New Member Concerns

[Pa@okw95]

I have been a member since 95 at OKW. I made 18 vacations down there since then. All of the vacations were great, the rooms had no problems and the CM's were great. UNTIL THIS LAST VACTION: I stayed in 3 different units at OKW in January, each one for 5 days, all had serious problems regarding much needed maintenance work- a compresssor that ran 24/7, a stripped water faucet, a door to the balcony that would not shut, and less serious-throw pillows missing and a dimmer switch missing. I called maintenace about all these things on the last day in each unit. Now I never had ANY problems in all of my previous stays, but to have 3 different units in need of maintenance work presents some serious concerns to me. I believe that OKW and BCV are suffering also from over use. They both are popular for different reasons-one the pool the other the point structure. I have some fears about my membership for the first time like you do over your new membership. Now with any luck, it should not be up to luck however, you should not have any problems with you first visit. But luck should not have to play a role, many of these things should never happen. You should enjoy your membership but keep your eye open to a lower standard may be coming to DVC regarding the condition of the units.

 

[CarolA]

Pa, I think another thing that happend this year is that they got behind. Remember the hurricanes.... DIsney spent several MONTHS fixing things up from that. (I was there as late as late November and there were still awnings missing etc...) So that had to cut into time available to do basic preventive maintenance.

However, on my December stay they showed up to fix stuff I didn't know was even broken at OKW.

And someone STOLE your throw pillows. I think Disney is not replacing them as much and I guess it is good for us in the long run. Members have to pay for the theft and I would bet that at least some of the thieves are our fellow members!

 

[Pinnie]

I agree, CarolA, that the hurricanes of this past summer took a toll on the maintance timelines. I was there the Tuesday after the first one hit and there were a number of maintance issues that took precedent over a leaky faucet.

While I am not condoning poor member service, I do believe that the CMs have been stretched to the limit this past late summer and fall. I do believe things will be getting back on track until the next hurricane season starts.

I guess I am one of those "half full" people!

pinnie

 

[DrTomorrow]

I too wish that leaky faucets, A/C problems, sticky doors and missing pillows wouldn't happen. Realistically, they are going to happen; despite the constant references to "Disney Magic", our DVC Resorts are still in the real world, where real problems happen all the time. From a philosophical point of view, if these are the worst things to happen to me on vacation, I'll thank The Universe that my life is so wonderful. However, there are some folks who don't want to hear any "positive attitude" talk.

From a more practical perspective, it is possible to structure DVC so that no DVC owner has to experience what the OP did, or any other problems. It can also be set up so that every request of every DVC owner is always met - that's a very doable thing. When building and taking reservations, DVC can make sure that there are enough extra N/S and S rooms, enough H/C and non-H/C rooms, that almost every room is "close to the elevator", is either on the top or first floor, and "has a great view". Of course, that would mean that a whole lot of rooms would be empty - or not even built (why even finish/furnish any 2nd floor rooms) - to make sure that there's always one available that's perfect. Staffing, too, would be prohibitively expensive - assuming that the goal is to be able to respond to every owner call with SWAT-team like speed.

Yes, it seems like the number of complaints about room conditions here on the DIS DVC forum has been increasing. However, given what I know about statistics and probability (which is way too much, since I wrote simulation software) AND what I know of human nature, I know that what we read here can no way be interpreted as statistically significant - not with almost 100,000 DVC owners. Of course, it bears keeping an eye on things - rose colored glasses tend to get in the way of improving things. However, there's such a thing as a self-fulfilling prophecy: you often see what you expect to see.

And to Pa@okw95: I'm a gambling man (yes, even thought I know probability and negative expectation games), and I'd gladly take a streak like 17 wins out of 18 trips!

IMHO - YMMV

 

[Deemarch]

It's like listening to the news. Nothing good to say.

 

[athenna]

It's like listening to the news. Nothing good to say.

Took the words right out of my mouth.

 

[TCPluto]

DeeMarch, looks like your signature needs maintenance!

 

[jarestel]

However, there are some folks who don't want to hear any "positive attitude" talk.

And there are some who will go to their grave claiming Disney/DVC is never at fault for anything. It's those pesky complaining members who cause all of the trouble by insisting that the dues they pay to DVC do a little bit more than just make the checking account go down.

Still, we all love to tell prospective new members about our "deluxe" accomodations at DVC though. Doesn't sound to me like Pa@okw95 had deluxe accomodations and I don't see why anyone is afraid to hear about it.

 

[CarolA]

What I can't figure out is if it was so bad why did he wait until check out. If I see maintenace I normally call then.

 

[cymomtx]

One thing I do like about my timeshares in Cancun is that they close for one full week every year for maintenance.

 

[CarolMN]

One thing I do like about my timeshares in Cancun is that they close for one full week every year for maintenance.

Wow! A year seems like a long time to wait to fix stuff! LOL.

 

[froinlavin]

Why wait until the last day in the unit to call to fix any problems?

 

[lllovell]

I remember reading why before and it was because Pa didnt want to waste any time waiting around for maintenance and didn't want people in and out of the room the whole trip. I can see that point and I am glad they took the time to report things so that hopefully, the next person would have arrived and find them being fixed or already fixed.

That said, if it was making me sad/miserable/stressed (not sure what words but I get a sense of a lot of disappointment from PA in posts lately) and ruining what should have been a great 1/2 month's vacation, I would have let them come on in. Sometimes the best antidote for something making you upset is having it taken care of.

