Daughter's stuffed toy "lost" by housekeeping

[nessman]

A.) No I'm not a troll.
B.) I told Disney Claims I didn't want to be reimbursed - that we wanted the toy found - they sent the check anyway.
C.) No, I'm not sending the money back. This is compensation for a Disney World employee's screw-up. It'll go to my daughter for a shopping spree at Build-A-Bear.
D.) I was asking for similar experiences, not people's nasty comments and their piece of mind about my situation.
E.) I appreciate those who have offered good advice or at least some sympathy.
F.) Yes, I hope that my situation will be a reminder to those who travel with kids and comfort items. I learned my lesson.

Finally, I find it ridiculous that I need to be on the defensive when it comes to a hotel's staff. Google around - there are a number of housekeepers each year across the country - even at Disney - who end up on the receiving end of felony charges for stealing hotel guests belongings (or get caught up in a sting).

 

[smiths02]

Your title is that the toy was "lost" by housekeeping. Then you call the housekeepers felons. Are you saying that this was stolen or intentionally trashed by hotel staff?
I had some sympathy for you at first, but it's time to move on.

 

[LilyWDW]

Your title is that the toy was "lost" by housekeeping. Then you call the housekeepers felons. Are you saying that this was stolen or intentionally trashed by hotel staff?
I had some sympathy for you at first, but it's time to move on.

I agree.

Move on. Disney has done WAY more for you then they needed to. Your property, your responsibility. I am sorry you can not see this.

Take the lesson learned and just forget about everything else. It is not worth it.

 

[Pooh2]

I agree.

Move on. Disney has done WAY more for you then they needed to. Your property, your responsibility. I am sorry you can not see this.

Take the lesson learned and just forget about everything else. It is not worth it.

Agree! Seems a bit odd to get stuck on this issue since the child has moved on and been well compensated.

On our recent trip, we had some of our own pillows and a fleece blanket from home (brought to use on the train ride, so might as well use familiar pillows all week). We were sure to remove our own things from the bed before leaving the room each morning and pick up any clothing off the floor so housekeeping would not have to deal with it.

 

[smidgy]

yes, housekeepers have stoeln from guests. but I'm wiling to guess used, worn stuffed animals are not amongst the stolen items.

we even keep our meds in the safe. but mostly we leave the do not disturb sign up almost the entire time. I just don't like a maid in my room.

accidents like this (and it was an accident) happen. they just don't have the time to go through everything thouroughly,( like I do when I clean other peoples' houses. been doing it for years).

one thing I didnt' like was they would throw out my newspaper or half finished crossword. they just scoop stuff up and htrow it out because of their time constraints. they don't have the time to pick up each item and decide if it's trash or not. I learned if I want to save that third of a bottle of soda, I better put it in the fridge or it gets thrown out... or better yet..... I don't get housekeeping, have them deliver a bag of towels, shampoo, etc, and bring out my own trash.

 

[nkereina]

Finally, I find it ridiculous that I need to be on the defensive when it comes to a hotel's staff. Google around - there are a number of housekeepers each year across the country - even at Disney - who end up on the receiving end of felony charges for stealing hotel guests belongings (or get caught up in a sting).

Absolutely correct on that. But assuming the housekeeper didn't steal a used stuffed animal and accidentally threw it in with the dirty sheets, then she is just at fault as you are for leaving the stuffed animal in the bed that you knew was going to be made. Housekeepers shouldn't have to worry about clearing out a bed before they make it - they aren't even supposed to touch your stuff to begin with. People on here don't appreciate accusatory remarks, especially when the original poster can claim some liability in the situation. Disney could have argued the same, but instead gave you $75 for a stuffed animal - and I'm assuming you didn't have to prove up the cost either. I'm just saying.

 

[jewood1234]

Agree too.

There is a theme on these posts that manages to dwell on the negative instead of what I'm sure was a great trip.

Disney did a decent job of service recovery and enjoy their efforts to that end. Time to move on....

 

[nessman]

I never said our housekeeper was a felon. OMG - do you have one of those Office Space "Jump to Conclusions" mats?

Maybe our housekeeper was not the coldest beer in the fridge either but I never insinuated she was dishonest. I did try talking to her once to let her know she can go ahead and service our room as we slept in late and was on our way out - she just stared at me like I had 3 heads (she was from Haiti - so I presume she didn't speak any English). I'm just saying there are a small number of them who can't be trusted... a few of which have been arrested on felony theft charges for helping themselves to items in guest rooms that don't belong to them.

I spoke with a manager in Textile Services today... they said if it came through laundry, then there's a 99% chance it would have been found by now as everything is sorted by hand and most linens are processed within a few days of being changed out. That it's been 4 weeks now - it's unlikely it will ever be found... so who knows how it ended up leaving the room. They'll keep an eye out for it - but otherwise, I'm assuming it's gone by now.

She cleared up some misconceptions about items in laundry lost and found:

A.) guests are to deal only with the resort's lost and found folks
B.) there is only one global lost and found database for Disney World, so no matter who you speak with - they're all on the same system.
C.) don't call Textile Services or Housekeeping - see A.) above
D.) don't leave a voice mail with Textile Services Lost and Found - their phones don't have long-distance outbound capabilities, and it's for internal Cast Member use only - again see A.) above
E.) contrary to what I've seen on the internet, there are no "filters" for non-laundry items to be collected in like socks, t-shirts, stuffed toys, etc. Everything is collected and sorted out by hand.

Like I said - lesson learned. It's just sad that we have to either watch over a housekeeper's shoulders every minute they're in our rooms to make sure they don't screw something up, or hide everything well out of sight in case something gets taken from the room - accidentally or otherwise. I'm sure 98% of housekeepers out there are good, decent hardworking and honest people. It's that 2% that are either careless or criminals who can ruin someone's vacation. I mean I get it - most are from other countries, speak little or no English, most probably have HS/GED education (if that) and they're doing what's basically unskilled labor. We're not dealing with engineers and scholars here.

 

[Lynne M]

Enough.