Lack of consideration

[Tea Please]

We recently returned from a stay at the AKL concierge and I was appalled at some of the rude behaviour. We saw guests in slippers, kids touching food and putting it back and the most boorish behaviour by one family with food hoarding. Perhaps its just me, but some of the things we witnessed were unbelievable. This has really made me rethink futre concierge stays at Disney. We recently bought into DVC and I really love AKL, and planned to end all of our future stays, but we may just stay non concierge. Sorry for the rant.

 

[Mermaid02]

That is certainly your choice... you can't MAKE someone have nice manners... unless they are your children.

 

[glo]

I wouldn't let the behavior of one family influence your future stays. I am sorry you had such an experience.

 

[jellydisney]

People are going to be rude whether you are at Disney or anywhere else in the world. Example, just last night I was at a restaurant and the kid at the table next to me was licking the side of the booth. Lovely, eh? Did the mother do anything about it? Nope!

Sadly, tolerating other people is part of life. And unfortunately, at Disney you have a LOT of contact with other families that may be speaking or acting in a rude manner and there's not much that can be done about it. I wouldn't let it ruin your vacation though. Laugh it off and you'll have a story to tell. Besides, you'll never see that particular family again.

 

[ducklite]

Anne,

No need to be sorry. It's too bad that some people just have no manners, and regretfully these days too many parents don't seem to have the common sense to teach their children manners.

The saddest part is that those kids will have a harder time later in life, as they enter adutlhood.

We've seen that type of behaviour by one or more people/families during almost every one of our concierge stays. It doesn't keep us from going back. Instead it gives us a chance to point out what is improper behaviour to our son, so he sees for himself just how rude or boorish it looks.

I hope that the rest of your trip was wonderful!

jellydisney,

That's just icky!! YUCK YUCK YUCK!!

Anne

 

[MAGICinMYHEART]

Paid-in Full

I started teaching my DN table manners at a very early age. (also manners about holding doors for others and not standing in front of the elevator doors so people could exit before we entered the elevator ect, ect.) He was a child so he did need reminding a few times but did very well. Fast forward until he was about 15 years old we are having a nice dinner at a local restaurant and there was a group of four young adults at a near by table. They had no manners and it was so obvious, my DN looked at me and said "Now I know why you kept telling me everything over and over it was so by the time I was an adult it would just be second nature to me right?"

 

[luvdzny]

I know what you mean about food hoarding. When we stayed at Poly Concierge we noticed this. Every night in front of 1 room there were plated full of food left outside the door. They must have gone to the lounge, loaded up their plates, taken it back to the room and then decided they did not want it all. It is really a shame to see this.

 

[EEyorelover22]

I'm a high school teacher...it's not pretty sometimes. It's really rather sad and often after talking with parents, I realize where the rude behavior comes from

However, there are kind, wonderful people in this world. It's easy to let some ruin our day, etc.

 

[leighe]

The last time at was at Poly concierge with my parents (1996, I think) we saw a child eating nothing but BUTTER! His mother and father were sitting there watching him do it! I wouldn't let one bad experience keep you from going back again. There are rude people everywhere - it's just nice when you can avoid them in a place like WDW! My grandmother would say that the food hoarders "didn't have any raisin'" (she's from Alabama).

 

[MinnieFan4ever]

And we wonder why there is no more bottled water for guests to take. I understand your feelings completely.

When I see people acting like that I usually just smile and thank my lucky stars that I am not on vacation with them.

I do hope you give it another try. Maybe next time things will be better.

 

[MermaidsMom]

When you mention food hoarding I am not sure what that means exactly. On our last visit to the BWI concierge I took food back to our room because my daughter was sick and needed juices/ crackers, etc. I almost enjoyed the dirty looks from some of the judgemental people who spent their precious vacation time watching me take food to her. It was kind of sad actually! Also when we stayed in the garden suites at the BWI the concierge lounge is included with the suites, but we like to take snacks down there sometimes rather than eat in the lounge because of the long walk between the two places. To have a few sodas/crackers or desserts when we got back from walking all day was alot better than the additional time to walk up to the lounge on the 4th floor. It's alot different than staying on the same floor and walking down the hallway! Those food items are included in my price and it doesn't matter where they are eaten, and I find it odd that some people can't just enjoy their own time there with their families without looking sideways at others for any perceived infraction of the "rules". I am NOT saying that this is what the OP did or thinks or meant, but I am taking this as an opportunity to say that there may be other reasons for people walking down the hall with their ice bucket tray piled high!!!! ( those trays are very small and it doesn't take alot to make them look full! LOL

 

[luvdzny]

I think it is fine to take food out of the lounge to be eaten somewhere else. What I didn't like was seeing plates of food in the hallway to be thrown away. I know sometimes "your eyes are bigger than your stomach" but the amount of food these people were throwing away was crazy!

