I wrote a letter to complain about AKL

[BostonRob]

I'm sure it's paraphrased. However, even if they said that we are busy with the amount of letters that come in and please call the voicemail and leave a message and we'll look into it ASAP, it's still requiring someone who is already complaining, to complain again at a later date. I can imagine many people getting upset and feeling like they're being made to "jump through hoops" from this type of service reply.

Laugh O. Grams, you're so money and you don't even know it!
You've said it as well as I could.

As I said, I'll give you the exact verbiage tomorrow and we can all chew on it a bit. It is possible I misinterpreted something, but I doubt it.

 

[lllovell]

Sadly Rob, you probably didn't. I would call - just so I could say "Are you kidding me? This is customer service?"

Cathy - I wasn't being a smart alec if that is what you took my words to mean, however I know that here, the person receiving the mail (taking it into possession) is the one that is supposed to sign. I do think its a bit unreasonable to expect a GM to answer every piece of mail he/she receives and I would be more than happy to have an assistant answer me if they actually were dealing with the situation. In Rob's case, it doesn't sound like they delt with it very well at all. Hopefully with the exact wording tomorrow, it will become more clear.

 

[BostonRob]

OK, here's the letter:

Dear Mr. Boston Rob,

Thank you for contacting the WALT DISNEY WORLD RESORT.

We appreciate the time you took to contact us and apologize for the delay in or response. When we receive comments, such as yours, they are shared with various members of our organization. The input we receive from our Guests lets us know what we are doing right and what we can do better. We appreciate your observations and assure you they will be taken seriously.

If you would like to discuss your comments, I invite you to call me at (123) (456-7890). If I am not immediately available when you call, please leave your phone number and in indication of the best time to reach you duriong normal business hours. Your call will be returned as promptly as possible.

Mr. Boston Rob, thank you again for taking the time to share your honest and constructive comments. We hope to have future opportunities to entertain you at our resort.

Sincerely,
John Doe
Executive Offices
Walt Disney World Resort

So here are my problems with this letter.

1) The reply didn't come from a member of the AKL staff, although the letter was addressed to the GM of the AKL. I don't need him to respond personally (although he should), but I would expect a member of his staff to respond.

2) There was no apology. I complained about 3 problems. I got a room with sticky spots on the floor, which weren't cleaned for two days. It took me two days to get the bedrails I requested (and my 2 year old daughter fell out of bed in the middle of the night because of it) and when they finally arrived, they were just left leaning on the wall, not even installed. And, although we had a 'do not disturb' sign on the door and had requested an early cleaning, housekeeping called my room and woke my 2 year old daughter and pregnant wife while they were napping. These aren't major, ruin your vacation type problems, but they were annoyances that built on top of one another. Am I wrong for thinking an apology is in order?

3) The invitation to call is a bit disingenous. I gave them all my compaints (ant plenty of compliments too) in my letter. I included my phone number. If they want to discuss my compliants further, they know how to reach me. Otherwise, they could address them specifically in a return letter. Instead they give me a form letter, inviting me to call and leave a message.

Am I off base here, or what?

 

[Ted and Holly]

OK, here's the letter:

Dear Mr. Boston Rob,

Thank you for contacting the WALT DISNEY WORLD RESORT.

We appreciate the time you took to contact us and apologize for the delay in or response. When we receive comments, such as yours, they are shared with various members of our organization. The input we receive from our Guests lets us know what we are doing right and what we can do better. We appreciate your observations and assure you they will be taken seriously.

"I wasn't really looking for any compensation, I just wanted my complaints to be heard and acknowledged, and hopefully addressed so they wouldn't be repeated with future guests."

If you would like to discuss your comments, I invite you to call me at (123) (456-7890). If I am not immediately available when you call, please leave your phone number and in indication of the best time to reach you duriong normal business hours. Your call will be returned as promptly as possible.

Invitation to discuss it further. Not something you originally wanted to do, but an invitation nonetheless.

Mr. Boston Rob, thank you again for taking the time to share your honest and constructive comments. We hope to have future opportunities to entertain you at our resort.

Sincerely,
John Doe
Executive Offices
Walt Disney World Resort

So here are my problems with this letter.

1) The reply didn't come from a member of the AKL staff, although the letter was addressed to the GM of the AKL. I don't need him to respond personally (although he should), but I would expect a member of his staff to respond.

2) There was no apology. I complained about 3 problems. I got a room with sticky spots on the floor, which weren't cleaned for two days. It took me two days to get the bedrails I requested (and my 2 year old daughter fell out of bed in the middle of the night because of it) and when they finally arrived, they were just left leaning on the wall, not even installed. And, although we had a 'do not disturb' sign on the door and had requested an early cleaning, housekeeping called my room and woke my 2 year old daughter and pregnant wife while they were napping. These aren't major, ruin your vacation type problems, but they were annoyances that built on top of one another. Am I wrong for thinking an apology is in order?

