MS Astounded!

[thepowellslovedisney]

So I called a little bit ago to check on some availability, I was selected at random to take the satisfaction survey at the end of the phone call. It said to just stay on the line and I would be connected to the survey after speaking with my CM at MS. So after the call I waited and there was silence for just a moment then I heard the CM I was just speaking with calling me crazy and that I should have told her what I wanted from the beginning and basically unjustly complaining about me asking her to look up availability. Needless to say the call never went over to the survey and I was astounded . I then decided to hang up and think about what to do. As I sat there for a moment I became very angry . I felt like hey, we have invested a TON of money into this and this is NOT the way I should be treated even if you think I can't hear you. So, I called MS back and told the whole story to the CM that answered. She asked for my member number, the time I called and the phone number I called from. There were going to see if they could look it up with the hopes that they recorded it. (I was told they record every third call or so). The moral of this that I am taking away is to ALWAYS write the persons name down that you spoke with even if you think you are just making a simple, quick phone call about almost nothing. If I had her name it would have been much easier to bring this to her attention. And I guess the other lesson is, you never know who can hear you and who is watching you.

Lastly, I am reminded of this motivational quote Watch you thoughts; they become words. Watch your words; they become actions. Watch your actions; they become habits. Watch your habits; they become your character. Watch your character; it becomes your destiny.

Amazing. I really expected more from them.

 

[DiznyMagic]

WOW - I hope they can track it. If they dont want us calling to check for availability then they should make it available online so we can check for ourselves!

 

[fireflymedic]

I hate thim trying to do a survey on my dime, they should call you back or give a 800 number

 

[kdepot]

I hate thim trying to do a survey on my dime, they should call you back or give a 800 number

There is one 800-********

 

[shellybaxter]

Was the CM nice to you while you were checking for availability? How did the original call go prior to you overhearing the conversation with another CM?

 

[dianeschlicht]

OOOPS for that MS CM, but if she was nice to you while you were on the phone, you probably have no real gripe. Frankly, I expect that if a lot of people are calling in to check availability, it wont be long before they tell us we can NOT do that. I guess I'm not sure what good it does anyway, because what's available now might not be 2 minutes from now. Since most people who call for availability aren't planning on booking when they call, it seems like a useless excersise to me.

 

[bwvBound]

Lastly, I am reminded of this motivational quote Watch you thoughts; they become words. Watch your words; they become actions. Watch your actions; they become habits. Watch your habits; they become your character. Watch your character; it becomes your destiny.

An interesting two-way mirror of how one's actions are perceived by others, hmm? I love your quote and have a different version of the same written in the cover of a cherished book given to me in High School:

Sow a thought, reap an action.
Sow an action, reap a habit.
Sow a habit, reap a character.
Sow your character, reap your destiny!
(credited to Charles Reade, Ralph Waldo Emerson and many others)

A really good quote ... well worth revisiting. Thanks for the vivid reminder!

 

[mikey13v]

OOOPS for that MS CM, but if she was nice to you while you were on the phone, you probably have no real gripe. Frankly, I expect that if a lot of people are calling in to check availability, it wont be long before they tell us we can NOT do that. I guess I'm not sure what good it does anyway, because what's available now might not be 2 minutes from now. Since most people who call for availability aren't planning on booking when they call, it seems like a useless excersise to me.

There are definately times where someone is going to have to bank or borrow points to book their stay, and they'll check the availability first. After they figure out what dates are available that meet their needs they can check airfare before they commit to booking their stay.
For others, they might just book the stay instead of just checking availability, and later cancle and rebook if circumstances dictate other dates. This is probably even more of a hassle than checking availability.
Many people book spur of the moment trips, and they start things off by checking to see if there is even a place to stay. It might be a useless exersise to check air and car if there isn't a room available.
I'd like to see DVC post unavailability on their website. This could save a lot of time for DVC and their members.

