Customer Service ?

[scejas]

Hey Guys,

I wanted your feedback on something that happened to me at Disney.

I have always liked Disney and I have done the once every two-year trek to the Magic Kingdom ever since I was 7 yrs old (i'm 26 now)... I have been with my GF for 9 months and decided it would be a nice play for us to go regularly since we live in Miami.

We went ahead and got ourselves the Seasonal Passes, DDE and booked a room at the All Stars (hey it's the holidays I can't afford anything else! hahah)

Well the trip went pretty well and we were happy -- then we went down to the marina in downtown disney. Rent a two seater boat for a leisurely trip down the canal past the resorts. Everything was going smoothly -- a big step for the GF considering she is scared of boats and being on the water (and her being sick and all).

Anyone familiar with the canals or boating there know the canals are a no wake zone. Mean very slow speeds .... as we were returning ... a 20 foot open fisher with markings that read "trophey" on it zoooooooooooooooooomed right past us... not only soaking us but almost crashing me right up against the concrete seawall. I have been on boats for a long since I'm a scuba diver ... it was the first time in my life that I thought we were going to capsize.

Needless to say I was very upset at the guest that did that. Or so I thought it was a guest. Upon returning to the marina I explained the situation to the marina attendant -- and spotted the boat and driver parked ... and they told me it was an employee with a habit of behavior like that. They asked me if I wanted to take the boat out for a little while more -- which is insane considering my sick gf was in wet clothes.... so we left... when I arrived home I wrote Disney guest relations an email ... it's been 2 weeks without a reply!

What is happening to customer service these days?!

My gf left with a bitter taste in her mouth -- and now I struggle to convince her to come back -- not because of the experience but because of the lack of follow up disney customer service has demonstrated.

 

[PneumaticTransit]

Guest Claims handles ALL the mail for Walt Disney World. It will probably take more than 2 weeks for them to even get to your letter. Be patient, hopefully you will hear back from them soon.

 

[Chuck S]

Two weeks is not, in my opinion, an unreasonable time to wait for a response, especially if you sent it via regular mail during the holidays. The post office was closed at least one day, and in general service is a little slower during this peak holiday season.

Truthfully, if I was sick with a cold/flu I would not have been on the water in December, even in relatively warm Florida. I avoid most water attractions in the winter time. I'm sorry she got wet, but that is a risk you take on the water...just like on Splash Mtn or any other water ride.

The entire canal is not a no wake zone, the area near OKW is clearly maked as such. But the large Disney transport boats often zip along at a good clip in the actual "canal" area near the treehouses. The larger transport boats have right of way. That being said, the CM should not have put you in a dangerous situation. I am assuming the "trophy" boat you are referring to is not a transport boat, but more than likely the faster patrol boat that handles emergencies on the lake and canal area. So, again, it would have right of way.

 

[scejas]

Chuck,

The area was CLEARLY marked as a no wake zone and the staff at the Marina said it was a reoccuring problem ...

I guess instead of correcting the problem we should all just avoid the waters so the lose canon can have his way ? I knew we ran a risk of getting wet... maybe shoes .. so forth -- but head to toe ? How is that my fault ? Even if I wasn't sick should I just walk away and say -- oh hum... he has the right to be "on plane" in a narrow canal and no wake zone.

I guess I'm unreasonable ... expecting to go for a boat and instead taking a shower

P.S. email not snail mail ...

 

[Chuck S]

scejas, I simply pointed out that the entire canal is not a no wake zone. That was in response to this statement by you

Anyone familiar with the canals or boating there know the canals are a no wake zone.

And surely you agree that being on the water when you have a cold or flu is not the wisest decision. No, you should NOT have expected to be soaked, but at the same time, it was still a risk.

You will note that I said the CM should NOT have put you in danger.

I did miss where you stated in the OP that it was email, not snail mail. I reread it and see it now. I don't think 2 weeks is too long to reply in this type of situation. They are most likely investigating, assuming you gave the date and an approximate time of the incident.

No where did I say you should "drop it and forget about it." What I said was that it was always a risk, you may get wet when on the water...which unfortunately proved true. The issue should be investigated for the safety of guests, and you should recieve a reply.

