Just a little rant

[Luv2trav]

We are going from March 27th-April 1st. I have an AP but the rest of my family does not. We bought park tickets before they had the 4 days get 2 for free. I have tried SEVERAL times to get through to DVC to get these days added. I finally got through after being on hold 1.5 hours... Only for them to tell me I needed to speak to someone in WDW ticketing since I bought my tickets through them. So they transferred me. After being on hold another 1.5 hours I gave up. I have tried several other times to get through and I just don't have 2-4 hours to wait on hold. Why don't they have a system where you can get a call back when you are next in line? I work in customer service/call center industry and I understand all the complications due to covid this past year. I understand they are probably severely understaffed due to all the cut backs. Can they just please change the process when I don't physically have to wait ON HOLD for HOURS to get this fixed. Now all the days are booked up and no more parks are available. I am not that concerned because I just needed to add 1 day to a park because we have all other 5 days booked and ready to go. Only I have access to all parks because I still have AP.

You know who could get through to me though?? They had NO problems calling me to try and get me to add on more points. That very same day I waited 4-5 hours to get my tickets fixed DVC called to see if I was interested in adding on. It shouldn't be this hard to use our membership and get tickets straightened out.

Rant over... No I am not selling due to this. I am cutting them some slack due to covid but it is very frustrating..

 

[eandt]

We are going from March 27th-April 1st. I have an AP but the rest of my family does not. We bought park tickets before they had the 4 days get 2 for free. I have tried SEVERAL times to get through to DVC to get these days added. I finally got through after being on hold 1.5 hours... Only for them to tell me I needed to speak to someone in WDW ticketing since I bought my tickets through them. So they transferred me. After being on hold another 1.5 hours I gave up. I have tried several other times to get through and I just don't have 2-4 hours to wait on hold. Why don't they have a system where you can get a call back when you are next in line? I work in customer service/call center industry and I understand all the complications due to covid this past year. I understand they are probably severely understaffed due to all the cut backs. Can they just please change the process when I don't physically have to wait ON HOLD for HOURS to get this fixed. Now all the days are booked up and no more parks are available. I am not that concerned because I just needed to add 1 day to a park because we have all other 5 days booked and ready to go. Only I have access to all parks because I still have AP.

You know who could get through to me though?? They had NO problems calling me to try and get me to add on more points. That very same day I waited 4-5 hours to get my tickets fixed DVC called to see if I was interested in adding on. It shouldn't be this hard to use our membership and get tickets straightened out.

Rant over... No I am not selling due to this. I am cutting them some slack due to covid but it is very frustrating..

I for one DO NOT understand the 'complications due to covid" in this situation ..... my 'industry" did not shut down, neither did grocery stores, gas stations, or even home improvement stores. All operated as pretty much normal. It seems to me that a call center might be among the easiest of work places to secure since it provides for zero face to face interaction so if the call demand is there and by all indications in reading here it is, why hasn't Disney hired these folks back? There is zero reason to expect people to sit on hold for hours to get a simple issue resolved.

 

[princesscinderella]

We are going from March 27th-April 1st. I have an AP but the rest of my family does not. We bought park tickets before they had the 4 days get 2 for free. I have tried SEVERAL times to get through to DVC to get these days added. I finally got through after being on hold 1.5 hours... Only for them to tell me I needed to speak to someone in WDW ticketing since I bought my tickets through them. So they transferred me. After being on hold another 1.5 hours I gave up. I have tried several other times to get through and I just don't have 2-4 hours to wait on hold. Why don't they have a system where you can get a call back when you are next in line? I work in customer service/call center industry and I understand all the complications due to covid this past year. I understand they are probably severely understaffed due to all the cut backs. Can they just please change the process when I don't physically have to wait ON HOLD for HOURS to get this fixed. Now all the days are booked up and no more parks are available. I am not that concerned because I just needed to add 1 day to a park because we have all other 5 days booked and ready to go. Only I have access to all parks because I still have AP.

You know who could get through to me though?? They had NO problems calling me to try and get me to add on more points. That very same day I waited 4-5 hours to get my tickets fixed DVC called to see if I was interested in adding on. It shouldn't be this hard to use our membership and get tickets straightened out.

Rant over... No I am not selling due to this. I am cutting them some slack due to covid but it is very frustrating..

I would try to get it resolved at Guest services in person when you get there since your trip is almost here. Have fun!

 

[Luv2trav]

I for one DO NOT understand the 'complications due to covid" in this situation ..... my 'industry" did not shut down, neither did grocery stores, gas stations, or even home improvement stores. All operated as pretty much normal. It seems to me that a call center might be among the easiest of work places to secure since it provides for zero face to face interaction so if the call demand is there and by all indications in reading here it is, why hasn't Disney hired these folks back? There is zero reason to expect people to sit on hold for hours to get a simple issue resolved.

