Editorial for my original post

[gardan]

I do appreciate all of your suggestions and opinions to my
major problem of no turn down service. I realize now that I
should have classified it as a minor mishap.

What ever it is called the service level that DCL prouds themselves of, was missing that evening. The impression that
I get from most people is that they do not care if a person
does their job properly. If every stateroom host forgot to do
an integral part of their job on any given evening, would you
just shrug it off to 'we all make mistakes'.

I want to emphasize again that the entire trip was fantastic.
I was just looking for some views on how others would have handled the situation. This certainly did not ruin our vacation
by any means, But for the hour that it took to get someone down to our room, it was rather frustrating.

I am a very generous person when it comes to tipping. We only
ate in our normal rotation 1 evening. This did not stop me
from tipping above the amount for the servers because I realize
that it was not their problem that we were not there. They gave
great service the night we were there (as well as the servers
in Palo). I also feel that whether you are in a cat 12 or cat 1 you
should be given good service. The price of the cabin should have no reflection on what level of service you receive.

Susan In Maine makes a great point about service.

Thanks for all of your views. That is the greatest thing about this board, EVERYBODY HAS THEIR OWN OPINION.

 

[chucknrita]

"The impression that I get from most people is that they do not care if a person does their job properly. "

Gee, the impression that I got from your original post was that you're a very petty person who thinks that lack of turndown service equates to the end of the world!

If you don't like the opinions everyone's been posting, just quit rehashing everything and move on!

 

[fireplug]

Lets not be too harsh. If they were unable to put their child to bed for a hour maybe that is a bigger deal. I read the first post and some people were kind of cruel. The OP did not stiff the Cabin Steward. They cut back a little on the tip. Maybe it made an impression and won't happen again. Yes, we are entitled to our opinions and views. They expressed theirs and got hammered for it.



Steve

 

[jel0511]

As someone who has small children, if I didn't have my ceiling bed turned down, and it took an hour for it to happen, that would have been a HUGE inconvience to us. But, even if that wasn't the case, even if you're an adult, and EXHAUSTED, the last thing you want to do is wait an hour to go to bed. I don't know if this whole thing was blown out of proportion, and I've never been in this situation, but a smiliar one. We were staying at a WDW hotel, and had asked for bed rails a before leaving for our dinner and evening. Upon returning to our room at 9:30, no bed rails. Well, after REPEATED calls to housekeeping we FINALLY got out bed rails at 11:30, but what good is that when you need to get a one year old to sleep. Now, if I was in the OP's position, knowing that the steward DID know that the OP needed the bed down from the ceiling, I probably would have been a little peeved too. I also probably would have lowered my tip appropriately. Now, again this is only my opinion, and I understand some people have bad days, and the steward did say they were training a new employee, but still that isn't an excuse to forget part of your job. I'm currently a stay at home mom, but used to work in an industry that if you made a mistake, not only were you reprimanded, if it was large enough, you probably were fired, without prior incident. I guess that makes me more sensitive to people doing their jobs, since I always expect people to perform up to a certain standard. I apologize to those out there who are more forgiving than I would be, but if it was either of my children who had to wait, I'd be royally upset!! I commend the OP for their actions, they did what they thought appropriate, which is what anyone should do in any situation!!

 

[MelissaE1]

Ouch! I agree with Steve, some posters have been a little cruel.

Truthfully, I would have been a bit miffed if the same thing happened to me. Granted, I would have been mollified if a sincere apology was offered and I would not have adjusted the tip in that case, but that is just my personal way of dealing with things.

If some of those posts had been directed at me I'd be crying in the corner.

 

[Michelle]

Okay, time for the reminder that this is a FRIENDLY board and while we certainly do not need to agree with each other we do need to disagree respectfully and personal attacks are not allowed.

Everyone is entitled to an opinion, but please don't bash someone else if their opinion is not the same as yours.

We now return you to your regularly schedule Cruise Board.