 

[scejas]

Love ya Chuck

 

[wdwgoofeeee]

When you sent your e-mail you should have received a fast reply stating that WDW received it and will get back to you soon. If you did not get this I would send it again.
I agree with everyone else that you will get a reply, but two weeks is too short a time considering how many e-mails and regular mail WDW gets every day. I have e-mailed WDW in the past and they always follow up with a specific answer after a few weeks. I have even received telephone calls two times from the WDW Executive Offices regarding my e-mails.
Disney takes all e-mail and mail seriously and they will get back to you regarding your situation.

 

[bicker]

when I arrived home I wrote Disney guest relations an email

This is problematic, IMHO.

For many years, Disney had a program called guest recovery that would spring into action whenever such a concern was expressed. It was similar, or perhaps moderately superior, to the customer satisfaction procedures of many world-class service companies in the United States.

However, with the ascendency of the Internet, such programs became severe liabilities. People used this new medium to not only share their experiences, but to share tactics for exploiting the generosity of companies that had excellent customer service, those that provided superlative response to customer feedback. What companies came to realize is that the vast majority of complaints lodged after a guest had gotten home weren't genuine, and since there was no way to differentiate those few genuine complaints from all the abuse, it has become necessary to limit the response given to non-normalized, non-verifiable complaints.

Again, this is not a Disney-only situation, but has affected service providers across the country. There has even been some impact on manufacturers with regard to product complaints (but generally, with products, it is posslbe to validate complaints even after-the-fact).

Disney is still the best in this regard. Most likely, assuming there hasn't been some glitch in the Internet, someone will read your email, and will probably try to validate it with managers on-site.

That's why it is so essential when you experience something like this that you bring it to the manager's attention immediately, while the manager is in a position to validate that the concern is genuine. In many cases, the manager is empowered to take action at that moment to express the company's regret about the indicident, and try to make up for it via compensation.

Don't rely on a CM for this... Always go to a manager. That's the only way you can help Disney provide you and future guests the best service, since the manager can validate your complaint, and that provides the company what it needs to make things right, whether that means sending you some compensation for your inconvenience, disciplining or terminating a rogue employee, or addressing the problem in a more systematic manner, via additional training of CMs, perhaps.

With no corroberation for your complaint, the chances of an active response from the company is much lower. You will likely get an apology, though perhaps an equivocal one (since it has to pass through the legal review, given how abusively litigious our society has become), but that may be all.

... it's been 2 weeks without a reply!

Do you have a return receipt for the email? While I wouldn't be surprised about a two week delay in getting a reply back from any email I send, during the holiday season, you can never be sure that your email even got to its destination. That's another reason for eschewing the Internet for these kinds of issues. Always send your concerns via US Mail.

What is happening to customer service these days?!

See above. Beyond that, believe it or not, customers are voting with their wallets, in droves, AGAINST customer service. Over-and-over we see examples of customers ignoring the impact on service quality and making purchasing decisions based on where they can get the lowest price. The less incentive customers provide for providing high quality, the fewer suppliers will offer it, and (and here's the kicker) the more getting the same level of high quality will cost. Lower demand for high quality equals higher prices for that level of quality.

That's not completely relevant to Disney, since they're still the best in the industry, and charging quite a premium for their high quality. However, it is affecting the industry as-a-whole, to some extent.

 

[boomhauer]

The problem with Disney Customer Service is, there isn't much good to writing a letter. That being said, I've done it on occasion myself. As someone said on one of the Disney specials on the Travel Channel, people expect better service from Disney and have higher expectations from Disney than anything else they do in their lives. This is because, Disney set such a high standard for themselves.

Again, the issue is, you may get a response, but honestly, there's not much they can really do other than apologize. Maybe offer you a free spin on one of the boats. Just thinking out loud.

I understand your displeasure. I agree with you. However, I wouldn't really expect much from Disney on this.

 

[scejas]

Thanks for the feedback guys -- to be honest I don't expect much from -- just an acknowledgement that they are looking into the problem ...

