Complaint Letter

[yndygo]

I,too, had a bad dinning experience on the Wonder in July. Our servers were rude and not very good. I had such a great cruise otherwise that I only complained on my survey and let it go at that. I would never say sail I wont sail with dcl again because of it. That would only be my loss-not Disneys. I personally think too many people today are always looking to be "reinbursed" for one thing or another.

I didn't complain either - but if it had been a 7-day, I would've demanded they change our table.
The service was horrible...

What table were you at?

 

[yndygo]

I am going to say what everyone else is dancing around (my flame suit is on)

YOU ARE JUST TRYING TO GET A BIG DISCOUNT OFF OF YOUR NEXT CRUISE BY COMPLAINING ABOUT SOMETHING AFTER YOUR CRUISE WHEN YOU SHOULD HAVE COMPLAINED ABOUT IT ON THE CRUISE.

Where is you spine, sitting in your chair waiting for your dinner for 90 minutes each night.... sorry I am not buying it, you just want a big discount on your next DC.

PG

You know - I tend to be a rather forthright and outspoken person - but I didn't complain while on the cruise... because I was with my 4 y.o. DD and didn't feel like ruining the experience for her by getting in an argument with the wait staff.

Years of waiting tables myself and watching what sort of 'retaliation' some waitstaff will take against "difficult" customers kept me silent.

But you'd better believe that my comment card registered the EXACT nature of our negative Wonder dining experience last Spring.

Honestly tho? So what if the OP does want a discount as some sort of compensation for a horrid dining experience. That sort of thing can ruin a vacation for you... and it's not like DCL doesn't bump everyone and their brother up to a higher category every 2 seconds... for no reason, not even for a truly negative experience.

For me? Well, we rebooked onboard ship for a 7-day anyways... but if I were to get as bad a server as last time? I'd be down at Guest Services the first night having a discussion about it. The first time it's a learning experience - there won't BE a second time.

That said... I recently had a 'negative' experience with DCL customer service and had to get bumped up to a supervisor... who admitted that the woman I had been dealing with (Teresa was her name) was a "problem that was being escalated to the managers ASAP" because her behavior was completely unacceptable by Disney standards.
The supervisor said to me (and I quote) "What can we do for you to make up for this? What would make you happy?" and I know I could've probably pushed for something like OBC or whatever, but I just said "it will make me happy to know that she won't be treating anyone else who calls DCL like that, that's all I want."

Was I stupid for not saying "um... an OBC!" maybe, maybe not... but it takes different things to make different people happy about a negative experience.

 

[JsMom2]

If I were managing a customer complaint department, I would not be happy with the letter that was sent out to you. It almost sounds as if the person who wrote the response letter is debating you, as opposed to listening.

I don't know that customers should expect to be compensated by Disney for writing complaints, but I think they should expect to be listened to seriously, thanked for taking the time to write feedback, assured that issues will be looked into and told that Disney appreciates their business. Why ask for feedback if you're not willing to take it?

ITA

 

[rileyfamily]

The only problems we have ever had were being placed with other guests who really were not comfortable with dining with a large group of strangers or were just not in friendly moods. Sometimes the tables were large with too many people or the wait staff were new and not organized. Then we waited forever for dinner.
We could tell on our first night dinner how things were going - dealt with it politely - and went to Topsiders and Palo for all the remaining dinners. Didn't let it slow us down. We were there to have fun.
We usually request a table for 4, but have never been placed at one. There are other choices. Palo can't be beat....but the "dogs", pizza, and hamburgers are great too!

Enjoy!

 

[eva]

If I were managing a customer complaint department, I would not be happy with the letter that was sent out to you. It almost sounds as if the person who wrote the response letter is debating you, as opposed to listening.

I don't know that customers should expect to be compensated by Disney for writing complaints, but I think they should expect to be listened to seriously, thanked for taking the time to write feedback, assured that issues will be looked into and told that Disney appreciates their business. Why ask for feedback if you're not willing to take it?

I do agree here. If DCL just blew off the OP then that wasn't very Disney. But I don't believe that a discount should be expected.

You know - I tend to be a rather forthright and outspoken person - but I didn't complain while on the cruise... because I was with my 4 y.o. DD and didn't feel like ruining the experience for her by getting in an argument with the wait staff.

IMHP, this would have been a perfect time to demonstrate to your child how to make a complaint and stand up for yourself without becoming rude or argumentative. If the waitstaff becomes argumentative, again a good learning lesson, walk away and go straight to Guest Services. Isn't this the way you would want your child to behave, if she has a grievance?

