Just back from AKL....my report....bring on the flames!!

[Peter Pirate]

Anne60, this may be what you're taught but where are all of these loyal and subservient prospective employees in this day and age? I know I couldn't do it. Further, a hurricane is a bit more catastophic than a blizzard and these poor CM's had two! Certainly their behavior should be professional but 'what if' these folks knew their house had just sustained a lot of damage and then was confronted by an overbearing, self rightous oaf who payed "big bucks" to stay here and "DESERVES" something (anything). - No reference to the OP in this btw, this is clearly not that situation.

 

[anne60]

Gee - I'm sorry, but I don't see where I said you had to be subserviant. Polite, professional, yes....

You know you could not do it, and that's fine. But these folks are employed to be in the service industry, and I believe that being polite and professional are two pretty basic requirements of anyone that takes money to do that kind of job.

I certainly don't want to minimize what folks have had happen to them in Florida, and (LIKE I WROTE) they should be commended by their employer for coming in during difficult times. I just don't think that being rude to a customer is okay, especially if the customer has not done anything rude. FYI - a blizzard is capable of hurricane winds, but you have snow instead of rain.

 

[Planogirl]

I can only mention our own experience. We certainly weren't there during the hurricanes so I can't comment on that but I can perhaps describe what I hope is the norm.

Our room did not have a good view but I booked the room through Expedia and was promised no view so that was fine. The room faced the lobby area in fact. The room was immaculate and quiet as a tomb. I never even heard the famous toilets which surprised me because I've heard them in other resorts. I never saw who was cleaning our room but it was extremely clean which pleased me.

The CM's were extremely nice. My husband lost his room key and the staff member was very quick to replace it and was also very kind about it which was nice since he was very embarassed. Once we returned during a heavy rainstorm and a CM was waiting at the entrance with huge towels. We explored the hotel and found CM's ready to talk about the animals and the art at every turn. I spent a lot of time in the lobby area and CM's were always stopping to say hello and ask if we were having a good time. I never experienced that at any other Disney resort.

Maybe we were lucky but we had a wonderful stay. My husband who is NOT a Disney fan raved about AKL which was a relief for me. I wouldn't hesitate to stay there again at ANY price. Also, I would personally not judge a resort by how it was run during a hurricane. These crazy storms change all of the rules IMO.

 

[AllyandJack]

Originally posted by Sammie
You left your "Do Not Disturb" sign on your door, housekeeping can not disturb you, however before the maid went home she was nice enough to leave what she thought you might need. What is your complaint? What would you have her do? I would have been extremely pleased that someone cared enough to do that for me.

No..that was at POR. At AKL, nobody came for 5 days despite having the Please Make Up Room sign on the door. Two different resorts. It was at POR that they left the towels when I stayed in the room all day.

 

[Peter Pirate]

Anne, you missed my point I think. It takes dedication to be a good employee in the service industry and yes a bit of subservience, after all you are waiting on others...My point is that in America today there ARE NOT many folks really wanting to do these jobs, which is why hotels are staffed with foreign employees. So it's easy to say what an employee should do. What Disney CM's should do, but it isn't so easy to have 55,000 of them in one place as WDW must do. Plus, during a storm, especially the second storm, these poor folks were completely frazzled and while they shouldn't "snap" for no reason, sometimes these pressures are just too much to bear. If Disney sent those stressed employees home they'd have had NO ONE working at all. I think virtually ALL criticism during these extraordinary times should be considered null and void. Just my opinion.

RE: A hurricane vs. a blizzard. I grew up in Northern Michigan and experienced a few blizzards and they do not cause the total havoc and destruction nor do they give the immediate fear that a hurricane does. Both are bad, both are capabe of much damage but a hurricane is far more weight on the psyche than a blizzard, IMO.

