DAS Customer Service Issues

[PollyMroz]

Hi All. Has anyone ever had a really poor cast member interaction when trying to get help with a DAS Pass? I have a DAS pass for an upcoming trip and called to get clarification on something. The cast member I spoke to clearly did not understand DAS because he told me that my family member who I am traveling with would not be able to come on rides with me using the DAS line (this wasnt my question and I know this isnt true). I politely asked to speak to someone else, someone who specializes in Disability services. He became very upset and said that just because I dont like his answers doesnt mean he is wrong. At this point my anxiety kicked in and I felt guilty for even trying to utilize a service that I need. I again said that I would like to speak to someone else and then told him that he should be aware that people who call in about DAS assistance may have cognitive / psychological issues and that he should be more understanding. At this point he lost it on me saying that he had been nothing but understanding and kind (again he's yelling this at me). He then tells me that at least he wasnt swearing at me like others might. I was floored at this point and had started hyperventilating from the situation. I have never had a poor experience with Disney but this one was shockingly bad. I took some time to collect myself and then tried to call someone back, they were able to answer my question quickly and kindly. I then tried to raise the concern of the other cast member i spoke to and broke out into tears again shaking thinking back on how he spoke to me. I know its not the standard experience but I am truly disappointed by my experience.

 

[Maggie'sMom]

Oh wow! That is completely unacceptable. I would send an email, detailing the call, including the date and time that you called and the CM's name, if you remember it.

At least he wasn't swearing at you like others would? Um, no way. Others wouldn't yell or swear. He needs to be retrained at a minimum, but honestly, I think Disney needs to tell him to find employment elsewhere if he thinks it is acceptable to yell at guests.

 

[Narcoossee11]

There are lots of cm. When you don't connect with one, just hang up and try again.

CM have bad days just you were having .

 

[Maggie'sMom]

There are lots of cm. When you don't connect with one, just hang up and try again.

CM have bad days just you were having .

It's one thing to be having a bad day and another to yell at a customer. The treatment the OP received wasn't just "not connecting with" a CM.

While I usually espouse the idea to hang up and call back, that was a lot easier when phone wait times were short. It's a far more time intensive undertaking to hang up and call back now than it was 5 years ago.

 

[HashberryOTG]

There are lots of cm. When you don't connect with one, just hang up and try again.

CM have bad days just you were having .

That's no excuse.

 

[notatallmagic]

Yes. My daughter had turned 18; is in school out of state (she has the "newish" diagnosis requiring the DAS), called in to get a DAS, and was treated horribly. She was in tears, and she's a tough kid.

We've gotten the DAS multiple times, and although that was our only poor (and it was awful) experience. Obviously, it's unacceptable. And I know you invest a lot in the wait time, but if she ever encounters that again, she will hang up and call back. Please know that this is not typical; but I would certainly make a complaint. Disney needs to train these Cast Members not only to be knowledgeable, but also to demonstrate an extra measure of compassion.

 

[leebee]

We ran into some problems using DD's DAS, specifically for the issues that she had the DAS to circumvent. Twice. Two parks (DHS and AK). I've written the letter, it was acknowledged that it shouldn't have happened, and Disney also acknowledged that they need to better-train CMs. Doesn't do us any good now, issues really wrecked one day, oh well, I guess. Hopefully they meant what they said and weren't just handing me some line of you-know-what to shut me up. I really have no faith in Disney and their "legendary" customer service anymore.

 

[ScubaCat]

About 5 years ago we waited in line for about 20-30 minutes to get into city hall in DL to set up DAS for my stepson (the usual routine). The CM literally denied DAS even existed -- multiple times -- and simply gave us a brochure and started explaining how to use fastpass. We left in a daze and after about 15 minutes, I calmly decided we'd park hop over to DCA and try there. We walked into the chamber of commerce (the DCA park entrance guest services counter) and that CM couldn't have been nicer and set it up immediately with absolutely no hassle whatsoever.

This is the world we live in nowadays, and not all training and CMs are the same. If you have a bad experience, simply hang up or walk away and try again. I won't bore anyone with details here, but if you ever buy into DVC, you quickly get used to doing this when calling member services.

 

[Betty Rohrer]

Hi All. Has anyone ever had a really poor cast member interaction when trying to get help with a DAS Pass? I have a DAS pass for an upcoming trip and called to get clarification on something. The cast member I spoke to clearly did not understand DAS because he told me that my family member who I am traveling with would not be able to come on rides with me using the DAS line (this wasnt my question and I know this isnt true). I politely asked to speak to someone else, someone who specializes in Disability services. He became very upset and said that just because I dont like his answers doesnt mean he is wrong. At this point my anxiety kicked in and I felt guilty for even trying to utilize a service that I need. I again said that I would like to speak to someone else and then told him that he should be aware that people who call in about DAS assistance may have cognitive / psychological issues and that he should be more understanding. At this point he lost it on me saying that he had been nothing but understanding and kind (again he's yelling this at me). He then tells me that at least he wasnt swearing at me like others might. I was floored at this point and had started hyperventilating from the situation. I have never had a poor experience with Disney but this one was shockingly bad. I took some time to collect myself and then tried to call someone back, they were able to answer my question quickly and kindly. I then tried to raise the concern of the other cast member i spoke to and broke out into tears again shaking thinking back on how he spoke to me. I know its not the standard experience but I am truly disappointed by my experience.

one thing to remember phone CMs are not at park but a call center and are known for wrong info given. second CM would most likely have no idea about first one

 

[lanejudy]

I'm so sorry that happened. Not to excuse rude and bad behavior, but anytime you find yourself on a customer service phone call that isn't going well -- politely end the call and try again later. This does 2 things: more than likely you will get a different phone rep answering the next time; and most importantly it allows you a chance to regroup, maybe double check info or rephrase your request, or just take a deep breath and get past the frustration. This works for not only WDW but most other customer service phone calls.