I agree... I work for FedEx and we didn't shut down either. In fact we became even more essential. However implementing every call center/customer service location to work from home was a challenge since we were not prepared to move 90% of these areas to work from home. However being home for over a year now we have significantly improved our processes. What has been our challenge for our specific location has been hiring of new team members. We have been unable to replace team members who have left so therefore we are doing more with less until we can fully get back in person and do training. So our phone wait times have been more than usual. When I say that we have gone from 3 min waits to maybe 10 mins on a very busy day. Nothing like 3-5 hours of wait times.

I don't understand these extreme wait times. If this is what is going to happen please put me in queue for a call back at some point today. Therefore I don't have to sit on hold for hours on end.

 

[Luv2trav]

I would try to get it resolved at Guest services in person when you get there since your trip is almost here. Have fun!

That is my plan. I am hoping we can just get this worked out in person and they can find any park open for our last day. If not we are considering golfing or something else. We are not stressing about it. Just seems ridiculous that wait times are that long. I don't understand it.

 

[eandt]

I agree... I work for FedEx and we didn't shut down either. In fact we became even more essential. However implementing every call center/customer service location to work from home was a challenge since we were not prepared to move 90% of these areas to work from home. However being home for over a year now we have significantly improved our processes. What has been our challenge for our specific location has been hiring of new team members. We have been unable to replace team members who have left so therefore we are doing more with less until we can fully get back in person and do training. So our phone wait times have been more than usual. When I say that we have gone from 3 min waits to maybe 10 mins on a very busy day. Nothing like 3-5 hours of wait times.

I don't understand these extreme wait times. If this is what is going to happen please put me in queue for a call back at some point today. Therefore I don't have to sit on hold for hours on end.

For the life of me I cant understand why those that found themselves unemployed due to the virus would be hesitant to return to work

 

[Sandisw]

I’m so sorry and I have heard different reports about getting the DVC deal applied to tickets already bought.

I do wonder if it has to do with all parks being sold out for the dates you want? Could they not want you to have extra days that can’t be used?

But, I agree that they should have a different line or system for those that want the ticket deal and have a call back. This is part of why we are seeing waits this long. Add Aulani and now the extension for international owners of points...which require a call...you have way too many members needing too few CMs

Even if all CMs are back from furlough, I still think we’d see this. I am thinking of getting one of those for a friend in July but just haven’t wanted to hold for an hour yet. Aye doesn’t really need a ticket this long but it’s not that much more abs we could use the extra day of she had it.

 

[_auroraborealis_]

Disney cut staffing in all of the call centers. In at least the main call center, they are using an outsourced company where they don't have to pay people benefits, and the people who end up answering the phone have to pay Disney for their training.

They may or may not be having some of those people back up thee DVC lines, hard to say.

 

[eandt]

Disney cut staffing in all of the call centers. In at least the main call center, they are using an outsourced company where they don't have to pay people benefits, and the people who end up answering the phone have to pay Disney for their training.

They may or may not be having some of those people back up thee DVC lines, hard to say.

So nothing to do with the virus then simply another disney cost cutting ploy

 

[Chuck S]

I agree. I called to see about getting a new AP, since I had one during the closure. I did get right through, the CM checked my account and said I could get one, but a special "AP Recovery Team" has to handle it, and would pass my info on to them, and they need to call me back. She said it could take up to a month to receive the call. I'm glad my next trip is in November. Obviously they are overwhelmed and understaffed...due initially to cost cutting during COVID, which it totally understandable, but now they've been slammed with guests needing help. I guess they just haven't had time to hire and train enough cast members, and getting the college program back up and fully running is going to take time, too. I can't imagine what the CMs that are working are going through right now.

 

[Luv2trav]

I agree. I called to see about getting a new AP, since I had one during the closure. I did get right through, the CM checked my account and said I could get one, but a special "AP Recovery Team" has to handle it, and would pass my info on to them, and they need to call me back. She said it could take up to a month to receive the call. I'm glad my next trip is in November. Obviously they are overwhelmed and understaffed...due initially to cost cutting during COVID, which it totally understandable, but now they've been slammed with guests needing help. I guess they just haven't had time to hire and train enough cast members, and getting the college program back up and fully running is going to take time, too. I can't imagine what the CMs that are working are going through right now.

My company is in the same situation in regards to hiring new team members. Since 90% of our company is still work from home it's nearly impossible to have high quality hiring and training at this time. We will remain working from home through summer. So each time we lose a team member it's very hard to replace that person. We just have to absorb it through current team members/overtime.. People are burned out and honestly we probably have a few who are not working very "hard" at home. So I can related to what is happening at Disney right now. Their business was impacted far far far worse than mine.

