Is an Owner Locker for me?

[CarolynFH]

We're going to get one before our trip next fall. We've DVC and can finally get back into a yearly trip. I'm 100% doing it for convenience for things I pack every single trip, or would like to bring if I didn't have to take it to/from (the plan at least without knowing what they don't allow): meds (OTC & Zofran), shower/bath stuff, sunscreens (body/face), lotions, sandals, goggles, extra magic bands, Brita water bottles with filters, grooming supplies, extra contacts, sunglasses, hats, seasonings (s/p, garlic powder), one kitchen knife with sheath, Husbands coffee, single coffee pot with filters, travel coffee mugs, chai tea, battery milk frother, ziplocks, laundry supplies and epsom salts.

Yes, I could absolutely pack that every trip in one of our free checked bags, but I would absolutely rather not have to prep that as I'm prepping everyone else, working, etc. As we can afford to do it, we will. My sanity is worth a lot these days hahaha.

Your list is very similar to what’s in our OL at this very moment, waiting to be delivered to us in January. And for the same reason — so we don’t have to pack it all every time we visit! We also have things we use only at WDW, such as Disney hats and visors, and a throw blanket I bought when the AC in our room was too cold for me but “just right” for DH!

 

[Wiltony]

Okay I've got a controversial comment here, I hope I don't generate any angst or conflict! But here it goes:

I've had an OL for about a year, since they came out with the DVC "six months free" promotion, which prompted us to sign up and give it a try. We've definitely liked the service, though I've found I've had to lug it around much more often than I'd hoped, because Bell Services frequently declines to deliver or pick it up within any reasonable amount of time (they usually say they'll be there within 1-2 hours lol). That is not OL's fault, though.

I recently received an e-mail from John at OL saying my promotion was ending and that I'd be migrated to the standard plan of $10.50/mo which includes one delivery per year, and every other delivery would cost $27.50 each time.

After doing the math and pros vs cons, we were on the fence as to whether it was worth it for us, so I thought I'd send a message back to them to see if they had any other coupons or promotions that we could take advantage of that would seal the deal for us. Here is the e-mail I sent, copy-and-pasted directly:

Hi John,

Thanks for the email. We've been happy with our owners locker and would like to continue the service, but the standard prices that we are transitioning to are just a little steep for us to justify. Do you have any other promotions or coupons we could take advantage of?

I appreciate your consideration, all the best!

Well they apparently did NOT like me asking that. At all.

Within a few minutes of my e-mail, I received a call from John. I expected a polite "sorry, we can't do that" or something and prepared to tell him that I liked the service and was interested in continuing, but thought it wouldn't hurt to inquire about any other promotions, etc. But instead, he got really surly and read me the riot act about how they've already been losing money on us from the DVC promotion, and if I apparently have "such a tight budget" that maybe OL wasn't for me, and that I am welcome to leave my empty locker to be picked up at my next visit and my service will be canceled.

It was really unexpected and off-putting. I don't know if John or any other folks from OL are on here or not, but I have a few observations from this experience:

1) The DVC promotion worked. You signed many people up who otherwise would not have. You will keep many of those new customers for years and years. It doesn't follow that you would resent anyone who signed up as part of that promotion, and worse, make them feel bad for doing so.

2) Upon coming off the promotion, my wife and I have had a couple of conversations about continuing. We've genuinely been on the fence about it, resulting in our inquiry. When first getting the phone call, I was genuinely moved that John called me personally, initially thinking, "wow a nice personal call to keep my business." Had that phone call been along the lines of "I'm sorry we don't have any promotions as we're already operating with a thin margin, but we're glad to have you as a customer and would love to keep your business," we'd have 100% continued the service. Instead, I feel like I was not-so-politely invited to cancel my service with touch of guilt for signing up for the promotion in the first place!

In conclusion, we liked the service. We are still on the fence about whether to continue, but I feel like maybe they don't want us to?


(PS: We fly Southwest and go to WDW 3-4 times a year.)

 

[Sandisw]

Okay I've got a controversial comment here, I hope I don't generate any angst or conflict! But here it goes:

I've had an OL for about a year, since they came out with the DVC "six months free" promotion, which prompted us to sign up and give it a try. We've definitely liked the service, though I've found I've had to lug it around much more often than I'd hoped, because Bell Services frequently declines to deliver or pick it up within any reasonable amount of time (they usually say they'll be there within 1-2 hours lol). That is not OL's fault, though.

I recently received an e-mail from John at OL saying my promotion was ending and that I'd be migrated to the standard plan of $10.50/mo which includes one delivery per year, and every other delivery would cost $27.50 each time.

