FURIOUS!! Front desk OKW CM just hung up on me!!

[rbuzzotta]

I will write to the manager or OKW just to state what has happened on this trip!! Yes, they may seem minor to some, but the more I go to OKW (500 pts worth), I see the service declining!!

Now, I can live with some of the declining service as I am not a high maintenance type person.

My expectations when arriving and staying at OKW (my favorite DVC):

1. I do expect to get services that I pay for!! (T & T and full housekeeping)

2. I do expect a smile when checking in!!!

3. I do not expect to be 'hung up' on by any staff member regardless of where they are stationed out of!!

What I always get:

1. Smiles and laughs from the 'veteran' staff members at Hanks!!!

2. Good times with families we have met over the last 10 plus years!!!

3. Relaxation at the pool

4. Great time with my family!!

I always leave the room in a tidy fashion for mousekeeping!!

Well..............in the process of planning our return trip either in a few weeks for a quick get away before school starts and April and then again for 2 weeks in July/August 2009!! We added the extra 15 years to our contracts so that our girls can enjoy the 'magic'!!! I just hope it gets a little better for them (the economy as well!! LOL!)

 

[Entropy]

Low pay, high heat and crowds. Everyone can have an off day. Plus Disney can only find a limited number of really happy CMs to hire.

There are just not an unlimited supply of them anymore, anywhere regardless of who the employer is. Sad but true.

Plus and I am only reporting what I have been told by many friends that work Disney resorts, that DVC guests are "way" more demanding than resort guests. Therefore the turnover is high at DVC resorts. Sorry to say we have some bad seeds as members that ruin it for the rest of us.

WDW guests and DVC members in particular being big-time fans are not only the recipients of pixie dust but we can also be effective dispensers of said dust. Doing things like being pleasant, polite and patient can do a lot toward shaking the pixie dust out of a grumpy, hot overworked cast member. This means not flipping out over little things like towels... TOWELS. Think about the big picture, you're on vacation in the second-happiest place on earth and you've got your knickers in a twist over towels. TOWELS! Your health is good, your family is happy and you've still got more vacation time!
Time for a Mojito and a ride on Pirates! Every body sing along..Yo Ho Yo Ho A pirate's the life for me...

 

[disneynutz]

I will write to the manager or OKW just to state what has happened on this trip!! Yes, they may seem minor to some, but the more I go to OKW (500 pts worth), I see the service declining!!

Now, I can live with some of the declining service as I am not a high maintenance type person.

My expectations when arriving and staying at OKW (my favorite DVC):

1. I do expect to get services that I pay for!! (T & T and full housekeeping)

2. I do expect a smile when checking in!!!

3. I do not expect to be 'hung up' on by any staff member regardless of where they are stationed out of!!

What I always get:

1. Smiles and laughs from the 'veteran' staff members at Hanks!!!

2. Good times with families we have met over the last 10 plus years!!!

3. Relaxation at the pool

4. Great time with my family!!

I always leave the room in a tidy fashion for mousekeeping!!

Well..............in the process of planning our return trip either in a few weeks for a quick get away before school starts and April and then again for 2 weeks in July/August 2009!! We added the extra 15 years to our contracts so that our girls can enjoy the 'magic'!!! I just hope it gets a little better for them (the economy as well!! LOL!)

Unfortunately it seems that most folks today believe in the "work-around" or "that's just the way things are". Maybe that's made America what it is today.

I believe in getting what we paid for. If things aren't right we should all take the time to notify the correct people to make it right. I have had multiple contacts with Disney and DVC over the last couple of years when we have had problems and everyone from Jay Rasulo, to Meg Crofton to Jim Lewis have made things right. If you don't make contact, good or bad than things will never change.

Please send a email to: dvcmembersatisfactionteam@disneyvacationclub.com and share with them the good and the bad.

 

[tgj]

WDW guests and DVC members in particular being big-time fans are not only the recipients of pixie dust but we can also be effective dispensers of said dust. Doing things like being pleasant, polite and patient can do a lot toward shaking the pixie dust out of a grumpy, hot overworked cast member.

YES YES YES

Thank you for bringing this up. If only more people would remember this the world (WDW and the real one) would be a much better place.

The more you give (pixie dust or anger/frustration or whatever) the more you receive.