I just wish I could be put on a waitlist for someone to call me back when it's my time in queue. I could have waited a day or two even. What I don't want to do is wait on hold for HOURS.. I do have to a job to do to too Good luck getting a call back about your AP. I considered trying to activate my families AP but I heard the call back time was much longer than my trip.

 

[Brett Wyman]

I for one DO NOT understand the 'complications due to covid" in this situation

The complications are Disney laid off massive amounts of staff. There literally are not enough employees on staff to answer the phones. And the websites rarely work. I still cant book with borrowed points without calling for instance. So it just increases the call volume and wait times.

 

[Sandisw]

The complications are Disney laid off massive amounts of staff. There literally are not enough employees on staff to answer the phones. And the websites rarely work. I still cant book with borrowed points without calling for instance. So it just increases the call volume and wait times.

To add, many of the CMs who were furloughed and laid off in many areas of the company found jobs elsewhere.

So, even CMs who were call center or MS people didn’t wait around for the hiring to start again. It certainly has to be frustrating to be stuck like you are.

I think the call back que would be such a great feature. I had an airline to call a few months back and the wait was 3 hours so it was great to simply get in line without having to be in line!

 

[robinb]

My only advise is to call as soon as WDW Ticketing opens in the morning and get in the queue right away. I would sync my call with https://www.time.gov/ so you can call exactly when they open.

 

[DL1WDW2]

So nothing to do with the virus then simply another disney cost cutting ploy

In other words, expect a price increase for cost cuts...

 

[DL1WDW2]

Disney cut staffing in all of the call centers. In at least the main call center, they are using an outsourced company where they don't have to pay people benefits, and the people who end up answering the phone have to pay Disney for their training.

This is very Dis- stressful.

 

[irazabul]

you would think a company like Disney would have figured this waiting on the phone thing out - disappointing considering who money is paid for tickets and such

 

[BEACHCLUBVILLAS]

We are going from March 27th-April 1st. I have an AP but the rest of my family does not. We bought park tickets before they had the 4 days get 2 for free. I have tried SEVERAL times to get through to DVC to get these days added. I finally got through after being on hold 1.5 hours... Only for them to tell me I needed to speak to someone in WDW ticketing since I bought my tickets through them. So they transferred me. After being on hold another 1.5 hours I gave up. I have tried several other times to get through and I just don't have 2-4 hours to wait on hold. Why don't they have a system where you can get a call back when you are next in line? I work in customer service/call center industry and I understand all the complications due to covid this past year. I understand they are probably severely understaffed due to all the cut backs. Can they just please change the process when I don't physically have to wait ON HOLD for HOURS to get this fixed. Now all the days are booked up and no more parks are available. I am not that concerned because I just needed to add 1 day to a park because we have all other 5 days booked and ready to go. Only I have access to all parks because I still have AP.

You know who could get through to me though?? They had NO problems calling me to try and get me to add on more points. That very same day I waited 4-5 hours to get my tickets fixed DVC called to see if I was interested in adding on. It shouldn't be this hard to use our membership and get tickets straightened out.

Rant over... No I am not selling due to this. I am cutting them some slack due to covid but it is very frustrating..

Agree! The wait time to talk to member services is hours. There’s no excuse. there’s no reason they can’t implement the callback system or get more staff. Make sure when you answer your surveys they get a 1 and not a 5 in the appropriate places. For example, Overall call satisfaction is a good start to give them a 1. Even if you rate the individual cast member a 5. A friendly helpful person does not make up for a ridiculous 2 hour wait.

 

[Chuck S]

It isn't just DVC that has hold time. Held for 1 1/4 hours today for help with a MDE problem. Fixed in less than 2 minutes when I actually talked to someone.

 

[Chrisdriscoll]

Agree! The wait time to talk to member services is hours. There’s no excuse. there’s no reason they can’t implement the callback system or get more staff. Make sure when you answer your surveys they get a 1 and not a 5 in the appropriate places. For example, Overall call satisfaction is a good start to give them a 1. Even if you rate the individual cast member a 5. A friendly helpful person does not make up for a ridiculous 2 hour wait.

Hmmm, unbeknownst to you, if you give a 1, it might effect the CM who finally handled the call and hopefully gave you excellent customer service. And its not like an individual CM should be penalized for something out of their control. In my industry giving anything less than the max score severely effects the employee(including compensation) even if the issue had nothing to do with them. Does anyone actually know how Disney uses the surveys and how they effect the CMs? Would they distinguish between an issue the CM can control and one they can't?