I'm almost hesitant to mention this here but...a complaint about our Poly room

[Tuffcookie]

Disney 845, No, I wasn't offended by Skiwee 1's remarks. After all, I am a Tuffcookie! You are right that I didn't want to make a scene at the time and spoil our visit at the Poly and WDW. This was a special trip I had planned for my DM. That is why I splurged on the Poly this time. We had a wonderful mousekeeper and the Poly is so beautiful, not to mention the convenience of the monorail. However, the fact remains that even after I brought a problem to their attention it was not handled, again, and again, and again, and again and again! I do not think this is acceptable for a deluxe resort. And just because I waited to get home to address the issue, the fact remains there was a problem. This is not something I made up to try to get a discount. All Guest Relations has to do is request copies of the work orders from the Poly for our room. I felt they (Guest Relations) were the ones I should be talking to, not management at the Poly.

TC

 

[CaipiraBob]

First of all, pay no attention to the flamers. Now I understand why you were hesistant to post.

Second, you are correct to have been upset. You paid for a room at the Polynesian, not some rinky-dink shack on Route 192. Shame on Disney to have slipped so far.

Finally, you're obviously a nice, trusting individual who relied on the reputation for professionalism and competence of the support and service at the Polynesian. I would have felt the same way. Unfortunately from what I have read here, that level of service and support has slipped to some degree as I have seen it reported as such time and time again on this board.

I think in the future we'll all know that it's probably better to request a different room. I don't think Disney service is up to the level where we can rely upon them to handle even minor maintenance in a reliable manner. Thanks to your posting your experience, my first action in a similar situation will be to request a new room. Otherwise, if not for your warning, I'd probably wait and do the same thing, and wait.

So thank you for posting. Your effort, regardless of any flames on this post, may save someone from experiencing a similar inconvenience in the future. I sincerely hope that you and your mother don't have that problem again anywhere!!!

Regards,

The Caipira

 

[Angel1]

about this situation.

Who wants to have to "get tough" and start making demands while on vacation at a deluxe resort?! Oh the energy that would require--energy that is better spent touring the parks!

Still in all, I hope that the lingering memory is of a great vacation at a great resort with your elderly mom!

Best wishes!

 

[wdisneelvr]

I stayed at the Radisson Parkway a couple of years ago for just one night before checking into WDW the next day. I was taking a shower around 9pm and shampooing my hair when the bathtub drain wasn't draining at all. I tried to rinse as much as I could before the tub filled too full. I got out and called maintenance and they were there in a jiffy to fix it. Well, it turned out to be a major clog and took a very long time to fix. There were no other rooms, the hotel was booked full and it was going on around 11:30pm. When it was finally fixed, I finished my shower. I wasn't exactly a happy camper since I had wanted to get a good nights sleep to play in the parks the next day. So in the morning I told the front desk at check-out what happened, they had the records from the night before, I was not rude about it, just pointed out what had happened and they compensated me for the one nights stay and payed all my long distance charges too, about $15. They were great about it.

In your case, I think a trip down to the front desk to speak to the resort General Manager on duty might have help to expedite your sink/drain problem. If not, you should have asked for another room. I think waiting till you got home and then saying something is a little too late after the fact.

 

[peachgirl]

Who wants to have to "get tough" and start making demands while on vacation at a deluxe resort?! Oh the energy that would require--energy that is better spent touring the parks!

Exactly! On our last trip we had an absolutely awful buffet. I don't mean we just didn't like the food, I mean it was inedible! Did I complain at the time? No! I spent a lot of money to get there and I wasn't going to waste my valuble time hunting down management to complain and then end up grousing about it most of the day! So, I wrote them when I got home concerning this and another problem we encountered. I got the call and the woman was extremely nice and very apologetic. A couple of weeks later I received a letter from her along with $50 in Disney Dollars. Did I write the letter hoping I'd get something? You bet! I hoped I'd get a response from them so that I'd know they pay attention to their guests concerns and perhaps they'd take a look at these problems and see if they could correct them. The money was a nice surprise and a wise investment for Disney. They got it and much more back on our next trip to DL! They sure know what they're doing...every time I took one of those Disney $$'s out of my pocket in Disneyland, I remembered how nice they were in addressing my complaints. In your case , a deluxe resort is supposed to be known for their outstanding service. Apparently you didn't get that service and you're entitled to be compensated for it. Be sure and let us know what happens!