3) The invitation to call is a bit disingenous. I gave them all my compaints (ant plenty of compliments too) in my letter. I included my phone number. If they want to discuss my compliants further, they know how to reach me. Otherwise, they could address them specifically in a return letter. Instead they give me a form letter, inviting me to call and leave a message.

Am I off base here, or what?

I see this as a way to help screen out the less critical complaints. Yes, you sent a letter. I am sure they treat these letters the same as email. If you wish to pursue and call them back, they know you are serious. WDW gets a lot of mail. I am sure the GM of AKL and his people get a ton of mail. They can not hand write a reply to every single piece of mail.

You got a reply to your letter that stated that they heard and acknowledged your complaint. What else do you really want?

Ted

 

[tonypitt]

Most of the time the biggest things a "complainer" is looking for is (a) someone to sincerely listen (b) empathy and (c) a sincere apology. Lastly, depending on the nature of the problem, a solution or compensation.

To me it seems that the WDW contains none of these. Even a sentence expressing regret over the problems would make the letter better. I agree that this letter could definitely be a source of frustration for many. I'm surprised it's not better worded. Even though it's a form letter, those can be better than this one is.

 

[*Fantasia*]

we get a lot of letters, nobody is going to read yours

Where is the Disney magic there? What happened to the famous Disney customer service??

In other words, don't bother sending any letters to Disney, nobody is going to read them. NOT GOOD.

He is being honest, but couldn't he just put it in a nice Disney way. He just bluntly said "no one is going to read your letter."

I hope whoever this guy is will be able to address it to the general manager of the AKL.

 

[Ted and Holly]

Where is the Disney magic there? What happened to the famous Disney customer service??

In other words, don't bother sending any letters to Disney, nobody is going to read them. NOT GOOD.

He is being honest, but couldn't he just put it in a nice Disney way. He just bluntly said "no one is going to read your letter."

I hope whoever this guy is will be able to address it to the general manager of the AKL.

The letter did NOT say that at all. In fact, it said that it would be "shared with various members of our organization".

Ted

 

[BostonRob]

Fantasia, that was just me paraphrasing the letter. Nobody actually said or wrote ""no one is going to read your letter."" - that's just what it sounded like to me when I read the form letter they sent as a reply.

 

[pjathome]

Sorry to hear you had a problem. At least the letter was acknowledged and you have a way to follow up. I read all the replies so far and I agree it may not be the best way for them to handle it but perhaps it is a way for them to weed out those who are just trying to get something for nothing. I know you are not trying to be compensated but just want your complaint heard and I agree it should be heard. It can only help to improve their service. Perhaps we have all learned that complaints should be made while we are still at the Resort.

 

[BostonRob]

The letter did NOT say that at all. In fact, it said that it would be "shared with various members of our organization".

Ted

Yes, Ted and Holly, that is what it said. But seriously, it was a form letter. I seriously doubt that if I don't pick up the phone and call that number, that any various members of their 'organization' will ever hear my comments.

In a previous post you asked what I wanted? Bare minimum, I want an acknowledgment of my complaint. That form letter did not do that. If the form letter had said something like "we understand you got a room with a sticky floor and your requests for bedrails were ignored causing your 2 year old daughter to bounce her head off our hard floors, and we woke up your wife and daughter, and we'll be sure to let AKL housekeeping know that they should try to prevent these things from occuring in the future" - well that would be an acknowledgement.

 

[BostonRob]

Perhaps we have all learned that complaints should be made while we are still at the Resort.

That's true. And if that is what it takes to get acknowledged, I'll probably never have a complaint acknowledged. I flat out refuse to spend a minute of my vacation trying to track down a manager to complain to. I'll make the necessary calls to have a problem addressed, but thats it.

 

[Laugh O. Grams]

What we got here is...failure to communicate. Although Disney responded with a nice polite letter, it is obviously a form letter. Your average consumer can sniff these type of responses out from a mile away, and a savvy consumer demands more than something spit out of a computer. I think the appropriate respose should have been:

Dear Mr. Boston Rob,

Thank you for contacting the WALT DISNEY WORLD RESORT.

The "Mousekeeping" employee in question has been taken out and drawn and quartered (See enclosed photos).

If you would like to discuss your comments or the manner of execution, I invite you to call me at (123) (456-7890).

Mr. Boston Rob, thank you again for taking the time to share your honest and constructive comments. We hope to have future opportunities to entertain you at our resort.