 

[Lisa loves Pooh]

Originally posted by Peter Pirate
Anne60, this may be what you're taught but where are all of these loyal and subservient prospective employees in this day and age? I know I couldn't do it. Further, a hurricane is a bit more catastophic than a blizzard and these poor CM's had two! Certainly their behavior should be professional but 'what if' these folks knew their house had just sustained a lot of damage and then was confronted by an overbearing, self rightous oaf who payed "big bucks" to stay here and "DESERVES" something (anything). - No reference to the OP in this btw, this is clearly not that situation.

HOGWASH!

Let's take it out of the hurricane context. Would these actions have been excusable if there was no hurricane? No they would not have been.

A disaster is a disaster. Could be a tornado, could be an earthquake, could be a blizzard, could be a hurricane. It doesn't matter. And using it as an excuse to behave badly is not right.

Mgmt dropped the ball. They or WDW should offer counseling, more pep talks--whatever, to keep the CM's mood lifted as much as possible so that whatever is going on in their personal lives as a result of the hurricane are not reflected on the guests. If the CM's b/c of the hurricane are poorly reflecting the company--then something should be done.

People in my area have lost homes, have had lots of damage and such--for Frances and Jeanne--I have not encountered one rude employee yet anywhere I have gone since those hurricanes. And if I did, while they may have a sad situation--I would still tell the manager. Especially at this point--about 3 weeks post hurricane. But I haven't had that problem yet locally.


And it stinks--but it is part of the service industry to accomodate guests no matter how snobby, self righteous, and rude they are--
Of course if what they are doing bothers the employee so much that they are unable to complete their duties, then get a manager. It is manager's job to deal with it.

And I didn't think you were aiming at the OP--just commenting on your response.

 

[Lisa loves Pooh]

Originally posted by Peter Pirate
Plus, during a storm, especially the second storm, these poor folks were completely frazzled and while they shouldn't "snap" for no reason, sometimes these pressures are just too much to bear. If Disney sent those stressed employees home they'd have had NO ONE working at all. I think virtually ALL criticism during these extraordinary times should be considered null and void. Just my opinion.

So--if you don't have your room clean after the storm is over--then you have no complaint?

What about if you encountered the rudest employee ever--and they had no damage to their home...are they covered under this blanket N&V policy?

What about you are lugging your baggage and it is falling everyone--a CM sees you--but totally ignores. Mind you, they are not helping other guests--just chatting on the phone. No reason to complain here, since it's a hurricane after all?

Not every single employee is stressed. Not every single employee had damage to their home. Not every single employee was completely frazzled.

To say ALL criticism is null & void is rediculous. It takes away the accountability of the employees to even bother with basic customer service skills during a hectic time.

 

[Took]

If WDW cannot staff its hotels with adequately professional employees, then it needs to quit building more hotels and concentrate on quality.

Took

 

[AllyandJack]

I'd like to know when the Null & Void policy ends. Is it 2 days after the storm? Three? A week? I was there before the storm and encountered lousy CMs and I was there for over a week after the storm and encountered lousy CMs.

I did my part. I didn't make a big stink about the lousy room with the crappy view right next to the staircase. I offered to go down and get the flashlight instead of having them bring it up (which they never did, despite calling me and saying it was "on its way"). I went to the housekeeper the day after the storm and got my own towels and toilet paper off her cart. I did the same thing 2 days later and then asked if maybe, just maybe, she'd be getting to my room today. She promised the next day and she did, but she didn't change the sheets - after 5 days and with a soda stain on it (and, yes, I cleaned that up myself, but I refused to take the sheets to the laundry and pay and wash them myself).

So, if someone comes back tomorrow and says that the housekeeping was lousy and the valets were difficult to find and some of the front desk people couldn't care if you lived or died, are we still under the umbrella of the hurricanes?

