given someone else's room@checkin???!!

[sjdisneywedding]

We had a similar situation our very first trip to OKW as owners. It was a bit different in that the person was supposed to have vacated. He obviously had not. The room had been cleaned, but the former occupants suitcases were opened on the made up bed, and the kitchen towel had been used and was sitting in a heap on the credenza by the door. We went back to the front desk to inform them, and they said he had assured them his stuff would be out by 11 AM. My guess is that he had his stuff in the room, and went back to "get something out" and left his things there. We were checking in at 4 PM, so there was no excuse for it, and HE was the one at fault, not the front desk. They did say they were charging him for an extra night, and they quickly gave us another madeup room.

FWIW, I have had this same thing happen at plenty of hotel establishments as well. Once we arrived rather late at a hotel. Got our keys and when we opened the door, there were clothes strewn all over the room, and someone was sleeping in the bed!!! You better believe we got ourselves out of there ASAP!! So you see, it seems to be a problem industry wide.

you are right on 2 points.

1--it is not only Disney, I stay all over the place it is just as common, if not more, in the other places

2-- it doesnt need to be only a font desk problem. There are many possibilities. Front desk, housekeeping, the former guest.

 

[GoofysGal33850]

I am not talking cleaned or not cleaned, thats pretty straight forward


the post said 'cleaned and vacant' or 'cleaned and occupied'

why in the world would housekeeping be informing the front desk if the room is vacant or occupied? who cares, whats the difference? the room should be in the system as closed or open according to check in/check out date

maybe I am missing the point, I get this matters on check out day and the front desk could send another party to a room where the previous guest hasnt left yet, but none of the cases here involve that. these all seen to be, as most of mine are, situations not involving a check out

so therefore I cant see how housekeeping is responsibe most of the time, I thin its the front desk in most instances
just checking

Yes, you are missing the point.

In the system, clean and vacant means it's ready for the next guest. Clean and occupied means just that... it's clean and a guest is still in that room.

It has absolutely NOTHING to do with check in or check out.

Most rooms are not preassigned, contrary to popular belief. When we would choose a room, we asked the computer to show us all clean and vacant rooms.... which means rooms available for the next guest. If housekeeping hit the wrong button and it came up clean and vacant on the 'rack', there is no way for the front desk to know housekeeping made an error until the guest showed back up saying it was occupied.

My point is this: guests really don't know what goes on behind the scenes or what is involved in just getting things ready for them. They need to quit screaming like idiots at the first person they have contact with and try to act decent. In all too many cases, manners are left at home and the person bearing the brunt of the ire had nothing to do with it. A lot of them think we aren't people too and because it's Disney, we 'have' to put up with their lack of couth. Most front desk CM's don't last a year in that position due to that very thing.

 

[snappy]

I agree, there is absolutely no excuse for screaming or acting in an uncouth manner.

When something does not meet expectations it should be brought to the front desk's attention but in a civilized way.

If everyone would put themselves in the CM's shoes for a moment, I think everyone would benefit.

I have seen some posts here about an incident where a CM were rude, you wonder how much grief that CM had already put up that day. It makes me sad to think it is so bad that front desk CM's don't last a full year. I wonder if it is as bad at non DVC WDW resorts, or if the problems stems from members who because they own a contract think they are entitled to perfection???

We are new members, but during our three trips on rented points, our experience with the front desk, etc. was flawless. I guess I need to be grateful.

 

[GoofysGal33850]

I agree, there is absolutely no excuse for screaming or acting in an uncouth manner.

When something does not meet expectations it should be brought to the front desk's attention but in a civilized way.

If everyone would put themselves in the CM's shoes for a moment, I think everyone would benefit.

I have seen some posts here about an incident where a CM were rude, you wonder how much grief that CM had already put up that day. It makes me sad to think it is so bad that front desk CM's don't last a full year. I wonder if it is as bad at non DVC WDW resorts, or if the problems stems from members who because they own a contract think they are entitled to perfection???

We are new members, but during our three trips on rented points, our experience with the front desk, etc. was flawless. I guess I need to be grateful.

It's universal, all resorts get 'less than magical' guests.

My supervisor at the resort told me that DVC members were the very worst guests to check in at the non-DVC resorts because of their superior attitudes. I sort of grinned and said 'I'm sure most of us don't mean to be like that'.... she didn't know I was a member. It really gave me another perspective.

I have heard people say that CM's aren't like they used to be. On the flip side, CM's say the guests aren't the way they used to be. I guess it depends on where you are standing at the time.

