NEW GREAT SWAP/SMILEY DEBATE(former "Pop Will .... Fridges For Swap?" thread)

[lisadr]

It seemed so simple, ask a question get an answer.

You are totally right ParkersMomma-a war zone. And for what? You have to wonder what there is to gain from making a stand against swaps??

I appreciate your support

 

[CarolA]

This could have been a very benefical thread for everyone who CHOSES to participate in a swap instead it became a war zone for swappers and ANTI-swappers. How sad!

This was a war zone?

Having thoughts is WRONG and BAD?

No one attacked anyone, people posted out WHY Disney might make decisons others didn't like. People made suggestions on HOW Disney might add fridges and pay for them. Other people thought that raising rates for things EVERYONE didn't want was not a great idea.

The WAR ZONE appears to have come about because some folks who participate or lead swaps think that thoughts on why Disney might not like these are WRONG and should be BANNED!

Truly I am amazed at the reaction of the swappers to posts that say "here are things to consider" No one said you were bad for having swaps. No one attacked you for trying to rip Disney off of thier rent money etc.

What did you expect? An outcry of love and sympathy? An outcry of OUTRAGE (somehow I expect it's this one)?

Seriously, the response by those who think they were attacked is kind of strange. The attacking I saw was that "posters dared to respond to my post that I didn't want too" That's just kind of unrealistic. If you only want your "friends" to respond on a message board, open up a private one and invite just them! Otherwise, welcome to the DIS.

 

[parkers*momma]

To the swappers, just a quick update, I called Pop this morning and they lovely woman I spoke to was very helpful.

Here's what she said:

1)She checked with her supervisor and the person above her supervisor and they said they had no problem with the swap. Actually she said it was a wonderful idea because they don't always have enough fridges and they have to make sure the people who need them for meds and such get them first. Also, they would rather people trade them off then buy them and leave them(although I would rather think that would work out in their favor-lol).

2) They will hold items for us, as long as it is marked. She also mentioned Housekeeping as the people to arrange that with. Maybe they have more room there???? In any case at least we don't have to worry about missing each other and not being able to do a face to face swap.

3) As far as policy against swaps-she checked, her boss checked, and another manager checked-as of right now they haven't heard anything at all about such policy coming into effect. Now we all know that anything could happen, but I think as long as we work hard to be very low impact about it, there would be no reason to stop.

My advice would be this-don't make a bother of yourself, take care of the people/services that help you, and make the employees of Pop experiences with us as pleasant as possible. I am very sure that for the majority, the people in the swaps are doing just that, and you cannot control the behavior of individuals, but perhaps adding a simple post on your thread reminding your swap members to be extra nice to the people in LS/Mousekeeping/BH/front desk(who ever they deal with) might go a long way. I am going to add that to my thread as part of the swappers responsibility, to ensure everyone gets to use the items.

Thanks LISADR for calling and sharing this with us!!
LOL-who knew this was such a HOT topic

Thanks LISADR for calling and sharing this with us!!

 

[disneyjunkie]

This was a war zone?

Having thoughts is WRONG and BAD?

No one attacked anyone, people posted out WHY Disney might make decisons others didn't like. People made suggestions on HOW Disney might add fridges and pay for them. Other people thought that raising rates for things EVERYONE didn't want was not a great idea.

The WAR ZONE appears to have come about because some folks who participate or lead swaps think that thoughts on why Disney might not like these are WRONG and should be BANNED!

Truly I am amazed at the reaction of the swappers to posts that say "here are things to consider" No one said you were bad for having swaps. No one attacked you for trying to rip Disney off of thier rent money etc.

What did you expect? An outcry of love and sympathy? An outcry of OUTRAGE (somehow I expect it's this one)?

Seriously, the response by those who think they were attacked is kind of strange. The attacking I saw was that "posters dared to respond to my post that I didn't want too" That's just kind of unrealistic. If you only want your "friends" to respond on a message board, open up a private one and invite just them! Otherwise, welcome to the DIS.