While it is extremely poor business to have a mistake like the OP encountered happen, it happens without us knowing all the time. People in customer service joke amungst themselves about their clients on a regular basis. Just imagine what's being said at the friday night party that the call center employees of, let's say a credit card company. When coworkers get together, they'll talk about work, and much of it is about their customers.
Chalk it up to people being themselves when they don't think others are watching them.

 

[thepowellslovedisney]

I think the most important thing from this is that the CM needs to understand that their underlying attitude will shine through in their interactions with the guests. Throughout the phone call I got the impression that she didn't really want to help me. Her comments after she thought the phone call was through not only solidified my hunch but were absolutely reprimand-able. It was an unfortunate situation that I truly hope is used as a teachable moment.

 

[disszilagyi]

I think the most important thing from this is that the CM needs to understand that their underlying attitude will shine through in their interactions with the guests. Throughout the phone call I got the impression that she didn't really want to help me. Her comments after she thought the phone call was through not only solidified my hunch but were absolutely reprimand-able. It was an unfortunate situation that I truly hope is used as a teachable moment.

Love your MickeyMomsClub logo. Love being in Mickey Moms Club!!!

 

[clombardi]

Frankly, I expect that if a lot of people are calling in to check availability, it wont be long before they tell us we can NOT do that.

This confuses me. How else am I supposed to find out if the resort I want is available when I want it? I think the online 2 day reservation request system is ridiculous in the year 2009. It is not an acceptable alternative.

How do you check availability? Maybe I am missing another method.

 

[christa112]

While it is extremely poor business to have a mistake like the OP encountered happen, it happens without us knowing all the time. People in customer service joke amungst themselves about their clients on a regular basis. Just imagine what's being said at the friday night party that the call center employees of, let's say a credit card company. When coworkers get together, they'll talk about work, and much of it is about their customers.
Chalk it up to people being themselves when they don't think others are watching them.

I have to agree. I work in retail and there are many, many, many times I need to vent to a co-worker about a customer. Obviously, this is not meant for customers ears and what happened is a big WHOOPS on the MS' part. I am sure they will be spoken to from their supervisor.

 

[shellybaxter]

I think the most important thing from this is that the CM needs to understand that their underlying attitude will shine through in their interactions with the guests. Throughout the phone call I got the impression that she didn't really want to help me. Her comments after she thought the phone call was through not only solidified my hunch but were absolutely reprimand-able. It was an unfortunate situation that I truly hope is used as a teachable moment.

As a supervisor (with a Masters Degree in Leadership and ten years experience) I would reprimand an employee for a bad attitude while they were helping a customer far sooner than I would for comments made when the customer shoudn't have been able to hear them. Sometimes those in a service industry need to blow off steam.

 

[thepowellslovedisney]

Seriously though, what in the world is there to "vent" about? Checking availability is part of the job. I was not asking for anything out of the ordinary. If I had been unreasonable or asking for favors or upgrades I could possibly understand. The underlying issue is that the under the breathe comments and venting eventually creep into the overall attitude. I used to be a CM (years ago) and I know this type of thing was not commonplace nor seen as the environment we wanted. I am just wondering what happened?

 

[Dean]

This confuses me. How else am I supposed to find out if the resort I want is available when I want it? I think the online 2 day reservation request system is ridiculous in the year 2009. It is not an acceptable alternative.

How do you check availability? Maybe I am missing another method.

Calling to check availability without a plan to book is a cost to all members and should be minimized. I'd hate to see it go away totally but if people cont to abuse it, that's exactly what will happen.

So I called a little bit ago to check on some availability, I was selected at random to take the satisfaction survey at the end of the phone call. It said to just stay on the line and I would be connected to the survey after speaking with my CM at MS. So after the call I waited and there was silence for just a moment then I heard the CM I was just speaking with calling me crazy and that I should have told her what I wanted from the beginning and basically unjustly complaining about me asking her to look up availability. Needless to say the call never went over to the survey and I was astounded . I then decided to hang up and think about what to do. As I sat there for a moment I became very angry . I felt like hey, we have invested a TON of money into this and this is NOT the way I should be treated even if you think I can't hear you. So, I called MS back and told the whole story to the CM that answered. She asked for my member number, the time I called and the phone number I called from. There were going to see if they could look it up with the hopes that they recorded it. (I was told they record every third call or so). The moral of this that I am taking away is to ALWAYS write the persons name down that you spoke with even if you think you are just making a simple, quick phone call about almost nothing. If I had her name it would have been much easier to bring this to her attention. And I guess the other lesson is, you never know who can hear you and who is watching you.

