Disappointing BCV room report

[pwoodham]

Let me say first that I rarely complain (at least not about DCV or WDW!). I love WDW and I love DVC and every minute I stay there is a gift. I felt that way when we walked into our studio, room 127, at the BCV this week. Just there for 2 days, and I planned to enjoy it! I took a cursory look around the room, and it appeared absolutely immaculent. Bathroom was spotless and the room smelled great. We had asked for an Epcot view, but this room looked out to the "woods" and when we opened our patio door we were not disappointed. One tiny "oops" at this point - there was a red toy in the landscaping just beyond the concrete pad of our patio. No big deal, some kid must have dropped it, and no one had gotten around to cleaning it up yet. That's all I noticed about the patio area.

That evening we searched for a corkscrew, and I couldn't remember if we were supposed to have one or not. While searching, I realized one of the utensil compartments was empty, so when I called housekeeping I asked them to bring some plastic knives along with the corkscrew. I knew we wouldn't be using them, but the next folks in the room wouldn't have to call. Again, so what, minor issue, easily solved. Housekeeping arrived with replacements in about 10 minutes.

We had a great day at the parks the next day, actually getting through Animal Kingdom, MGM, and part of Epcot before the day was over. It was wonderful!

That evening I was sitting on the couch and looked down at the floor. Just in front of the couch was a pill. I picked it up and realized it was an Advil that happened to be the exact color of one part of the carpet. We only take the "green" Advil, so I knew that this one belonged to a prior occupant of the room. All sorts of alarms started going off in my head.

My first thought was how grateful I was that our 3yob was not with us!! He would have found that pill in a minute and it would have been in his mouth. My second thought was thankfulness that 2 adults happened to stay in this room, rather than a couple with an even smaller child, who again, would have eaten that thing like candy. What really frightened me was when I considered other possibilities - Advil is bad enough, but my mother had all kinds of pills in all kinds of cool colors. Heart medicine, blood pressure medicine, etc. How tragic it could have been!! Like most mothers, I envisioned the worst. Parents distracted by unpacking, a crawling baby on the floor, the pill's down the hatch and the parents don't even notice. If the child's taken to the emergency room, they won't even be able to say what happened. Okay, take a deep breath here.

It was kind of like a veil was lifted from my eyes. Suddenly I noticed things about the room I hadn't "seen" before. The closet door was hard to shut (I hadn't really cared why before, it worked as well as most of them at my house). I looked closer and realized one of the screws holding it into the bracket which runs across the top of the closet needed to be reset. Another look outside the room and I realized that in addition to the toy on the ground, the rest of the area surrounding our patio looked like an ashtray. One that hadn't been emptied in a very long time. At least 50 cigarette butts. I swear I did not see them before.

I called the front desk early in the morning and got the switchboard. I told her I'd like to speak to a manager, but she said she would take a message for the front desk. (I guess they don't answer the phone directly until 8??). She took the information, but it was clear to me she felt I was just another complainer.

We checked out that day but before we left, I went back to the front desk in person hoping to get someone to understand just how serious this could have been. I again asked for a manager, and was told that they could take the complaint right there. I went through everything, and perhaps that was my mistake. The only real issue in my mind was the pill, and maybe the fact that I mentioned the other items diluted the seriousness for them. The guy who "took my complaint" didn't seem to think it was a very big deal. I knew, however, that I didn't dare post everything on this board without telling you that I also reported it!!

I've been trying to decide how to look at this, and I can't help but put the main part of the responsibility on housekeeping. They should have checked the utensils and replaced the corkscrew. They should have reported the closet door to maintenance. They should have taken a quick look out the window and asked the landscaping folks to do a little clean up work around the patio. And finally, they should have found that pill on the floor before I did.

Absolutely the pill was hard to see. I was in the room for an entire day before I noticed it. On the other hand, I'm not paid to make sure the floor is clean. There's a huge difference between vacumming a floor and making sure the floor is clean. If you've ever tried to teach a kid to use a mop, you know exactly what I mean.

Maybe I'm over-reacting because I have first-hand experience with Grandma's pills, an 11 month old baby, and ipecac syrup. It's not an experience I would wish on anyone.

