Does anyone report when things in their villas are in disrepair or need cleaning?

[MELSMICE]

Or maybe they did call, but the problems were not resolved between one guest and the next.

If the issue is bothering me, we report it during our stay. If it isn't, I don't want maintenance in my room for something that isn't bothering me, we report it when we check out. If they don't get the problem resolved between our check out and someone else's check in, it becomes someone else's problem.

Unfortunately, I think that is where a lot of issues come about with things not being repaired.

What if it becomes the next person's problem & then that person doesn't report it at all, or reports it when they leave, but again, it's failed to be addressed. Then it becomes someone else's problem.

This is just us personally, but when there is an issue, we want to make sure it is taken care of when we are there.

DVC management & all staff involved have always been more than accommodating & does take care of everything, sometimes it takes a few phone calls to get things correct. The little things are always easy to correct - light bulbs out & things like that. It seems that it's the bigger things that become an issue - these are the things that should be on a checklist, IMO.

We have always been compensated more than fairly for our time & aggravation (if you want to call it that), but it would be nice if things were "just so" when guests arrived.

 

[crisi]

Unfortunately, I think that is where a lot of issues come about with things not being repaired.

What if it becomes the next person's problem & then that person doesn't report it at all, or reports it when they leave, but again, it's failed to be addressed. Then it becomes someone else's problem.

This is just us personally, but when there is an issue, we want to make sure it is taken care of when we are there.

DVC management & all staff involved have always been more than accommodating & does take care of everything, sometimes it takes a few phone calls to get things correct. The little things are always easy to correct - light bulbs out & things like that. It seems that it's the bigger things that become an issue - these are the things that should be on a checklist, IMO.

We have always been compensated more than fairly for our time & aggravation (if you want to call it that), but it would be nice if things were "just so" when guests arrived.

That's nice of you. But I don't have time in my vacation to deal with maintenance issues that aren't bothering me. Its my vacation, not my "opportunity to deal with maintenance at my second home over broken drawer pulls." And we've never been compensated for our time and aggravation when we do report.

 

[Sammie]

I use to call, but now I actually go and report things to the manager on duty, face to face. I've never had to be moved but upon initial inspection if I found the room in the condition you found yours, I would have immediately returned to MS and requested it. This Jun at BWV the room was spot on, well apointed and clean except for this smell & little flies. We finally identified it to be coming from the disposal, I popped into the hall, found housekeeping asked for bleach, and I took care of it myself, something minor I don't mind taking care of, but I bought into DVC not Motel 6, so I'm not staying in a dirty, run down room.

I completely agree and I am so tired of people making excuses for them, they are short staffed, they are overworked or the always it will cost us more in dues.

There is no way as many members there are now that dues should have to be raised to cover the minimal housekeeping we are getting.

I really do not know where the money is going.

 

[BeccaG]

We have reported several problems and have always had very fast response. We always make it a point to call maintenance or mousekeeping directly not the front desk ( which really isn't the front desk) and it seems to work as we have never had an issue take more than a few hours to repair. I wish there was a card provided in the room to leave for maintenance when you check out if there are issues that need to be addressed that maybe you didn't want to address while you were there such as loose grout . They could put a box somewhere to drop them in so they wouldn't be thrown out by the housekeepers if they were left in the room. I still think reporting issues while there is the best way to keep things repaired and in good working order. Each person that doesn't report a problem just adds to the problem in the long run.

I have actually filled out such cards at other time shares. I wonder why DVC doesn't have such a system.?

 

[dmoore22]

I really do not know where the money is going.

The breakdown of MFs is in the notice for the annual condominium meetings. Unfortunately a large chunk goes to the state of Florida for property taxes. Since Florida does not have a state income tax they have found another way to generate income through tourism. This time through the taxes on timeshare ownership interests.

 

[castleri]

I guess I just don't get the "time and aggravation" issue of reporting something that needs fixing. I have never had to spend more than 5 minutes calling maintenance to have something taken care of. We then go about our day -we don't hang around to watch them fix it so I consider it minimal time out of my vacation.

 

[dmoore22]

I guess I just don't get the "time and aggravation" issue of reporting something that needs fixing. I have never had to spend more than 5 minutes calling maintenance to have something taken care of. We then go about our day -we don't hang around to watch them fix it so I consider it minimal time out of my vacation.