 

[JeannieH]

On a full cruise, it is not unusual for a delay in getting your food. The servers have to wait in line in the galleys, and must get all your tables' meals together - even if they have to race to another galley to get an "Unusual" meal request. However, we know a great deal about the workings of the ship and I find it unbelieveable that you waited that long. If you were on a first seating, then they HAVE to get your meals out at a decent rate, as they need to clean/re-set for the second seating. On a second seating, the servers will want to finish their shift as soon as possible, due to their 5.30am starts! Bear in mind, they also have to re-set for breakfast.

Yes, we also have had to wait a while for our meals during our second seating - but the servers apologized and explained the reasons.

But............we also witnessed other diners complaining and behaving disgustingly and rude - saying how they were going to write to Disney and claim compensation. Of course, the Head Server should have been involved from day one. That is what they are there for, of course.

People regularly want compensation for various "mishaps" onboard - few of which require compensation. One guests even claimed they had caught the Norwk virus onboard - less than 90mins after they boarded! Not everyone is honest Im afraid.

IF your complain is truly valid, and Im sorry but I very much doubt it, then you didnt go about things correctly. As previous posters have said.........there were PLENTY of other dining options. You certainly wouldnt have gone hungry!

 

[Dizzyworld]

However, we know a great deal about the workings of the ship and I find it unbelieveable that you waited that long. If you were on a first seating, then they HAVE to get your meals out at a decent rate, as they need to clean/re-set for the second seating. On a second seating, the servers will want to finish their shift as soon as possible, due to their 5.30am starts! Bear in mind, they also have to re-set for breakfast.

As previous posters have said.........there were PLENTY of other dining options. You certainly wouldnt have gone hungry!

I was wondering about that too. I would thinking the staff would want/need you to get out of their way. Or other staff members would wonder when everyone left, why your table was still there night after night?