Well said.

As far as the reply from the Pop, that doesn't really prove anything. 3 people can call, speak to 3 different CMs, ask the same exact questions and get 3 different answers. It happens all the time.

 

[parkers*momma]

This was a war zone?

Having thoughts is WRONG and BAD?

No one attacked anyone, people posted out WHY Disney might make decisons others didn't like. People made suggestions on HOW Disney might add fridges and pay for them. Other people thought that raising rates for things EVERYONE didn't want was not a great idea.

The WAR ZONE appears to have come about because some folks who participate or lead swaps think that thoughts on why Disney might not like these are WRONG and should be BANNED!

Truly I am amazed at the reaction of the swappers to posts that say "here are things to consider" No one said you were bad for having swaps. No one attacked you for trying to rip Disney off of thier rent money etc.

What did you expect? An outcry of love and sympathy? An outcry of OUTRAGE (somehow I expect it's this one)?

Seriously, the response by those who think they were attacked is kind of strange. The attacking I saw was that "posters dared to respond to my post that I didn't want too" That's just kind of unrealistic. If you only want your "friends" to respond on a message board, open up a private one and invite just them! Otherwise, welcome to the DIS.

I was reading on one of the fridge swaps that the manager at Pop had told them they were going to stop holding items at luggage services. Their fridge was lost and they were trying to find it and that is when they were informed about this.

I also read that they are no longer issuing receipts for the items checked in through luggage services.

Have any other swap leaders heard anything about these two new policies? If so could you share what info you heard. Also besides a face to face swap-how are you going to handle these new policies??

Thanks Swappers!!

Here's the thread:
http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=1788952&page=13

Lisa

I don't see anywhere in the OP about WDW putting refridges in their room or suggestions for it. And it went way off topic from there.

What did you expect? An outcry of love and sympathy? An outcry of OUTRAGE (somehow I expect it's this one)?

I expected answers on how the swap leaders would handle the situation if WDW did impliment the new rule, not WHY they should impliment the rule.

Seriously, the response by those who think they were attacked is kind of strange. The attacking I saw was that "posters dared to respond to my post that I didn't want too" That's just kind of unrealistic.

What I saw was was not "posters dared to respond to my post that I didn't want too" but posters who brought information/opinions/ideas that was not helping the OP with her question of "Have any other swap leaders heard anything about these two new policies? If so could you share what info you heard. Also besides a face to face swap-how are you going to handle these new policies??" HOW does 90% of these post have ANYTHING to do with the direct questions in the OP?

If you only want your "friends" to respond on a message board, open up a private one and invite just them! Otherwise, welcome to the DIS.

Thanks for the welcome-a lil late- but thanks again. I've been here for about 5 years, just a new nic.

 

[kaytieeldr]

I might be new but I gotta say y'all are some grouchy people-what you you care what other people do? Let 'em have their swaps and let Disney deal with it however they want-it's not your concern.

Well, yeah, it is - when, for example, your resort can't find your luggage in the holding area because of all the non-luggage items in there (see bavaria's post about her usually easy-to-spot red suitcase); or when Disney has transferred your vital medical equipment from your original resort to Pop Century for the next part of your trip... then can't find it for several hours, necessitating a trip to the emergency room,,, because it's under some other item (that, granted, nobody apparently lifted).

I expected answers on how the swap leaders would handle the situation if WDW did impliment the new rule, not WHY they should impliment the rule.

But, again, this is a public forum. This specific thread has followed all the DIS Guidelines. Posters who wish to direct/control/restrict the responses on any given topic should consider creating their own private forums - I know I'm involved in several on YahooGroups.com - or restrict the conversation to PMs.

 

[msmayor]

Well said.

As far as the reply from the Pop, that doesn't really prove anything. 3 people can call, speak to 3 different CMs, ask the same exact questions and get 3 different answers. It happens all the time.