 

[Margie J]

The first thing I do is check the room and make sure everything is in order. On one trip as soon as I walked in I smelled cigarette smoke. It was really bad. Then I found wine corks on the floor, spill marks in the living room, etc. It was obvious the previous guests had a party of some sort. I told the front desk right away.

While I was out getting groceries housekeeping came to re-clean the room and make it smell fresh.

 

[PoohNFriends]

We've only been members for 2 weeks now and still have a lot to learn and see since we haven't stayed in a DVC room before, but I wanted to share a few thoughts.
Ideally, mousekeeping and maintenance would have a checklist that is followed between guests or quarterly or whatever timeframe and there would be a card for members to leave at the end of their stay for things that need to be addressed prior to the next check-in. Obviously, this is not the case, but sounds like a good idea to me and PP's. So does anyone have a list and/or card template that could be posted on the boards for members to print out before their trip if they want? Maybe if we showed this sort of thing is beneficial, DVC would consider adopting it as more of a formal, (yet optional?) idea. (from what I read, I do realize that a lot of DVC decisions aren't always made with members' input, but you never know...)
I don't mind taking care of a few minor things occasionally, but after reading this thread, I will definitely be reporting problems to housekeeping, maintenance, and/or the manager on duty. And if I feel my issue was beyond unacceptable or not attended to properly follow-up communication will go up to higher powers w/pics for documentation if needed (something I learned from living in several apts while in college). Anything to help keep the rooms nice for me and my fellow DVC neighbors! Oh, and I won't forget to send also send out positive notes/compliments when those are due also

 

[MELSMICE]

I guess I just don't get the "time and aggravation" issue of reporting something that needs fixing. I have never had to spend more than 5 minutes calling maintenance to have something taken care of. We then go about our day -we don't hang around to watch them fix it so I consider it minimal time out of my vacation.

In most cases it's not. This trip we had to change rooms, which was an inconvenience. We did not check the shower immediately when we got there, so we didn't notice the mold until someone showered later in the evening. DH immediately called & was told it would be taken care of.

We left, came back, nothing had been done. It was late so he called the next morning. Told it would be taken care of that day - still nothing.

He called again the following day & said the next call would be to management. That's when the "troops" came in & we were told it couldn't be done until we left. The housekeeping manager on duty said the room was not suitable for occupancy & she would have noted that, but obviously the housekeeper that took care of it last did not.

We were meeting friends at MK that evening, but we had to switch rooms instead, which was an inconvenience. We were upgraded to a 2BR from a 1BR, which is nice, but the move was an inconvenience. We were compensated in other ways.

Our new room had some minor issues (like the spitting toilet) which we addressed with the manager. They were taken care of with no inconvenience to us.

On a previous trip there were many things that needed to be taken care of in our 1BR. I had wondered if the room was really cleaned before the previous guests left - garbage behind the couch, dirty underwear in the sofa bed (which we didn't find until someone was ready to use it in the evening). The air conditioning was not working properly, the dishwasher door was broken, cupboards & drawers were not working properly.

We called & were told we would get a VIP cleaning & everything would be taken care of. We came back to our room after spending the day at the pool. The undies were gone, but the garbage still remained behind the couch. The dishwasher door was not repaired & neither were the cupboards. Made another call & DH voiced his displeasure.

We spend most days at the pool, so the following day when engineering came in they called DH first & he met them at the room to point everything out instead of following our list that we had given the manager. Things were taken care of. This was an inconvenience for him. Again, we were compensated for our time & aggravation.

Like I said, previously, in most cases things are minor & taken care of without incident. In these 2 cases, it took time out of our vacation to do what we feel is someone else's job.

From this thread I have learned that the room should be checked before we unpack our luggage. Actually - before we even put our luggage in the room I will be checking it from now on.

 

[dianeschlicht]

From this thread I have learned that the room should be checked before we unpack our luggage. Actually - before we even put our luggage in the room I will be checking it from now on.

