Need your opinion--should I "escalate" and complain?

[GeneralTso]

I have to start out by saying I HATE to complain. I rarely do it. When I do it, I'm fair, not hysterical or mean, just stating my frustration and reason why I'm unhappy. I'm a very optimistic person (sometimes annoyingly so, I'm sure) but sometimes when things go completely haywire, I have to say something. All that being said, I'm not sure if I want to just let this fizzle or keep it going. I realize the choice to escalate it continues the drama and means I continue to put energy into it, and it's negative energy.

I also think it's pretty weird to have drama at Disney of all places. The Happiest Place On Earth. I will try to keep this brief.

Bottom line: I dealt with the most confused, misinformed, I'll say it....incompetent customer service rep on the phone this morning.

My goal: purchasing 2 Happy Haunts Tour tickets. Seems so simple, doesn't it?

I originally called last night and got a wonderful young man who was literally "selling" this event to me. Outlining what to expect, how great it is, even hinted a a big surprise. Great attitude, dynamic and knowledgeable. I had to finalize a few plans before committing to a date, but got what I needed. He told me there wouldn't be a problem calling back and booking. That's what I tried to do this morning.

I got the nicest lady on the phone, very nice. So nice that it was the only thing prohibiting me from losing my shhhhh by the end of the call. She started by telling me that there was no such event. I was confused and wanted to book the Halloween Party. I guaranteed her that this was really an event, it's on their website. She put me on hold. Hold #1.

She came back on, apologized and stated that "they've moved things around so I can't find anything anymore" and then tried to launch to the correct screen to book. Holds # 2 & 3.

We are slowly making progress, or so I think. We have to back up and I have to give her my address again, all contact info, etc.

To make a long story short, I was put on hold a total of 5 times so she could get help and clarification. Each time she was apologetic and nice and thanked me for being patient. I even ended up apologizing to HER! I don't know what I was thinking. I feel bad for people who are clearly trying so hard to do something and it's not working. I said "I'm sorry, I should have called earlier but I have to go to work" and offered to call back and try again.

Truth be told, I should have just hung up and called back to get someone who actually knew how to do this.

She took my credit card information 3 different times. Finally, I had it. She actually had an order number and I said "I have absolutely no confidence that this is booked, let alone correctly."

More apologies. I told her I had to go, and ended the call. I knew I would call back later this afternoon to confirm the order. So I did that.

Asked for a supervisor right off the bat and she essentially apologized, but not really. Said she was sorry I had a bad experience but this is a new event and many of the staff was not comfortable booking it yet.

I said I thought it was a training issue and as a supervisor, might want to know that this person I had this morning was absolutely clueless, not even close to comfortable. More excuses, literally. Just kind of "too bad, we're working on it" kind of attitude.

So, my question to you--should I send an email or drop it? I'm really torn.
The supervisor did not give me a very good response. I think I was expecting more sincerity or something. She just made excuses for the interaction. I said very clearly that I didn't want a thing, I just wanted to pass this information on to her.

I'm tough, I can take feedback. Especially since I'm asking for it.

 

[Minnie Loves Mickey]

People need to know when they have incompetent people working for them...it's sad if they already don't know that. If it truly was a training/new problem, Disney needs to know they need to work on this and it is not acceptable. I'm not saying the person should be fired but that they need to receive the proper training and follow up to weather they can do the job. So yes, send an e-mail If it were one of my employees I would want the feedback to better the experience for the next guest.

 

[scottibb]

I think you should send an email. Then again, I often have experiences like this and intend to email, but I never get around to it.

 

[mrswh]

Let it go. 95% of any customer service reps anywhere have no idea what they are talking about. I have just accepted that and my strategy is, when someone doesn't know what they are talking about (or I get an answer I don't like), I call back later and talk to a different person.

Just forget about it and enjoy your trip!!

 

[kayleigh83]

I would say something, and direct it more at training the reps better than the rep herself, although from what you've said I think that's what you would be going for anyways. I work in a call centre (telecommunications though, not Disney - I wish!) and I can say from experience that when reps mess things up, 9 times out of 10 it's not because they don't care, it's because they weren't properly trained or they couldn't find the info they needed. And if she was going on hold so many times to try to get help, where was her floor support? Poor girl was probably searching everywhere, like you said!

So yes, definitely say something about how they need to give their reps more training and support on how to process things like this! It makes life easier for them and for the customers - then everyone is happy!