Exactly!!

Folks keep talking about Disney implementing "policy". I'll bet you dollars to doughnuts that there will NEVER be a policy implemented regarding fridge swaps. By not having a written policy it makes it far easier to absolve themselves of responsibility for missing fridges. They didn't label them, there's no receipt, etc. etc.

And for those who say it shouldn't be such a problem for the 20 or so swaps that are going on here compared to the 'thousands' of rooms, my understanding from reading around is that fridge swaps are not unique to DIS...that there are other 'communities' such as this one that have swaps going. I'd be willing to bet there are a lot more than just 20 fridges floating around.

I don't begrudge anyone from participating in a swap. I have no problem with them if that's what folks want to do to save a few bucks. What I do find troubling is when some folks become critical of CM's because they don't want to help find a lost fridge. I'll say it again: asking someone who has no vested interest whatsoever in keeping the swap going and who never FORMALLY agreed to take responsibility for keeping a fridge safe in storage isn't the best way to make sure it doesn't get lost. Face to face exchanges between swappers is the only way to ensure it stays on track.

 

[bavaria]

True. There will always be some people who have nothing better to do than sticking their noses in something that isn't even their business to cause problems for others and disrupt discussions that aren't even important to them.

I know that I am not 'permitted' to reply, but since my original post was partially quoted and this post is in reference to that post, I will. (although yet again it would appear that kaytieeldr has already voiced my thoughts)

This does indeed impact others, as I have already stated. I was impacted by the non-luggage being stored in the luggage room when several members of luggage services, a manager, and I could not find a very distinctive suitcase which had been dropped off a short time earlier.

It does impact me because as I indicated earlier, I have paid legitimate package holding fees for CSR to hold a box of documents. The more water, fridges, strollers, coffee makers, toasters, etc WDW resorts are asked to hold, the more labour required, and the costs will go up for all of us.

And how here is my suggestion. There is a wonderful service called www.ownerslocker.com. The owner is an amazing person who provides very personalized service. Why doesn't the swap purchase the service for a year and buy a mini fridge which will fit inside the locker, and use that service to store the item?

That to me would be a reasonable solution for all involved, and I can assure you that the company's attention to detail would ensure that there would not be missing items in future.

Problem solved for everyone - swappers, other guests, and WDW.

 

[bavaria]

This could have been a very benefical thread for everyone who CHOSES to participate in a swap instead it became a war zone for swappers and ANTI-swappers. How sad!

Your use of hyperbole I find offensive to those who do live, work and deal with true war zones. The drama here and the choice of language is not appropriate to the situation. Perhaps I am more concious of the choice of vocabulary as English is not my first language, but to call this thread a 'war zone' I consider inappropriate.

This is a discussion board, and we are having an active discussion. I would think that on a public board all members are welcome to participate in threads so long as they are respectful to one another (even though they may not agree), but I may be wrong.

 

[thelionqueen]

I agree with almost every other poster. Unfortunately OP, you cannot control what people post on the DIS, that's what makes it, well..the DIS
You will find that people have strong opinions on here and sometimes like to "morally arrest" anyone who have a different way of doing things, again, just the DIS.
Personally, I do whatever I can to save money in my life, including at Disney, and a fridge swap is a big money saver, and more imoportantly, a good idea in my HUMBLE and I'm sure going to be debated opinion.

I have never fridge swapped before, but am doing so on our next trip; we'll see how it goes. If it's a huge hassle, then, yeah, I'll rent the fridge or use a cooler, no biggie. But if it can save me nearly $100 with little effort, and I can help another DISer out, I'm going for it!

To other posters who think prices will go up because us "swappers" are creating so much extra work and headache to the resort, and other guests are "suffering" because room is being taken up in luggage services, I just have to laugh. There are way too many examples I could give of "guest service" that Disney provides that go far and above this every day.

