My reservation was cancelled! :(

[Robbi]

Who says they didn't? I"ve sent an email to people before and they haven't received it and visa versa. It's email. It happens. That's why they also advise people verbally, give them their due dates, give them their reservation numbers, etc. No one can guarantee an email will be received for any number of reasons. Heck, I've sent myself an email before with a recipe or reminder and it hasn't shown up, or takes so long to get there it ends up having been worthless to send. How would Disney, you, me, or anyone else know that an email was NOT received if no one calls?

If this was hotel ABC and they did the same thing Disney did, people would be siding with the OP. There's something about Disney that gives it a teflon finish that makes it immune from criticism. Sorry it's a business like any other. The CM screwed up and didn't follow through with the email.

She would know the email was not received because she would see that it never made it to either her inbox or her spam folder.

 

[Maggie'sMom]

If this was hotel ABC and they did the same thing Disney did, people would be siding with the OP. There's something about Disney that gives it a teflon finish that makes it immune from criticism. Sorry it's a business like any other. The CM screwed up and didn't follow through with the email.

She would know the email was not received because she would see that it never made it to either her inbox or her spam folder.

I disagree. I'm not treating this any differently than I would any other hotel. I would feel that the OP shouldn't have relied on receiving the email no matter what hotel was involved. They gave her the deadline verbally over the phone. That should be enough.

I'm glad Disney worked it out for her. As PPs have mentioned, the emails are automatically generated. This wasn't something the CM forgot to do. I have gotten emails anytime I book a reservation at WDW and anytime I make a modification to a reservation. Somehow the email didn't get from point A to point B. It happens. I've had it happen on extremely important business communication. Because of past experience, if I'm expecting an email from a client that I don't receive in the timeframe I was expecting it, I will follow up with them. I had a two week delay in a project once because I kept waiting on an email from a client that had gotten lost in cyberspace. I learned my lesson.

 

[aaarcher86]

If this was hotel ABC and they did the same thing Disney did, people would be siding with the OP. There's something about Disney that gives it a teflon finish that makes it immune from criticism. Sorry it's a business like any other. The CM screwed up and didn't follow through with the email.

She would know the email was not received because she would see that it never made it to either her inbox or her spam folder.

You obviously misunderstood.

I'm very aware that the OP would know that the email never came because it wouldn't be in the inbox or spam. That's the point everyone has made... if she didn't get it within a few days, she should have called. At the end of the day, the OP dropped the ball. It ended up working out and that's awesome! But blaming Disney when they aren't at fault is unfair.

Again, the CM does not send the email. It is autogenerated when the reservation is made. Disney or even the CM who you seem to think sends these emails would have no way of knowing that it was not received unless the OP called them and let them know. THAT was my point. As far as Disney knows, the email gets there when it is sent. There are tons of things that can cause an email not to arrive to its destination once it is sent. Disney has no control over cyberspace. This would be an entirely different situation if the OP was not notified of the 7 day rule and the room was cancelled. But she was.

Whether this situation happened with another hotel or Disney has nothing to do with it. Besides, every place I've ever reserved (other than Disney) either requires PIF at time of booking or 1 night room stay at the time of booking. Disney gave a grace period of 7 days.

 

[kaytieeldr]

If this was hotel ABC and they did the same thing Disney did, people would be siding with the OP. There's something about Disney that gives it a teflon finish that makes it immune from criticism. Sorry it's a business like any other. The CM screwed up and didn't follow through with the email.

She would know the email was not received because she would see that it never made it to either her inbox or her spam folder.

What are you talking about? Hotel ABC wouldn't be sending me an e-mail with a link to pay the first night's room deposit within seven days. They'd require me to pay the deposit at the time I make tge reservation, and then (attempt to) send me an e-mail confirmation for the entire reservation.

The "she" to whom you refer is the original poster. All she knows is that she didn't receive the proferred e-mail. She doesn't know why, and neither the Cast Member with whom she spoke nor the Disney entity knows (a) that or (b) why she didn't get it. Maybe she didn't give, or Disney doesn't have, her e-mail address accurately.

Teflon? Really? Because Disney goes beyond the industry standard? How about reality.

 

[Robbi]

What are you talking about? Hotel ABC wouldn't be sending me an e-mail with a link to pay the first night's room deposit within seven days. They'd require me to pay the deposit at the time I make tge reservation, and then (attempt to) send me an e-mail confirmation for the entire reservation.