For the most part, I love my job. I work with great people at a great company and get to do something I enjoy.

 

[snappy]

I was very impressed with the front desk personnel, bell services, as well as the resort store folks on the September trip my mother and I took to Wilderness Lodge (we stayed in a courtyard view room, not a villa).

All the Cm's I encountered went above and beyond. The resort was pretty empty during the first 3 nights, I am sure tensions run higher when any resort is crazy busy.

When I wanted a particular mug in the window display that was not on the shelf, the CM searched in the back, and ended up selling me the one in the window (it was the last one and I absolutely had to have that one). They could not have been more accomodating, but I had a long conversation with her, and she had worked there for 10 years. She was very patient.

After that positive experience you can bet I'll be returning to the lodge, and bringing my mother back as well (she fell in love with the place too).

 

[sjdisneywedding]

Yes, you are missing the point.

In the system, clean and vacant means it's ready for the next guest. Clean and occupied means just that... it's clean and a guest is still in that room.

It has absolutely NOTHING to do with check in or check out.

Most rooms are not preassigned, contrary to popular belief. When we would choose a room, we asked the computer to show us all clean and vacant rooms.... which means rooms available for the next guest. If housekeeping hit the wrong button and it came up clean and vacant on the 'rack', there is no way for the front desk to know housekeeping made an error until the guest showed back up saying it was occupied.

My point is this: guests really don't know what goes on behind the scenes or what is involved in just getting things ready for them. They need to quit screaming like idiots at the first person they have contact with and try to act decent. In all too many cases, manners are left at home and the person bearing the brunt of the ire had nothing to do with it. A lot of them think we aren't people too and because it's Disney, we 'have' to put up with their lack of couth. Most front desk CM's don't last a year in that position due to that very thing.

I get your point, but your point has NOTHING to do with the majority of the situations in this post. a housekeeper would not hit clean and vacant on a room that was not being checked out of.

if everyone was saying, they put me in a room and the people hadnt checked out yet, then yes, you could blame THAT on housekeeping. Im sure that happens, but its not the majority or what I see

these situations are "they sent me to a room that someone else was in for THE WEEK or for the next few days". Or "someone walked into our room in the middle of our vacation". Or "we checked in and they were delivering someone else bags to our room". This has nothing to do with housekeeping!!!
Nothing at all, you could push a hundred thousand buttons and it would not make an ounce of difference

I do agree on the acting rudely and such. I would hope most handle themsleves appropriatley, especially since they are probably with their children. However, I do think people have the right ot be a little upset when strangers are walking into their room in the middle of their vacation

 

[tjkraz]

I get your point, but your point has NOTHING to do with the majority of the situations in this post. a housekeeper would not hit clean and vacant on a room that was not being checked out of.

Housekeeping has to log a room as being serviced whenever that service occurs. It could be a mid-week Trash & Towel service or even a full cleaning for a stay of more than 8 days. They should be tagging the room as having been serviced, yet is still occupied. Instead it's being tagged as serviced and vacant. It's a human error on the part of housekeeping.

One could argue that perhaps there should be some accommodation made for the scheduled check-out day of the guest. (i.e. some sort of error condition occurs if the room is tagged as vacant while the occupying guest still has days remaining on their stay.) But the system wasn't built that way so it's a moot point.

The front desk relies solely upon input from housekeeping to determine which rooms are ready for guests. If errors are made, that's when guests get sent to rooms that have not been cleaned or are still occupied.

 

[JCW]

I understand that housekeeping could easily make the mistake and hit the button for "cleaned and vacant" in error.

What I don't understand is why when the CM at the front desk searchs the system for a "cleaned and vacant" room, the system does not cross reference this with the check in/check out dates for that room.

i.e. I check in on Sunday and will be checking out on Friday in room 123. On Tuesday housekeeping clicks on "cleaned and vacant" by accident. Then the front desk CM does their search for available rooms and up pops room 123. Wouldn't it make sense for the system to throw up a flag that says room 123 was already assigned to another guest until Friday, are you sure you want to assign this room? This would allow the front desk CM to uncover housekeeping made a mistake and not assign this room to another guest.

Sorry, but I find it puzzling to believe that housekeeping has the sole ownership on this one. Just my two cents.

