Just back from CSR my report

[totalia]

Originally posted by Maryjane1
I just spent 10 nights at CSR. It was our fourth time there. It will be my LAST time there.

This report is NOT meant to discourage people from staying at CSR. I am NOT suggesting anyone cancel and/or change any reservations they have at this resort. This is my opinion and the opinion of my DH. Your experience could have been different. Your experience might be different. This is MY experience and MY opinion. And this is twice that this happened to us.

First off...my room. I booked was a King Room. When I went to check in I was told there was no King Bed I said I booked this way back in Feburary. The CM said he would look well all of a sudden there was one but his answer was it will cost us more money then the rate we had, my DH said we allready had a rate for a King Bed. He went in the back to check comes out and says that room is now being redone with a new bed and it is not available. I felt very hurt that Disneys trying to squeeze more money out of us. All they kept saying too was that they had a lot of convention people coming in and I said I am here at 11 am and I thought I get the first room since they are not here they said I was mistaken. I also explained it was our 6th time at Disney in the past year and they did not care. At that point I asked to speak to a manager she came out and said almost the same as the CM except she said she might have one the next day so we said we would take the room with two beds for the night. BIG MISTAKE so we go to the room and my DH says lets not unpack since they plan on moving us. The next day we get a call that it will be another day or so. This went on every day and when I would try to talk to her she was never available she always left voice messages on the phone. We even went to the front desk with no help. No one even care that I was not happy or even try to seem interested in anything I had to say all they kept saying was there was nothing that could be done. I never ever got though to her and she never tryed to call me when I left my cell phone to call. I am home and still never even a call to say they were sorry. We will never stay there again.

Ok, I think I have to explain a few things about hotels and the way they work.

BED Type is a request. I'm sorry if you didn't realize that but its been posted on here many times that bed type is NOT guaranteed no matter how much money you pay OR when you check in.

The CM who dealt with you made a mistake in telling you at ALL that there MAY have been a room with a King bed available since then you obviously expected to have it.

No hotel guarantees Bed Type. They guarantee you a room and usually you will recieve the view you want but bed type can be hard sometimes.

Also, a convention receives a guarantee. There's a reason for this. Because they WILL be coming back and bring ALOT of money into the hotel. Perhaps thats horrible but you are just one person while a convention is hundreds, possibly thousands of people. They would rather lose you as a guest than the convention have a bad experience because they will make alot more money with the convention than they will with you.

Slimey practice? A bit. But also very much the truth. They are in this to make money or they wouldn't be doing it.

It's not their problem how many times you've come to the hotel. The choice to come is still yours and six times doesn't change the fact that they would consider the convention more important.

I'm sorry that the management can't work 24 hours a day for your pleasure. If you are not there when she tries to contact you, there is nothing that she can do. You are not the only guest that she has to deal with and probably not the only problem (there's usually alot more than you would think that pops up during the day). If she had called early, when you were asleep, you'd have been angry at being woken up. Then your gone all day long into the parks. She would likely be gone by 4 or 5 pm.

They should have been quicker to reply to you in all instances and the original CM should have been smart enough to say NOTHING about a room being available BUT that means very little.

You've allowed a bed to ruin your vacation for nothing. It's just a bed.

Btw, at Disney, King beds ARE more money than standards.

 

[sherry8253]

Gee - I think some people are being mean to MaryJane. I was under the impression that if I booked a king room in a moderate and paid the king room charge that is what I would get when I arrive. My DH and I stay in a moderate sometimes because we are more comfortable in a king size bed than a queen and CRO has told me a king size bed is a 'REQUEST' at a deluxe but it is 'SOMETHING YOU CAN PAY FOR AND RESERVE' at a moderate. Why do you think MaryJane is out of line when she stated she did not receive what she booked and paid for and would not stay there again? I assume that if you reserve and pay for a courtyard view at the WL you would expect to get a courtyard view and not a standard view or a wood view when you arrive. I think that comparing a 'REQUEST' for bunks at WL and something you 'PAY FOR' at a moderate is not appropriate. All I got out of MaryJane's post is she wanted what she booked and paid for and she was unhappy that she did not receive it. And, then a CM told her she could have what she booked and paid later in her stay and she didn't get that either. I don't think she was being snooty or demanding.