If you do a search for AKL reviews on these boards, you will see the same stories dating back to 2003. I read a report about someone who spilled yogurt on the bed and the bed was remade with crusted, dried yogurt still on the sheets. This is not a new issue with AKL. Hurricane or no hurricane, it's common theme and Disney needs to deal with it. No, it can't be perfect all the time and, yes, sometimes people expect too much from their stay, but cleanliness is not asking too much and the simple changing of sheets is not asking for perfection - even if it is a mere 5 days after a hurricane.

This is turning into an ugly thread....now people are arguing over whether a blizzard is worse than a hurricane.

 

[rach98n]

It seems to be somewhat universal that the CM's at AKL are not as up to par as at other resorts. Is there a way, or have you who have experienced it, passed this on to Management??

 

[ClarkWG]

Wow...I come on the boards today to try and find an email address for the AKL's management and read this. My family and I were at the AKL the same time as the OP (actually just a few rooms down the hall). We were so impressed with the way the staff at the AKL handled themselves during the hurricane situation I wanted to send a note to them expressing our gratitude. I don't dispute what the OP has said, but we had such a different experience. I think the AKL did an incredible job of keeping people entertained on the day of the storm - 2 of the 3 restaurants stayed open (Mara only closed because it is only accessible via an outside walkway), musical bands, in-room movies, crafts, characters were in and about throughout the day - the lobby was a hub of activity. My DS4 probably had as much fun that day as any day at the parks. And I got to tour around the inside of the hotel getting to see a lot of things we'd probably have overlooked if we'd had another park day. During the whole day I only encountered one upset guest (waiting in line when the coffee ran out and had to be replaced) - all of the CMs I dealt with were very pleasant as well. I found the hotel did a great job of keeping us updated with information about the status of the storm. The OP's issue about housekeeping is valid, but I might have handled it differently. We realized that there was going to be reduced housekeeping during the storm (and shortly afterwards). For the first couple of days we just left our "Do Not Disturb" card on the door letting housekeeping know we were fine. After that it was as per usual - room was made up, towel animals for the kids etc. As for the OP's stain issue I would have went and spoken to a member of housekeeping (or called them) and I'm sure something would have been done right away. As a side note - I am very impressed by the way the OP handled their situation though - by not letting a couple of negative situations ruin their holiday and staying positive throughout.

Overall, we loved the AKL and will stay there again.

 

[AllyandJack]

Originally posted by ClarkWG
Wow...I come on the boards today to try and find an email address for the AKL's management and read this. My family and I were at the AKL the same time as the OP (actually just a few rooms down the hall). We were so impressed with the way the staff at the AKL handled themselves during the hurricane situation I wanted to send a note to them expressing our gratitude. I don't dispute what the OP has said, but we had such a different experience. I think the AKL did an incredible job of keeping people entertained on the day of the storm - 2 of the 3 restaurants stayed open (Mara only closed because it is only accessible via an outside walkway), musical bands, in-room movies, crafts, characters were in and about throughout the day - the lobby was a hub of activity. My DS4 probably had as much fun that day as any day at the parks. And I got to tour around the inside of the hotel getting to see a lot of things we'd probably have overlooked if we'd had another park day. During the whole day I only encountered one upset guest (waiting in line when the coffee ran out and had to be replaced) - all of the CMs I dealt with were very pleasant as well. I found the hotel did a great job of keeping us updated with information about the status of the storm. The OP's issue about housekeeping is valid, but I might have handled it differently. We realized that there was going to be reduced housekeeping during the storm (and shortly afterwards). For the first couple of days we just left our "Do Not Disturb" card on the door letting housekeeping know we were fine. After that it was as per usual - room was made up, towel animals for the kids etc. As for the OP's stain issue I would have went and spoken to a member of housekeeping (or called them) and I'm sure something would have been done right away. As a side note - I am very impressed by the way the OP handled their situation though - by not letting a couple of negative situations ruin their holiday and staying positive throughout.

Overall, we loved the AKL and will stay there again.

Except for the flashlight issue, I definitely agree that AKL did a great job of keeping us informed during the storm. There were always messages to let us know what was happening and to watch the local news for information. They definitely had it together in that regard.