Disney prides themselves on guest service and rightfully so. I send a huge box down before my trip with our costumes, pins, and pool toys; is that wrong for them to hold that until I arrive? It is taking up space in the luggage area, and its not luggage. I also use that box to ship down the items we buy and other "extras" when we leave. Is that wrong for them to offer and provide shipping services for that box, which is held in luggage services and is not luggage.

Is my box of pins and costumes any less or more important that someone elses luggage?

If someone is transferring their medical equipment from resort to resort and allowing Disney Concierge to do that for them, well, is just not well thought out IMO. And if they do allow Disney to transport it for them, they are putting their property into someone else's hands, which we all do when we leave it with bell services.

Is their medical equipment more important than my pins? To them I'm sure it is, to me, it certainly isn't, to Disney, they have to treat each item the same.

So tell me, how would you instruct Disney to do business? I'm sure we could all offer some fantastic ideas to them, but the bottom line is, they make their own; not us. If they are so overwhelmed with holding fridges, strollers, coffee pots, etc., they will do something about it, it not, why does anyone care?

If they misplace your bag, it's because they misplaced it! Not because someone else's property was in your way. I'm sorry, that just seemed like a very elitest comment, no flame intended.

I could go on and on responding to other comments, but will refrain. Not trying to flame, just find the "moral policing" a bit much at times albeit entertaining...lol

Now, back to OP. Thank you for checking on this directly with the resort. Unfortunately a PP is totally correct, you can speak to a CM one minute and get a totally different answer from another one minute later. I do however, think that with the "chain of command" type response you got, it sounds reasonable that it might actually be correct.


I wouldn't be surprised if they stopped doing it though, especially if the 5-10 swaps grows in the future.

Gee, that wasn't OT was it??

 

[disneychrista]

WOW I find it so odd that a simple DISCUSSION on whether Disney should be responsible for members swaps has been seen as being a "war zone." I am an old dis-vetern from back in the day of the "debate board" now THOSE discussion could get very heated and turn into a war zone, which is why it no longer exists.

This was nothing more of fellow members discussing the topic (Fridge Swaps).

 

[bavaria]

Just a question, since I'm curious...if you don't get a receipt from luggage claim service, how do you ever find the item again? I'm sure they have hundreds of items stored - how on earth would they find it if there's no numbering/receipt system to keep track of it?

I think that the reason why Disney may have decided to do this is because there is no one 'owner' to these swap items. If I leave a suitcase in storage for a few hours, I am the legitimate owner of that suitcase and its contents, and if WDW loses it, I may have a limited liability claim.

But if 50 people participate in a swap of an item, each member only 'owns' the item for the short period of time that they use it. I can see Disney wanting to absolve themselves of the liability of having to deal with 50 part time owners of an item, should it go missing.

The wording on claim checks, receipts, signage, etc in resorts is very carefully worded and approved by a legal department in order to minimize liability.

Calling on a Sunday morning and speaking with a front line cast member may or may not give the desired response. However, that CM may not realize that there is a legal liability issue behind the decisions which Disney makes, and ultimately what they advise may not be the actual procedure.

 

[lisadr]

Are the PPs who so strongly pointed out that this is a public forum and people were allowed to express their opinions-what ever they were-actually chiding ParkersMomma for her word choice? Hmmmm I guess it's only OK when it's their opinion

Interesting

 

[nena]

The OP came to the dis to ask a question with the intent of getting helpful answers. Too many posters regardless if you think you were OT or not, were just NOT HELPFUL!!

lisadr, It sounds like you were able to get your own answers. Good luck with the SWAP!!

 

[bavaria]

I have no issues with the use of reasoned language to make a point, but I do find the use of hyperbole, sarcasm, mocking emoticons, etc weaken an argument.

I am interested in discussing the cost and liability issues of these items and the swaps in general, and I think that the majority of posters are doing so in a respectful fashion, even when they do not agree with each other.

