Disney's left me in tears...

[Dug720]

I didn't call them back right away...they called me on Thursday , telling me this whole hullabaloo , then I asked for a supervisor , who called me on Thursday about 90 min later.

I called on Monday (automated system ) and paid in full, then I called yesterday (Tues) to talk about the whole thing . when I called yesterday , I asked to talk to Guest Services about the whole thing, and they said "You have been talking to Guest (can't remember if they said relations or services) Services", which made me feel it must have been legitimate . I'm almost tempted to call back and ask what happened with the other 200 people --but obviously , they wouldn't tell me (privacy).

To be perfectly honest , when it first happened , I figured that at least half a dozen of those 200 would be DISers and we could commiserate !

I'm just glad it is paid, confirmed, and done.

See, I would not have waited for them to call me back - I would have been on the phone to them and asking to speak to a supervisor.

At least it is resolved and you didn't give the person who called your credit card information. It sounds suspiciously like someone with nefarious intent learned about the system shutdown and decided to try and take advantage of it. I'd guess that if you HAD given them a card number not only would the vacation not be paid for but you might have found some other unknown charges on your card.

 

[Barbara76]

I think what it came down to, is that I wanted to give a struggling little girl a piece of magic--when I was younger, my first trip was to help me forget about several months in and out of the hospital, and my trip WAS a piece of Magic that helped me forget a lot of the medical stuff for a while . ....if there was ever a girl who deserves a bit of magic, it is this girl I am taking.

I knew I was limited budget-wise, but when I called on Monday , it just seemed like everything was perfect and going to work like clockwork- she was going to get a slice of that Disney Magic she watched so avidly on TV, I was going to be able to make it even better with dining....everything just fell into place. When I told her about it , she was so happy she cried....

Then, when Thursday happened, I felt like maybe I had done something wrong by booking it that way (even though I didn't know), that now her trip was going to be destroyed --I felt a lityle bit like I went from fairy godmother to villain....

I guess a part of me wanted to be able to get back that feeling of sheer joy for the trip....that it was a nice thing to do, for a great kid, at the happiest place on earth....and instead I felt like someone who booked a trip wrong, who couldn't pay within 16 hours to save it, etc, etc....

I know that is me allowing myself to feel that way--I take full responsibility for my feelings and actions. I don't blame Disney for that--I just had hoped that, given that it was THEIR computer upgrade that caused the whole thing, and that since she was such a deserving kid that, they would think, wow, that kid deserves something neat....completely unrealistic....they ARE neat just the way they are, I shouldn't expect magic to rain from the sky....

Im going to just leave the negativity behind, and enjoy what will hopefully be a lovely trip, with a wonderful little girl and my amazing Dad (he'said my driver and like a grandpa to her) in the happiest place on earth.

Deep breath, happy thoughts....

I sympathize with the roller coaster of emotions you went through, from feeling like the trip would go well to there being a problem. The way all of the CMs talked to you except for the final one should be reported to guest relations, in an email. I would also let them know how wonderful the last CM was. Frankly, expecting a big freebee like park hoppers or a character meal seem a bit much. I do think you were entitled to an apology which I am glad you finally did get. The good news is that is you are on the dining plan you can afford a character dining experience for the little girl, I am so glad that you are doing this for her, and I have no doubt that her experience will be amazing and magical and will not be impacted one bit by the potential snag that she hopefully doesn't know about. Have a GREAT trip!!!

 

[BK2014]

I didn't call them back right away...they called me on Thursday , telling me this whole hullabaloo , then I asked for a supervisor , who called me on Thursday about 90 min later.

I called on Monday (automated system ) and paid in full, then I called yesterday (Tues) to talk about the whole thing . when I called yesterday , I asked to talk to Guest Services about the whole thing, and they said "You have been talking to Guest (can't remember if they said relations or services) Services", which made me feel it must have been legitimate . I'm almost tempted to call back and ask what happened with the other 200 people --but obviously , they wouldn't tell me (privacy).

To be perfectly honest , when it first happened , I figured that at least half a dozen of those 200 would be DISers and we could commiserate !

I'm just glad it is paid, confirmed, and done.

After they called you on Thursday the first time, and after the supervisor called you back later on Thursday, did you call and speak to them on Monday using a published WDW number, or a number that they gave you to use to call them back? Something still seems fishy, like they were trying to force you to make an immediate payment over the phone. Then when you weren't able to make the immediate payment on Thursday before the computer system upgrade took place, they were magically able to still let you pay on Monday.

 

[Dug720]

After they called you on Thursday the first time, and after the supervisor called you back later on Thursday, did you call and speak to them on Monday using a published WDW number, or a number that they gave you to use to call them back? Something still seems fishy, like they were trying to force you to make an immediate payment over the phone. Then when you weren't able to make the immediate payment on Thursday before the computer system upgrade took place, they were magically able to still let you pay on Monday.

Excellent points!

 

[imthewalrus79]

I'm glad to hear that things worked out and that they did something to make it right. Given that you had three CM's treat you poorly, I think they could have done a little more than a signed picture of Mickey. I think they should have also given you an extra fastpass or two. And hopefully they will talk to the CM who originally agreed to let you book your trip that way.