 

[nedleycan]

I understand where gardan is coming from. The reason he is "rehashing" it is that it is hard to have complete strangers jump to conclusions and insult you without knowing you or the situation completely.
Let's all be nice!

 

[Buckaroo's Dad]

Hi Gardan. I disagree with what appears to have been the majority opinion on the other thread. When not on vacation I work just as hard as any CM. It is absurd to accept any lesser degree of service for the prices Disney charges. Also, too many people confuse a "recommended" tip with a "minimum" tip.

Your decision was correct, since it was based upon a personal tier of satisfaction (and dissatisfaction). I, myself, happen to "over-tip" - at least according to family opinion. We were in a Category 4 and the service was exemplary. The same can be said for our server and assistant server. I tipped substantially more than the "recommended" tip.

Had I been inconvenienced by an "overworked" CM or preoccupied "trainer," however, my displeasure would have been reflected in the end-of-cruise gratuity. Gratuity = noun: something given voluntarily or beyond obligation usually for some service.

We are responsible NOT for a CM's wages, but rather, for OUR display of satisfaction acheived through their efforts. Judging by the posts of too many others, the reward for this effort has been comprimised by the best - albeit misdirected - intentions of fellow cruisers who tip based upon perameters other than service, such as national origin or assumed financial deprivation.

I "give" quite generously both at work and home - NOT on vacation! Nor should tipping be viewed as a form of charity. It is less absurd than on one might think after reading and rereading the posts of those contrary to you, Gardan.

There is no justification for the scathing and/or snide commentaries expressed by previous posters who seem to adhere to a "political correctness" tip rather than a "service performed" tip. You did what you believed to be forthright and honest without over-reaction or under-reaction. The Category 1 cruisers who followed in your cabin more than likely benefited from your appropriate display of displeasure.

 

[paulmc80]

I appreciate your post gardan. I think anyone who cares enough to post their experience, good or bad, should be commended.

Thank you for posting. It can only be a help to others.

 

[Fawn]

Originally posted by gardan

Thanks for all of your views. That is the greatest thing about this board, EVERYBODY HAS THEIR OWN OPINION.

An incredibly "classy" remark considering all the cruel things people have been saying! It is clear you understand the term "taking the high road"!

 

[nicurnc]

Well said, Fawn, gardan has not spouted off one nasty remark, even though I thought these boards are a place to sound off and get a little feedback.
While it might be easy to lambast someone for not agreeing with them, people need to remember that everyone's viewpoint is subjective.
I worked for tips, once upon a time, and the first rule taught to me was, "never make excuses for your shortcomings". Whether I'm on vacation or not, I expect good service from those in service industries....this IS their job!
I can totally empathize with some poor guy standing there, waiting for a key to pull down a bed that I'd have gladly down myself.
People are paying big bucks for this cruise. Most people state they are on Disney because of the service and attention to detail. If that level of service starts to fall, then we could all go on Carnival

Loretta

 

[disneyholic family]

i didn't make myself clear in my response to your original post..
i too would have been terribly upset by this...
in my opinion, it's unacceptable....especially in one of the concierge suites...
and i'm shocked that it happened...
as i said in my original post, having a trainee is not the excuse..
we were told that our host had a trainee because taking care of two cat 3 staterooms together with the roy disney suite was simply too much work for one host...
so they assign a trainee to help him/her.....
the reason i found this out is our host and trainee were so good that i wanted to tip them both but since there are no guidelines for the trainee i didn't know what to do...
so i asked the concierge staff and they checked and found out that the trainee is a non-tipping position....but as i said in my earlier response, the two of them were spectacular....so i tipped them both (not equally of coruse, but i thought something was deserved in this case)....
again, i'm shocked that this happened to you..
i would have been terribly terribly upset had it happened to us....
always travel concierge level wherever i am in the world because i enjoy the kind of service that connotes and am willing to pay for it....and i don't think it's asking too much to expect the kind of service one is paying for.....nor to be disappointed if the service is not provided.....