(I am only posting this in response to another post from the OP, lest I be charged with going off topic)

 

[thelionqueen]

 

[janloz]

To the swappers, just a quick update, I called Pop this morning and they lovely woman I spoke to was very helpful.

Here's what she said:

1)She checked with her supervisor and the person above her supervisor and they said they had no problem with the swap. Actually she said it was a wonderful idea because they don't always have enough fridges and they have to make sure the people who need them for meds and such get them first. Also, they would rather people trade them off then buy them and leave them(although I would rather think that would work out in their favor-lol).

2) They will hold items for us, as long as it is marked. She also mentioned Housekeeping as the people to arrange that with. Maybe they have more room there???? In any case at least we don't have to worry about missing each other and not being able to do a face to face swap.

3) As far as policy against swaps-she checked, her boss checked, and another manager checked-as of right now they haven't heard anything at all about such policy coming into effect. Now we all know that anything could happen, but I think as long as we work hard to be very low impact about it, there would be no reason to stop.

My advice would be this-don't make a bother of yourself, take care of the people/services that help you, and make the employees of Pop experiences with us as pleasant as possible. I am very sure that for the majority, the people in the swaps are doing just that, and you cannot control the behavior of individuals, but perhaps adding a simple post on your thread reminding your swap members to be extra nice to the people in LS/Mousekeeping/BH/front desk(who ever they deal with) might go a long way. I am going to add that to my thread as part of the swappers responsibility, to ensure everyone gets to use the items.


LOL-who knew this was such a HOT topic

Lisa,

Thanks for calling and checking. I organize one of the swaps and saw the same posting that you originally posted and was also concerned just didn't get a chance to call yesterday and wasn't on DIS yesterday to see your original post. I will add your VERY helpful info above to my list as well. From the very beginning of our swap, I have always asked my swappers to tip the LS CMs very well since they desire it. I will ask my swappers to check with HK now instead. So far, our swap has had 24 swappers for a total of about 130 nights which has saved DIS people about $1500 over what POP would charge for a much smaller fridge. For now, we will continue on and hopefully the swaps will continue to save some money for those who participate.

As far as POP putting fridges in all the rooms, don't hold your breath. I read that during the remodel of the CBR rooms, they are removing the fridges.

Again, Lisa thank you.

 

[faindrops27]

What is the point, for going on and on about this people? Lisa, found out the info she needed. What else is there to say? Why do we disfriends. Get snarky, bicker, and get down right ugly with each other. To me, this is just unecessary. I thought we were supposed to be a happy community.

 

[stitchlovestink]

I know that I am not 'permitted' to reply, but since my original post was partially quoted and this post is in reference to that post, I will. (although yet again it would appear that kaytieeldr has already voiced my thoughts)

This does indeed impact others, as I have already stated. I was impacted by the non-luggage being stored in the luggage room when several members of luggage services, a manager, and I could not find a very distinctive suitcase which had been dropped off a short time earlier.

It does impact me because as I indicated earlier, I have paid legitimate package holding fees for CSR to hold a box of documents. The more water, fridges, strollers, coffee makers, toasters, etc WDW resorts are asked to hold, the more labour required, and the costs will go up for all of us.

And how here is my suggestion. There is a wonderful service called www.ownerslocker.com. The owner is an amazing person who provides very personalized service. Why doesn't the swap purchase the service for a year and buy a mini fridge which will fit inside the locker, and use that service to store the item?

That to me would be a reasonable solution for all involved, and I can assure you that the company's attention to detail would ensure that there would not be missing items in future.

Problem solved for everyone - swappers, other guests, and WDW.

so you want bell services to be limited to luggage since a CM couldn't find your suitcase because they didn't in actuality 'look hard enough' as they didn't move things to find that it was underneath/behind something else? Okay, my friend left for the World this morning. When her DH & DS packed the luggage in the car, they forgot to put in the seat to her ECV. I called and made arrangements for a rental ECV (off site as she will need it at the resorts too). She lands at MCO around 11am. The rental co said they will have it to her hotel by 12 noon or earlier. So say they drop it off at Bell Services for hold until she arrives. Should bell services not take it, since it is not luggage. Give me a break people. I think this is more about a few CM's maybe not being so thorough looking for something in the storage room. Just maybe....