 

[skiwee1]

I am not flaming anyone! This is ridiculous that I cannot give an opinion without someone whining about it. Tuffcookie knew what I meant. I did think she had a problem at the Poly but I also think it is too late to ask for compensation. Do it at the time of the incident. It is never too late to write a letter but you really should not put anything in it about compensation as that looks bad. Even if you were to ever write a complaint letter about anything, you never put in that you want compensation. You let them do the talking about that. To see it in a letter makes it look like you are out for a free trip. It doesn't look good at all. What ever happens Tuffcookie, good luck! To some of you: talk about flaming. pot. kettle. black.

 

[AllyandJack]

I also found that the Polynesian is slow to respond to any complaints. They also will not move you to a new room. I had kids playing ball in the hallway. I called to the front desk around midnight and told them and their response was that there were many families at the resort and I was more than welcome to find another room at another resort, if I could. I just found that they were unresponsive and flat out didn't care. I did switch resorts and, when I went over to the Polynesian to check out, nobody even asked why I was leaving. If I worked at a resort and I saw that a guest was not only checking out early, but moving to another resort, I would ask why. Nobody cared. I didn't even want to be moved, I just wanted someone to come and tell the kids to stop playing ball in the hallway at midnight.

I just shut my mouth, doled out $400. and switched to the Grand Floridian because I was on vacation and I didn't feel like fighting with people who obviously didn't care whether I stayed or left. I keep trying to urge myself to stay there again, but with more and more negative reports like mine, it's going to be difficult to make that decision. It's too bad too because it's a wonderful resort and we had a great stay until that incident.

 

[Tuffcookie]

wdisneelvr, For the record, I did finally walk down on Friday evening at 10:30 PM and address the issue with the Poly general manager. Who wants a plumber in their room after a long day at the parks when the problem was brought to their attention on Monday morning? I got the feeling that the general manager really didn't have the authorization to offer me compensation for anything that's why I wrote to his superiors (Guest Relations). I asked for compensation because I was staying at a deluxe resort. It shouldn't make any difference in whether I approached them there or when I got home, the fact remains that our room had problems! Everything is documented in their records! Thanks for all your responses everyone. I will let you know what they say when they call.

TC

 

[peachgirl]

"Too late. Next time take care of the problem then..."too late to ask for compensation"...."a little too late after the fact"....

This isn't a rebate here folks, there's no expiration date. Since when do we have to lodge a complaint at the moment a problem happens? Nevermind that she apparently made repeated attempts to get the problem taken care of and did complain to the manager. They offered her nothing but a late night plumbing repair and that more than justifies a letter being sent.



Tuffcookie .....From my experience, don't be surprised if it's a couple of weeks before you hear back from them. I also got a message on voice mail saying they'd call back and it was at least 2 weeks before I heard from them. Granted, they did leave a number for me to return the call but I wasn't of a mind that I ought to have to make a long distance call for a problem I had, so I waited. Good luck, I hope Disney does right by you.

 

[Folkes4Fun]

I'm probably as big a fan of the Polynesian as anyone out here, and I agree wholeheartedly that you were patient and went above and beyond what should be reasonably expected of anyone at any hotel, whether it is the Polynesian or Grand Floridian or the Red Roof Inn in Kissimmee. Problems with fixtures, plumbing, etc. should be fixed right away. As to requesting a room switch - who wants to pack all their stuff up, move and get resettled.

As to compensation - if Disney operates like other businesses, they should offer some significant discounts on future travel and stays. That is typically what other hotels, airlines, etc. do.