After doing the math and pros vs cons, we were on the fence as to whether it was worth it for us, so I thought I'd send a message back to them to see if they had any other coupons or promotions that we could take advantage of that would seal the deal for us. Here is the e-mail I sent, copy-and-pasted directly:



Well they apparently did NOT like me asking that. At all.

Within a few minutes of my e-mail, I received a call from John. I expected a polite "sorry, we can't do that" or something and prepared to tell him that I liked the service and was interested in continuing, but thought it wouldn't hurt to inquire about any other promotions, etc. But instead, he got really surly and read me the riot act about how they've already been losing money on us from the DVC promotion, and if I apparently have "such a tight budget" that maybe OL wasn't for me, and that I am welcome to leave my empty locker to be picked up at my next visit and my service will be canceled.

It was really unexpected and off-putting. I don't know if John or any other folks from OL are on here or not, but I have a few observations from this experience:

1) The DVC promotion worked. You signed many people up who otherwise would not have. You will keep many of those new customers for years and years. It doesn't follow that you would resent anyone who signed up as part of that promotion, and worse, make them feel bad for doing so.

2) Upon coming off the promotion, my wife and I have had a couple of conversations about continuing. We've genuinely been on the fence about it, resulting in our inquiry. When first getting the phone call, I was genuinely moved that John called me personally, initially thinking, "wow a nice personal call to keep my business." Had that phone call been along the lines of "I'm sorry we don't have any promotions as we're already operating with a thin margin, but we're glad to have you as a customer and would love to keep your business," we'd have 100% continued the service. Instead, I feel like I was not-so-politely invited to cancel my service with touch of guilt for signing up for the promotion in the first place!

In conclusion, we liked the service. We are still on the fence about whether to continue, but I feel like maybe they don't want us to?


(PS: We fly Southwest and go to WDW 3-4 times a year.)

I am really surprised you had difficulty getting bell services to get it. We have never waited more than 15 to 20 minutes to come and get it from us.

 

[RoseGold]

Upon coming off the promotion, my wife and I have had a couple of conversations about continuing. We've genuinely been on the fence about it, resulting in our inquiry. When first getting the phone call, I was genuinely moved that John called me personally, initially thinking, "wow a nice personal call to keep my business." Had that phone call been along the lines of "I'm sorry we don't have any promotions as we're already operating with a thin margin, but we're glad to have you as a customer and would love to keep your business," we'd have 100% continued the service. Instead, I feel like I was not-so-politely invited to cancel my service with touch of guilt for signing up for the promotion in the first place!

After using the promo, which you know made them lose money, you wanted them to beg you to pay $27.50 a delivery?

If you can't afford OL, then it isn't for you. Fine. Most people visiting WDW multiple times a year can afford that. I don't have a problem with OL's pricing, and if I did I would cancel. I wouldn't expect them to grovel or discount me or something.

Maybe you should have checked the pricing before signing up. It's not like it's secret.

 

[Wiltony]

After using the promo, which you know made them lose money, you wanted them to beg you to pay $27.50 a delivery?

If you can't afford OL, then it isn't for you. Fine. Most people visiting WDW multiple times a year can afford that. I don't have a problem with OL's pricing, and if I did I would cancel. I wouldn't expect them to grovel or discount me or something.

Maybe you should have checked the pricing before signing up. It's not like it's secret.

Beg? Grovel? Expect? What are you talking about? Really strange how you interpreted my post as I neither said any of those things, nor did I imply any of those things. Not asking for anyone to bow down or grovel or beg, sheesh.

And I know what their pricing is. I even explicitly stated it in the post. What makes you think I didn't know what their pricing was? I made an inquiry, and I wasn't entitled, demanding, or rude in doing so.

And to be fair, we can afford OL. Easily, in fact. But the question of being "on the fence" was whether or not it was worth it to us. I would presume most people here understand the different of being able to afford something vs. it being worth the value you pay for it.

(You could probably afford to buy a $20 snickers bar, but would you buy it just because you could afford it?)

 

[RoseGold]

If it isn't worth $27.50 to you, then cancel. I don't see what kind of phone call would change that "value" for you.

OL is not some kind of shady operation. They got my lockers to me with like two days notice. They communicate well, and I have had zero issues. They were even pleasant when I changed credit cards and they tracked me down to get paid. As a business, I have zero issues with OL.

You had access to all of that information before you signed up, it's not like this was some kind of bait and switch.

 

[Best Aunt]

I used to see John back when he would do an Owners Locker meet up at Epcot (pre-COVID). He was super nice. He gave me good advice about a non-Disney issue that was going on in my life. Maybe he was having a bad day when he called OP?

