FYI: More Cuts Coming

[jpeden]

Just got off the phone with the Disney rep. She let me know that George read the email, forwarded it to his EA, and the EA sent it to her specific team at Guest Relations (which handles all of the emails sent to George). According to her he reads every one of them, and frequently requests follow-up information. While she did address some of my concerns, a lot of was Disney-speak and towing the company line. She wouldn't flat out say some of these cuts are from Shanghai, but she did enough to imply that when there are overruns, sometimes cuts come from other areas. They were very concerned about the incident at the Polynesian, and knew a lot more information about what happened than I gave them (even that the day manager comped our incidentals to make up for the issues we had - which was way more than I expected her to do), so yes Disney fans, they know when you've been bad or good.

While she said a lot of nice things, I am still concerned about these cuts. She did say they've received a number of comments from concerned guests, so I do think it's being noticed organically more than people may realize. Only time will tell if anything will come from it. If you've got specific questions, I'm happy to try and answer them based on our conversation - it was a lot of talking about how great we as repeat guests are and how we're essential to their business so I figured I didn't need to re-type all the company hype.

 

[norjack]

Just got off the phone with the Disney rep. She let me know that George read the email, forwarded it to his EA, and the EA sent it to her specific team at Guest Relations (which handles all of the emails sent to George). According to her he reads every one of them, and frequently requests follow-up information. While she did address some of my concerns, a lot of was Disney-speak and towing the company line. She wouldn't flat out say some of these cuts are from Shanghai, but she did enough to imply that when there are overruns, sometimes cuts come from other areas. They were very concerned about the incident at the Polynesian, and knew a lot more information about what happened than I gave them (even that the day manager comped our incidentals to make up for the issues we had - which was way more than I expected her to do), so yes Disney fans, they know when you've been bad or good.

While she said a lot of nice things, I am still concerned about these cuts. She did say they've received a number of comments from concerned guests, so I do think it's being noticed organically more than people may realize. Only time will tell if anything will come from it. If you've got specific questions, I'm happy to try and answer them based on our conversation - it was a lot of talking about how great we as repeat guests are and how we're essential to their business so I figured I didn't need to re-type all the company hype.

Shocked. And at least a little impressed. They do still respond to well-articulated letters. Good work! Maybe there is still hope on the horizon.

 

[jpeden]

Shocked. And at least a little impressed. They do still respond to well-articulated letters. Good work! Maybe there is still hope on the horizon.

I did tell her the fact that he read it, asked them to research it, follow up, and the fact that I got a phone call within five hours of sending that email did blow me away and that I was very impressed. That MAY have restored a shred of faith in the company. On a side note, she said that she works in the Studios - I was unaware they had Guest Communications Operations in the Studios.

 

[JimmyV]

There's one thing you can say for sure about Disney. They absolutely understand that they can make 75% of all complaints go away by simply dispelling the notion that they are non-responsive and do not care. When people get immediate and personal attention to their complaints, a lot of those complaints evaporate not because the cause of the complaint has been corrected, but solely from the fact that the complaint was noted and responded to. In that area of customer relations, Disney is second to none.

 

[jpeden]

There's one thing you can say for sure about Disney. They absolutely understand that they can make 75% of all complaints go away by simply dispelling the notion that they are non-responsive and do not care. When people get immediate and personal attention to their complaints, a lot of those complaints evaporate not because the cause of the complaint has been corrected, but solely from the fact that the complaint was noted and responded to. In that area of customer relations, Disney is second to none.

Don't get me wrong - I still have serious concerns about the entire cutting to the bone of park operations, and I certainly let her know that. She said she's been there 34 years and trust me, this woman wasn't going off script. She gave enough to where I think the casual Disney fan would have been completely satisfied, but I think she also knew that it wasn't my first rodeo and there was only so much she could say or would say and that I had valid concerns. I do agree that for most people, that phone call would have dispelled any concern - those of us that have seen the decline in service over the years however know that much of it was just fluff to make you feel better about spending your money at Disney.

 

[jpeden]

Also forgot to add- the lady wanted me to know that Bob Iger is SO NICE and she hopes I have the chance to meet him one day - and she didn't know he pulled in almost $45 million last year.................

 

[rteetz]

Just got off the phone with the Disney rep. She let me know that George read the email, forwarded it to his EA, and the EA sent it to her specific team at Guest Relations (which handles all of the emails sent to George). According to her he reads every one of them, and frequently requests follow-up information. While she did address some of my concerns, a lot of was Disney-speak and towing the company line. She wouldn't flat out say some of these cuts are from Shanghai, but she did enough to imply that when there are overruns, sometimes cuts come from other areas. They were very concerned about the incident at the Polynesian, and knew a lot more information about what happened than I gave them (even that the day manager comped our incidentals to make up for the issues we had - which was way more than I expected her to do), so yes Disney fans, they know when you've been bad or good.

While she said a lot of nice things, I am still concerned about these cuts. She did say they've received a number of comments from concerned guests, so I do think it's being noticed organically more than people may realize. Only time will tell if anything will come from it. If you've got specific questions, I'm happy to try and answer them based on our conversation - it was a lot of talking about how great we as repeat guests are and how we're essential to their business so I figured I didn't need to re-type all the company hype.

Nice! I have heard that George reads all of his emails so this of course confirms that. As far as cuts I think an email should go to Bob Chapek (Head of the parks) or Tom Staggs (COO) maybe even Bob Iger.

 

[disneynutz]

People may not care for cuts and changes but money is what drives business decisions. If they don't see a negative in their pocket book, sadly they will continue to make cuts and changes.

