Horrendous resort experiences & compensation?

[LSchrow]

worst was poly, the saturday after 9/11.
new (& incredibly unmagical) cm at front desk. she kept insisting we owed additional monies. after 45+ minutes, my niceness level was wearing thin, so i asked for a manager. manager comes out, huffing & puffing, & rolling eyes at us, but fixes it (no, we didn't owe more).
cm is clearly angry, won't talk, just writes number down & flips the room card across the counter.
get to room, & it smells dank, but this is floida & humid, so we accept it. open drapes to a large, filled dumpster on our patio (btw, we obviously didn't get our one & only request of "not bottom floor").
at this point, we were exhausted, & figured we would just deal with it. i go to lay down b/c i was feeling woozey. DD grabs me, & says, "mom! you're wheezing really bad!!" (i've asthma, but never hear the sound), & sure enough, i check a mirror & my lips are getting the worrisome blue tone.
turn on all the available lights (y'know how dark the poly is), & suddenly we all notice the black mold literally covering the ar vents, thick patches of it on the walls & ceiling.
call the FD....took multiple calls & finally resorting to yelling, but they finally moved us.
some "suits" passed us as we left the room, one of them said, very angry & upset, "did those guests just come out of room #00???!! NO ONE was supposed to go in that room without (xxx)!!!" (he realized we heard him, so lowered his voice, but we assume it was masks/protection, etc).

bellservices was great (helped us carry the bags to our new room on the 2nd floor b/c the elevator was broken).

and our compensation:
a free coffeemaker for the length of our stay
lol

 

[mickeyway]

Had a bad experience at the All Star Sports a few years ago.
We were woken up in the middle of the night, by loud yelling and when we looked out the window we saw around 6-7 young adults fighting in the pool area. They were cursing and yelling and fist fighting. We called the front desk and they told us they were aware of the problem. The fighting continued and got worse. One girl was naked and another was throwing a chair. All I kept thinking was aren't we at Disney? How is this happening? My daughter woke up and got nervous as the fighting was now very loud. We called the front desk again and we were told they can not break it up without being put in danger so outside help was called. There was now a bloody naked girl screaming on top of her lungs and a guy who was being held back by his friends. About a half hour passed when heavily armed police arrived and surrounded the area. Again we are at Disney supposed to be happy, fun ,star dust, and smiles,, not guns and blood and naked people. We packed our bags and left under the protection of one of the guards. The manager was running behind us saying "come in we will talk and fix this." but it was too late, my daughter was freaked and so was I. When we got home Disney called us and we were refunded fully for our resort. We never went back to that resort again. Now we stay at the WL seems much calmer.

 

[bluwater]

Thinking everything would then calm down, we went back to sleep. About 45 minutes later, we awoke to the same thing AGAIN! I called back down to report they were back at it and to confirm it WAS indeed coming from the room we first reported, otherwise it would not sound like they were coming through my wall when they were throwing each other around...I asked them to PLEASE do something about this situation, of course, no one in our room could sleep and we had a 2 year old with us who was beyond terrified each time he heard it. Can you believe that security did not respond this time???

Your story and my story sound frighteningly similar!

Maybe the strategy for these situations is to call the desk and say "just letting you know that my 6'4 husband is about to go next door and open a can of "whoop azz" on these people, so unless you want an all out Disney brawl in the hallway, you'd better come now - my kids are putting their sneakers on in case there are any kids next door that want to jump in!"

I bet they'll come...or maybe not.

 

[mickeyway]

HAHA sounds like aplan!

 

[shyjade]

Your story and my story sound frighteningly similar!

Maybe the strategy for these situations is to call the desk and say "just letting you know that my 6'4 husband is about to go next door and open a can of "whoop azz" on these people, so unless you want an all out Disney brawl in the hallway, you'd better come now - my kids are putting their sneakers on in case there are any kids next door that want to jump in!"

I bet they'll come...or maybe not.

LOL, too funny!!

IF that would happen to us on our upcoming trip, I'm not worried. My mom might be a slim-built 56 year old woman, but mess with her sleep, and she'll open a can of "whoop azz" like anyone's business! (and no, I'm not kidding, just ask her drunken, drug-using partying-all-night next door neighbors!)

 

[mkycrzy1971]

Your story and my story sound frighteningly similar!