I don't know the story behind the promotion. Maybe it wasn't his idea, and that's the only way he was allowed to keep marketing through DVC?

But obviously it's not a smart business move to antagonize your customers.

And discount or no discount, OP might feel that the product just is not right for them.

I have never had an issue with an Owners Locker and Bell Services at a Disney hotel. I can't lift my lockers. Bell Services has always brought them up and taken them down in a timely fashion.

 

[Wiltony]

If it isn't worth $27.50 to you, then cancel. I don't see what kind of phone call would change that "value" for you.

OL is not some kind of shady operation. They got my lockers to me with like two days notice. They communicate well, and I have had zero issues. They were even pleasant when I changed credit cards and they tracked me down to get paid. As a business, I have zero issues with OL.

You had access to all of that information before you signed up, it's not like this was some kind of bait and switch.

Whether it's worth it or not, well, I'm on the fence, I said that. It might be worth it, it might not; that's what's under consideration, as well as what this entire thread is mostly about.

I've also been happy with their service and definitely wouldn't characterize it as a shady operation. I did have one negative interaction, however, which I shared, which gave me pause about whether to continue. I think that's a valid experience to share.

I also definitely do not feel like it was a bait-and-switch and again, didn't and wouldn't characterize it as such.

 

[Wiltony]

I used to see John back when he would do an Owners Locker meet up at Epcot (pre-COVID). He was super nice. He gave me good advice about a non-Disney issue that was going on in my life. Maybe he was having a bad day when he called OP?

I'd probably guess this was the case. I've never heard anything bad about OL prior to this. Thanks for sharing!

 

[BamaGuy44]

I'd probably guess this was the case. I've never heard anything bad about OL prior to this. Thanks for sharing!

The times I've spoken to him he's been super nice and professional, and I've heard nothing but good things about them. I don't think what you experienced is common. but still no excuse for him to be rude to you or make you feel guilty for cancelling or for taking advantage of the promo that they choose to offer. Also no excuse for other posters to get super defensive and rude about it.

Nothing wrong with politely inquiring if there are any other promos or discounts available, either. Who knows, Maybe the promo isn't going as they'd hoped, and more people are cancelling after the promo then they expected, so he's a little touchy about it. But that's his problem, not yours, no reason to take it out on you.

 

[TiggerBouncy]

After using the promo, which you know made them lose money, you wanted them to beg you to pay $27.50 a delivery?

If you can't afford OL, then it isn't for you. Fine. Most people visiting WDW multiple times a year can afford that. I don't have a problem with OL's pricing, and if I did I would cancel. I wouldn't expect them to grovel or discount me or something.

Maybe you should have checked the pricing before signing up. It's not like it's secret.

I think that's a tad bit harsh, Rose. I can't tell you the number of companies that I do business with that have discounts that you only get if you ask for them. A LOT of companies have some flexibility to give customer retention discounts. For example, I used to subscribe to ReadyRefresh (Water delivery). Been with them for 6+ years. Every year we get the best discount they offer us, but I had to call them to cancel because we just installed an RO filter, so it was somewhat redundant. That led to the typical "what if I gave you 20% off your coffee?", or "could I convince you to stay if we dropped the monthly fee by 10%". I dare you to try to cancel your internet service provider without AT LEAST 2 attempts at customer retention.

There is absolutely nothing wrong with asking about promotions and/or customer retention discounts. There is also absolutely nothing wrong with the company replaying with a polite "sorry, this is the best price we have at the moment. However, check back with us after Christmas as we sometimes offer something around that time" or "Sorry, this pricing is about as low as we ever get, but thank you for checking" are common.

It would be pretty much unheard of though for a company to call or email saying "if you are asking, then this service may not be for you. Feel free to leave an empty bucket and we will cancel. Goodbye" because you inquired. That would certainly raise my eyebrow, and if my company ever did that, you can bet your bottom dollar the person who sent that email or made that call would be in my or another managers office by the end of the day that we heard about it. I actually had to pull my entire team once into training sessions on professional communications for a smaller infraction.

 

[Lorana]

I was dubious about the value of having an OL but now that I have one, we truly appreciate it. I do have a lot of stuff in there that we don't use every trip, but that is super handy when we do need or want it -- like we have some card and small board games. In addition to toiletries, coffee supplies, kitchen supplies, medicine, we also have supplies for when we are in a studio rather 1BR/2BR (such as the Dash Mini Griddle so we can make breakfast sandwiches or make eggs and a personal blender for smoothies). We also have umbrellas, water filter, heating pad, bluetooth speaker, and more -- basically lots of the things that either we'd need to check in luggage to bring or could not bring on a plane at all. We prefer to just travel with carry-on, so this is a lifesaver.