As for the last comment, when you pay all this money for any cruise, you really don't want to be eating fast food if you are with the kids, therefore you can't go to Palo every night.
~~~~~~~~~~~

Although when we were on the Wonder last week, we missed our dining time due to having too much fun at the Atlantis Resort. We ended up going topside and thought we'd eat at the buffet. Instead of a buffet, there is a printed menu and table service. It was terrific! Same food you'd get in the dining room. They are using it as a training ground for future waitstaff.

 

[nokidz]

we were on the Wonder mid July. Our dining experience was good. Not fantastic, but good. the food was fantastic and what wasnt fantastic was quickly made fantastic. the servers were the good part. they were dealing with a couple of huge tables of demanding people.

 

[ndepaola]

I am new to the DIS boards and I am SHOCKED at the way you are being flamed over your comment. God forbid someone complain about the almighty Disney?

A bad meal can leave a mark. My husband and I had the worst meal of our lives on a trip to London and it was sooooo bad that it took 3 years before we could even joke about it! If I told you about it you would think I was a fiction writer. At the time, we pretended that evening had never happened and enjoyed the rest of our trip. I can't even imagine how 4 nights of that would have affected the entire vacation.

Not everyone is comfortable with confrontation, including my husband, so I do understand why you would have been hesitant to escalate the situtation, having already mentioned it to your servers and head server or whoever. And I do not think it is unreasonable to expect Disney (of all companies!) to at least treat your complaint with the respect it deserved.

I hope you are able to chalk it up to a bad crew and can enjoy future Disney vacations, because I know I would be very bummed out if Disney were ruined for me.


~n

 

[Epperbiker]

Our dining experience was good. Not fantastic, but good. the food was fantastic and what wasnt fantastic was quickly made fantastic. the servers were the good part. they were dealing with a couple of huge tables of demanding people.

Some people are more demanding, or have different expectations, or have different personality types, or are just plain jerks. I frequently notice that the same people who state that they had horrible service or awful food also had terrible experiences with customer service or rude treatment on excursions, or got ripped off by 'locals' etc. Sometimes, just sometimes, people get bad treatment because they are perceived as rude or obnoxious. I don't mean to include anyone on this thread or even on this board, but we have probably all witnessed people who fit into this mold.

 

[eva]

I am new to the DIS boards and I am SHOCKED at the way you are being flamed over your comment. God forbid someone complain about the almighty Disney?

A bad meal can leave a mark. My husband and I had the worst meal of our lives on a trip to London and it was sooooo bad that it took 3 years before we could even joke about it! If I told you about it you would think I was a fiction writer. At the time, we pretended that evening had never happened and enjoyed the rest of our trip. I can't even imagine how 4 nights of that would have affected the entire vacation.

Not everyone is comfortable with confrontation, including my husband, so I do understand why you would have been hesitant to escalate the situtation, having already mentioned it to your servers and head server or whoever. And I do not think it is unreasonable to expect Disney (of all companies!) to at least treat your complaint with the respect it deserved.

I hope you are able to chalk it up to a bad crew and can enjoy future Disney vacations, because I know I would be very bummed out if Disney were ruined for me.


~n

I don't think that the majority of people are flaming this person. I think we are really trying to find out the facts. In my first post I asked if it happened every night and what night did he complain. I ask if he went to Guest Services to discuss the matter. I do not think that the comments made are people not believing that this could happen with DCL. I think that most are just amazed that it was so horrible that he expects reimbursement of some kind and never took the complaint to Guest Services and tried to be moved to another table.

I also don't understand everyone who says things like, "I'm trying to avoid an argument or confrontation." Lodging a complaint doesn't have to be combative. If done in a polite and friendly manner, normally the response will be the same.

 

[JeannieH]

Certainly confrontation is not the answer to these sort of problems. However, the reason you have Managers/Head Servers is to defuse any problems. Everyone wants to have a Magical trip onboard, however things sometimes do not go according to plan. Most problems can be overcome onboard by a few quiet words with those in charge. Some "problems" however, are of the guests' own doing and do not constitute any form of compensation.

Im sorry for your poor service in London: we, however, have never experienced it during many visits. Again, maybe a few words in the right direction would have calmed your poor experience. Dont let a meal spoil your whole vacation. There's more to a holiday than just an hour in a restaurant!

 

[ndepaola]

Oh - trust me, there was nothing that could have fixed this.

First, DH's steak came out 10 minutes after my meal and was very rare (he ordered medium, and we even discussed the color of the inside with the staff to be sure we all had the same idea of medium). So we had a nice quiet conversation with the manager about what color a medium steak should be. Then it came back 20 minutes later very well done. And of course by now I had finished my meal. In the end they said they would try a third time, but would not just take the steak off our bill and let us leave! Trust me, we talked calmly with the waitstaff, the manager, the chef - all to no avail.

In the end (almost 2 hours later!!) we paid for the steak that was never eaten and went home. And we paid A LOT for that steak.

So sometimes speaking calmly with the waitstaff, then the managers, or whoever just doesn't help.

And I, for one, do not think Disney is so infallible that the OP might have struck out with the waitstaff, the headwaiter, or whoever else he spoke with. Maybe, like my husband and I, he decided in the end that in order NOT to ruin his trip, the best thing to do was leave it at that and move on with the 4 days, writing a letter when he got home.

Makes sense to me.

