that is what is called Customer Relations.
I was very disappointed in Magical Express. But I think I was even more disappointed in Disney for trying to wipe their hands of the situation and lead us on that they were 'on their way' to pick us up. If you would have been honest we could have gotten a taxi and easily made it. If you are going to package the Magical Experience of Disney handling everything, then you better be prepared for situations and take care of them yourself. You could have easily told us the situation and called us a taxi, but it was just easier to point the blame to the other company that is supposed to handle it.
While our week at Disney was enjoyable, this really ended our vacation on a bad note. You definately need to teach your employees a little bit about customer relations - Maybe you could learn a thing or two from Southwest Airlines...they sure seemed to get it right!!
Though I am doubtful that I will receive a response from Disney, it did make me feel better to vent my frustation.
Oh, and I also sent a very nice letter (they don't accept email) to Southwest Thanking them for all their help.
I am writing to let you know of the experience we had on May 6, 2006 upon trying to depart the All-Star Music resort via Magical Express. We were told our pick up time was at 9:55 am. We arrived out front at the loading station at 9:35 am. At 10:15 we inquired inside about the bus and the Disney folks make it clear that Magical Express was a separate entity from them and they couldn't help us. We proceeded to wait till about 10:30 and again asked for help, they finally said they would make a call and then told us a bus would be coming in about 10-15 minutes. Had we known that all this was a lie, we would have grabbed a taxi and made it to the airport with enough time. After 20 more minutes had passed we had a Disney employee out there with us and she said she was on the phone with them and that the bus would be coming around the corner in a moment. After about 15 more minutes, she was dumbfounded as to what was going on. Finally at 11:25 a bus pulled up - not the extra bus that they were sending, but the normal 11:25 route bus. We hurried and boarded along with about five or six other families that had waited for over 1 and 1/2 hours for this bus. We literally RAN through the airport to our check in - with all of our luggage. My 8 year old daughter was in tears knowing we would not make our flight. We are very Thankful for a gentlemen at Southwest Airlines. I asked him if there was anyway we could still make our flight and he went out of his way to personally take us to the front of the line and check us in himself. He then helped us take our luggage to the screening station and showed us the quickest way to get through security and make our flight. HE is the only reason we did make it. That was our only 'Magical' experience for the day!! And that is what is called Customer Relations.
I was very disappointed in Magical Express. But I think I was even more disappointed in Disney for trying to wipe their hands of the situation and lead us on that they were 'on their way' to pick us up. If you would have been honest we could have gotten a taxi and easily made it. If you are going to package the Magical Experience of Disney handling everything, then you better be prepared for situations and take care of them yourself. You could have easily told us the situation and called us a taxi, but it was just easier to point the blame to the other company that is supposed to handle it.
While our week at Disney was enjoyable, this really ended our vacation on a bad note. You definately need to teach your employees a little bit about customer relations - Maybe you could learn a thing or two from Southwest Airlines...they sure seemed to get it right!!
Though I am doubtful that I will receive a response from Disney, it did make me feel better to vent my frustation.
Oh, and I also sent a very nice letter (they don't accept email) to Southwest Thanking them for all their help.