Lastly, I am reminded of this motivational quote Watch you thoughts; they become words. Watch your words; they become actions. Watch your actions; they become habits. Watch your habits; they become your character. Watch your character; it becomes your destiny.

Amazing. I really expected more from them.

None of us were there and I hope they did record the phone call. The reality is that this type of thing happens all the time between CM but in this case you simply got to hear it. You may not have done a good job getting your needs/wants across so while in poor taste, the criticism may have been accurate. I'm not taking one side or the other merely pointing out that she may have been correct in her representation of how you communicated. Unfortunately you'll never hear that. You'll get some phone call from a supervisor type apologizing, telling you they'll do better, the CM will be talked to (they will), that what happened inappropriate (which it is) and all the feel good responses. What you won't get is an honest appraisal of your portion.

 

[thepowellslovedisney]

I have to say that I am amazed at a lot of the responses I am receiving here. I guess all I can say is just wait until it happens to you. You'll be shocked and angry too. I really do hope they recorded the phone call because from what I could tell I was doing nothing wrong. And as for checking availability, I will still check availability unless they give us instant access to it through another manner (which I doubt they will). I am not going to just book plane tickets and such and just hope there is something available nor do I know anyone who would.

 

[clombardi]

Calling to check availability without a plan to book is a cost to all members and should be minimized. I'd hate to see it go away totally but if people cont to abuse it, that's exactly what will happen.

I didn't get the sense the OP was calling without a plan to book.

Even if she did, I think that is fine. Because MS does not provide a convenient, sensible method for checking availability, the DVC owner has little choice but to call. What constitutes "abuse" of the system?

I ask again, how do you check availability? I am truly interested to know if there is a useful method that I am not aware of. TIA!

 

[christa112]

When I said "vent" I didn't mean the MS needed to vent about your call.

I was just stating that when you work in certain industries sometimes you have to vent to co-workers.

Kinda like what you are doing on here, right now.

I have to agree. I work in retail and there are many, many, many times I need to vent to a co-worker about a customer. Obviously, this is not meant for customers ears and what happened is a big WHOOPS on the MS' part. I am sure they will be spoken to from their supervisor.

Seriously though, what in the world is there to "vent" about? Checking availability is part of the job. I was not asking for anything out of the ordinary. If I had been unreasonable or asking for favors or upgrades I could possibly understand. The underlying issue is that the under the breathe comments and venting eventually creep into the overall attitude. I used to be a CM (years ago) and I know this type of thing was not commonplace nor seen as the environment we wanted. I am just wondering what happened?

 

[clombardi]

I have to say that I am amazed at a lot of the responses I am receiving here.

I am surprised, too. I worked in customer service for years. Just becuase people in that industry talk about customers unkindly, it doesn't make it okay and not all do it. I really do see why you're angry.

 

[Dean]

I have to say that I am amazed at a lot of the responses I am receiving here. I guess all I can say is just wait until it happens to you. You'll be shocked and angry too. I really do hope they recorded the phone call because from what I could tell I was doing nothing wrong. And as for checking availability, I will still check availability unless they give us instant access to it through another manner (which I doubt they will). I am not going to just book plane tickets and such and just hope there is something available nor do I know anyone who would.

I have had similar happen to me so I do know how you feel. IMO, there are legitimate reasons to check availability such as before you book air fare but many people do so far too much for much less appropriate reasons, just look at the rental board. However, I will tell you that for most timeshares you have to chance one or the other, including DVC at times. No guarantee that what was there this am will be there in the afternoon. At least with DVC you can cancel without penalty, not true of many timeshare options. And also not true for most options you need to book at 11 months out as this occurs before the airline booking window for most.