 

[sonnyjane]

I said very clearly that I didn't want a thing, I just wanted to pass this information on to her.

You say that you didn't want anything, just wanted to pass on the information. You did that, so, if your own words hold true, why would you feel the need to pursue it unless you did, in fact, want something? I'd let it go. Those call center people aren't even located at Disneyland, so take anything they say with a grain of salt. If the representative was rude, that's one thing, but you said she was quite nice, just not familiar with the tour. She should have transferred you to someone else, but you already told a supervisor about your experience so it seems like a frustrating ordeal on your part to continue pursuing this.

 

[Aladora]

For me, it's all about the service. I have no problems letting someone know when I have received less than acceptable service and on the flip side, I am VERY happy to let someone know when I feel that the service was above and beyond the expected.

So, I would send an e-mail, a short and concise one outlining your experience and why you feel that it could have been better.

 

[oilergirl]

In all honesty, I'd let it go! The girl was very nice and quite apologetic...albiet misinformed since she hadn't dealt with booking this tour before. It would be completely different if she was rude to you, but she wasn't. It sounds like she really tried to find the information too. Since you already informed her supervisor that there was a concern with her training, then I can't think of any reason to persue this any further. A rude customer service person...sure. But a very nice and apologetic girl, who was just ill informed on a new tour...no. I'm sure since you've already spoken to her supervisor about it, that they will ensure that she is informed of the tour for future calls.

 

[tinkermomma]

I would not complain anymore. It seems like the event was new, she was doing her best and you have already vented your frustration. It seems like anymore would be beating a dead horse at this point.

 

[Hoku]

If she was nice and really doing her best, then you should let it go. Chances are, she cares enough to make better efforts in the future.

On the other hand, if you choose to escalate it, at least nobody will be able to say, "General Tso's chicken".

 

[MenchieMan87]

I had a similar issue booking the same tour. She put me on hold after literally every step (presumably to ask someone how to do it) and when it was time to pay we had this exchange:

"Your credit card was declined"
"Oh, hold on, I'll try another card"
"Wait, what is your zip code?"
"[my zip code]"
"Okay, it worked this time. For some reason your card was declined without the zip code."
"MY CARD WAS NOT DECLINED YOU IDIOT, YOUR SYSTEM JUST REQUIRES A ZIP CODE!"

*last part was just in my head.

Same CM perhaps?

Truth be told, I too should have just hung up and called back to get someone who actually knew what they were doing. Why does it always seem like a good idea to wait it out and hope for the best?

 

[Luv Bunnies]

I would let it go at this point. You already spoke to a supervisor. She said it's a new event and they're still training the reps. on it. It sounds like you're most frustrated with the lack of response from the supervisor rather than the misinformed rep. You already passed on the information about the poorly handled order. There's not much more you can do. They seem to know they need to train their reps. better. You won't accomplish anything further by calling again. Just my two cents.

 

[FlameGirl]

You say that you didn't want anything, just wanted to pass on the information. You did that, so, if your own words hold true, why would you feel the need to pursue it unless you did, in fact, want something? I'd let it go. Those call center people aren't even located at Disneyland, so take anything they say with a grain of salt. If the representative was rude, that's one thing, but you said she was quite nice, just not familiar with the tour. She should have transferred you to someone else, but you already told a supervisor about your experience so it seems like a frustrating ordeal on your part to continue pursuing this.

I agree with sonnyjane to the letter. It's an imperfect world. Move on.

 

[flyymackenziie]

I think it depends on who you want to complain about-- the first girl or the supervisor? If it the supervisor and her lackadaisical attitude I say escalate it. The apologetic girl? Let it go.

 

[Disney Dreams]

What would you want to accomplish by "escalating"?

You have stated you don't want anything. You already spoke with a supervisor. You received an apology, even though you for some reason have dismissed the apology.

Asked for a supervisor right off the bat and she essentially apologized, but not really. Said she was sorry I had a bad experience but this is a new event and many of the staff was not comfortable booking it yet....

That sounds like an apology with an explanation in my opinion. Should they be comfortable with booking everything? Perhaps. However, if it's a training issue because it's new and they aren't comfortable, only experience in booking it is going to change that and the supervisor you spoke with already addressed that with you.

...I said very clearly that I didn't want a thing, I just wanted to pass this information on to her....

And you did.