The "she" to whom you refer is the original poster. All she knows is that she didn't receive the proferred e-mail. She doesn't know why, and neither the Cast Member with whom she spoke nor the Disney entity knows (a) that or (b) why she didn't get it. Maybe she didn't give, or Disney doesn't have, her e-mail address accurately.

Teflon? Really? Because Disney goes beyond the industry standard? How about reality.

LOL, Disney doesn't go beyond the industry standard. That is reality. It's a nice, fun place to visit but not nicer or more fun than other places.

 

[bumbershoot]

At the end of the day, the OP dropped the ball.

it was more like busy life, then the hurricane cutting off all our power and realizing the last day to pay was coming up.

Yep, totally her fault. Nothing to do with massive storms or anything.

Or with the CM not telling her the TIME cutoff, which is what messed things up, since she called on the *day*.


When Disney says they are going to send an email, they should. DVC people well know that they drop the ball on that quite often, and I don't think that should be happening, either. Or how about when I requested a mailed confirmation and got a confirmation with my name and address in the mailed-to section, but someone else's family and their travel plans in the rest of the letter? They should not be doing this.

 

[MinnieGirl33]

Nope, room-only.

I am 100% positive it is room-only. I don't buy tickets or anything because I have APs already.
.

If you are booking an AP rate, that's why the 45 days. If you are booking at rack it is a one night deposit & balance due at time of check in.

 

[MinnieGirl33]

I think more of the immediately 'your fault' comments were because the OP had blamed Disney's lack of customer service, which wasn't the case.

Yes, this exactly.

And the OP asked specifically "is this all my fault for not calling when I noticed I didn't get my reservation confirmation??"

 

[kaytieeldr]

LOL, Disney doesn't go beyond the industry standard. That is reality. It's a nice, fun place to visit but not nicer or more fun than other places.

Fun isn't the issue. Putting a deposit on a hotel reservation is. Not demanding said deposit at the time the reservation is made is almost unique to Disney at this time. That puts them above the industry standard. It's a courtesy. It's ultimately the potential guest's responsibility to make sure the deposit is paid - not the hotelier's responsibility to chase down that potential guest.

 

[aaarcher86]

Yep, totally her fault. Nothing to do with massive storms or anything.

Or with the CM not telling her the TIME cutoff, which is what messed things up, since she called on the *day*.


When Disney says they are going to send an email, they should. DVC people well know that they drop the ball on that quite often, and I don't think that should be happening, either. Or how about when I requested a mailed confirmation and got a confirmation with my name and address in the mailed-to section, but someone else's family and their travel plans in the rest of the letter? They should not be doing this.

I've already stated, Disney gives you until 10p EST to call in to make the payment. It's not like OP called at 8p after normal business hours for most places and it was already cancelled. Wouldn't have happened. She missed the deadline entirely, and gave no indication as to when she called after deadline. It's 10pm. Seriously. Do you expect to call some place at 11:30pm and be able to speak with someone? If you have 7 days to pay your water bill before shut off, do you think you can call them and pay it after they close? Come on. It's not rocket science.

She also said that she wasn't paying it and her relative was. The OP being busy and the hurricane really don't effect the relative paying, as far as we know. But again, she stated she was busy and then the hurricane. So after a day or 2 of no email, the OP should have called. If things are left to the last minute you run the risk of something unexpected popping up.

When someone is booking a reservation and it completes, and the CM gives them the reservation number/payment due dates and amounts, etc... people typically write it down. Why? Because email can never be a guaranteed source of communication. Neither can fax. How many times have you sent or been waiting to receive either one, it never gets there, YOU CALL, and they say 'weird it went through? I'll resend it.' Ever make a payment online and write down the confirmation number? Why do that if there is an email coming? Simple - Just in case.

Call Disney and ask them when the last email was sent. It's in the notes on the reservation for them to see - 'email autogenerated to blah blah blah address.' They can't really do more than send it.

Again, it's pretty gracious to hold a room for an entire week without payment.

The point is really moot since the OP got the room - and again - that's great! AoA will be a blast, and I'm glad it worked out for her. But Disney CMs take a lot of flack, and this just isn't something that's fair to put on one of them. Personal responsibility should be taken. How hard would it been to say, 'She told me 7 days. I didn't get the email and forgot to call and missed my deadline. Any chance something will pop up or anyone know who I could speak with?'

