Halfway through trip and SO disappointed...UPDATE: Post #60

[toocherie]

I also agree that the OP should get points back and/or monetary compensation for the inconvenience.

I had booked two studios at SSR last November and one was supposed to be HA. Well, it's a long story, but essentially the main closet in an SSR HA studio is inaccessible to someone in a wheelchair or on a walker. We had the same issue the prior year and I had been assured by MS that there WERE studios that would accommodate my Mom.

We were moved (again) to a 2-bedroom dedicated HA unit (which was not what I booked or wanted--I wanted a SEPARATE unit). To top it off, because it was a dedicated 2-bedroom the second bedroom had no Internet access. I need it because I am a sole entrepreneur and need it for business. But the internet was in the handicapped bedroom she needed. It was VERY inconvenient. I had a client emergency and ended up having to take her room over a couple of days because even though I went and bought an expensive router (I know nothing about tech stuff) it couldn't accommodate the large docs I was working with--and when I called Disney IT their solution was that we were not supposed to use routers. So the dedicated versus Lock-Off issue would be big for me.

 

[SLM]

I'm sorry you have all this aggravation-I remember how excited you were when you booked this trip. I hope this all gets resolved to your satisfaction. We love AKV and hope this experience doesn't spoil the resort for you.

 

[ldo]

Here are some things that I have heard have been done in the past for room issues---they can give you back the points that you used for that night, they can give everyone in the party comp 1 day admission to 1 park---you don't need them now, but they don't expire for 20 years and anyone in your party can use them, they can issue instant fastpasses. They are really packed and a few oops as happening---DB and DSIL and kids had a value room on my points last week. I went early to front desk and asked for SV Value, if possible. DB got SV in Kidani---despite having Jambo Value category. I did not know until day 3. Worked out great--but weird.

 

[kristenrice]

OK, so here's what happened.....

I called Member Services who forwarded me to a manager (Heather) at Member Satisfaction. She listened to the details of the events and I told her how inconvenienced we were and how we were now "homeless" at our "home". She apologized, but also said that there is nothing she can do on her end (DVC Member Services). Obviously she was not interested in refunding my points. She asked me if I'd talked to the manager at AKV and I told her that I'd tried, but the CM "took care of it" for me.

So, she puts me on hold for about 30 seconds and comes back on, telling me that we are now conferencing with Andie, the on-duty manager at AKV. Once again, I explained how we are now without a room, in the middle of our vacation, because of their mistake. Andie was SO sweet. She explained that they "thought" they were doing us a favor by giving us a dedicated room since we were travelling with young children. I could tell by the tone in her voice that she was genuinely embarrassed by their incorrect assumption and she apologized profusely for all of the trouble it caused. She also wanted to know who the CM was that "took care of my problem" when I had gone down and asked for a manager. She said that she wanted to let the CM's know what they can and cannot do and that the CM should have recognized that the manager could have remedied the situation a lot faster, had she actually spoken to one.

The happy ending? Andie applied a $200 credit to our room to use for the next two days that we are here. On top of that, we are in a wonderful lock-off 2BR. Ok, the view is not all that intriguing (it's the front entrance) but we expected that from the beginning when we booked standard view.

We also had a little "extra" pixie dust today....

We went to FW to do the pony rides, only to find out that DD6 is 1" too tall, which resulted in a major meltdown. The CM let her groom the pony that DD4 was going to ride and that seemed to appease her a bit. We decided to take a spin on the SeaRaycer boats. Knowing that we got a 15% discount with our AP's, we opted for the 45 minute ride. The CM at the marina said he'd give us 45 minutes for the 30 minute price...with our discount. So, we had a ball on the boats out on the lagoon and Bay Lake.

After the boats, we were starving so we thought we'd head back to our (now ready) room for some lunch. When we walked past Trail's End, DH said that since there appeared to be no line, we should try to eat there. He's never been there so I told him it was a TS meal and we might have to wait without an ADR....NOPE!! They seated us immediately, and it was 12:30pm. We were one of less than a dozen parties in the restaurant.

We got back to the AKV and "checked in" again. They gave us our new room keys and we were now able to use our $200 credit. My dad wanted to eat at WCC for breakfast tomorrow since he enjoyed it so much in 2001. I told him "yeah, right"....a breakfast ADR for 6 people....tomorrow. I called, having no faith at all, but we were able to get a 9am ADR.

We're going to enjoy a little room service tonight and maybe a few more Grey Goose slushies at Epcot tomorrow. DH tried one and loved it so much, he went back....for TWO more. I might convert him yet!

Thank you all for your encouragement and kind words. Gotta' go...the kids are begging to go swimming!

 

[Brave teacher]

I'm glad to hear that everything seems to have worked for you. Have a wonderful time for the rest of your trip!

 

[Chuck S]

I'm glad everything worked out for you. I've heard of those slushies...where in Epcot do you get them? They sound wonderful.