In the end, I plan to write to member services about this and maybe I'll finally get someone's attention (perhaps just the number of complaints about it will get it to the top of housekeeping's list!). I will also view our next DVC room with a more critical eye the first time around. It will take more than this to discourage me about WDW or DVC, but I'll be less likely to assume the best in the future.

 

[Dean]

I wasn't there but the pill doesn't seem that big a deal to me. Vacuum's easily miss pills and the like. While i understand it could have been a more serious event with certain types of medication, there's no way WDW, DVC or any hotel is going to be able to guarantee this won't happen. And it doesn't mean they didn't vacuum. If I had been the CM, I would likely not have taken your complaint all that seriously either. Still, your warning about medications is a good one and we should all be careful.

This could easily happen at other locations as well, including in your own home especially if you have family or others visiting. I've seen it many times including valium, haldol, antibiotics the child was allergic to, illicit drugs and the like.

 

[BWVDee]

As a DVC owner, I am more upset about the broken closet door, the missing kitchen items and the cigarette butts then the pill. The pill on the floor, especially if it blended in with the carpet was really a mistake that could happen anywhere even in your own home. This does not mean the room was not vacumned or cleaned. It most likely was missed by the vacumn and because of it's small size and being the same color as the carpet it was not easily detected by the human eye.
The missing kitchen items, cigarette butts etc though are clearly examples of someone not doing their jobs! The kitchen should be checked by housekeeping on a regular basis, groundskeeping should definitely be taking care of the cigarette butts etc.
I definitely think you did the right thing by bringing the missing items and broken items to their attention though. They can't fix what they do not know about.

 

[RCM]

I think you have to just calm down and look at the whole picture. I'm sorry but things like that can happen at home. You sometimes can't worry about would of could of .....that will make anyone crazy. In a perfect world nobody would make mistakes and we all would be happy all the time. I sure they did their best and thats about all we can hope for from people.

 

[gopherit]

I've been down your road before (3 yr old son and of all things, medicine for my MIL's dog -- and let me tell you, we learned a GREAT deal that night... that dog medicine can be many many times weaker -- or more potent -- than the dosage for a human due to the difference in metabolism. As it turned out, even though the dog was 15 lbs and son was 35 lbs, he had take the equivalent of an anithistamine / decongestant for a 6 yr old. Could have been much worse -- but it was bad enough as it was! The other thing we found out is that "roasted meat flavor" medicine is apparently appealing to a 3 yr old....we should ask for it next time at the pharmacy instead of that obnoxious bubble gum they always try to give our kids!)

That said, I have also vaccuumed my house with great care, only to witness my vaccuum "pitoooey" back something at me -- a Lego, a tiny pebble, a grain of rice, etc. Ironically, the human response is NOT to pick it up... but to run over it again with the vaccuum! And I have also NOT witnessed that effect and found it later when I stepped on it (especially those Legos -- yowch). My MIL is a meticulous housekeeper, she does her linoleum and tile on her hands and knees because a mop just "doesn't do a good enough job". She vaccuums all the time. Yet she too learned that vaccuums are not perfect when she stepped on a needle that must have fallen from her sewing basket. Punctured clean through her foot. Imagine THAT in a baby's hand. But, it just "happened" and was surely not a reflection on her housekeeping skills. While I agree that in general housekeeping does seem to have fallen a notch at all the DVC resorts, and certainly they could do a better job of keeping up with maintenance issues, and that the concept of "what could have happened" is scary had a child seen it first, the other side to this is that the pill was in fact hard to see. It wasn't like DVC or housekeeping placed the pill there, nor was it a blatant safety issue left untreated like live electrical wires hanging out or a piece of furniture with rusty nails poking up.

I for one am VERY glad you found it and disposed of it, and am also glad that you made the effort to formally talk to a manager about what could be improved. Certainly a step up in housekeeping and general maintenance wouldn't hurt. But as for them getting very excited about your discovery -- I'm afraid they recognized the improbability of keeping a promise that "nothing would ever escape their carpet cleaning again" -- it's just too hard a promise to keep. And as parents, we simply have to be extra vigilant with our kids because as even my MIL found out, nothing is foolproof.