 

[AnnMorin]

(hey it's my birthday I can dream)


I will say this...
We pay a lot of money to cruise either cat. 6 or five each year, in fact this will be our third in 18 months..we spend between 3000-4000 a cruise for the three of us

HOWEVER!!!!!!

We did not pay for the BEST OF THE BEST !!
It seems people are forgetting this. They PAID for the best cabin/suite Disney owns and that comes with certain privledges!

In a Cat. 4 or below it is understandable to have oversights, BUT
I checked to see if we could upgrade to only at catagory three, it would have been a charge of 3350.00 more.
If I was paying over seven thousand dollars for just the three of us for a Cat. 3 I can only imagine the cost of a Cat one or two,.

Hense- If one spends as much as a CAR costs on a vacation they have the RIGHT to expect the best. Frankly their trip cost what two of mine have together and we travel quite well!
For those of you who were jumping on them I wonder if you may be jelouse that you can not afford the suite they did. How do you know if they saved for years for this trip? It is like buying a car actually..
Why should someone who paid for a Mecedes Benz be expected to be thrilled with the performance of a KIA? ( the KIA may be a adequate car but if you paid for a mercedes that is what you should get!)
Getting off my soap box now.. (keep the stones small as I am fragile )

 

[Buckaroo's Dad]

No offense, Ann, but I disagree. Every cabin category deserves the same treatment. Whether one family pays enough to purchase a compact car while another barely supports a hot wheels 99-cent special, each and every person is due equal consideration in all facets of the cruise. It is merely sleeping arrangements, not a caste system...

 

[nedleycan]

I agree with the car analogy. When you buy a luxury automobile you expect (and usually get) superior service. That is one of the reasons why you buy the luxury vehicle. This is another reason why luxury auto makers have higher satisfaction numbers than the big 3.
I couldn't possibly afford a catagory 1, 2 or 3, but if I did, I would expect perfect service, just like I would expect if I drove a Mercedes. And if Mercedes made a mistake, you better believe that they would jump right on it, turning a bad situation into an even better situation... a classic customer service opportunity. A Manager would be addressing the problem within minutes. Sounds like DCL played this one out like they would have in catagory 4 or lower. IMHO I don't agree that this should have been handled this way.

 

[mcnuss]

A Manager would be addressing the problem within minutes. Sounds like DCL played this one out like they would have in catagory 4 or lower. IMHO I don't agree that this should have been handled this way.

From Gardan, but a second post in the original thread...

I really didnt make a big deal about it to anyone, but asked to
have someone come and put the bunk down. I got calls from
the Captain and Cruise Director expressing their apology, which
shows that they do take that kind of mistake seriously.

 

[nedleycan]

This thread has gotten so long, that it is hard to remember what the original post was... haha.
I am glad to hear that they handled it appropriately... it still shouldn't have happened.
And, let's all remember that they actually had a great time and aren't really complaining.

 

[Sk-8-er-gurl]

I'm glad to here you had a great time on your trip,BUT next time try to put yourself in their shoes.They are kind and helpful, and friendly to everyoneAll day!and as nice of a job it is getting to be on a cruise ship,they all need the money or else they wouldn't be working.I know that you have kids and that fact is when they want to go to bed they are tired but couldn't you have just gotten a comforter and a blanket and pillows and had them sleep on the ground for one night or till the hostess got there with the key to unlock the bed? just my opinion

 

[mivvers]

couldn't you have just gotten a comforter and a blanket and pillows and had them sleep on the ground for one night or till the hostess got there with the key to unlock the bed?


As the mom of two young kids (whether we were in category 12 or category 1) absolutely not! I wouldn't sleep on the floor for a night, and I certainly wouldn't expect my kids to do that either. JMHO!

 

[AnnMorin]

Originally posted by Sk-8-er-gurl
I know that you have kids and that fact is when they want to go to bed they are tired but couldn't you have just gotten a comforter and a blanket and pillows and had them sleep on the ground for one night or till the hostess got there with the key to unlock the bed? just my opinion

Pay 10,000 to sleep on the ground???????????????????