 

[pnelson]

I don't see how slippers is that big a deal??? I went down at Beach Club several times to get a roll and coffee in slippers. It seemed okay. I even wore my slippers out to the hot tub one night and then wore my robe and slippers back to my room after getting out of the hot tub. I wouldn't think that would be rude.

 

[MermaidsMom]

I also use the white fluffy robe in my room to go to the pool. When you are at a resort that is what you are supposed to do. Better than wearing just the suit (especially in my case!). And what is the big deal about wearing slippers to the concierge? It's breakfast for heaven's sake and you are not in a restaurant but a lounge at the resort you are staying in. In the wise words of Bugs Bunny, "unlax" people!

 

[Tea Please]

Well I certainly did not mean to offend anyone, I was just stating what I saw. And yes, I did find the behaviour I witnessed quite rude. I don't see how anyone can let their children pick up and touch the food and than put it back. I think it is quite distatsteful. Also, when you are in line waiting for a few hors
duerves and the person in front of you takes almost the entire tray, I find that boorish.

And I personally would not parade around in slippers and a robe, but again, thats me. If you are comfortable entering the lounge in slippers, than good for you.

My point was that I feel the calibur of service will surely suffer as more and more people try to get their money's worth and justify the concierge cost.

 

[MermaidsMom]

Tea Please,
I totally agree with you about the kids picking up the food and putting it back!! Yuck! I saw that at the Poly concierge especially with the gummy worms. And taking alot of food when there are others behind you is rude too. When I took things back to my daughter I would do it during times when the lounge was nearly empty, or I would only take a little bit of each thing for her plate. Never large amounts. When we were at the BWI there was a large family there with an electric wheelchair that the kids took turns driving around the lounge! Imagine the fun that was for the rest of us dodging them every time we got up.

 

[Sammie]

The problem is it only takes "one rotten apple".

I have to agree with the OP, we are rethinking our concierge stays as we have seen this behavior more and more frequently within the last couple of years. Might be concidence, but about the time they started offering discounts for concierge.

The problem is (as you can tell by the responses you got) what some see as rude and unappropriate, others see as being ok.

The last time we stayed concierge one guest had a large family group at All Stars and one room in concierge. They took huge amounts of food to their room to feed the others. These abuses make the cost go up and services cut. I overheard them in the hall saying, as expensive as the room was they should be able to feed more than 5. They thought it was funny, I was appalled.

There is little Disney can do and maintain a customer friendly attitude. Therein lies the problem that the guest must be willing to do what is right and lately I am seeing less and less of this.

 

[Figaro]

We've stayed concierge in a number of different places, including WDW and I know that I would no more wear my robe to the concierge lounge in front of a bunch of strangers than I would wear my nightgown to a restaurant. But I don't care if other people do. I might find it amusing(smile), but I really don't spend a whole lot of time and energy on that kind of stuff.

As to letting children handle food and put it back...I agree completely that this is not appropriate. If we took a plate of food back to our room, I always made sure to return the plate with whatever was left on it back to the concierge lounge and stack it where the people there told me to stack it. I guess I am not comfortable leaving food sitting out in my room or on the floor of my room ever since I saw a trail of ants marching over someones tray outside of their room. All I can think of when I am in Florida is how easily the insects seem to get out of control(smile).

 

[Tea Please]

Originally posted by Sammie
Might be concidence, but about the time they started offering discounts for concierge.

The problem is (as you can tell by the responses you got) what some see as rude and unappropriate, others see as being ok.

Sammie,

I am afraid you may be right. Its just within the past few years that we have noticed a definite decline in the our concierge stays. And I stick to my guns that the behaviour we saw was absolutley not appropriate.

 

[Tea Please]

Originally posted by Figaro
I know that I would no more wear my robe to the concierge lounge in front of a bunch of strangers than I would wear my nightgown to a restaurant.

I'm in total agreement with you.