 

[ColetteJo]

I'm finding it a little sad and disturbing that several people have commented insinuating OP should have done something differently. First, the CM is being paid to provide a service, it seems like he both gave out incorrect information and did so with a poor attitude. I understand people have bad days but quite honestly that doesnt excuse this type of behavior. Second, people with disabilities are often made to feel like an inconvenience to others. I applaud OP for voicing their dissatisfaction to the CM and making their voice heard. The insinuation that OP should have hung up, called back and waited on hold for the possibility of a more understanding and patient CM is absolutely absurd. If the CM was having issues understanding or answering the request and becoming frustrated they should have been professional enough to recognize that and offered to transfer OP to someone who could better assist. I challenge those who previously commented to spend some time reflecting on their perception of people with mental or cognitive disabilities. They deserve to be treated and heard the same way we all do. It is not their responsibility to step aside, hang up, spend extra effort on their end just to make someone else's day easier.

 

[Lilsia]

I'm finding it a little sad and disturbing that several people have commented insinuating OP should have done something differently. First, the CM is being paid to provide a service, it seems like he both gave out incorrect information and did so with a poor attitude. I understand people have bad days but quite honestly that doesnt excuse this type of behavior. Second, people with disabilities are often made to feel like an inconvenience to others. I applaud OP for voicing their dissatisfaction to the CM and making their voice heard. The insinuation that OP should have hung up, called back and waited on hold for the possibility of a more understanding and patient CM is absolutely absurd. If the CM was having issues understanding or answering the request and becoming frustrated they should have been professional enough to recognize that and offered to transfer OP to someone who could better assist. I challenge those who previously commented to spend some time reflecting on their perception of people with mental or cognitive disabilities. They deserve to be treated and heard the same way we all do. It is not their responsibility to step aside, hang up, spend extra effort on their end just to make someone else's day easier.

The cast member should have transferred the OP over when she asked, no question. But he didn't and further communication with him was not going to go anywhere. The BEST option would have been to hang up because there is no reasoning with people like that and it only causes stress. I don't know where you are getting that others don't think that the OP should be "treated and heard the same way we all do". No one said that at all. We just see the reality of the situation. Staying on the line with the rude cast member gets the OP nowhere. It has nothing to do with her issues at all. There is absolutely nothing that the OP could have said to the cast member that would have changed anything. That is why everyone is saying to hang up and call to talk to someone else. This would be the same advice to every single person regardless of any disabilities. You are seeing an offense that does not exist.

 

[DisneyOma]

First thing I do when I make a customer service call is write myself a little cheat sheet of what I want to say - and on that sheet, as soon as the service rep gives me their name, I write it down. During the call I also take down notes. This has helped so much if I'm getting flustered and not getting the info I asked for. Later, I can send an email (almost every phone call/email I send ends up asking me to review the process somehow!) to give the company feedback. Does Disney do this? We have sent an email about a great DAS registration experience, never had a bad one, so not sure if there is a review process? If so, the OP needs to do that, ASAP.

 

[jo-jo]

I didn't have an issue as bad as your's, but when we tried to sign up the first time. I "called" using my ipad under my account (DAS was for DH). After waiting the 4 hours, the CM insisted that I had to called under DH account. Most times for whatever, we use my email, DH hardly looks at a computer. So DH might have had an account some time ago, but at the moment who knows what it is. I tried to tell him that and he said nothing else can be done. And then he hung up.

By the way, this was the second call. First time we got through, talked to CM but camera wasn't working on my Ipad. I had no idea how to fix it, but at no time did the CM say I had to call under DH account

 

[lanejudy]

I'm finding it a little sad and disturbing that several people have commented insinuating OP should have done something differently.

I read the responses as validating the OP's experience of needing to call back, not criticizing her actions. When I start to feel upset is when I know the call has been unproductive for too long.

 

[SueM in MN]

I read the responses as validating the OP's experience of needing to call back, not criticizing her actions. When I start to feel upset is when I know the call has been unproductive for too long.

I agree. That is exactly how I read the responses.
The CM should have transferred the OP to someone else when asked; since the CM didn’t, I agree it was unproductive to stay on the line.

 

[notatallmagic]

One of my biggest Disney challenges in the past 2-3 years is the inconsistent Cast Member quality and obvious lack of training. If this issue happens when you need towels or a refill of a beverage, it certainly isn't "Disney level service", but it's a minor inconvenience.

When these issues happen with DAS, and the Cast Member failure can cause a horrific experience, great anxiety, or even life threatening medical emergency, it's simply inexcusable. We had such an experience, and it was handled poorly, to say the least. I feel as if the perception by Disney is that DAS provides convenience, and that is simply untrue. For many/most, it is the difference between being able to experience something safely, or having something pretty awful happen. It certainly isn't a place to cut corners or throw untrained, immature CM's into.

 

[tetera]

.

 

[Lilsia]

I totally get the advice for callers to hang up and call back, even though it was clearly not their fault. That being said, any time over the past year that I have called to talk to WDW customer service the wait on the phone has been literally hours (more than once I have called, waited for more than four hours, only to be hung up on as soon as the call was connected). With WDW it's not as easy to just call back like it used to be....

We know how horrible it is to have to call back with the wait times as they are. But in this specific situation, the cast member was so bad that calling back was the only reasonable option. Staying on with him was getting the OP nowhere.

 

[Betty Rohrer]

We know how horrible it is to have to call back with the wait times as they are. But in this specific situation, the cast member was so bad that calling back was the only reasonable option. Staying on with him was getting the OP nowhere.

in OP case calling back was the best thing to do even with the wait. add to that the person you are talking with is most likely no where near the park probably in a different state.