My problem is that I'm not good with expressing what happened ... I will tell you this Eventhough I'm 26 I have been on boats since i was 16 and operating one since i was about 21... this was flat out the scariest experience i had.

My little searacer (i think that's what its called)... took the large the wake from the boat via the side and not head on... (i had no warning to turn the boat and take the wake heads on... water penetrated the vessle via the passenger side ... and the boat was tossed towards the seawall fairly easy .... but anyways i don't want to beat a dead horse ....

Anyways i guess the point of my email was for public safety ... I thought it would be something that disney would like to address or look into for the safety of their guest and in return to avoid lawsuits.

I'm not the type that sues for everything ... but others do...

 

[bicker]

I'm not the type that sues for everything ... but others do...

Precisely, and those folks have ruined many things for the rest of us.

 

[jtdl]

It is totally unacceptable that this happened whether you were in a no wake zone or not. Larger boats should yield (as a courtesy not law) to smaller boats so as not to cause the smaller vessel to capsize, etc. And as for your GF being sick - that has absolutely nothing to do with the situation. She should not have had to worry about getting soaked as it isn't something that should have occurred. With the CM you spoke to admitting that this driver is known to carry on this way, something should definitely be done about him.

 

[bicker]

Larger boats are always supposed to yield ... to smaller boats

I believe you are mistaken. All powerboats are equal, with regard to right-of-way, and the rule-of-thumb is that "tonnage prevails" -- the smaller boat is responsible for getting out of the way of the larger boat.

For what it is worth...

 

[markwake]

this was flat out the scariest experience i had.

My little searacer (i think that's what its called)... took the large the wake from the boat via the side and not head on... (i had no warning to turn the boat and take the wake heads on... water penetrated the vessle via the passenger side ... and the boat was tossed towards the seawall fairly easy

I'm impressed that you're not going ballistic about it even today. I'd be flaming. Congratulations on keeping your cool about it, even from the perspective to two weeks after the fact.

 

[mushumadness]

I worte disney an e mail complaint for my parents about a bad experiance with a cast member, this was in may 2004 and they havnt got round to answering yet. i called and they recieved it and are "dealing " with it

 

[scejas]

In the past Disney has had awesome customer service... i just hope they never cut corners on it... especially since customer service itself is a dying bread....

 

[Talking Hands]

Usually takes 6 weeks or more for a reply neighbor. HAve patience

 

[jtdl]

I believe you are mistaken. All powerboats are equal, with regard to right-of-way, and the rule-of-thumb is that "tonnage prevails" -- the smaller boat is responsible for getting out of the way of the larger boat.

For what it is worth...

I mentioned as a "courtesy" not law. Where I live on the junction of a river and Lake Huron, the larger boats ALWAYS slow down when smaller boats are approaching or they are approaching smaller boats on the river. Only once in all my years of boating, and that's been a looong time, have we had a boat fly by us and drench everyone in our boat.

But anyway, I just wanted to clarify my point - it's all about courtesy and safety and Disney should be doing something about this known problem. As the OP stated, he is an experienced boater. Those sprites can be rented by young kids (14 or 16, I believe) how would someone who has never driven a boat handle it?

 

[bicker]

I mentioned as a "courtesy" not law.

I know. I meant that as a matter of "courtesy", smaller boats give way to larger boats. As far as the law is concerned, there are other conditions (anchored, overtaken, restricted manueverability, traffic separation, downriver, man-powered, starboard boat or starboard tack, leeward, not under command, fishing, etc.) The non-legal discriminator is size, and again, it is the smaller boat gives way to the larger boat. That's all I was saying.

 

[jarestel]

It's not all that uncommon for guests in the small sea-raycers to be swamped by manaical CMs speeding by in the larger patrol boats. I've heard of this happening often enough that I suspect some level of intent on the part of at least some of the CM's involved. ( from what they told you at the dock, it sounds like this particular CM does this on a regular basis ) If a CM's job is to pilot these watercraft every day, they obviously know the consequences of their actions, so either they are not very bright or they take a bit of glee in soaking the people in the smaller boats.

Good luck with your customer service dealings!