 

[waynesgirl]

If you are booking an AP rate, that's why the 45 days. If you are booking at rack it is a one night deposit & balance due at time of check in.[/QUOTE]

I didn't book at an AP rate. I always book room-only because we have a special discount code that does not apply to packages or tickets or anything.

However, that does help answer my question a bit better. I see a lot of people on the boards that say they book a room-only PIN code and don't have to pay until arrival. So, I guess I will ask at when I check-in to see why my code is 45 days out but a PIN isn't...ahhhh, the dilema that I am in.

(That last comment was sarcasm- I am lucky that I get to go to Disney with a discount so I am very thankful indeed and I should never make jokes like that.)

 

[maxiesmom]

Fun isn't the issue. Putting a deposit on a hotel reservation is. Not demanding said deposit at the time the reservation is made is almost unique to Disney at this time. That puts them above the industry standard. It's a courtesy. It's ultimately the potential guest's responsibility to make sure the deposit is paid - not the hotelier's responsibility to chase down that potential guest.

 

[Princess Dolly]

If you are booking an AP rate, that's why the 45 days. If you are booking at rack it is a one night deposit & balance due at time of check in.

Wrong. I always use an AP or Florida Resident Rate - Room Only. Deposit at time of booking. Pay the rest when we check in.

 

[NorweJenNY]

Do you ever get a dining plan to go with your AP rate? This would still be a package even though you are not purchasing tickets. In this case, you'd have to pay the balance in full by 45 days prior to arrival.

 

[Robbi]

If you are booking an AP rate, that's why the 45 days. If you are booking at rack it is a one night deposit & balance due at time of check in.

AP rate is one night's deposit, the CM swipes the card at check in and we pay at checkout.

Do you ever get a dining plan to go with your AP rate? This would still be a package even though you are not purchasing tickets. In this case, you'd have to pay the balance in full by 45 days prior to arrival.

This is one of the things I love about an AP. I book room only and then add dining if we decide we want it, at 5 days before we arrive. This way if for some reason we would have to cancel, we can until 5 days before check in with no penalty.

 

[ccgirl]

Moral of the story...don't procrastinate. My DD9 often does this with her homework and I'm trying to teach her it's not a good thing. She gets a spellling packet and has until Friday to do it. Sometimes, she leaves it until Thursday. If something unexpected comes up on Thursday, she wouldn't be able to get it done.

Like a PP stated, I would think the end of the day would be 5pm whatever time the company is on.

 

[waynesgirl]

Fun isn't the issue. Putting a deposit on a hotel reservation is. Not demanding said deposit at the time the reservation is made is almost unique to Disney at this time. That puts them above the industry standard. It's a courtesy. It's ultimately the potential guest's responsibility to make sure the deposit is paid - not the hotelier's responsibility to chase down that potential guest.

See, at the hotel I work for, it is different. Mind you, it is only a hotel- no packages, F&B, or transport- but we have to have a credit card for the reservation but we don't charge a deposit. We simply hold the card and will charge by a certain time frame, which is generally by 6PM on day of arrival.

But, we say it upfront, everytime, so there is no question.

 

[pamkat1820]

Ok I'm sorry but have we all raked this poor women over the coals enough. I'm am on disboards all the time I have learned so much from everyone here. I use it as a learning tool to plan the best vac i can for my family. I may not post a lot but this just goes to show u why ppl are afraid to. Ppl do make mistakes. She obviously was misinformed we all told her. We will most likely never see another post from her again.

 

[epgirl]

I totally agree with pamkat.......I also think aaarcher needs to take a chill pill asap!

aaarcher: It's supposed to read "affect", not "effect".

 

[digiMom]

A supervisor put in an investigation on the recording and will call me back on Friday (like I said earlier) I called first thing this morning in case a room has opened up (like they advised I do) and was able to book in the same resort (thankfully). So it was resolved in the sense that I got the room we needed, I don't know whether the agent will still call me back on Friday when they have their results from the investigation and if it is in my favor it wouldn't matter since I have already rebooked a room.

I wasn't looking for any special treatment and do feel the original booking agent was partially at fault by not disclosing certain details and by not sending an email confirmation with the details like she said I would receive.

Either way, I am happy that we have our rooms as the airline tickets had already been purchased.

Just wanted to say I'm so glad that this worked out for you. Every vacation seems to have one glitch, and you just had yours So from here on everything will be perfect! Have a great time!