First stay using DVC Overall Great but one mishap.

[WheresPerry]

Hey all,

This was my first stay since purchasing in November. We stayed from December 5th-11th. Since i booked my trip so close to the actual travel date we had to move around a couple of times. We first stayed at a 2 Bedroom (5th-7th) then went to a 1 bdrm (7th-8th) back to a 2 bdrm (8th-10th) then to a studio (10th-11th) since half our party left.

When going into the 1 bdrm i found some dirt or black stuff all over the left side of the trim entering the laundry room. I was able to clean it off easily with wet paper towel. Wasn't upset about it. i understand there is a lot to cover in a short period of time before the next guests check in.

BUT.... when i checked into the Studio for our last night i was very upset. I found papers still written on from the previous guest and i found cobwebs in the room between the bathroom entry and the door that services the room next door. (see picture below) I called the front desk and stated i wanted a manager to come to my room. i stated what the problem was and was told a manager would be by shortly. after 30 mins i called again and was told the same thing. after another 30 mins i called yet again and was told that the manager was told a wrong room number, and that the manager will be calling in the next few min. the manager called and i explained stating this was unacceptable for what people pay in dues each year. he stated he would have someone come by and take care of it. i said that wouldn't be necessary. he stated he didn't know what i wanted and i said thanks for your help and told him to have a good night. then someone arrived 20 mins later to clean the cobwebs which i already took care of.

is there someone else i should have called.

 

[crisi]

Oh dear, lower your expectations. Those are minor issues with a DVC room.

We've had broken towel bars, missing drawers, moldy showers and dirty fridges and stoves in twelve years, we just plan on a quick clean of anything that bothers us.

 

[erionm]

Even though the button says front desk, it really connects you to an offsite call center. If you really need to speak with someone at the front desk, the best way is to go there.

If they room is not clean, you should have called housekeeping.

 

[cvjw]

I would not have wasted that much of my vacation time on a few cobwebs. We don't let the small stuff get to us - we are at Disney to relax and have fun. If I need to do some touch up cleaning to our villa, I just do it. If there are major issues with the villa, I will tell the front desk when we check out.

 

[twinboysmom]

Unfortunately OP, I must agree with the previous posters.

 

[DebbieB]

Which resort was this?

 

[Chuck S]

By the looks of the carpet and blue walls, I'd guess it was an OKW studio.

I had problems with housekeeping on my last OKW stay. On my full cleaning day, the towel/sheet basket was placed outside my door. When I returned from a park, it was still there. I figured no problem, they'll just knock on the door and they can clean (I did NOT have the do not disturb sign up). Well while I was sitting in the room the basket disappeared, so I called housekeeping. The housekeeper had reported the room as finished. I've never had housekeeping issues prior to this in 20 years of ownership at OKW.

But the cobwebs would've been minor. I probably wouldn't have called for that, as long as I was sure the towels and sheets had been changed.

 

[disneynutz]

You have a lot to learn, the magic fades a little after the sale. My guess is that the manager didn't show because people don't like confrontation and your call was being processed through the call center. I always go to the Front Desk with problems but they still tend to "hide" in the back room.

I am of the belief that the room should be clean, stocked, maintained and ready to occupy, no excuses.

Your only recourse is to notify Member Satisfaction of the problems: dvcmembersatisfactionteam@disneyvacationclub.com

Bill

 

[crisi]

I am of the belief that the room should be clean, stocked, maintained and ready to occupy, no excuses.

Your only recourse is to notify Member Satisfaction of the problems: dvcmembersatisfactionteam@disneyvacationclub.com

Bill

It should be, but if you go in with that expectation, you'll find yourself occasionally disappointed - not always (lately our rooms have been way cleaner at BWV), but often enough that you should expect spotless rooms.

And don't expect much from Member Service other than a "we are very sorry and will address your concerns" - unclean rooms have been an issue since I joined, and I'm sure for long before that.

 

[disneynutz]

It should be, but if you go in with that expectation, you'll find yourself occasionally disappointed - not always (lately our rooms have been way cleaner at BWV), but often enough that you should expect spotless rooms.

And don't expect much from Member Service other than a "we are very sorry and will address your concerns" - unclean rooms have been an issue since I joined, and I'm sure for long before that.

Why do we put up with it? Why do we make excuses for Disney? Why doesn't the DVC do a better job of cleaning since the owners are the ones paying for the cleaning? It's almost like they don't care or they like rooms that are not cleaned or maintained they way that they should be.