I've been debating getting a second owners locker to store a memory foam mattress topper, because I find many of the beds at Disney to be just a tad too firm, and if we're staying for more than a couple of nights, I have a hard time sleeping due to hip/back pain.

That said, our current locker is PACKED FULL, so we either need to take some things out to make room for other things we want (DH wants a non-stick pan, or give in for another locker.

 

[RoseGold]

That said, our current locker is PACKED FULL, so we either need to take some things out to make room for other things we want (DH wants a non-stick pan, or give in for another locker.

You should do it. You already made it this far.

 

[RCharnay]

We have had a great experience with John and OL. I would recommend to anyone who wants the service.

Of course, anyone has the right to ask for a discount or promotion but you must admit it takes a certain amount of hutzpah to ask a person who has allowed you to use his services for free for 6 months if there is anything he can do to convince you to continue to use his services. Why should he have to beg or cow-tow? Use or don’t and move on. He has already invested 6 months in you. Enough already.

 

[Stingberg]

He has already invested 6 months in you.

He has invested in trying to acquire a customer. He has determined that it the most cost-effective way to acquire a new customer. It's a business decision, not a charitable one. If a customer wants to ask for a better deal, that's not really any different. Everyone is playing the game and it's never an issue as long as everyone, including the owner, remains polite.

 

[Sandisw]

We have had a great experience with John and OL. I would recommend to anyone who wants the service.

Of course, anyone has the right to ask for a discount or promotion but you must admit it takes a certain amount of hutzpah to ask a person who has allowed you to use his services for free for 6 months if there is anything he can do to convince you to continue to use his services. Why should he have to beg or cow-tow? Use or don’t and move on. He has already invested 6 months in you. Enough already.

Plenty of times I have had a company offer me a better deal when a promo ended because they had one I was eligible to receive,

So, there was nothing wrong with asking if they had something else going on, regardless of whether they got 6 months free or not.

It was completely out of character for the owner of the company based on my own interactions with him. In that respect, he would seem as someone completely approachable to ask.

 

[Vulnox]

We first set up our owner's locker in February when we did our first stay on DVC points. At that time we brought a bunch of stuff with us and loaded up the locker as best we could for our return trip which was in November and was a 7 day, 7 person stay.

Overall it worked out. The scissors and brita container/filters we stocked up in February were in constant use, and we also used sunscreen and all that. Even though we may only be visiting once a year typically, the trip really pointed out some things that I should add to the locker, like better toilet paper, hats, parchment paper, etc. A bunch of stuff that prevented us from either making more food in-room or impacted our enjoyment of the stay.

I think the OL is worth it once you get through the process of evolving what goes in it. We thought we had prepared well after reading the lists from others on here, but only after staying for a longer trip do you really start to see what is important, what isn't, and what's missing.

That said, I am going to keep a closer eye on the annual cost of the OL versus just buying the main stuff we don't pack with us going forward and having it delivered. We had a Shipt delivery from Target anyway for groceries, I could have added a pack of TP, some sunscreen, even scissors and the rest of the main stuff we used for probably $40-50 over the grocery cost. I think the main benefit comes if you also store some less often needed and harder to replace items in there. We have a couple umbrellas in ours, first aid kit, things that you may not need every trip but when you do need them you don't have 3-4 hours to wait on a Shipt order.

So all that in mind, I think it's good to sign up with the promo, use it for at least a couple years, and really focus on what you used and benefited from it. I am still on the fence with our frequency of visits and how effective it was this last trip, but I also see that it could have been more effective if I had the handful of things that were missing. So I want to give it another year and another trip or two to see if it really shines once I have it fully stocked with what works for us.

 

[CarolynFH]

So I want to give it another year and another trip or two to see if it really shines once I have it fully stocked with what works for us.

Yes, this is the key - what works for one family doesn’t necessarily work for another. For DH and me, the older we get, the more often we fly, and it becomes more difficult to bring all the stuff that makes our visits relaxing!

 

[RNstitches]

We just got our first locker on our most recent trip after looking at everyone's suggestions of what to store in it on this thread. The fact that it was so convenient and that I won't have to lug things back and forth that we really only use when we're down there saves us some much needed luggage space. My husband who was skeptical of getting a locker, looked at everything he was able to put in there and asked when are we getting a second

 

[RoseGold]

It's not like I really need an old swimsuit, worn out Goofy flip flops, an air mattress and ten pairs of ears. And sure, I could pack shampoo and contacts. But I like already having these things at the park and knowing they are there.