My mother taught me that lesson when we were taking road trips back in the 50's. She always checked a hotel room BEFORE we went in, and if it wasn't to her liking, she didn't stay. In fact, she would not agree to rent the room until she had seen it. I have always done a pretty good check when we first arrive and before we unpack. Only once was it necessary for them to find us a different room, and that was because the previous occupant didn't really vacate, and had unpacked a few things again and used a few of the new towels left etc. They found a new room for us, and said they would be sending him a bill for another night's lodging.

In most cases, I have found minor things wrong or a few items missing from the kitchen, and they have always been fixed and replaced quickly. Only once did I have an issue where housekeeping didn't quite get the message of what was wrong, but I just did it myself and informed the manager when we left that something needed to be done differently with the housekeeping in that building. That is when I learned that a housekeeper is pretty much assigned to a building, and all units there are her responsibility.

 

[crisi]

I guess I just don't get the "time and aggravation" issue of reporting something that needs fixing. I have never had to spend more than 5 minutes calling maintenance to have something taken care of. We then go about our day -we don't hang around to watch them fix it so I consider it minimal time out of my vacation.

For me, they always come when I'm in the shower. Or trying to hustle kids around. Or about to go to sleep. And I DO want to hang around if they are going to be in the room - especially if I'm not sure what they are going to be doing.

I guess I'm not consistent. I don't like no housekeeping because housekeeping has never bothered me. They come when I'm gone, and I know what they are doing. And I like a clean room with beds made and fresh towels and a wiped up bathroom when I get back. But I don't like maintenance in my room when I'm not there, unless the issue is inconveniencing me more than the unmade bed is.

 

[FOXFIELDZOO]

I completely agree and I am so tired of people making excuses for them, they are short staffed, they are overworked or the always it will cost us more in dues.

There is no way as many members there are now that dues should have to be raised to cover the minimal housekeeping we are getting.

I really do not know where the money is going.

I'm with you,If they just kept up with the daily room cleaning the place wouldn't get too bad and they would be able to keep up with it,At home do any of us only clean one time a week?what a mess that would seem impossable to clean that would be ,I know I am NOT cleaning on vaction,that is what we pay dues for,I think that needs to change

 

[Ms. WDW]

If it's something that I think should have been spotted and addressed before releasing the room, absolutely. For instance on one trip to SSR after getting the room I noticed the tiles surrounding the jacuzzi were literally broken and just laying around the tub. This was an accident waiting to happen. I reported it immediately and a supervisor came up. Some time that evening when we were out the tiles were temporarily fixed and Monday they were properly fixed.

Another time at the BW I heard water dripping after the faucet in the kitchen was shut off. There was a leak; a rather large leak. Now, did the people before me report it??? Who knows, but I did and it was fixed some time during the day.

I do not hang around waiting. When I return, if the problem hasn't been fixed I call again and this time I'm MUCH MORE AGRESSIVE and usually go to the Manager.

 

[delaneyc52]

I guess I just don't get the "time and aggravation" issue of reporting something that needs fixing. I have never had to spend more than 5 minutes calling maintenance to have something taken care of. We then go about our day -we don't hang around to watch them fix it so I consider it minimal time out of my vacation.

For the most part, I agree. However, we had a Grand Villa at OKW and the front door would not close and lock. With 8 people in the Villa, DH and I did have to stay and wait until maintence fixed the door. It took hours. I was NOT happy. Actually the Grand Villa in OKW was my only and worst maintence issue of all my DVC vacations. It really turned me off to that resort.

 

[delaneyc52]

For the most part, I agree. However, we had a Grand Villa at OKW and the front door would not close and lock. With 8 people in the Villa, DH and I did have to stay and wait until maintence fixed the door. It took hours. I was NOT happy. Actually the Grand Villa in OKW was my only and worst maintence issue of all my DVC vacations. It really turned me off to that resort.

And I have NO idea why I spelled maintenance wrong twice ! Long day....

 

[kvogel11202]

when we checked into our Tree House Villa this past March we discovered the dishwasher was broken. We discovered it because as we took out dishes to eat our pizza, they were all dirty! MK had put them away dirty, not even noticing (or perhaps not caring) so I got to handwash all the dishes and wine glasses. We called maintenance and they came and fixed it while we were at the parks the next day. Also needed a new tv remote, they brought that within minutes of our request. I'm not there to deal with these issues and have no problem calling to have them dealt with by someone else!