Good luck!!

 

[Tikiman]

I think you did the right thing. Just FYI, next time try and ask to be moved. That has worked for many others in the past and they seem to have no problem doing it most of the time.

I hope you had some enjoyment out of your stay.

Aloha

Steve

 

[JayCT]

We had a number of minor problems when we stayed at the Poly in May. About a month after we got home we received a survey from WDW Public Relations about our stay. I explained our problems (mostly not having our room ready when it was suppose to be when we arrived and the next day when we changed rooms). A few weeks later we received a call from Customer Service and they credited our Charge Card for one night's stay. We were pleased.

 

[jenfur]

I am not meaning to flame at all, and it is a shame the drains were slow, but is it really worth compensation? I mean, its just slow drains Could you not rest and relax in your room with the slow drain? I just got back from a Labor Day beach trip and the drains in our resort were ALL slow, it was irritating but really not that big of a deal. Where do people draw the line when expecting compensation? Yes you were on vacation and paid big bucks, but still this is a common problem that can happen anywhere.

I think you should have switched rooms or put your foot down on day two and spoke to GM then. I would hate to come back from an otherwise great trip only to write a letter complaining about a slow drain and asking for compensation. Did it really affect your vacation that much?

 

[LvsTnk]

Just as an FYI, on a trip over spring break (01) we were in the Hawaii building when low and behold no hot water. Come to find out they decided to work on the plumbing that effected most of the building. After that first day they started informing us when the cold and low pressure water problems would be.

The compensation was 20% off of our room rate for those days.

 

[CamColt]

I think there is a big difference between slow drains and having a problem taken care of after the 5th complaint and at 10:30 at night when the occupants of the room are exhausted(that tired feeling is fresh in my memory from 2 weeks ago), especially when it should have and could have been taken care of during the day.
As for reimbursement, Im sort of torn. I can definitely see the inconvenience and aggravation, but what does that justify? We had some flaws in our trip, but I never would have expected to be reimbursed for them. Spalsh Mt broke down while we were on it. We had to sit there for probably close to 1/2 hour. That was time in the park which we were paying for that we lost. I never would have expected to have a day added to my hopper pass for that.
Maybe a free night on a future stay would show some "Disney Magic" for the OP.

 

[kylara]

If Tuff was asking for compensation just for the slow drain not being fixed after the 1st request, I would have trouble agreeing...after all, sometime plumbing problems seemed fixed but aren't once you get a showers worth of water. But I do feel that 5 requests were too many to have to make. It seems as if it was one hand not knowing what the other was doing. Tuff mentions in her letter that she called the requests into housekeeping...you would think after the 2nd or 3rd, they would have mentioned to Guest Services that there was a plumbing problem with the room. Or that they would have called maintenance and noted that a PLUMBER was needed...not just someone to look at it.

I also think that the GM could have offered more than an apology..and yes, they are able to. All managers at Disney are able to offer compensation up to a certain amount (set by the dept) as long as they are able to justify it. However, sometime managers are concerned about doing it because the feel the company will think they are too soft and a "mark" for every complaint (the previous comes from a manager in housekeeping who told me this...and no, not at the resort...I know her from the college I work at).

I do hope that Guest Relations follows up on your letter and offers some sort of compensation. I know year ago (about 6) when my family had some issues in the parks, they sent my sister free 1 day hopper passes after we all wrote letters asking that the issues be addressed.

 

[Belle5]

It's not like Tuffcookie is complaining for the first time that the drain's were slow now that she's home. She tried constantly while she was there. My goodness, how many people even know that they should have a face to face meeting with the GM? I'm sure she thought she was handling her request appropriately at the time and was given new assurance with each request that that day would be the day the problem was solved. I know that it takes me a hours to pack up our clothes from a hotel and unpack again in another room. Who wants to spend their time doing that when your deluxe resort is assuring you the problem will be fixed? It is ridiculous that they would wait until bedtime to come on the 5th day after repeated assurances about solving the issue.