We stayed at the YC a few months ago and the room was spotless and the service from all CM's was a notch above anything that we receive at the DVC resorts. Why?

Bill

 

[Simba's Mom]

What kind of bothers me is why should we have to go to the front desk to get any satisfaction? Sometimes that just isn't practical. What are people supposed to do if there's one adult and children)? What if you just got out of the shower and are dripping wet? Maybe you just encountered a plumbing issue. People think it's acceptable that we supposedly can call the front desk, but it's not really the front desk so our message isn't carried? A couple years ago, I was on a solo trip and woke up one morning with severe intestinal rebellion (use your imagination). I called the front desk several times with no response. Finally, I just opened the door and screamed and cried (real juvenile response, I know). Being told "you have to go to the front desk" wouldn't be a good response for me. And yet, is everyone OK with this?

 

[Deb & Bill]

What kind of bothers me is why should we have to go to the front desk to get any satisfaction? Sometimes that just isn't practical. What are people supposed to do if there's one adult and children)? What if you just got out of the shower and are dripping wet? Maybe you just encountered a plumbing issue. People think it's acceptable that we supposedly can call the front desk, but it's not really the front desk so our message isn't carried? A couple years ago, I was on a solo trip and woke up one morning with severe intestinal rebellion (use your imagination). I called the front desk several times with no response. Finally, I just opened the door and screamed and cried (real juvenile response, I know). Being told "you have to go to the front desk" wouldn't be a good response for me. And yet, is everyone OK with this?

That is why the phone has Maintenance and Housekeeping buttons on them. They do go right to the resort.

As for the cobwebs, minor issue, OP, chill out a bit. Grab the broom in the villa or the vacuum and take care of the problem yourself. They used to call the DVC resorts "Home Away From Home". That's why...

 

[disneynutz]

That is why the phone has Maintenance and Housekeeping buttons on them. They do go right to the resort.

As for the cobwebs, minor issue, OP, chill out a bit. Grab the broom in the villa or the vacuum and take care of the problem yourself. They used to call the DVC resorts "Home Away From Home". That's why...

Deb, the Front Desk button goes to a call center who acts like the Front Desk, they may or may not transfer you to the real Front Desk.

The marketing slogan "Home Away From Home" wasn't meant to be taken literally. If it was, people staying in a DVC unit would be personalizing them even more than they do now.

Owners cleaning their rooms because Mousekeeping doesn't do a proper job doesn't make sense to me just like me swapping of furnace filters or re-chalking the bathtub doesn't make sense either. If I wanted to do those things I could stay home, put on my Disney music, spray my Disney scents, and take the time to look at all of the Disney stuff that decorates our house including our Walt/Mickey statue.

Bill

 

[crisi]

Why do we put up with it? Why do we make excuses for Disney? Why doesn't the DVC do a better job of cleaning since the owners are the ones paying for the cleaning? It's almost like they don't care or they like rooms that are not cleaned or maintained they way that they should be.

We stayed at the YC a few months ago and the room was spotless and the service from all CM's was a notch above anything that we receive at the DVC resorts. Why?

Bill

So, its unacceptable - what are you going to do - sell?

We have no power to change things. We've been complaining for a decade and we still walk into rooms with cobwebs or mold or spills in the fridge.

When you stay at a regular Disney resort, you might not come back. DVCers really don't have that option - not from Disney's standpoint because you may get fed up and sell, but whoever buys your contract will step right into your shoes.

So we get a lot of "oh, I'm sorry sorry"ies and no real change.

Welcome to the world of "we have no incentive to change our business practice."

 

[csharpwv]

If the cobwebs were that easy to photograph, they've been there quite some time!

We bought in 2008 at Animal Kingdom Villas - the resort wasn't done, so they were giving 'developer points' at Saratoga Springs as an incentive until AKV was finished. The points HAD to be used at Saratoga, no exceptions.

So our first DVC stay was at Saratoga, and it was a bit of a nightmare.

When we first arrived our room was really hot, and the carpet in the hallway/entryway was soaking wet. I know my way around mechanical systems - so I put two and two together - It was hot, and the carpet was wet...
The evaporator coil had frozen up on the AC unit.

I called housekeeping first to report the wet carpet - they said the carpet may have been cleaned that day....

I said NO, the carpet wasn't cleaned, the AC is frozen up.

"OK, sir - we'll send up some towels"

Towels arrived, and I asked the lady from housekeeping - "Are you going to send someone from maintenance?"