I spent some time in the lobby, but I don't have kids and most of the stuff was kid-oriented, which is understandable. The lobby was always very active and festive, which is great. My friends were on the opposite side of the resort, so when we got cabin-fever in the rooms, we would meet in the lobby and walk around and watch the kids playing.

They did a good job of making us feel safe and informed during the storm.

 

[patsal]

Sorry for your bad experience. Storm or not there is never an excuse for rudeness. My experience at AKL was top notch, so I am sad that you did not have such a nice experience.

 

[ClarkWG]

Ally&Jack,

What was the flashlight issue - I'm sorry if I missed this in the earlier posts. I remember a CM who came to our room on Saturday evening handing out flashlights and a note from management about the hurricane...Did you not get one?

 

[AllyandJack]

Originally posted by ClarkWG
Ally&Jack,

What was the flashlight issue - I'm sorry if I missed this in the earlier posts. I remember a CM who came to our room on Saturday evening handing out flashlights and a note from management about the hurricane...Did you not get one?

My best friend was staying at AKL on another trail. Saturday night, she calls me and asks if "they" just walked into my room, too. I had no idea what she was talking about. She was in her room with the latch on, but not the bolt. She heard a loud BOOM! and looked over at the door. A CM had used a master key and would have walked right in (with the Privacy sign on), but for the latch holding it shut. He gave her a flashlight and a note. I told her nobody walked into my room, I never got a flashlight and note was stuffed under my door. So, I call to the front desk and ask if I was supposed to get one. They said I was. I said I'd come and get it. He said they would send it up. At about 10:30 that night, they called us back to say it was on it's way. I unlocked the door, made sure the Privacy sign was off and waited. And waited. And waited until 1am. I tried calling down to the Front Desk at midnight, but got no response. I contemplated walking to the Front Desk at midnight, but I was in my pajamas and really wasn't in the mood to get dressed and walk to the Front Desk at that point. I was pretty annoyed.

I actually went to the Front Desk Sunday afternoon and they guy gave me the flashlight. I told him it was a little too late at this point, but he told me I HAD to have it. So, I took it. Thankfully, I didn't need it during the storm. I have a clock that lights up, so I figured I would use that in the event of an emergency to go back and forth to the bathroom.

 

[Peter Pirate]

Hogwash is right...Your comments I mean.

Look, you don't have to agree and I was just expressing my opinion and I don't think I belittled anybody (yet).

So OK, according to Took Disney needs to close some of their properties because of the staffing difficulties in Orlando...I disagree. I realize things aren't, and will probably never will, be perfect but most of the time they are pretty darn good. But staffing IS a huge issue and service people are not living up to the standards we EXPECT...That's just how it is. You can complain, whine, compare to elsewhere but it isn't going to change a thing, but there is no one else to hire!!!

AllyandJack, although this is your thread I was not addressing you because I think you handled yourself just fine. I only disagree on expectations during time of crisis. When would the crisis end? Depends on how bad it was, luckily things should have return to normal after Jeanne in just a couple of days, but I don't know for a fact how many CM's homes were actually damaged.

Lisa loves pooh, you need to work on your sarcasam as it just sounds mean, IMO...I didn't say poor work is OK, I simply said that during a disaster tolerence needs to be given, if you disagree then there is no need to discuss further. In this case you simply don't know that the bellman just watching someone struggle with their luggage, not offering to help hasn't just found out his roof was blown off or his living room is flooded. Under normal circumstances these are legitimate complaints and while I feel Disney can NEVER live to the level EXPECTED by some DIS'ers, they generally do quite well. As for damage in your area, well I don't know how damaged your area was, but I know smiles, good attitudes and tolerance are beginning to become hard to come by in Vero & Ft. Pierce.