[I should have added - this was a meal that we had planned in advance, made reservations for, and it was our "splurge" meal of the trip! insult to injury...more than anything, I was mad at myself for having picked the place at all. You live, you learn. ]

 

[Empress Room]

And I, for one, do not think Disney is so infallible that the OP might have struck out with the waitstaff, the headwaiter, or whoever else he spoke with. Maybe, like my husband and I, he decided in the end that in order NOT to ruin his trip, the best thing to do was leave it at that and move on with the 4 days, writing a letter when he got home.

Makes sense to me.

I certainly do not think that Disney is infallible - and as I said earlier, I do not doubt for a moment that the OP had a miserable dining experience. The problem, as I see it, is the "considerations" or financial compensation that the OP apparently seeks. It seems all too common now that when an experience does not live up to our subjective standards of quality, many of us expect a monetary response. That simply doesn't make sense to me.

Disney did respond to the OP after receiving his letter. We can argue about whether the response was proper, but Disney obviously investigated the collective surveys from its guests on that particular cruise as it related to dining. Apparently, the OP's experience was the exception, and not the rule, because objectively those on board for that cruise overwhelmingly enjoyed their dining experience (95%). That doesn't mean that the OP's experience was enjoyable, but it probably means that there wasn't a widespread systemic dining problem which would warrant giving discounts on future cruises or cash refunds (as the cruise industry sometimes does in response to particularly widespread and extremely bad cruise experiences).

Dining, unfortunately, is purely subjective, both in wait times, menu choices and food quality (unlike something objective, like plumbing or electrical problems which affect many cabins). Post #15 from disneyelaine states that she feels that DCL dining room food is not particularly good and that Holland America's is the equivalent to Palo's. That is a very subjective statement to which she is entitled (I've been on eight DCL cruises and believe that DCL's dining room food has done nothing but improve since my first cruise in 1999 and that Holland America's food was no better than, and in many ways was inferior to, DCL's dining room fare [not to mention that Holland America's upscale "Palo" restaurant equivalent paled in comparison to Palo on DCL]). Nevertheless, each of us has his or her own subjective beliefs about what is and what is not a good dining room experience. I happened to be on the Wonder's 10-day Southern Caribbean cruise last September and, even though our wait in the dining room for entrees was lengthy and we were always one of the last tables served and exiting from the second seating, none of our group felt that this was a problem - it didn't even cross our minds because we were enjoying each other's company, the fact that we were on a big, beautiful ship floating majestically in the middle of the ocean on vacation. Again, subjectivity wins out.

The point is that neither DCL (nor any other cruise line) is going to please each one of its guests no matter what it does with its food service - it's not an objective standard. The OP has every right to complain, both onboard and after debarkation, has every right to use that experience to decide whether he or she will cruise again with DCL and even has the right to feel a different response should have been given once he lodged his complaint. But to expect monetary compensation for this very private, and by all accounts isolated experience, appears to carry the "entitlement" mentality just a bit too far, IMHO.

 

[Weegl]

I need to weigh in here, although I may be a bit out of line:

A couple of years ago we had an issue with our cabin that, although there was an attempt while on-board to remedy the situation, disrupted our overall trip experience. After the cruise, I wrote a very detailed letter explaining the situation and warning them that their attempts to remedy it were not very "Disney like." I did not ask for any compensation. However, after several weeks I receved an apology letter in response and was offered a significant discount off of a future cruise.

The experience we had on-board was likely cause for us to avoid cruising Disney again. However the discount brought us back and we are still loyal to the brand.

Disney obviously gets more complaints than any of us can ever imagine...they have such an incredible brand promise that I'm sure many are disappointed with reality. Thus, if they gave discounts and compensation to every complaint, it could just cause everyone to complain for the $.

That said, I do not understand how they would "argue" with a legitimate complaint (and I believe that the OP's input to Disney was well intentioned)...why not fall on the sword and offer some small token, like $25 off a future cruise along with a sincere apology. Seems like they would want to acknowledge a customer's disappointment and let it help them get better.

 

[Epperbiker]

First, DH's steak came out 10 minutes after my meal and was very rare (he ordered medium, and we even discussed the color of the inside with the staff to be sure we all had the same idea of medium). So we had a nice quiet conversation with the manager about what color a medium steak should be. Then it came back 20 minutes later very well done. And of course by now I had finished my meal. In the end they said they would try a third time, but would not just take the steak off our bill and let us leave! Trust me, we talked calmly with the waitstaff, the manager, the chef - all to no avail.

So the incident above constituted "the worst meal of our lives... sooooo bad that it took 3 years before we could even joke about it!" - Wow, you've obviously never eaten at Denny's...or had my Grandmother's cooking.

 

[Empress Room]

I need to weigh in here, although I may be a bit out of line:

A couple of years ago we had an issue with our cabin that, although there was an attempt while on-board to remedy the situation, disrupted our overall trip experience. After the cruise, I wrote a very detailed letter explaining the situation and warning them that their attempts to remedy it were not very "Disney like." I did not ask for any compensation. However, after several weeks I receved an apology letter in response and was offered a significant discount off of a future cruise.

The experience we had on-board was likely cause for us to avoid cruising Disney again. However the discount brought us back and we are still loyal to the brand.