 

[BEASLYBOO]

In 15 stays at OKW, plus 7 stays at the other resorts, we've never ever encountered anything as described in this thread. Yes, sometimes the furniture has blemishes and a few stains, but that's to be expected w/ wear and tear. Referbishment comes as scheduled, and if I had a room that was truly inferior to what is expected or promised, I would be first in line at the lobby to complain and get it taken care of, right then and there. Never had trouble w/ towel service, the kitchens have always been well stocked and clean and the rooms have been clean. At BCV, once I found a cup in the cupboard w/ lipstick on it, and at OKW maybe a light switch w/ finger smudges, that's about it. No one has ever been unpleasant at check in at any resort, or w/ regards to any need I may have expressed. I joined in 2000, and from what I've read, and in my opinion, early DVC'rs have a different expectation and view of DVC. They were the front runners to a different type of timeshare. I heard that the perks were better, the service was better, there were less customers and for a good long while it was the best kept Disney secret. Then the secret got out! and things apparently changed. For us, DVC has continually met our expectations since the 1st time we tried it and subsequently purchased, nothings changed in the last 8 years, and that can't all be attributed to dumb luck.

 

[rbuzzotta]

WDW guests and DVC members in particular being big-time fans are not only the recipients of pixie dust but we can also be effective dispensers of said dust. Doing things like being pleasant, polite and patient can do a lot toward shaking the pixie dust out of a grumpy, hot overworked cast member. This means not flipping out over little things like towels... TOWELS. Think about the big picture, you're on vacation in the second-happiest place on earth and you've got your knickers in a twist over towels. TOWELS! Your health is good, your family is happy and you've still got more vacation time!
Time for a Mojito and a ride on Pirates! Every body sing along..Yo Ho Yo Ho A pirate's the life for me...

I wouldn't necessarily say that my "knickers in a twist over towels. TOWELS!!" and "not flilpping out over little things like towels.....TOWELS." But, it is a service that I do pay for with my dues. In the past, many times, I have overlooked some things and let them slide. In retrospect, maybe I should have written a letter about that in hopes that something would be done!!

Yes, I do have my health as does my family (despite a broken foot and DH getting a total knee replacement soon). And I do dispense pixie dust dust!!! I bring some dust with me from home and dispense it to the CM's that we see twice a year!!! and have watched my kids grow up!!

I just hate to see DVC decline!! My letter will not be one 'bashing' OKW but will be one that will state how I see the changes over the years!! All this in hopes that someone will listen and maybe it will have a postive effect on the service!!!

 

[LisaS]

I wouldn't necessarily say that my "knickers in a twist over towels. TOWELS!!" and "not flipping out over little things like towels.....TOWELS." But, it is a service that I do pay for with my dues. In the past, many times, I have overlooked some things and let them slide. In retrospect, maybe I should have written a letter about that in hopes that something would be done!!

Yes, I do have my health as does my family (despite a broken foot and DH getting a total knee replacement soon). And I do dispense pixie dust dust!!! I bring some dust with me from home and dispense it to the CM's that we see twice a year!!! and have watched my kids grow up!!

I just hate to see DVC decline!! My letter will not be one 'bashing' OKW but will be one that will state how I see the changes over the years!! All this in hopes that someone will listen and maybe it will have a positive effect on the service!!!

I agree. You should have had 8 towels and they should have been replaced on schedule. You were only asking for what should have been in your villa in the first place and for the service that should have been given to you during your stay. Bringing problems to management's attention gives them the opportunity to fix things. Working around them allows the problems to continue or even get worse. Thanks for taking the time to write a letter to try to make things better for all members.

 

[crisi]

Its one thing to be kind to CMs who are doing their jobs - and to be understanding of circumstances outside their control. Its another thing to be a pushover about something that you actually are entitled to - unless you are aware of extenuating circumstances.

Having a cow at the front desk because your request for a Epcot view at BCVs can't be met - rude. Asking nicely and smiling and saying "thanks for checking" - adding magic to the day. But if your room isn't clean, you do need to put yourself forward - and if it STILL isn't clean, you may need to put yourself forward more forcefully.

 

[Entropy]

I wouldn't necessarily say that my "knickers in a twist over towels. TOWELS!!" and "not flilpping out over little things like towels.....TOWELS." But, it is a service that I do pay for with my dues. In the past, many times, I have overlooked some things and let them slide. In retrospect, maybe I should have written a letter about that in hopes that something would be done!!