I've been in the customer service business since I was sixteen. And I will tell you that whether it's your local cable or electric company, a McDonald's or Disney, no one should ever treat a customer like they did to you. I don't care if they had called a bunch of other people about paying off their trips and had trouble with them. Those customers had nothing to do with you. They need to be professional, shake it off and deal with the next person in a respectful manner. And, in my opinion, with the money Disney charges to allow you to visit their resorts, I do hold their customer service to a higher standard. Luckily, I've found that 99.9% of experiences with them have been positive. And on the rare occasion that it wasn't, they tried as hard as they could to make it right. But anyone who ever experiences a call like that from any company should definitely report them.

 

[crazylady]

I'm glad the trip is paid off now. I'm sure you'll have a great time.

I would have to send a follow-up email or letter regarding the specifics of the misinformation you were given and the CMs who you felt spoke to you rudely. There seems to be several training opportunities here. Personally, I wouldn't ask for anything, I would just want them to be trained so they can better than handle these issues in the future.

 

[GPC0321]

Not saying this is the OP, but for some, unless the CM is blowing pixie-dust encrusted sunshine up their hind parts, they feel they're being spoken to in a rude, snide manner.

I know the CMs are trained to deal with people in a positive manner, but I would also suspect that part of the CM training is dealing with customers whom they feel might be trying to skirt around the rules or somehow get something for nothing. I cannot imagine how many people they deal with on a daily basis who are insisting that they be the exception to the rules. I'm sure people outright lie to them and go to great lengths to try and worm their way into extra discounts or upgrades, or to have fees waived or policies ignored for their "special" case.

Sometimes they have to be firm. And it sucks when it was a misinformed CM that caused the problem. I don't know if the OP got that person's name, I would guess Disney can see which CM made the OP's reservation, but again, she's the one that probably stands to get into trouble here. And she should. She made a mistake that caused headaches for several people by ignoring the company's policy.

It was an unfortunate series of events for all involved that thankfully ended with the OP getting what she was originally promised.

 

[Dug720]

Not saying this is the OP, but for some, unless the CM is blowing pixie-dust encrusted sunshine up their hind parts, they feel they're being spoken to in a rude, snide manner.

I know the CMs are trained to deal with people in a positive manner, but I would also suspect that part of the CM training is dealing with customers whom they feel might be trying to skirt around the rules or somehow get something for nothing. I cannot imagine how many people they deal with on a daily basis who are insisting that they be the exception to the rules. I'm sure people outright lie to them and go to great lengths to try and worm their way into extra discounts or upgrades, or to have fees waived or policies ignored for their "special" case.

Sometimes they have to be firm. And it sucks when it was a misinformed CM that caused the problem. I don't know if the OP got that person's name, I would guess Disney can see which CM made the OP's reservation, but again, she's the one that probably stands to get into trouble here. And she should. She made a mistake that caused headaches for several people by ignoring the company's policy.

It was an unfortunate series of events for all involved that thankfully ended with the OP getting what she was originally promised.

Exactly. And when you add in expectations that this is going to be perfect, then something happens that jeopardizes that perfection and you get upset, you're more likely to hear "firm" as "rude". Once emotions get involved, logic kind of goes out the window.

 

[Bob Dolewhip]

How hard would it have been to put a note on the account to let anyone who checked it know that it was scheduled to be paid on Monday?
Rude and demanding customer service reps plus a system that can't handle serving its employees leads to this kind of BS.
OP, you are in the right, just keep doing the good you do!

 

[Nancyg56]

How hard would it have been to put a note on the account to let anyone who checked it know that it was scheduled to be paid on Monday?
Rude and demanding customer service reps plus a system that can't handle serving its employees leads to this kind of BS.
OP, you are in the right, just keep doing the good you do!

I do not know how Disney measures sales when it comes to their reps, but in many industries, if a rep book the trip, etc, there will be some sort of metric on evaluations. Some places have financial incentives, others use sales in the review process. Some do not measure at all.

I wonder if the CM who booked this trip for the OP originally promised what was not possible. If that was the case, there would not be a note anywhere. The sale was booked, and the issue would be with the guest. If Disney has a policy of allowing additional time if a guest calls, (I have no idea but have heard that some folks have done this), perhaps the CM figured there would be no problem, But that pesky IT thing, and oh well!

I had sales reps who sold those satellite TV service insist that the signal could penetrate trees, and worse!!! I monitors these calls, and at times the promises were such that I ended up recording 100% of calls for some agents. If anything was against the DIsney booking and payment policy, I would not expect one note documenting a breach.

 

[HarleenQ]

I'm not sure what "CR" is supposed to mean in this context. But, I assure you that all the people working at Central Reservations/Walt Disney Travel Company are employed by Disney. They are not outsourced.

Customer rep.

Look, I get what you're doing. But, a very minimal amount of digging with Google will point you to the direction of the company Disney (and many other companies) outsources through. Heck, I think there was a thread on the budget board about it for a bit.

Again source: Me. Because I was a reservations rep through outsourcing for several years.