Maybe the strategy for these situations is to call the desk and say "just letting you know that my 6'4 husband is about to go next door and open a can of "whoop azz" on these people, so unless you want an all out Disney brawl in the hallway, you'd better come now - my kids are putting their sneakers on in case there are any kids next door that want to jump in!"

I bet they'll come...or maybe not.

Trust me, my husband (6'2") has knocked on neighbors doors before (although not at Disney..this was our first and only issue at WDW) to asked them to quiet down...it IS kind of intimidating to most people with him being such a large person and it normally works. However, as I said earlier, this was so intense I feared IF they had a weapon they might just use it. If they flew, most likely they did not...but if they drove they could have (my husband always carries a weapon for protection when we drive). I guess in today's world you never know what (or who) you are going to run into, even at WDW....so scary! Had it just been me and my husband we probably would have marched up to the front desk and told them we feared for our safety just to get away from it....but with 3 frightened, screaming kids I was kind of afraid to go outside because they kept opening and closing their exit door...our middle daughter freezes up when she is faced with danger and I knew we could not carry her if she met them opening their door as we came out of ours (our doors faced each other)....at the time, I felt our room was the safest place. I just hope we never have an experience anywhere near similar to this one again...ANYWHERE!

 

[thomas998]

Trust me, my husband (6'2") has knocked on neighbors doors before (although not at Disney..this was our first and only issue at WDW) to asked them to quiet down...it IS kind of intimidating to most people with him being such a large person and it normally works. However, as I said earlier, this was so intense I feared IF they had a weapon they might just use it. If they flew, most likely they did not...but if they drove they could have (my husband always carries a weapon for protection when we drive). I guess in today's world you never know what (or who) you are going to run into, even at WDW....so scary! Had it just been me and my husband we probably would have marched up to the front desk and told them we feared for our safety just to get away from it....but with 3 frightened, screaming kids I was kind of afraid to go outside because they kept opening and closing their exit door...our middle daughter freezes up when she is faced with danger and I knew we could not carry her if she met them opening their door as we came out of ours (our doors faced each other)....at the time, I felt our room was the safest place. I just hope we never have an experience anywhere near similar to this one again...ANYWHERE!

Trying to use intimidation is not a very smart plan of action. Some people are well armed, some people enjoy a good fight... and no matter how tough you think you are, there is always someone else who is tougher meaner and quicker to pull the trigger than you are. Would you rather read about the manager at a Disney resort being blown-away by a noisy guest or read about your husband being blown-away.

I have friends that never open a door to anyone unless they have a gun in one hand... a little paranoid? yes... but its the way they are... and don't assume guests don't have guns because they flew on a plane. I have flow to places before and taken a gun with me... its not that much of a hassle taking it you just have to make sure its tagged and bagged properly.

 

[thomas998]

Nice. I'm sure that was magical for her. Don't worry, she probably understood you even if she didn't speak English.



I think your comparisons are a bit dramatic, unless you actually were on your death bed while on vacation at Disney. Apparently you weren't.

You missed the point... every hour that is wasted now or anytime in the future is one hour you will never get back... That time is gone... simply because you lost the time years before you died doesn't change the fact that you lost the time, it is the same as meeting your maker sooner than later.... in fact losing it before you're on your death bed is probably much worse since you could still enjoy the time now.

 

[acourtwdw]

A couple of years ago, we were staying at SSR with my brother and then 14 year old nephew. I open the drawer of the nightstand and found a "battery operated boyfriend". Then we pulled back the sheets on the bed and they had not been changed only re made. The sheets for the pull out were stuffed into the closet. One call and 30 mintues later (at midnight) mousekeeping was there.

 

[dawz1026]

After a horrific stay last year at Port Orleans Riverside, we contacted guest communications. In the short term solution, we moved directly to Coronado Springs.

We received additional compensation after we returned home.

We were thinking of staying here our next trip.Could you explain further on your stay..

 

[mickeyluv'r]

I've posted this story before, but last spring we had a bad check-in and more at WL.

The first CM at check-in had no personality. She said our room wasn't ready, at around 12:30pm. Okay. She gave us KttK cards, and told us to call in an hour. I thought it was odd she didn't mention the DDP, but I've used it before. I thought maybe she saw this on the computer.

Luckily we didn't go to a park, we got a snack at WL's Roaring Forks. The CM there was very nice, but declined my card. She said no DDP, I'd have to pay and get a refund from front desk.