Yes, I do have my health as does my family (despite a broken foot and DH getting a total knee replacement soon). And I do dispense pixie dust dust!!! I bring some dust with me from home and dispense it to the CM's that we see twice a year!!! and have watched my kids grow up!!

I just hate to see DVC decline!! My letter will not be one 'bashing' OKW but will be one that will state how I see the changes over the years!! All this in hopes that someone will listen and maybe it will have a postive effect on the service!!!

Re-reading that I came off rather harsh when I was trying to be more lighthearted and I apologize.
Of course DVC management can't fix a problem that they don't know about so a nice letter would probably be appreciated.

P.S. I erred regarding the Mojito, it should have read Grog!

 

[blondietink]

I believe when we rent a place in Myrtle Beach (anyplace there) they have some kind of rule/law that states the manager of whatever place you are renting has to inspect the room/apartment after cleaning before it can be rented out to the next reservation. That is why most Myrtle Beach hotels/condos/apartments are firm about check-in time. Perhaps if this was a DVC policy, some of the problems could be alleviated. Just MHO.

 

[bom_noite]

I just hate to see DVC decline!! My letter will not be one 'bashing' OKW but will be one that will state how I see the changes over the years!! All this in hopes that someone will listen and maybe it will have a postive effect on the service!!!

I still believe, we as a group, need to form some type of watch dog committee. Maybe in a few years - when I have time, maybe I can organize it.

Regardless, if you were to read a dozen past posts of mine - I would think you would see my opinion is that WDW is trying to improve service:

Many, many moons ago I worked WITH (not for) WDW on a software project. Whilst on the project I had a few beers with a mid-level manager. I talked about the WDW CM's and the decline I had seen over the years. He explained (and this was 1993):

Since the opening, WDW employee needs increased 400%: New parks, Hotels, and all the support staff that are required. During the same period, Orlando, as a whole has seen a growth rate which was the same or greater rate (Universal, Sea World, Hotels, Condo's, Population Growth, etc.).

If you look at Orlando, as a whole, it is a city dominated by Minimum Wage positions. WDW did realize that obtaining quality employee's had grown to be a challange and was looking for new and different ways to tackle the issue.

At the time, they were experimenting with Puerto Rican employees: They speak the language, are willing to accept lower paid positions and are willing to relocate to Orlando.

I think this concept was big then, but, somehow died. Regardless, I think WDW has taken this concept and modified it: I was amazed in June how many workers I found that were from Brazil and mainland China.

I have been to China 20 times and Brazil 40. I think Disney has a two pronged strategy at play:

1) Expansion: The growth in middle class in both countries is astounding. In 1985 the streets of Beijing was littered with Bikes. On my last trip (in 2005) the streets were littered with cars. Certainly Disney has an eye on both countries for future parks.

2) Employees: Both employee's have educated workers that are delighted at the prospect of coming to the US and working with the Mouse.

In the future I would expect more and more of these types of CM's running around. In addition, I would expect to see more workers from India and potentially, Chile, Argentina. and maybe even the Eastern Block countries. This is a trend that will only continue to grow.

It is a shame that we Americans cannot produce motivated employee's, but, that is the reality.

 

[disneynutz]

Disney sends recruiters to other countries to bring in low wage employees. I maybe wrong but the Mousekeepers seem to be assigned to the different resorts by country of origin and skill level. At SRR during our last couple of stays the Mousekeepers told us that most of the SSR Mousekeepers were from Hatti and that they were employed by Disney when they answered local help wanted ads.

 

[rbuzzotta]

In this particular case, the CM that 'hung' up on me had an Asian accent!! Exactly which dialect, I can not tell, but it was Asian.

On my other post, I expressed about the CM that checked us in having a flat affect, no smile, nothing pleasant, just doing her job!!! She was all in all American as far as I could tell. No accent, Orlando, Fl was written under her name.

REgardless of where you originate from, a simple smile goes a long way. And you are in a position of employment and part of that job is to 'smile'!!!! In my opinion, no excuses!!!

 

[Alexander]

Disney sends recruiters to other countries to bring in low wage employees. I maybe wrong but the Mousekeepers seem to be assigned to the different resorts by country of origin and skill level. At SRR during our last couple of stays the Mousekeepers told us that most of the SSR Mousekeepers were from Hatti and that they were employed by Disney when they answered local help wanted ads.