CM's are human too and while these circumstances should be eliminated during normal operating times they need to be minimized during extreme times such as these. Maybe Disney should just close their resort doors during storms and let folks fend for themselves...Thankfully they do show concern for their CM's and the community and try to do the best they can...Even if they know they'll be accused of "dropping te ball" by some.

 

[plutojudy]

We always pack flashlights. You can be anywhere and have a power outage. I would not expect a hotel to furnish flashlights. We always have a travel candle. Since 911, we are always prepared. We always pick a meeting place in case of emergencies. Just like at home.

 

[totalia]

Originally posted by Peter Pirate
Anne60, this may be what you're taught but where are all of these loyal and subservient prospective employees in this day and age? I know I couldn't do it. Further, a hurricane is a bit more catastophic than a blizzard and these poor CM's had two! Certainly their behavior should be professional but 'what if' these folks knew their house had just sustained a lot of damage and then was confronted by an overbearing, self rightous oaf who payed "big bucks" to stay here and "DESERVES" something (anything). - No reference to the OP in this btw, this is clearly not that situation.

Exactly. The CM's are HUMAN TOO.

-----------------------------------------------------
Look, none of us is perfect and just because we work in the industry DOESN'T mean that WE will be perfect.

Originally posted by Lisa loves Pooh
So--if you don't have your room clean after the storm is over--then you have no complaint?

What about if you encountered the rudest employee ever--and they had no damage to their home...are they covered under this blanket N&V policy?

What about you are lugging your baggage and it is falling everyone--a CM sees you--but totally ignores. Mind you, they are not helping other guests--just chatting on the phone. No reason to complain here, since it's a hurricane after all?

Not every single employee is stressed. Not every single employee had damage to their home. Not every single employee was completely frazzled.

To say ALL criticism is null & void is rediculous. It takes away the accountability of the employees to even bother with basic customer service skills during a hectic time.

What in the world would be so horrible that you can't pick up the garbage off the floor yourself or make your bed yourself? Whats so bad that you can't go to the front desk and say "We need new towels for our room"?

Also, they are not supposed to tell you if there is anything wrong with their home. But you know what? Sometimes things happen and sometimes its hard to control your reaction. We ARE HUMAN just like you. You CANNOT tell me that you have never been snotty to a customer because we all know you have. It may have been accidental but its still the truth.

Just the other day, I received a letter telling me how wonderful I was during a wedding at the hotel when it was a very stressful weekend and on the same day, I received a box of chocolates from a guest for how kind I was. You know what? I snapped at a guest after the 90th phone call to their room (I apologized afterwards). It was amazing. The guest actually understood. Wow. What a concept. To actually understand that certain things are annoying and frustrating and even sometimes scarey for a clerk.

As for the CM being on the phone... how do you know they were just chatting? For all you know, it was her boss she was talking to. You don't hear the other side of the conversation, only what the CM is saying. When my boss calls or when one of the other managers call, they often say "hey how was your day. Has there been any problems?" And other things along those lines. To a guest, it would sound like I am just having a pleasant pleasing conversation with a friend. But I'm not. I'm talking to my boss. Am I ignoring you? Nope. I know your there. But the call from the boss comes FIRST.

Sometimes it happens that we do get personal phone calls. You know what? YOU DO TOO. Sucks doesn't it? Hmm, maybe your secretary or switchboard operator just shouldn't put the call through because its personal. That doesn't happen though and we both know why. Because that call can be important. Just because the guest doesn't realize its important, doesn't mean that it isn't.

Your complaining about things that are perception based. You have no way of knowing.

And you know what? I bet they WEREN'T completely frazzled. Not all of them anyway. But some people take stress better than others.