I agree with almost every other poster. Unfortunately OP, you cannot control what people post on the DIS, that's what makes it, well..the DIS
You will find that people have strong opinions on here and sometimes like to "morally arrest" anyone who have a different way of doing things, again, just the DIS.
Personally, I do whatever I can to save money in my life, including at Disney, and a fridge swap is a big money saver, and more imoportantly, a good idea in my HUMBLE and I'm sure going to be debated opinion.

I have never fridge swapped before, but am doing so on our next trip; we'll see how it goes. If it's a huge hassle, then, yeah, I'll rent the fridge or use a cooler, no biggie. But if it can save me nearly $100 with little effort, and I can help another DISer out, I'm going for it!

To other posters who think prices will go up because us "swappers" are creating so much extra work and headache to the resort, and other guests are "suffering" because room is being taken up in luggage services, I just have to laugh. There are way too many examples I could give of "guest service" that Disney provides that go far and above this every day.

Disney prides themselves on guest service and rightfully so. I send a huge box down before my trip with our costumes, pins, and pool toys; is that wrong for them to hold that until I arrive? It is taking up space in the luggage area, and its not luggage. I also use that box to ship down the items we buy and other "extras" when we leave. Is that wrong for them to offer and provide shipping services for that box, which is held in luggage services and is not luggage.

Is my box of pins and costumes any less or more important that someone elses luggage?

If someone is transferring their medical equipment from resort to resort and allowing Disney Concierge to do that for them, well, is just not well thought out IMO. And if they do allow Disney to transport it for them, they are putting their property into someone else's hands, which we all do when we leave it with bell services.

Is their medical equipment more important than my pins? To them I'm sure it is, to me, it certainly isn't, to Disney, they have to treat each item the same.

So tell me, how would you instruct Disney to do business? I'm sure we could all offer some fantastic ideas to them, but the bottom line is, they make their own; not us. If they are so overwhelmed with holding fridges, strollers, coffee pots, etc., they will do something about it, it not, why does anyone care?

If they misplace your bag, it's because they misplaced it! Not because someone else's property was in your way. I'm sorry, that just seemed like a very elitest comment, no flame intended.

I could go on and on responding to other comments, but will refrain. Not trying to flame, just find the "moral policing" a bit much at times albeit entertaining...lol

Now, back to OP. Thank you for checking on this directly with the resort. Unfortunately a PP is totally correct, you can speak to a CM one minute and get a totally different answer from another one minute later. I do however, think that with the "chain of command" type response you got, it sounds reasonable that it might actually be correct.


I wouldn't be surprised if they stopped doing it though, especially if the 5-10 swaps grows in the future.

Gee, that wasn't OT was it??

Well stated

 

[maxiesmom]

And here I thought the 2 threads going about sneaking over age kids into the parks for nothing were vicious.

Maybe we all need to realize that whatever we do does affect others. Whether intentionally or not. If there have been cases where peoples luggage has been lost because of all of the other things Disney is being forced to hang on to (fridges, coffee pots, strollers) then yeah, I can see being a little peeved if it was my luggage that was lost. And the fact that those items are only there to get around giving Disney some money makes it even more silly. You are making more work for Disney, because you don't want to purchase a service from them. Kind of ironic, isn't it.

Maybe Disney should start changing $10 a day to hold onto refridgerators. Then it would make more sense just to rent the darn things and be done with it. Then the baggage handlers can get back to handling baggage.


And unlike Bavaria, I really don't care if you think this post is off topic. But I think if you put your thoughts out there on a public forum, you ought to be ready for what the public is gonna say.