What for? - She responded....

The Frozen AC unit....I responded...

Oh, that's not the issue - your carpet was cleaned today....


NO - the AC is frozen, the AC is set to 72, and it's 83 degree in the room.

She responded - oh, it will cool off!

OK, time was wasting - we went to the parks to meet up with family who arrived earlier in the day.

After a long day in the park, we got back - and the room was up to 89 degrees, and the water now sloshed when stepped on.

I called again, and had the same exact argument - I asked to be connected to Maintenance - and she said, we'll send up some towels!

At this point I had to laugh, or I would have cried - It was hot, I was tired, we had an early reservation the next morning - there were 6 of us, and we were ALL hot and tired.

So housekeeping showed up, and... I'm not lying - I kinda held the housekeeper hostage until she radioed to 'engineering' - and that person showed up at our villa.

Sure enough, the guy from engineering arrived and said "WOW it's hot in here! - I bet your AC coil is frozen! Is the carpet wet?"

Finally - someone who knew exactly what I was talking about - AND could do something about it.

My FIL and I stayed up until 12:30am when the guy finally got the unit thawed out, the carpet dried up - he actually had to go all the way up to the roof to flip a switch or something - but by 1:00am we finally got in bed, and by 6:00am the room was finally down to 70 degrees - and the carpet totally dried out by Tuesday

We also had old soap in the shower on that trip, a lot of hair in the 2nd bathroom, really dirty grout in the kitchen, stains on the drapes, and ripped upholstery on the sofa.

Don't expect to be welcomed home to your own house - especially if you are a bit of a clean freak. We have asked to change rooms before - the first room smelled like a litter box.

We have had a fridge in a grand villa that was REALLY slow in coming up to temperature at Hilton Head - the Maintenance guy was absolutely INCREDIBLE there! He put a thermometer in, and said he'd be back in 20 minutes with a vacuum to clean the coils and check the temperature. He did exactly that and explained that since the fridge had like been empty and we had it filled totally full it would likely take a while to come up to temperature. It did just that after a few hours!

Don't expect perfection, you'll be disappointed every time!

 

[Deb & Bill]

Deb, the Front Desk button goes to a call center who acts like the Front Desk, they may or may not transfer you to the real Front Desk.... Bill

No, use the Housekeeping and Maintenance buttons on the phone. Not the front desk button.

 

[Deb & Bill]

...Towels arrived, and I asked the lady from housekeeping - "Are you going to send someone from maintenance?"
...So housekeeping showed up, and... I'm not lying - I kinda held the housekeeper hostage until she radioed to 'engineering' - and that person showed up at our villa....!

That is why you call MAINTENANCE for maintenance issues. Don't call the front desk. Don't call Housekeeping. Call Maintenance. It works every time for me.

 

[disneynutz]

So, its unacceptable - what are you going to do - sell?

We have no power to change things. We've been complaining for a decade and we still walk into rooms with cobwebs or mold or spills in the fridge.

When you stay at a regular Disney resort, you might not come back. DVCers really don't have that option - not from Disney's standpoint because you may get fed up and sell, but whoever buys your contract will step right into your shoes.

So we get a lot of "oh, I'm sorry sorry"ies and no real change.

Welcome to the world of "we have no incentive to change our business practice."

If the cleaning and maintenance money was coming out of Disney's pocket than this would sort of make sense, but owners pay for the rooms to be cleaned, stocked and functional.

What is Disney's motivation for not doing their job?

Bill

 

[csharpwv]

That is why you call MAINTENANCE for maintenance issues. Don't call the front desk. Don't call Housekeeping. Call Maintenance. It works every time for me.

Yeah, I am so glad I learned that on our FIRST DVC stay!

We haven't had many maintenance issues - a few house keeping issues, and the fridge issue at Hilton Head.

But there is always something that should have had 1 more minute of attention from housekeeping.

Does anyone know how many villas each member of housekeeping is responsible for servicing during their shift?

 

[disneynutz]

Yeah, I am so glad I learned that on our FIRST DVC stay!

We haven't had many maintenance issues - a few house keeping issues, and the fridge issue at Hilton Head.

But there is always something that should have had 1 more minute of attention from housekeeping.

Does anyone know how many villas each member of housekeeping is responsible for servicing during their shift?

Number of rooms per Mousekeeper is based on what's scheduled for the room. Check outs, TT, full clean, studio, one bedroom, two, three, etc.

Bill