 

[Maryjane1]

sherry8253

Thank you for understanding. The reason for my post was to inform others that this happens at CSR and if you are going there be prepared to have your reservation questioned. While I was checking in a cast member checking in was having a hard time getting what she requested. I did not wait to see how that turned out. Just know if you are going there the odds you will have a problem.

sherry8253 thank you again

 

[sherry8253]

Hi MaryJane - no problem. Thanks for posting your opinion about your trip to CSR. To me that is what these boards are all about - being able to post opinions, thoughts, likes, dislikes etc. I enjoy reading about other peoples experiences - sometime I agree & sometimes I don't. But I don't think we need to get nasty here. Have a nice evening and don't let this experience scare you away from this board. I find alot of useful info here.

 

[totalia]

Originally posted by sherry8253
Gee - I think some people are being mean to MaryJane. I was under the impression that if I booked a king room in a moderate and paid the king room charge that is what I would get when I arrive. My DH and I stay in a moderate sometimes because we are more comfortable in a king size bed than a queen and CRO has told me a king size bed is a 'REQEST' at a deluxe but it is 'SOMETHING YOU CAN PAY FOR AND RESERVE' at a moderate. Why do you think MaryJane is out of line when she stated she did not receive what she booked and paid for and would not stay there again? I assume that if you reserve and pay for a courtyard view at the WL you would expect to get a courtyard view and not a standard view or a wood view when you arrive. I think that comparing a 'REQUEST' for bunks at WL and something you 'PAY FOR' at a moderate is not appropriate. All I got out of MaryJane's post is she wanted what she booked and paid for and she was unhappy that she did not receive it. And, the a CM told her she could have what she booked and paid later in her stay and she didn't get that either. I don't think she was being snooty or demanding.

Just because you book something doesn't mean you will receive it. Things happen. While she should receive her money back since Kings are more than Standards at a Disney hotel, expecting that you will definately receive something is a severe misperception.

Hotel's do not guarantee these things. They guarantee that you will have a place to sleep and clean, safe surroundings.

A view or a bed type is not guaranteed. If the CM"s are not explaining this to you (it was explained to me when I made my res for next May) apparently some of them are not doing their jobs. Besides its just a view or bed type. It's nothing major. While you should receive the difference in money back, its not the end of the world.

It's not as though someone went into your room and stole something or as though an elephant ran a rampage into your room or as though someone dumped a whole of dirt on the floor, rubbed it in and left it there or as if a CM punched one of you, or even as if they left the door to your room open to anyone who might feel like walking in.

It's a view or a bed type and by far, its not the worst thing that could have happened.

OP: If you are so unhappy, write a letter to the hotel that you would like the difference back that you paid for the room and why. Most hotels would be happy to oblige.

However, try not to let yourself get so upset over it next time. This is a very small thing to worry about.

See, I've requested a King Bed myself since it's our honeymoon but I know better than to expect it. My res confirmation even says that I have a king bed. But being angry over it if I don't get it is rather foolish so is constantly insisting that they change it every single day when I am going to have far more important things to do or getting upset because the Manager doesn't keep the same schedule that I do (the CM's have lives too).

I don't think its unfair to expect the guest to be reasonable just as its not fair for a hotel to make a guest miserable (though that clearly wasn't the case in this instance).

 

[princess pooh]

I hate it when someone posts a negative review and they're told they shouldn't be upset. If you don't care about the kind of bed you get, good for you. Just because it's petty to you doesn't mean that others can't feel differently.

Thanks Maryjane1 for posting your experiences. I'm sorry you felt wronged by the management of the resort.