 

[colleen costello]

Relatives of mine, with considerable more cash than I have, stayed in a top-of-the-line room when Portofino Bay resort opened at Universal a few years back. Their son jumped off the bed onto the carpet and hurt his heel. He complained about it more and more but his Mom, an RN, could see nothing. They were near the end of their stay and when they got home a day or two later, he was complaining about it so much they went to their pediatrician. An Xray revealed a sewing needle, inside his heel but just under the skin so that your eye couldn't see it. He had to have surgery to have it removed. His parents felt terrible (they had somewhat discounted his griping) and were LIVID that a sewing needle was left in the carpet of what they described as a "brand new, $500-per-night" room.

Moral of the story? Who knows. I know if I use my vaccuum at home, the beater bar sometimes "bumps" tiny toys instead of sucking them up. The general flood of complaints here on the Boards about less-than-stellar housekeeping at all DVC resorts is disconcerting. But I think an Advil in the carpet was just an accident. The cigarette butts littering the lawn sounds gross and unacceptable. What slob threw them there in the first place?

Thank goodness no child found that pill. Definitely continue to try to report this to management, and let's all be careful when we check in for anything left behind by previous guests.

My relatives, by the way, did receive compensation from Universal in the form of free nights at the same hotel plus any out-of-pocket medical expenses.

 

[BrianBWV]

pwoodham:

Your Advil episode brought to mind a situation my family of four encountered a couple of years ago in a 1BR villa at BWV. While opening the sleeper sofa (which our 2 and 4 year-olds shared on that trip) in the living room, I heard what sounded like a rattle fall to the floor. Imagine my surprise to reach under and pull out a half-full bottle of prescription pills, for a drug neither my wife, a former nurse, nor I had ever heard of.

Almost as unsettling as finding the pills was the non-reaction when I returned the prescription bottle at the front desk. It felt like the same response I would have gotten if I had returned a hairbrush: no concerned reaction when I told the CM the bottle fell out of my kid's bed, just a generic "we'll take care of it." Intended or not, his matter-of-fact tone gave me the impression that finding a bottle of pills in a bed where two children would be sleeping was not a source of concern to that particular CM. But it is a source of concern when it's your children who are involved.

We've had nothing but fantastic stays at the various DVC resorts, but this was a lesson for future trips that I need to give the villas a thorough once-over before letting my children have the run of the place, especially since we now use 2BR villas.

 

[JUDSON]

pwoodham,

If your room experience was anything less than spectacular then (IMHO) you have every right to be upset. You spent good money on a deluxe quality time share interest, and you have the right to expect deluxe quality. Whether it was the cigarette butts or the advil pill or the missing utensils, it is their responsibility to make sure that you are provided with deluxe quality room and amenities. YOU should not be the one calling them about missing utensils. YOU should not be the one calling them about the broken closet door. YOU should not be the one calling them about the butts outside your patio door. This all should have been taken care of by whoever is responsible for room quality. They should not depend on you to be the room quality inspector.

And it really shocks me how these DVC room occupants really strip the room of utensils, tv remotes, etc. Are times really that tough for you people?? Geez, the last time I went to BCV someone even stole the aerator off the kitchen faucet! How much is an aerator at Home Depot, a buck maybe?? And it really burns me up that the attitude with some of these people seems to be 'I've paid my share to the DVC so let's be slobs or let's rip off the place' . Don't they realize that their ignorance not only hurts the DVC, but their fellow members as well (in terms of dues/maint fees/room quality)??

 

[tjkraz]

Originally posted by JUDSON
And it really burns me up that the attitude with some of these people seems to be 'I've paid my share to the DVC so let's be slobs or let's rip off the place' . Don't they realize that their ignorance not only hurts the DVC, but their fellow members as well (in terms of dues/maint fees/room quality)??

Well, you might be jumping to conclusions there. DVC rooms are sold on a cash basis. DVC members have been known to rent their points to non-DVC members from time to time. And, I'm sure many owners have booked stays on points for family / friends / colleagues.

I would HOPE that the actual owners of the resort are a bit more conscientious. I don't mean to imply that the DVC owners are complete blameless, but hopefully the people you describe are very much in the minority.

I have to agree with you on the ridiculousness of it, though. At last check, my father-in-law has a complete set of silverware that originated with a local mexican restaurant. I can only guess where his towels originated. Guess some people just feel that they are entitled to a little bit more in life.