The next CM was a manager, I think. She was very nice, but didn't fix the problem! She also couldn't refund the money. To get a refund, I had to go stand in line at the concierge desk. That seemed odd, since the two cm's had to talk to each other anyhow. Luckily line was short. Concierge CM refunded my credit card.

The manager CM said it was odd we were asked to wait for a room because there were plenty of rooms ready. Unasked, she upgraded our room view. The room was nice but it was at the VERY end of two VERY long hallways. My only request had been a room near the lobby, due to mobility issues of a family member. The family member in question didn't want to go through the process of changing rooms once we had one, especially as the CM had been nice enough to give us an upgraded view. Once a rental scooter arrived the next am, it wasn't too much of an issue.

Went to dinner that night (still no park). The CM waiter was kind of rude. WE sat down, he asked if we were DDP, we said yes. (Don't they already ask when you make ADR?) When we ordered our entrees, he demended to know our dessert order. My parents asked if we could wait until later in the meal, and he relented reluctantly.

One entree was wrong, and of course getting dessert took forever, largely because he didn't come to take our order. The food was delicious, and the corrected meal had extra food. Luckily we weren't headed to a park that night either. The meal took a while AND....

We go to pay, and the waiter tells us there is no DDP on our cards. He was not nice when I told him it was supposed to be there. It was embarrassing, and he didn't offer any suggestions for how to fix it or anything.

At one point, I tried to give him a second card (just in case the problem was with the individual card). I don't know what happened, but next thing I can't find the second card. Eventually, I found that it had fallen somehow below the table. But it the meantime, I asked him if he had left it or maybe it had dropped. He denied it, and strongly said he had not lost our card. He was correct, because the card must have fallen out somehow, but how he responded was kind of odd. I found the card as I was getting up to leave. I let him know. After that, he became oddly very nice. He apologized for the meal going wrong. I apologized for thinking he had lost the card (even though I only asked if he had lost it.) Maybe he thought we were trying to scam the system.

So back to the front desk I go. It took the CM a while to figure out how to finally fix the problem. Eventually, she issued me new room keys, but AGAIN I had to wait in the concierge line to get the cc refunded for the meal. Again, the two CM's had to communicate with each other anyhow. (first CM couldn't help another customer while I waited anyhow.)

So finally we got our cards fixed. It ended up that CM refunded CC, but left the dining credits on our account for us to use, so we were able to upgrade to a TS meal on our last morning instead of the QS one we had planned. Luckily we were able to get a last minute ADR at WCC to use them.

 

[mickeyluv'r]

The second worst problem we ever had was at the Swan once. We bought our tickets at the concierge desk. We bought five day tickets, but on day two, we couldn't get into Epcot. We arrived just after 9am, to take advantage of early moring crowds. It was Easter week.

There was only one CM working at the IG ticket booth and he was the worst CM I've ever encountered. There were only a few people in front of us, but it took us well over an hour in line before he served us. He was clueless. He had no idea how to go about fixing the tickets. (They clearly said five day, and he was able to see they hadn't been used, he just had no idea how to fix them.)


This was before MYW. Our tickets were not hoppers. Our compensation was getting hopper tickets. By the time we entered the park it was 11:30 and the place was packed! So it wasn't just that we had lost time, we had lost out on the low morning crowds. It largely ruined our plan for the whole day.

Later I politely told to the front desk at the Swan, and they gave us a free meal anywhere in the Swan or Dolphin, except Shula's. That was when all the original places were still there, so we picked the sushi place.

 

[FireDancer]

I was living in Florida from June 2003 until June 2005 and was an AP holder. For mother’s day in 2005 I flew my mom down and we did a long weekend at POR. She landed in St. Pete/Clearwater and we drove out late on the Thursday night. We met some of my friends in City Walk and didn’t get to POR until just after midnight. When we got into our room it was obvious that after it was cleaned from the previous guests someone had used the room. The bed was obviously used, there was a banana peel in the garbage can and there toilet wasn’t flushed.

I would have just slept there anyway and dealt with it the next day but my mom wanted the bed changed. I called the front desk and they said that the head of maintenance would be coming to the room. He arrived and was not a very cheery person. He advised us that the housekeeping staff had gone for the day and the best he could do was get us sheets and we could change the bed ourselves. He came back with the sheets and then (Very Reluctantly) helped me put them on the bed.

It took about 3 or 4 times of going back and forth the get this all accomplished and it was about 2am when we got to bed.