And those empolyees are brought here on a one year work visa. They have to return to their home countries for 6 months and then can come back. What kind of turnover rate does that leave Disney with?!?!

 

[robinb]

I wouldn't necessarily say that my "knickers in a twist over towels. TOWELS!!" and "not flilpping out over little things like towels.....TOWELS." But, it is a service that I do pay for with my dues. In the past, many times, I have overlooked some things and let them slide. In retrospect, maybe I should have written a letter about that in hopes that something would be done!!

No, I don't think you're flipping out or getting your knickers in a twist over towels, but I can see how some people might think so. You use a LOT of exclamation marks!!! All the time!!!! That tends to send an excited, knickers twisted, flipped out kind of message!!! Maybe one you don't want to send!

Anyway ... I think you just want what you are entitled to and nothing more. Please mail that letter so the OKW management can address the problem. Just leave out the excess exclamation marks .

 

[rbuzzotta]

Thanks Robinb..............will do.

 

[JMLBrats]

When we run out of towels we just grab a few from the housekeeping carts that litter the halls in all DVC resorts seemingly 24 hours a day. I used to ask the CM that had the cart and they never said no.

 

[patsal]

When we run out of towels we just grab a few from the housekeeping carts that litter the halls in all DVC resorts seemingly 24 hours a day. I used to ask the CM that had the cart and they never said no.

Ther are not any housekeeping carts littering the hallways at OKW, there are no Hallways! If you are due for housekeeping a large basket is placed outsid e your door. If someone helps themselves to any of that the room would be shorted.

 

[blondietink]

I beg to differ ... the housekeeping carts at OKW are left on the ground floor in the middle of each building near the stairway. We have stayed in several different buildings and it is the same situation in each. We always take extra towels or sheets if we need them.

 

[hakepb]

I still believe, we as a group, need to form some type of watch dog committee. Maybe in a few years - when I have time, maybe I can organize it.

Regardless, if you were to read a dozen past posts of mine - I would think you would see my opinion is that WDW is trying to improve service:

Many, many moons ago I worked WITH (not for) WDW on a software project. Whilst on the project I had a few beers with a mid-level manager. I talked about the WDW CM's and the decline I had seen over the years. He explained (and this was 1993):

Since the opening, WDW employee needs increased 400%: New parks, Hotels, and all the support staff that are required. During the same period, Orlando, as a whole has seen a growth rate which was the same or greater rate (Universal, Sea World, Hotels, Condo's, Population Growth, etc.).

If you look at Orlando, as a whole, it is a city dominated by Minimum Wage positions. WDW did realize that obtaining quality employee's had grown to be a challange and was looking for new and different ways to tackle the issue.

At the time, they were experimenting with Puerto Rican employees: They speak the language, are willing to accept lower paid positions and are willing to relocate to Orlando.

I think this concept was big then, but, somehow died. Regardless, I think WDW has taken this concept and modified it: I was amazed in June how many workers I found that were from Brazil and mainland China.

I have been to China 20 times and Brazil 40. I think Disney has a two pronged strategy at play:

1) Expansion: The growth in middle class in both countries is astounding. In 1985 the streets of Beijing was littered with Bikes. On my last trip (in 2005) the streets were littered with cars. Certainly Disney has an eye on both countries for future parks.

2) Employees: Both employee's have educated workers that are delighted at the prospect of coming to the US and working with the Mouse.

In the future I would expect more and more of these types of CM's running around. In addition, I would expect to see more workers from India and potentially, Chile, Argentina. and maybe even the Eastern Block countries. This is a trend that will only continue to grow.

It is a shame that we Americans cannot produce motivated employee's, but, that is the reality.

We are the owners,
Are we like those disconnected owners of companies that forgot who really makes the magic happen?
Perhaps we should be taking the initiative to recognize great service by CM's

Start with an informal letter to the DVC satisfaction address praising one or 2 CM's per visit?
Should our check-in packets include a "nominate a friendly CM" recognition that we hand in at the end of our stay?
To assist with mousekeeping, have an optional daily mousekeeping check program? If mousekeeping thinks you are doing a great job keeping your room clean, you get an extra towel oragami and bed mints?