 

[Disney Doll]

I would have to agree that the poill thing, while scary and potentially (although thankfully not) dangerous, is not something that can necessarily always e controlled. You can do the best vacuum job in the world, and miss something the size of an Advil that is essentially the same color as the carpet.

The other items are most definitely Housekeeping's repsonsibility, and you are right in reporting them.

 

[Sammie]

Originally posted by JUDSON
pwoodham,

If your room experience was anything less than spectacular then (IMHO) you have every right to be upset. You spent good money on a deluxe quality time share interest, and you have the right to expect deluxe quality. Whether it was the cigarette butts or the advil pill or the missing utensils, it is their responsibility to make sure that you are provided with deluxe quality room and amenities. YOU should not be the one calling them about missing utensils. YOU should not be the one calling them about the broken closet door. YOU should not be the one calling them about the butts outside your patio door. This all should have been taken care of by whoever is responsible for room quality. They should not depend on you to be the room quality inspector.

And it really shocks me how these DVC room occupants really strip the room of utensils, tv remotes, etc. Are times really that tough for you people?? Geez, the last time I went to BCV someone even stole the aerator off the kitchen faucet! How much is an aerator at Home Depot, a buck maybe?? And it really burns me up that the attitude with some of these people seems to be 'I've paid my share to the DVC so let's be slobs or let's rip off the place' . Don't they realize that their ignorance not only hurts the DVC, but their fellow members as well (in terms of dues/maint fees/room quality)??

Considering that there has been great discussion about putting water filters on the water faucets, I would imagine someone left the aerator off. I never thought putting these on were a good idea to begin with.

Not all DVC members damage the room and steal the items mentioned anymore than saying all paying guests do.

However I have friends that work in management at the BCV and statistically more rooms are damaged by members than nonmembers which I found horrible.

 

[Disney Enthusiast]

I'm so sorry about your experience w/ the DVC this time. I have 2 small children and have found the craziest things on my floors. I clean all the time and wonder where the heck some of those things came from. I heard on TV once that a child almost choked to death on a tiny scrap of plastic wrapping that was around a music CD that the child's father just bought and opened. So I am crazy about picking up small items especially if I notice that same shiny plastic wrapping even if it's a tiny piece. And each time I find it, I think the worst and how lucky I was to find it before the kids. Nuts... I know. So I too am not sure HK could have prevented that pill from being there, but I am sure glad for the heads up. Next time I go anywhere, DVC or any other hotel, I will check out the floors for pills and such left over from the previous occupants. You can never be too safe. Whenever I drop a pill or something small, I get on my hands and knees and search until every last one is found. Other people may not be as thorough. And I never thought of it that way. Thanks.

Sorry about the missing items. I am staying at DVC my first time and I am hoping everything is fine so my DH doesn't question his decision to buy w/ my prodding. Hopefully he won't be disappointed.

The cig butts would've gotten to me too. I'm more angry w/ the slobs who did it than I am w/ HK. I wish people would just realize that spitting chew or throwing their cig on the ground where others can see it is just so disgusting. I don't mind the habits, just be discrete and don't litter. I used to work in restaurants and had to clean that junk up in the pkg lot every morning. So I notice that stuff because I know that SOMEONE has to clean that up.

 

[Shoreshar]

Wow, tough customer! The only thing that would have bothered me is the cigarette butts. That is just inexcusable.
Hope your next trip home is more satisfactory!

 

[Gillian]

Originally posted by pwoodham
That evening we searched for a corkscrew, and I couldn't remember if we were supposed to have one or not. While searching, I realized one of the utensil compartments was empty, so when I called housekeeping I asked them to bring some plastic knives along with the corkscrew. I knew we wouldn't be using them, but the next folks in the room wouldn't have to call. Again, so what, minor issue, easily solved. Housekeeping arrived with replacements in about 10 minutes.

Housekeeping should replace the plasticware in a studio after every guest, right? I could see not noticing the corkscrew missing (well, not if they have a checklist) but the plastic stuff probably always needs replacing, so why wasn't it noticed?