 

[Kimickey]

I've been lurking this thread for about a day. I would just like to say that I see both sides. I see what everyone is saying. DH works in Hotel management and he gets problems like this all of the time. Not getting what one requests or pays for at the time of booking is not guaranteed. I've asked DH this question all of the time. This problem is not isolated to just the CSR it is a global issue. Hotels book rooms based on the thought that everyone will not show up, if they did not they would lose money big time. Airlines do it too. Hotel "hope" guest will check out but if they don't then that is one less room you can sell or give out for the particular day and it messes up the room inventory. With that said if the CSR projected 100 checkins and out of 100 rooms only 25 of those rooms were king rooms, and 30 people have paid for or requested king rooms, the first 25 people to arrive will get the king rooms. Even though some people "only" requested the room but paid for a standard and decided once they arrive to go ahead and pay the extra money for the room they are going to get it also. These hotels are in the business of making money. Their attitudes are deal with the customer who is standing in front of me instead of a person who is projected to show or who may not show up at all. It's a risk and unfortunately some people get the short end of the stick such as MaryJane.

But there are alternatives to people who get the short end of the stick and the CSR should have accomedated that. The GSM should have address the issue and tried to correct it (trust me they know how, but sometimes would rather not). From a wife of who's DH is a GSM, DH says it all balls down to how nice the person is to him. If the person gets really nasty with him (not saying MaryJane did) he will not so much as bend for them. But if the person is upset but still is nice at the same token DH says he will bend over backwards and go through hoops for the customer.

Me personally I would be a little upset about it, but I would just try and make the best out of the situation. Also, if I paid for a king room and they did not have one, I would just ask for the credit unless I was given something comperable. If I'm told no then I would go right up the chain of command for the hotel until I recieved my credit.

MaryJane I'm sorry you've had such a rough time with this situation. If you would like to persue this situation, pm me and I can give you some names and numbers of the CSR upper management and let them handle it.


Kim

 

[totalia]

Originally posted by Kimickey
I've been lurking this thread for about a day. I would just like to say that I see both sides. I see what everyone is saying. DH works in Hotel management and he gets problems like this all of the time. Not getting what one requests or pays for at the time of booking is not guaranteed. I've asked DH this question all of the time. This problem is not isolated to just the CSR it is a global issue. Hotels book rooms based on the thought that everyone will not show up, if they did not they would lose money big time. Airlines do it too. Hotel "hope" guest will check out but if they don't then that is one less room you can sell or give out for the particular day and it messes up the room inventory. With that said if the CSR projected 100 checkins and out of 100 rooms only 25 of those rooms were king rooms, and 30 people have paid for or requested king rooms, the first 25 people to arrive will get the king rooms. Even though some people "only" requested the room but paid for a standard and decided once they arrive to go ahead and pay the extra money for the room they are going to get it also. These hotels are in the business of making money. Their attitudes are deal with the customer who is standing in front of me instead of a person who is projected to show or who may not show up at all. It's a risk and unfortunately some people get the short end of the stick such as MaryJane.

But there are alternatives to people who get the short end of the stick and the CSR should have accomedated that. The GSM should have address the issue and tried to correct it (trust me they know how, but sometimes would rather not). From a wife of who's DH is a GSM, DH says it all balls down to how nice the person is to him. If the person gets really nasty with him (not saying MaryJane did) he will not so much as bend for them. But if the person is upset but still is nice at the same token DH says he will bend over backwards and go through hoops for the customer.

Me personally I would be a little upset about it, but I would just try and make the best out of the situation. Also, if I paid for a king room and they did not have one, I would just ask for the credit unless I was given something comperable. If I'm told no then I would go right up the chain of command for the hotel until I recieved my credit.

MaryJane I'm sorry you've had such a rough time with this situation. If you would like to persue this situation, pm me and I can give you some names and numbers of the CSR upper management and let them handle it.


Kim

Yes exactly. You said it better than I did.

This is exactly whats going on.

Unfortunately, it does happen. Though the guest would like to think we are here to accomodate their every need, that isn't really true. Hotels are in business to make money and if they didn't carry out these practices they would lose far more than if they did.

I know it seems a little slimey and a horrible thing to do. Before I worked in a hotel, I would have agreed with you. Now I understand better than I ever thought I would.