That night I called the front desk just to let them know what happened and gave them a play by play. The next day I went down to the front desk and gave them my room number and let them know again of the situation. I wasn’t really upset because I know these things happen but as I told them, it was not a very Disney like experience. They refunded the cost of the night and I was happy.

I have found that if you calmly address the situation and don’t get accusative or aggressive you will get satisfaction.

 

[proteus]

Booked Coronado a year ahead of time. Arrived and they said it was full. I wasn't happy, desk person went back in and announced we were being upgraded to AKL! Sadly, it took me a few minutes to get over the initial reaction so my appreciation didn't show. AKL turned out to be the best resort I have ever stayed at and 2 months later that summer I returned (and they upgraded me to Savannah view in that visit!). So all is well.

 

[perla75]

A couple of years ago, we were staying at SSR with my brother and then 14 year old nephew. I open the drawer of the nightstand and found a "battery operated boyfriend". Then we pulled back the sheets on the bed and they had not been changed only re made. The sheets for the pull out were stuffed into the closet. One call and 30 mintues later (at midnight) mousekeeping was there.

OMG, that's so gross!!!

 

[bluwater]

Trying to use intimidation is not a very smart plan of action. .

What she was saying was that he is naturally intimidating - not that he is "trying" to intimidate.

I don't think it's ok to only open your door if you have a gun in your hand. That's a dangerous paranoia that is likely to lead to a senseless injury or death - probably for an innocent person. I don't know what gets people to that point in their lives....or what kind of experiences make people think that way....but that must be a prison of one's own mind.

 

[mkycrzy1971]

Trying to use intimidation is not a very smart plan of action. Some people are well armed, some people enjoy a good fight... and no matter how tough you think you are, there is always someone else who is tougher meaner and quicker to pull the trigger than you are. Would you rather read about the manager at a Disney resort being blown-away by a noisy guest or read about your husband being blown-away.

I have friends that never open a door to anyone unless they have a gun in one hand... a little paranoid? yes... but its the way they are... and don't assume guests don't have guns because they flew on a plane. I have flow to places before and taken a gun with me... its not that much of a hassle taking it you just have to make sure its tagged and bagged properly.

Okay...intimidation is probably NOT the best word for me to have used, I guess...and I know all about people who enjoy a good fight. I never said anything about "thinking how tough you are", that was not the point at all....the point is that when some people are politely confronted and told they are disturbing others they normally settle down; However, we were well aware of the fact this was not one of those type situations. As far as not assuming guest have a gun because they flew...what I said was this..."If they flew, most likely they did not"...I, of all people, know very well that you CAN take a gun aboard an airplane...my husband has done it many times for various reasons (hunting/fishing trips, etc.) but not normally for a WDW trip...that is why I used the key words "most likely did not". I am sorry that you misunderstood my posting...I should have been more clear and chosen better wording. Also, I feel it was very inappropriate to ask the question you asked..."Would you rather read about the manager at a Disney resort being blown-away by a noisy guest or read about your husband being blown-away." Really...where in the world did that come from?

 

[mkycrzy1971]

What she was saying was that he is naturally intimidating - not that he is "trying" to intimidate.

I don't think it's ok to only open your door if you have a gun in your hand. That's a dangerous paranoia that is likely to lead to a senseless injury or death - probably for an innocent person. I don't know what gets people to that point in their lives....or what kind of experiences make people think that way....but that must be a prison of one's own mind.

Exactly...thank you for choosing more appropriate wording for me

 

[melancholywings]

Some of these stories are so horrible. Both of our Disneyland trips had horrible experiences, the last was a very rude shop cast member. We got his lead involved and went so far as to take the time out to fill out the complaint form on the spot. We never heard back from Disney on it. We didn't expect freebies just a 'thank you for filling out the form, we will review it' letter.
The lack of caring has made me hesitant to take our next disney trip.

 

[Cdnmommy]

That's great! I know that so many times people write to complain, but not to compliment. I always try to write or let managers know about great service (I'm not that good to say I always do ). I'm not a high-maintenance guest, but I do like to get what I pay for, and will complain if I don't. Better than stewing in it!

That's great that you wrote to let them know how pleased you were. So few people actually do that. Having worked in customer service positions for many years I almost always take the time now to ask for a manager when I have great service as those people should be acknowledged for their efforts.

Although, clearly it's not often that managers get requested for this type of thing as when I ask to speak to one, the poor employee gets this look of dread on their face....until I say, "no, no, it's to tell them what great service we had" LOL. Good for you for doing the same!