Just got back from OKW - shocked by uncleanliness of room

[Anal Annie]

OP - I am sorry to hear you had a bad experience at OKW but it sounds very familiar to me. Our first trip home and our one and only stay in a studio at OKW in August of '07 had similar issues with cleanliness and maintenance so I can really relate to your experience. The bathroom in our unit was dirty, the freezer door broken, the carpet was threadbare and stained and one of the bedspreads had large holes all over it. I have been told over and over here on the boards that was not normal but I am not anxious to burn my points to stay there again. Our subsequent stays at VWL and AKV have been WONDERFUL and mousekeeping has done a fabulous job at both of those properties IMO. The only negative at VWL was DS11 hated the mattress on the sofa bed. (Oh, and we also always leave it open when we leave so there's no doubt that it was used.)

Since our stays at 2 other properties were problem free I would have to agree with a couple of other posters who have suggested it is probably more of a result in the overall management of the resort and the Mousekeeping staff in general.

 

[MELSMICE]

DH & I began constructing our letter this morning. We are also sending it to the "top dog" (Jim Lewis? - is he the one at the front of DVC magazine we get).

We firmly believe that there are many choices in the Orlando area as far as time shares. We also chose to pay for the best & we expect the best. It seems to us that they are seriously focusing on the selling & promotion of the newer DVC resorts, & not maintaining their commitment to the others - specifically OKW for us.

The outside of the buildings look great - now it's time to take care of the insides. The resort is over 15 years old now. How many of use leave our homes exactly the same way for over 15 years or more? Especially things that get such hard day to day use. Items need to be replaced, cleaned, painted, etc.

I really am disappointed in their lack of attention to detail.

 

[TMB1203]

Melsmice -

BOTH sofa beds at both places were filled with popcorn, candy, dust,crumbs, cookie pieces, etc. The fact is that mosekeeping does not open them up.

So the sheets are not cleaned after each guest checks out? That's really gross!!!!

 

[sparkyboy]

During our stay in Sept. at WLV, I cleaned the kitchen floor and vacuumed the living room under the coffee table and also the couch because of my concern for our 4 yr old grandbabies on arrival day. I'm certain that the couch hadn't been touched by Mousekeeping in many months. When we left, I took all of the sheets and pillowcases off the couch and bed and placed them in the bathtub so Mousekeeping would now that they had been used and needed to be replaced with fresh linens for the next guests.

 

[eporter66]

Sorry to hear of your experience. We were just at OKW (10/18-10/24) also in the Turtle Pond section (Bldg 41), and the room was in good shape when we arrived. It did seem that when our room was serviced they did not do much at all. I think they should do a better job for all resorts, and the DVC cleaning service is not great.

The letter about having other Orlando area resorts to choose from is unacceptable. You should send that back and maybe get someone up the chain a bit if possible. Ridiculous response.

 

[castleri]

So the sheets are not cleaned after each guest checks out? That's really gross!!!!

The sheets are changed but if someone closes up the sofa with the sheets still on and the mousekeeper does not open it up that could be a problem. The clean bed linens for the sofa are in a plastic bag in the closet when you check in. As I posted earlier we leave the sofa open and do not put the linens back so mousekeeping will know they have been used and replace them. I usually put the towels and bath mat on the vanity top ( saves someone having to bend over the tub to pick them up in the cramped space of the bathroom in a studio. It is too bad that if there are cookie crumbs etc in the bed or other places the person staying there can't take a few minutes to clean up the mess they made.

 

[ADP]

I've only read the first few posts of this thread; however, the trend in society is "I really don't care". I see it everyday in service oriented transactions. Now, I'm not saying everyone is like this, but when you see posts like this it ultimately comes down to the person who cleaned the room. It's a matter of them just doing their job, or what they are paid to do. If that particular Mousekeeper is having a bad then you may get an uncleaned room. Frustration, a bad Manager, a bad day albeit reality doesn't excuse a Mousekeeper or anyone else from doing a bad job. If you are getting paid to do a job you should do it to the best of your ability. Anything less is unacceptable. It's what makes the American worker stand out above the rest.

 

[permavac]

I've only read the first few posts of this thread; however, the trend in society is "I really don't care". I see it everyday in service oriented transactions. Now, I'm not saying everyone is like this, but when you see posts like this it ultimately comes down to the person who cleaned the room. It's a matter of them just doing their job, or what they are paid to do. If that particular Mousekeeper is having a bad then you may get an uncleaned room. Frustration, a bad Manager, a bad day albeit reality doesn't excuse a Mousekeeper or anyone else from doing a bad job. If you are getting paid to do a job you should do it to the best of your ability. Anything less is unacceptable. It's what makes the American worker stand out above the rest.

I agree that this is what it really all boils down to. You can rail about the amount of money you spent, but really, shouldn't the room be clean regardless? Disney hires people to clean the rooms and they should do their job - period. Now I see the problem as one of training because if you get 10 people together and ask them what an acceptable level of cleanliness is, you may likely get 10 different answers and right there you are looking at the Disney cleaning staff. I'm not positive, but I am guessing that Disney policy is to change ALL the sheets in the room after a guest leaves - regardless of whether they THINK someone may have slept there or not (if they don't require it, they should!). I think it comes down to who is cleaning the rooms and what their level of cleanliness (or yes, laziness) is. My mother was a first generation immigrant room cleaner when she first came to the US and she was crazy about being clean and keeping everything around us clean, but I have encountered others from other countries who don't realize what Americans expect (why wouldn't you use a pillow case that was only used by one other person once before?). As a result I am, on a regular basis, disgusted by what I find in hotel rooms - from Disney to 5 stars to budget motels - there is no guarantee of cleanliness UNLESS you have a person at the top who trains and holds accountable his or her staff. I've complained about soda splashed on the walls of a room and had the housekeeping manager look at me strangely that I would complain about something that insignificant (and this was a supposed 5-star property). Having worked in HR for a number of years, I know how hard it is to get everyone on board when it comes to providing an exceptional customer service product but guess what? It can be done. It just takes dedication, communication and training and that is a price that a lot of these companies are unwilling to pay. Sad but true, but like some other posters, I just bring my own cleaning supplies and plan on spending a couple of hours doing a thorough cleaning (and calling housekeeping to address any problems like the need for clean sheets, etc). Until Disney sets the highest level of cleanliness as their goal and puts the time and effort in to promote that, you're going to continue to have these horror stories. By-the-way - I spoke to the Pop Century housekeeping manager during a particularly bad stay and he was proud that the bedspreads were washed every two weeks. Gross!

 

[MELSMICE]

Just sent my e-mail off to the DVC member satisfaction team. I anxiously await their response.

 

[50 years Too!]

I really think the sofa bed is a big issue!
Doesn't matter if the bed is left open or not, mousekeepers should always check it and change it. I'm going to write DVC about this issue. I noticed on our last stay, (our room was not bad with the exception of the thick dust in the fan and register vents), that one of the pillows in the closet had the pillow case left open. All the rest of the pillows included the other two in the closet were folded inward. Makes me think the pillow had been used and tossed back up on the shelf. I washed it since I was in a 1 bedroom.
I also wash the silverware and glasses and a few plates.
I rewash them when we leave, too. I got on a cleaning kick and "dusted".
Top of picture frames, table legs, etc.
That room was clean when I left it! LOL

Deb