Sincerely,
John Doe
Executive Offices
Walt Disney World Resort

Honestly though, I'd call and let them know that there might be a better way to answer guest complaint without a generic form letter.

 

[SeattleMark]

Am I off base here, or what?[/COLOR]

Yes, you are. They got your input, they shared it with their staff members so that they know they screwed up. Now let it go.

Geesh, now you're acting like the real Boston Rob.

 

[BostonRob]

Geesh, now you're acting like the real Boston Rob.

Nah, the real Boston Rob would have taken these complaints and gotten himself upgraded to concierge!

 

[daisax]

I suspect the form letter is a result of fear of litigation. They're not going to acknowledge fault/responsibility in writing to anybody for anything. They'll talk and apologize on the phone, but they're not leaving it to the discretion of a 23 year old clerk to apologize on behalf of Disney for ANYTHING that remotely might come back to haunt them.

 

[lllovell]

Yes, Ted and Holly, that is what it said. But seriously, it was a form letter. I seriously doubt that if I don't pick up the phone and call that number, that any various members of their 'organization' will ever hear my comments.

In a previous post you asked what I wanted? Bare minimum, I want an acknowledgment of my complaint. That form letter did not do that. If the form letter had said something like "we understand you got a room with a sticky floor and your requests for bedrails were ignored causing your 2 year old daughter to bounce her head off our hard floors, and we woke up your wife and daughter, and we'll be sure to let AKL housekeeping know that they should try to prevent these things from occuring in the future" - well that would be an acknowledgement.

I have never had the bedrails installed, simply dropped off. I also am not sure how a sign on the door would prevent housekeeping from calling on the telephone (if I read that right). That said, I would call. If you are upset now for another reason, then you need to tell them that. I am not saying your gripes are not legit, simply that on a couple of them I am not sure what response you are expecting (they probably let the parents install the rails incase Jr. DOES fall from the bed anyway). I also agree with the "fuss before you leave" policy. It has been stated many times on the DVC boards that this is the best stance to take if you would like your issues addressed. I still say call the number. Tell him your concerns AGAIN and make sure you let them know a form letter back seems pretty dang unacceptable to you.

 

[Arielle22]

Why is it that people ask for an apology from a person who was not involved in the original problem? I don't mean just the OP but life in general. If I have made a complaint in a business I want the employee who I had the problem with spoken to. I see no value in another employee apologizing.

The problem with OP's complaints is that too much time has passed to speak to the employee who created the problem. If it was handled at the time of the incident, it might have been possible to track down the housekeeper or whoever brought up the bedrails. Now the best you could hope for was a general message to all housekeepers to remember to check for Do Not Disturb signs or to put the bedrails on the bed.

As for calling him back, what would be more annoying to call him and get his voicemail or call and get no response? I am surprised when I make a work call and don't get voicemail.

If this was me I would be satisfied that the letter was received and leave it at that. What would be the point of calling further?

 

[BostonRob]

Why is it that people ask for an apology from a person who was not involved in the original problem? I don't mean just the OP but life in general. If I have made a complaint in a business I want the employee who I had the problem with spoken to. I see no value in another employee apologizing.

That's why my letter was addressed to the GM of the AKL. I had 3 separate complaints, all involving the housekeeping department, but most likely involving more than 3 individuals (its tough to know who's at fault when something doesn't get done). I'm not looking for an apology from some specific maid or anything. Management is responsible for their employees. I kinda hoped I'd get some sort of acknowledgement and apology from either the GM or the manager of housekeeping.

I agree with you that there is no value in an apology, be it from the person responsible or from another employee. But the lack of an apology in the face of a complaint seems to imply that whatever happened is OK with them.

I had a wonderful stay at the AKL. I'd like to return. But I guess I just want somebody to say "We don't usually give out rooms with sticky floors, we try to deliver bed rails when requested, and it is not our policy to awake pregnant mothers and toddlers. We will work with our housekeeping department and attempt to curtail future incidents"

 

[Sammie]

It is all in interpretation. I don't read, what you obvoiusly read in the letter.

If you want your problems addressed by someone on the staff of a particular resort, address the problems while you are there. Once you leave they will be funneled to Guest Communications, then shared with the staff.

I am sorry, and this is not meant to offend anyone, but probably will,

If problems are not serious enough for me to address them while I am there, I have no intention of bringing them to someone's attention later when there is nothing they can do to correct the situation when it happened.

 

[Sleepy]

I have never had the bedrails installed, simply dropped off.

I don't see how housekeeping could know which bed you would want the rails installed.....unless you specifically tell them. Then again, if housekeeping installs them and it is done improperly and the child falls out and gets injured.......