 

[Sammie]

I have seen some posts here about an incident where a CM were rude, you wonder how much grief that CM had already put up that day. It makes me sad to think it is so bad that front desk CM's don't last a full year. I wonder if it is as bad at non DVC WDW resorts, or if the problems stems from members who because they own a contract think they are entitled to perfection???

CM turnover is higher at the DVC resorts. But part of the problem lies with DVC upper management, are you listening Mr. Lewis, and the problems with housekeeping, room requests, maintenance issues that make for upset DVC members which in turn make for very stressed CMs working at DVC resorts having to deal with upset members.

Some of these issues could be dealt with and members would be happier and CMs would be happier due to that.

But management is no longer listening to it's membership, they are full speed ahead with sales and new projects.

 

[sjdisneywedding]

I understand that housekeeping could easily make the mistake and hit the button for "cleaned and vacant" in error.

What I don't understand is why when the CM at the front desk searchs the system for a "cleaned and vacant" room, the system does not cross reference this with the check in/check out dates for that room.

i.e. I check in on Sunday and will be checking out on Friday in room 123. On Tuesday housekeeping clicks on "cleaned and vacant" by accident. Then the front desk CM does their search for available rooms and up pops room 123. Wouldn't it make sense for the system to throw up a flag that says room 123 was already assigned to another guest until Friday, are you sure you want to assign this room? This would allow the front desk CM to uncover housekeeping made a mistake and not assign this room to another guest.

Sorry, but I find it puzzling to believe that housekeeping has the sole ownership on this one. Just my two cents.

exactly, theres no way the system would not know know. cleaned and vacant is one thing, but available for check in on such and such a day is another altogether

the system knows room 1000 is occupied until wed and nothing will change that barring a manual entry into the system changingthe check out date. you can hit a button, ring a bell, drink a beer, spin on your head, fly across the room, or grow a tail, none of it matters.

even by some out of this world chance it did, it would not even explain the incidences posted here. these instances described here dont coincide with any housekeeping activites

Im sure housekeeping has its effects on this problem as described by others. Its a strange process, but I really dont think thats the major issue contributing to this problem

 

[sjdisneywedding]

One could argue that perhaps there should be some accommodation made for the scheduled check-out day of the guest. (i.e. some sort of error condition occurs if the room is tagged as vacant while the occupying guest still has days remaining on their stay.) But the system wasn't built that way so it's a moot point.

.

I see where you are coming from, but

doesnt seem possible to me that this is not in place in the system. there has to be a second database being used or at a minimum this is additional flagged info in the main db.

so if housekeeping hit cleaned and vacant on a trash day the main original ressie is in essence being cancelled? that just cant be, the ressie should still exist in that room for the original length of time.

then is this telling MS that there is occupancy for a room because someone checked out early? that cant be either I wouldnt think

this just cant be, WDW or any anyone else for that matter, would never allow housekeeping to have such a influence on the overall system with the push of a button

its gotta be more of an additional info type thing where the front desk gets a list of check out rooms for the day, then those are the ones getting flagged as vacant or occupied

 

[tjkraz]

doesnt seem possible to me that this is not in place in the system. there has to be a second database being used or at a minimum this is additional flagged info in the main db.

so if housekeeping hit cleaned and vacant on a trash day the main original ressie is in essence being cancelled? that just cant be, the ressie should still exist in that room for the original length of time.

then is this telling MS that there is occupancy for a room because someone checked out early? that cant be either I wouldnt think

It's my understanding that the checks you describe only occur upon arrival. When you step up to the front desk, the cash / points price of a reservation is due and payable at that time. It's not like the dollars or points continue to accumulate as the trip progresses. The points are effectively removed from your account when the reservation is secured (unless a timely cancellation occurs), and the credit card is charged cash rates upon arrival.

I see what you're saying in that tighter integration would seem to be called for, but I've yet to see any evidence to support the existence of such checks and balances.

When mistakes do occur, most would seem to work themselves out. The guests who the computer believes have departed have no intention of leaving. Therefore you end up with these "new guest walks into occupied room" situations, and the front desk gets involved to fix the problem. There's the potential for embarassment and outrage from the guests involved, but little financial exposure to Disney. That's probably why the system hasn't been re-written to truly solve the problem.

 

[sjdisneywedding]

It's my understanding that the checks you describe only occur upon arrival. When you step up to the front desk, the cash / points price of a reservation is due and payable at that time. It's not like the dollars or points continue to accumulate as the trip progresses. The points are effectively removed from your account when the reservation is secured (unless a timely cancellation occurs), and the credit card is charged cash rates upon arrival.