I think you have passed along your customer feedback to the appropriate person. You received an explanation and apology. They identified an area of unfamiliarity. They can now work on it internally. You were taken care of, received what you needed, were treated politely, and had your concerns listened to with an apology for it not meeting your expectations.

I think it's a done issue. (Since you asked. )

- Dreams

 

[glenpreece]

I had similar issues a few years back one with a CM of the WDTC, I e-mailed guest relations and ended up getting a written letter of apology and a gift basket when we arrived at WDW.

The other was with a sketch artist at at DHS. I wanted Jessica Rabbit done witha green dress instead of red/pink. Needless to say the CM was rude and obnoxious. When i spoke to the manager I got the same response. Too bad so sad. So iwent to Guest Relations who gave me an e-mail address to contact and apologized over and over. I ended up getting a free sketch because the person on the phone at GR insisted I have one. When i went to DTD to get the sketch I spoke to the artist there and he said he knew which artist at DHS i had the problem with and said she was often like that.

The squeaky wheel gets the grease.

 

[sonnyjane]

I had similar issues a few years back one with a CM of the WDTC, I e-mailed guest relations and ended up getting a written letter of apology and a gift basket when we arrived at WDW.

The other was with a sketch artist at at DHS. I wanted Jessica Rabbit done witha green dress instead of red/pink. Needless to say the CM was rude and obnoxious. When i spoke to the manager I got the same response. Too bad so sad. So iwent to Guest Relations who gave me an e-mail address to contact and apologized over and over. I ended up getting a free sketch because the person on the phone at GR insisted I have one. When i went to DTD to get the sketch I spoke to the artist there and he said he knew which artist at DHS i had the problem with and said she was often like that.

The squeaky wheel gets the grease.

But, by their own admission, the OP doesn't want any "grease", just wanted to let the supervisor know that they were dissatisfied, and they did that. It might not be your intention, but your post seems to highlight that if you complain, you can get free stuff from Disney. If I pay for service at a restaurant and am unhappy, yes I'll complain if I feel the experience was bad enough to need financial compensation, but in this case the OP was just frustrated. The OP lost time spent on the phone, but did not lose any money to an unsatisfactory product. I'm not sure what more could possibly come from pursuing this other than a more sincere-sounding apology from someone else higher up the chain, which to me isn't worth the effort.

 

[JH87]

Let it go. 95% of any customer service reps anywhere have no idea what they are talking about. I have just accepted that and my strategy is, when someone doesn't know what they are talking about (or I get an answer I don't like), I call back later and talk to a different person.

Just forget about it and enjoy your trip!!

I agree with this.

Also, I don't work as a cell center rep or anything, but I got get lots of customer complaints via phone where I work and lots of times things they complain about are out of our control. And all we can do is sit there and listen for 10 mins and say "I am sorry" and since that is not what the customer wants to hear, they go on another 10 mins. Sometimes we end up agreeing just to get them to hang up, even though we can't do anything to fix the issue.

The girl probably really had no idea what this tour was, and it seems like she tried to get all the info. Maybe she was new? Maybe that was her first booking? We never know what's going on 'behind the scenes' and I always try to keep that in mind when stuff like this happens.

 

[DizMe]

I guess I would let it go in your case, but here is my view: Disney has some of the nicest-but-most-inept customer service agents out there. If your job is to book things, shouldn't you at least know those things exist? Shouldn't you know how to take payments? Like you said, they're almost always super nice so it's hard to get too upset by it, yet it's a lot of wasted time when you have to deal with someone constantly putting you on hold and still not getting the job done. I generally count on at least 3 phone calls there before I get someone who knows how to correctly book what I need. I don't think that is going to change, however, with email complaints, but who knows?

Sorry you had that experience but hang onto the magic anyway!

 

[EmmersIsTheMommy]

Eh I'm torn here.

I worked in a call center. You know your stuff before you're thrown on the phone.

The girl was nice..perhaps SUPER new..she should have known better..should not have said "No such thing"..should not have been on the phone yet maybe. My guess is she was horribly embarrassed. My beef (aside from the extreme lack of knowledge) is not with her.

My beef is more with the manager who handled it in a flippant way. I think it IS a big deal when you deal with credit card numbers!!

So aside from my 'beef'..I'd probably let it go if I were you. Not worth the frustration. Nothing will get done about it further..you did the only thing I would've done and it probably didn't work.

Just think. You trained the girl better than whoever trained her and she'll probably NEVER forget how to book that again