Originally posted by ClarkWG
Wow...I come on the boards today to try and find an email address for the AKL's management and read this. My family and I were at the AKL the same time as the OP (actually just a few rooms down the hall). We were so impressed with the way the staff at the AKL handled themselves during the hurricane situation I wanted to send a note to them expressing our gratitude. I don't dispute what the OP has said, but we had such a different experience. I think the AKL did an incredible job of keeping people entertained on the day of the storm - 2 of the 3 restaurants stayed open (Mara only closed because it is only accessible via an outside walkway), musical bands, in-room movies, crafts, characters were in and about throughout the day - the lobby was a hub of activity. My DS4 probably had as much fun that day as any day at the parks. And I got to tour around the inside of the hotel getting to see a lot of things we'd probably have overlooked if we'd had another park day. During the whole day I only encountered one upset guest (waiting in line when the coffee ran out and had to be replaced) - all of the CMs I dealt with were very pleasant as well. I found the hotel did a great job of keeping us updated with information about the status of the storm. The OP's issue about housekeeping is valid, but I might have handled it differently. We realized that there was going to be reduced housekeeping during the storm (and shortly afterwards). For the first couple of days we just left our "Do Not Disturb" card on the door letting housekeeping know we were fine. After that it was as per usual - room was made up, towel animals for the kids etc. As for the OP's stain issue I would have went and spoken to a member of housekeeping (or called them) and I'm sure something would have been done right away. As a side note - I am very impressed by the way the OP handled their situation though - by not letting a couple of negative situations ruin their holiday and staying positive throughout.

Overall, we loved the AKL and will stay there again.

See? It's all in the perception of things. Guests take their frustrations out on employees, just as the other way around (though usually the employees are much nicer than the guests no matter which way the guests see it).

Originally posted by Peter Pirate
Hogwash is right...Your comments I mean.

Look, you don't have to agree and I was just expressing my opinion and I don't think I belittled anybody (yet).

So OK, according to Took Disney needs to close some of their properties because of the staffing difficulties in Orlando...I disagree. I realize things aren't, and will probably never will, be perfect but most of the time they are pretty darn good. But staffing IS a huge issue and service people are not living up to the standards we EXPECT...That's just how it is. You can complain, whine, compare to elsewhere but it isn't going to change a thing, but there is no one else to hire!!!

AllyandJack, although this is your thread I was not addressing you because I think you handled yourself just fine. I only disagree on expectations during time of crisis. When would the crisis end? Depends on how bad it was, luckily things should have return to normal after Jeanne in just a couple of days, but I don't know for a fact how many CM's homes were actually damaged.

Lisa loves pooh, you need to work on your sarcasam as it just sounds mean, IMO...I didn't say poor work is OK, I simply said that during a disaster tolerence needs to be given, if you disagree then there is no need to discuss further. In this case you simply don't know that the bellman just watching someone struggle with their luggage, not offering to help hasn't just found out his roof was blown off or his living room is flooded. Under normal circumstances these are legitimate complaints and while I feel Disney can NEVER live to the level EXPECTED by some DIS'ers, they generally do quite well. As for damage in your area, well I don't know how damaged your area was, but I know smiles, good attitudes and tolerance are beginning to become hard to come by in Vero & Ft. Pierce.

CM's are human too and while these circumstances should be eliminated during normal operating times they need to be minimized during extreme times such as these. Maybe Disney should just close their resort doors during storms and let folks fend for themselves...Thankfully they do show concern for their CM's and the community and try to do the best they can...Even if they know they'll be accused of "dropping te ball" by some.

Yes, exactly. Thank you. Nice to see some support here.

 

[robinb]

Originally posted by AllyandJack
I was in 2238 on the Kudu trail. I was overlooking the small savannah - can't remember the name of it.

I'm coming in late to this discussion. We stayed at AKL last year and were upgraded to a great room on the Kudu trail, but on the other Savannah at the very end.

I *think* the name of the Savannah you were on is the "Sunset Savannah" if it's the one you can see from the large observatory to the left of the hallway down the Kudu trail. We called it the "Vulture View" because it seems the only thing to see there were huge birds and the occasional giraffe.

I'm sorry you had a bad time . We're planning on returning in December and I think I'll take a page from CarolMN's book and ask to be moved if we don't like the view.