I see what you're saying in that tighter integration would seem to be called for, but I've yet to see any evidence to support the existence of such checks and balances.

When mistakes do occur, most would seem to work themselves out. The guests who the computer believes have departed have no intention of leaving. Therefore you end up with these "new guest walks into occupied room" situations, and the front desk gets involved to fix the problem. There's the potential for embarassment and outrage from the guests involved, but little financial exposure to Disney. That's probably why the system hasn't been re-written to truly solve the problem.

pretty interesting stuff, maybe someday we can revisit if anyone can come across some additional info

 

[Goofy&Sleepy]

The room did look like it had been cleaned ---this was around 3:00 in the afternoon .

Thanks for the info...I will ALWAYS use the security latches from now on....in this case, the person wasn't in the room so it didn't really matter.

lesson learned

 

[childsplay]

Happened to us at the BWV several yeras ago, walked into the room and there is all this stuff lying aorund the villa, I didn't get more than three steps into it before I realized what had happened and went back down to the desk. No one was in the room at the time, but I'm sure it could have gotten awkward in a hurry if they had.

 

[Inkmahm]

I have NOT had this happen to me at a Disney location but I have had it happen to me at other hotels. I got a free night stay for one of the instances when I sent a written complaint.

 

[Maistre Gracey]

My point is this: guests really don't know what goes on behind the scenes or what is involved in just getting things ready for them. They need to quit screaming like idiots at the first person they have contact with and try to act decent. In all too many cases, manners are left at home and the person bearing the brunt of the ire had nothing to do with it. A lot of them think we aren't people too and because it's Disney, we 'have' to put up with their lack of couth. Most front desk CM's don't last a year in that position due to that very thing.

Wow. I'm truly disappointed to hear that most CMs think so little of the people who pay their salaries.

Don't get me wrong, I have never been rude to a CM, and disagree with any guest who is. I have actually gone in the opposite direction, and have bought several off duty CMs drinks at Downtown Disney and other places to show my appreciation.

That said, when there is a problem, who else do you turn to other than a front desk CM? I'm sorry if you're caught in the line of fire, but that's what you are getting paid to do.
Anyone here that works in a customer service role should understands this... It's nothing personal. If a customer service person gets that agitated because a customer complains, and even acts like an idiot, than perhaps they should look for a new line of work.

Again, to empasize, there is a difference between a customer showing firm displeasure, and a customer being rude. One is acceptable, and one is not.
However, IMO, a CM should *NEVER* say a customer is "screaming like an idiot". That just doesn't sit well with me, even if the customer was indeed screaming like an idiot.

Sorry to sidetrack things.. Just felt the need to add my thoughts..
Of course, this is all just my opinion..

MG

 

[jarestel]

Indeed, the very definition of customer service is resolving guest issues in a manner satisfactory to all involved. If a front desk CM is going to take the attitude that "it's not my fault your room isn't clean (or empty) so you can go suck eggs", then that CM, sorry to say, would be better suited to another position where interaction with the public isn't an integral part of the job.

Having dealt with the public in various capacities before, I've found that most folks calm down immediately if they get the impression that someone cares about helping them to resolve the issue. It's not rocket science, just treating people the way you would want to be treated if you were in their place.

 

[graygables]

Having dealt with the public in various capacities before, I've found that most folks calm down immediately if they get the impression that someone cares about helping them to resolve the issue. It's not rocket science, just treating people the way you would want to be treated if you were in their place.

Ohhhhh, no, no, no, no...not at WDW! By gum and by golly those people have paid THOUSANDS more than anyone else and deserve to be treated like the rock stars they are. My oldest DD is a CM at the resort call center, y'know, you pick up the phone and dial "0" and *think* you're talking to someone down at the front desk, but you really aren't. You would not believe some of the stuff she has to put up with. AND, my 19yo recently finished up her CP at DTD and the stories she could tell about guests THROWING things at her or spitting on her were unbelievable. For some reason, unbeknownst to me, WDW voids manners for many people, I guess if you fork over X amount of dollars, you are allowed to be a donkey's behind.

Also remember, that a LOT of the CMs you encounter are college kids on the college program and they may have only had a few days training before being thrown to the lions, so their "customer service" skills might not be up to par yet. The garbage they put up with for minimum wage...unbeeeeelievable.

 

[Chuck S]

This thread is going waaaaaaay of topic from room assignment to an occupied room. It need to ge back on topic, or it will be closed.