 

[robinb]

I'm glad that everything worked out for you! Enjoy breakfast in the morning .

 

[Tara]

I'm glad it all worked out and they recognized the inconvenience they'd caused you. Enjoy the rest of your trip!

 

[LocustPoint]

I'm glad everything worked out for you. I've heard of those slushies...where in Epcot do you get them? They sound wonderful.

Kiosk in France. Yummy

OP-Glad everything worked out for you and your family. Enjoy the rest of your vacation.

 

[cogero]

OP so happy things worked out and you received some pixie dust

 

[jekjones1558]

Sounds like you have turned the corner and pixie dust reigns. Have fun spending the $200 credit. You earned every penny!!

 

[briarwolf]

Wow talk about reversal of fortune. Not only did they give you the $200 credit, but with everything else that is happening now it sounds like Tinkerbell herself must have gotten involved! I hope the rest of your trip is magical!

 

[ToddyLu]

OT: Obviously Grey Goose is in the slushy but what else is in there to make it a slushy?? I am a Vodka girl.

 

[Sammie]

Definitely if you are still on your trip, also talk to the on duty manager at the resort, in person. They are the only person who can fix things. You might have to be persistent to get past the front desk CM but it can be done.

Once you leave, then Member Satisfaction is the person to call, as they stated they truly can not do anything at the resort.

Glad they were able to make it better for you.

 

[n2mm]

Glad it all worked out for you. Enjoy your trip and hopefully you're not reading the boards now and have a grand time!

 

[kid-at-heart]

Thanks for keeping us updated. I, too, am one of those who hesitates to "make a fuss". I never know who to talk with and how to state my concerns. I really appreciate all the posts explaining to whom and how to complain without sounding like a witch.

 

[Checkers]

Love a story with a happy ending! So glad it worked out for you and hope that you have a wonderful vacation. I am salivating over those grey goose slushies (one month from today)!!

 

[dianeschlicht]

Seems like "all's well that ends well", and you had some good things come out of it after all. Enjoy the rest of your trip!

 

[rwcmath]

I'm happy for you!

 

[kristenrice]

Now that we are home and unpacked (after an ungodly drive from Orlando to Grand Rapids), I was able to sit down and compose the following letter to Member Services.

Dear DVC,

I want to alert you to an issue that we had on our recent stay at AKV-Kidani. After a wonderful 2-night stay in studios at Jambo House (April 4-6), we were looking forward to the next three nights (April 6-9) in a 2BR lock-off at AKV-Kidani. Due to the composition of our travelling party, we specifically requested a lock-off so that my parents would have both their own internet access and some privacy. When I made the reservation, I was told that the lock-off was not a request, but rather a guaranteed booking category.
We checked in to our 2BR at around 9am and it was not ready, as expected. We proceeded to the parks and had a wonderful time at Epcot. My parents returned to the room (once it was ready) and immediately called me wondering why their room had 2 beds and no private entrance. I told them that we were obviously given the wrong room and I would address it upon our return to the resort. Unfortunately, by the time we arrived back (approximately 9pm), I was told that I had booked a dedicated 2BR and so that is what I was assigned. I showed them my confirmation, clearly showing that I had booked a guaranteed lock-off, but they said that there were no lock-offs available. They offered to move us the next day, but we would need to check out and check in(again), thus displacing us from a room for up to 5 hours on our non-park day.
The next morning, I asked to speak to a manager, but the cast member at the front desk opted to "handle it" herself by telling me the same thing...there was nothing they could do to speed up the process. She said she would put a rush on the cleaning of the room, but the start time would depend on when the current occupants vacated the room.
At this point, I called DVC Member Services and spoke to Heather. She was WONDERFUL!!! She called the on-duty manager at AKV-Kidani (Andie) and we were given a $200 credit for the inconvenience.

Although the credit was appreciated, I am more concerned about the fact that we were NOT given the room that we reserved. I understand that requests are not guaranteed, but in our circumstance, it was NOT a request, but rather a guaranteed room category.

I know that once a reservation is made by Member Services that it is the job of the resort to assign the particular rooms. I wanted to alert you to what happened to our vacation so that you are aware of it and can look into preventing it from happening in the future.

I would ask that you consider refunding the 46 points (from my 2010 Use Year) that were applied to the night that we were assigned to the room that we did not reserve.

Thank you so much for your continued dedication to customer service and please pass on my gratitude to Heather for her intervention with the AKV-Kidani staff.

Sincerely,
Kristen Rice

Thoughts? Criticism? Am I out of line for asking for my points back since they gave me the $200 room credit? We had a great trip, but my mom kept saying "never again" would she even consider switching rooms. Although my parents were thankful that we treated them to their lodging, I could tell that they were very frustrated and upset with the extra move. They knew that we'd have to move once (thanks to the point reallocation), but twice was just too much hassle and it really put a damper on the trip.