Bill

 

[rteetz]

I did tell her the fact that he read it, asked them to research it, follow up, and the fact that I got a phone call within five hours of sending that email did blow me away and that I was very impressed. That MAY have restored a shred of faith in the company. On a side note, she said that she works in the Studios - I was unaware they had Guest Communications Operations in the Studios.

Yes they do have an operation there behind the launch bay.

 

[capegirl]

Pe

Also forgot to add- the lady wanted me to know that Bob Iger is SO NICE and she hopes I have the chance to meet him one day - and she didn't know he pulled in almost $45 million last year.................

I wish Mr. Iger was nice enough to re hire the 100 painters who just lost their jobs.
I commend you for taking the time to compose such a well worded letter; only a true Disney lover would care enough to take on this task. I have to say, that must have been a great phone call. Thank you for sharing your Disney moment.

 

[jpeden]

Nice! I have heard that George reads all of his emails so this of course confirms that. As far as cuts I think an email should go to Bob Chapek (Head of the parks) or Tom Staggs (COO) maybe even Bob Iger.

I did send my email to Staggs and Iger - didn't have Chapek's email address. She actually told me that George sees every email sent to the general wdw.communications email address as well - that any email that hits that box he automatically gets a copy of - and he reads every single one of them.

 

[ArwenMarie]

Pe
I wish Mr. Iger was nice enough to re hire the 100 painters who just lost their jobs.
I commend you for taking the time to compose such a well worded letter; only a true Disney lover would care enough to take on this task. I have to say, that must have been a great phone call. Thank you for sharing your Disney moment.

Agree. And the last thing WDW needs is less fresh paint

 

[jpeden]

I wish Mr. Iger was nice enough to re hire the 100 painters who just lost their jobs.
I commend you for taking the time to compose such a well worded letter; only a true Disney lover would care enough to take on this task. I have to say, that must have been a great phone call. Thank you for sharing your Disney moment.

Thank you for your nice words - I love Disney World. My wife and I go, and we have a blast, and it's our happy place. Once day, if we're lucky enough to have kids, I can't wait to take them and experience it through the eyes of my children. But like I told Joan in Guest Services, I want my children to have that same exact experience when they walk in the Magic Kingdom for the first time. And I want to be able to show them the same experience I've come to know and love - and I'm just afraid that it won't be there anymore.

 

[mom2rtk]

I did tell her the fact that he read it, asked them to research it, follow up, and the fact that I got a phone call within five hours of sending that email did blow me away and that I was very impressed. That MAY have restored a shred of faith in the company. On a side note, she said that she works in the Studios - I was unaware they had Guest Communications Operations in the Studios.

That's interesting. When I wrote in several years ago complaining about Belle not being available for meet & greet in the MK and at the Christmas party, the person who called and talked to me about it said she worked at DHS as well.

I hope it won't disappoint you to find out that nothing she had to offer me as a potential resolution ever happened.

I think as JimmyV said, they are quite adept at this piece of the operation. (the official "talk down").

 

[rteetz]

I did send my email to Staggs and Iger - didn't have Chapek's email address. She actually told me that George sees every email sent to the general wdw.communications email address as well - that any email that hits that box he automatically gets a copy of - and he reads every single one of them.

I'll be interested in a response from either of those two. Chapek's email address should be the same as the other guys as in his name @disney type thing

 

[jpeden]

That's interesting. When I wrote in several years ago complaining about Belle not being available for meet & greet in the MK and at the Christmas party, the person who called and talked to me about it said she worked at DHS as well.

I hope it won't disappoint you to find out that nothing she had to offer me as a potential resolution ever happened.

I think as JimmyV said, they are quite adept at this piece of the operation. (the official "talk down").

Don't worry - I've come to expect this from Disney. For a moment there I thought she was going to offer me a free trip back to WDW to make me trust them again - then I jumped back into reality.

 

[Angel Ariel]

I think those are all "Epcot as a whole" problems and not "World Showcase problems". Indeed, it can be argued that WS is the only thing keeping Epcot afloat. I think you place far too much blame on WS when that area is more of the cure than the cancer. I agree that World Showcase is a series of McCountries. Is it smaller than originally intended? Perhaps. But only by one or two pavilions. Is it less dynamic than it should be? Sure. The museum in Japan is the only truly dynamic area of the park. But is that lack of dynamics more fatal to Epcot's overall strategy than say, Ellen's Universe of Energy? (Look Ellen!! Solar Energy. The power of the future!!) I think not. Any lack of attendance growth can be tied directly to FW and not the fact that the pastries in France are not as precise as ones found in Dijon.

I would agree with this. I also don't think anyone has ever seen WS as anything more than "representative" of the countries.

 

[jpeden]

I'll be interested in a response from either of those two. Chapek's email address should be the same as the other guys as in his name @disney type thing

Found it! Email sent. If anyone else wants to send him an email, it's robert.chapek@disney.com

 

[PlutoTheDog89]

It looks like it wasn't George's assistant - the email I got was from Guest Services. He forwarded the email over to them. Regardless, I'll let you know what they say after I speak with her later this afternoon. Although, the part about the incident at the Poly was highlighted which I'm assuming he did or someone else, because I did not highlight it in my original email.

When I wrote them after our Christmas trip, they were very quick to respond and did a great job in dealing with our issues. They may have cut a lot of CMs, but they've got a good thing going in Guest Services.

 

[PlutoTheDog89]

I did tell her the fact that he read it, asked them to research it, follow up, and the fact that I got a phone call within five hours of sending that email did blow me away and that I was very impressed. That MAY have restored a shred of faith in the company. On a side note, she said that she works in the Studios - I was unaware they had Guest Communications Operations in the Studios.

Yeah - we got the same kind of call from the Studios, so I can confirm that. Sorry for the the quotes, reading this thread on my commute home (train)