 

[jodifla]

Do the studios even have corkscrews? We've always had to call, or bring our own

I don't really think it's reasonable to think they're irresponsible because they missed a pill that blended in with the floor, or that they didn't see the cigarette butts. (How much time would they spend on the patio?) It would have been nice if they'd put in an order on the closet door.

When we get a room with something wrong, we just call, put in the work order and move on. It's always been fixed, or so minor it's not worth worrying about.

It is good to have the heads up though to look for things before you let small children loose. THat's not something I really thought about, other than seeing what he could break! (I have a DS, 2)

DVC and Disney does seem to be having some housekeeping issues, though. Let's hope with their high occupancy in the hotels and record breaking park attendance recently they' reinvest in the cleanliness they are so known for.

 

[Maistre Gracey]

Originally posted by Sammie
However I have friends that work in management at the BCV and statistically more rooms are damaged by members than nonmembers which I found horrible.

Sammie, just curious... How would BCV management know who wrecked the room? I am certain that many guests do not report missing or broken items, and we know that housekeeping sometimes misses things.

MG

 

[MiaSRN62]

The cig butts would've gotten to me too. I'm more angry w/ the slobs who did it than I am w/ HK. I wish people would just realize that spitting chew or throwing their cig on the ground where others can see it is just so disgusting. I don't mind the habits, just be discrete and don't litter.

Just curious.....I'm assuming this was a "smoking optional" room with ashtrays ? Or, rather was it a non-smoking room and the former slobs were just trying to hide the evidense by throwing the butts outside ? I'm thinking if it was the latter, then perhaps Mousekeeping didn't check closely enough on the patio because they never anticipated cigarette butts to clean up in a non-smoking room ? But if this was a smoking room, then I think Mousekeeping should have checked the patio where alot of folks tend to smoke ?

 

[jade1]

Thats it. Were selling our stake in DVC. Right after I tighten up the doors in our house, clean up everything on the floor, get everything we need in place in the kitchen, pick up the toys in the yard and the cigarettes my neighbor tosses everywhere. After all we paid good money for our house.

 

[Sammie]

Originally posted by Maistre Gracey
Sammie, just curious... How would BCV management know who wrecked the room? I am certain that many guests do not report missing or broken items, and we know that housekeeping sometimes misses things.

MG

By who was in the room when the damage was done. If someone is in a unit and checks out and housekeeping comes in and the legs are broken off the game table in the second bedroom surely the previous guest would not have ignored that. I am not talking about minor wear and tear I am talking about major destruction, writing on tables, coloring on walls, destroying furniture.

Unless members are checking into a damaged unit and not reporting it, it is very easy to know. Considering how quick members are to notice the slightest thing wrong with a room, then surely they are not ignoring this type of destruction.

Our last unit did not have a game table in the extra bedroom.
When we called to ask why, we were told so many had been damaged they were on order and did not have one to replace it at this time.

Considering that more members stay in units than paying guests since BC is sold out, I don't see why the statistic would surprise anyone. Surely you can not believe that every paying guest is wrecking the place. If you stayed there the first week it was open and then went back in a year you would have been appalled at the damage done in a year.

 

[Maistre Gracey]

Originally posted by Sammie
By who was in the room when the damage was done. If someone is in a unit and checks out and housekeeping comes in and the legs are broken off the game table in the second bedroom surely the previous guest would not have ignored that. I am not talking about minor wear and tear I am talking about major destruction, writing on tables, coloring on walls, destroying furniture.

Unless members are checking into a damaged unit and not reporting it, it is very easy to know. Considering how quick members are to notice the slightest thing wrong with a room, then surely they are not ignoring this type of destruction.

Our last unit did not have a game table in the extra bedroom.
When we called to ask why, we were told so many had been damaged they were on order and did not have one to replace it at this time.

Considering that more members stay in units than paying guests since BC is sold out, I don't see why the statistic would surprise anyone. Surely you can not believe that every paying guest is wrecking the place. If you stayed there the first week it was open and then went back in a year you would have been appalled at the damage done in a year.

Yes, I see your point with regard to major damage. I guess I was a tad naive assuming the damage was minor. I had no idea that people actually broke the legs off tables.
I certainly hope that DVC makes these people pay for this kind of damage, regardless if they are a members or guests.

MG