Disney obviously gets more complaints than any of us can ever imagine...they have such an incredible brand promise that I'm sure many are disappointed with reality. Thus, if they gave discounts and compensation to every complaint, it could just cause everyone to complain for the $.

That said, I do not understand how they would "argue" with a legitimate complaint (and I believe that the OP's input to Disney was well intentioned)...why not fall on the sword and offer some small token, like $25 off a future cruise along with a sincere apology. Seems like they would want to acknowledge a customer's disappointment and let it help them get better.

I would assume that there are many factors that cruise lines (not just DCL) use to determine whether or not future discounts are in order. Those factors would include the nature of the complaint, whether the specific complaint was unique or shared by other guests on that same cruise, whether the complaint showed that an objective standard of quality or experience was not met, whether the complainant attempted to have the matter resolved while on board, the tone and content of the complaint - to name a few.

In your case, maybe it was as simple as you articulating your concerns in a more coherent and friendlier fashion than the OP!

 

[crisi]

I need to weigh in here, although I may be a bit out of line:

A couple of years ago we had an issue with our cabin that, although there was an attempt while on-board to remedy the situation, disrupted our overall trip experience. After the cruise, I wrote a very detailed letter explaining the situation and warning them that their attempts to remedy it were not very "Disney like." I did not ask for any compensation. However, after several weeks I receved an apology letter in response and was offered a significant discount off of a future cruise.

The experience we had on-board was likely cause for us to avoid cruising Disney again. However the discount brought us back and we are still loyal to the brand.

Disney obviously gets more complaints than any of us can ever imagine...they have such an incredible brand promise that I'm sure many are disappointed with reality. Thus, if they gave discounts and compensation to every complaint, it could just cause everyone to complain for the $.

That said, I do not understand how they would "argue" with a legitimate complaint (and I believe that the OP's input to Disney was well intentioned)...why not fall on the sword and offer some small token, like $25 off a future cruise along with a sincere apology. Seems like they would want to acknowledge a customer's disappointment and let it help them get better.

Its easy to review room maintenance records and be certain that your complaints were real - maybe not with the way they were handled, but your room HAD problems during the cruise and the records will reflect that.

Its harder to verify a service complaint at dinner that Disney does not have any record of.

If you complain on the ship, chances are darn good Disney will move you to a different table and perhaps give on an on-board credit. If you write afterwards, they can only verify that you were on the ship, that you had the servers you had - not that any problem existed.

Unfortunately, people constantly complain not because service or product was bad, but because sometimes complaints result in compensation. Companies have wised up to this and are now very careful in rewarding complaints with compensation. Moreover, when people broadcast to thousands on the internet that they DID get compensation, the expectation increases - and therefore the complaints go up. Rewarding people for complaints gets you more complaints - it doesn't necessarily translate into getting valid complaints you can act on and improve from.

Chic's original take "I was so disappointed we won't cruise Disney again" is probably the correct one for both her and Disney at this point. I did notice she just purchased DVC - and since customer service on that side of the Disney house is ..... uneven ... I hope she isn't given the opportunity to be disappointed.

 

[dursin]

I would assume that there are many factors that cruise lines (not just DCL) use to determine whether or not future discounts are in order. Those factors would include the nature of the complaint, whether the specific complaint was unique or shared by other guests on that same cruise, whether the complaint showed that an objective standard of quality or experience was not met, whether the complainant attempted to have the matter resolved while on board, the tone and content of the complaint - to name a few.

In your case, maybe it was as simple as you articulating your concerns in a more coherent and friendlier fashion than the OP!

We've been on a few Disney cruises and experienced some 'problems' (non-food related) on our most recent cruise last year. I wrote Disney a nice letter describing the problem and what I did to attempt to get it resolved. They sent a nice letter back which apologized for the problems, stated that they hoped I would give them another opportunity to sail with them and as an incentive they also sent 25% off vouchers which were stackable with any other discounts I had. The tone of the letter was very professional, addressed my concerns well and the discount they gave saved me well over $1000 on our next booking.

I'm sure peoples experienced with Disney may vary and that may have something to do both with how the problem is communicated to Disney and with who winds up handling the concern, but every time I've had an issue or problem with Disney's service, they have gone WELL out of their way to make things right.

 

[nokidz]

Some people are more demanding, or have different expectations, or have different personality types, or are just plain jerks. I frequently notice that the same people who state that they had horrible service or awful food also had terrible experiences with customer service or rude treatment on excursions, or got ripped off by 'locals' etc. Sometimes, just sometimes, people get bad treatment because they are perceived as rude or obnoxious. I don't mean to include anyone on this thread or even on this board, but we have probably all witnessed people who fit into this mold.

YOU ARE CORRECT. DCL cannot apease everyone. It is impossible. But it is up to them, or there staff to try their best to settle or solve all problems. But the guests also have to be understanding, within reason. some people cannot be satisfied no matter how hard the staff tries. on the other hand, sometimes no matter how hard the guest tries to be understanding, frustration is close at hand. I am not saying who is wrong and who is right. we as a rule, will try an establishment a second time before we make our decision.