I have harped over and over again on another board about "remember the hurricanes"!!!! Not just the fact that Disney DID have damage, there was also a HUGE group of CMs that were personally devistated and a large number of vacationers that were pushed into time slots that normally are on the "low attendance" lists. So - I am hoping that most of what I have heard this past 6 months is an blip on the screen. You do get behind in normal maintenance and upkeep when days were taken with packing up and getting ready for hurricanes....MANY hurricanes and then the clean up and repairs that had to be done. I also think that the slower seasons are the time when the resorts get their best cleanings. So many people were at WDW later this past year and things did get behind for a while.

I, for one, have not given up on the Disney magic!!!

 

[tjkraz]

One thing I do like about my timeshares in Cancun is that they close for one full week every year for maintenance.

DVC does the same thing...it's just done (IMO) in a more efficient manner.

DVC retains 3-4% ownership at each resort for maintenance purposes only. That's enough to take each room out of service 6-7 nights per year. The advantages I see over what you describe are:

1. Don't have everyone 100% blocked out for a given week each year.

2. They don't have to try and complete the necessary work on all of the rooms at once. Sorry, but I just don't see how they could possibly perform annual maintenance on 500+ OKW rooms in a single week. You just can't staff appropriately for that.

And, as CarolMN mentioned, you don't have rooms being left in sub-standard conditions if something happens to the room a month after the annual maintenance is completed.

 

[ColoradoBelle1]

Carol and llllovellll...
I think your point is well taken that Disney may have gotten behind on the maintenance after the hurricane devastation. And even though insurance would pay for the hurricane damage, it doesn't change that there is always a lack of man/woman power to actually fix the damage.

We also have to recognize that it is FACT that as units get older, more and more things need fixing/replacing no matter how vigilant maintenance is. And also, it does seem that the units, as a whole, are more fully occupied than in the early days...so less time to get in there and fix things.

I agree with tjkraz that Disney's closing down of certain blocks of rooms for regular maintenance as opposed to closing a whole resort for a week is more efficient.

Whether someone chooses to be more inconvenienced by asking for maintenance to be done while they are occupying the room or decides to wait until the room is vacated is a matter of personal preference. I'm thankful that the issues were pointed out to OKW maintenance...as I am sure DIsney is glad to be made aware of problems while they can still be easily fixed.

Also, whether or not Pa should be thankful that out of 17 visits he only had one that was unsatisfactory is rather pointless. Pa wanted to let everyone know that he believes that service and maintenance is less than it used to be. He stated two reasons why this could be happening. It was actually, a very positive post! You see, he didnt have to mention the past 16 visits...he could have implied, had his intent been to DIS Disney, that this ALWAYS happened. Instead, he made an honest observation. Thank you Pa!

I agree with jarestel...why should any of us be hesitant to state our true feelings and honest concerns in this forum? Why are some people so threatened by that? I believe Disney would be the first to say that while positive feedback feels good and affirming and is especially helpful in illiciting more 'pixie dust-pay it forward' in CMs, that honest negative feedback helps to correct problems before they cost DIsney money, marketing and image problems!

Colorado Belle

 

[Dean]

Most timeshares hold a week back for maint. Obviously they don't normally need a full week unless they are doing major renovations which is usually done about every 5-7 years.

 

[jekjones1558]

Regarding when to report maintenance issues:
I appreciate those who report problems to maintenance. It makes it better for those of us who follow in the room. I especially appreciate those who report problems BEFORE the last day of their stay. It helps to speed up getting the room ready for those checking in if there does not need to be a delay as maintenance does their work.

 

[Sammie]

I too wish that leaky faucets, A/C problems, sticky doors and missing pillows wouldn't happen. Realistically, they are going to happen; despite the constant references to "Disney Magic", our DVC Resorts are still in the real world, where real problems happen all the time. From a philosophical point of view, if these are the worst things to happen to me on vacation, I'll thank The Universe that my life is so wonderful. However, there are some folks who don't want to hear any "positive attitude" talk.

From a more practical perspective, it is possible to structure DVC so that no DVC owner has to experience what the OP did, or any other problems. It can also be set up so that every request of every DVC owner is always met - that's a very doable thing. When building and taking reservations, DVC can make sure that there are enough extra N/S and S rooms, enough H/C and non-H/C rooms, that almost every room is "close to the elevator", is either on the top or first floor, and "has a great view". Of course, that would mean that a whole lot of rooms would be empty - or not even built (why even finish/furnish any 2nd floor rooms) - to make sure that there's always one available that's perfect. Staffing, too, would be prohibitively expensive - assuming that the goal is to be able to respond to every owner call with SWAT-team like speed.

Yes, it seems like the number of complaints about room conditions here on the DIS DVC forum has been increasing. However, given what I know about statistics and probability (which is way too much, since I wrote simulation software) AND what I know of human nature, I know that what we read here can no way be interpreted as statistically significant - not with almost 100,000 DVC owners. Of course, it bears keeping an eye on things - rose colored glasses tend to get in the way of improving things. However, there's such a thing as a self-fulfilling prophecy: you often see what you expect to see.

And to Pa@okw95: I'm a gambling man (yes, even thought I know probability and negative expectation games), and I'd gladly take a streak like 17 wins out of 18 trips!

IMHO - YMMV

Totally agree. I figure it's just the law of averages. At my real home, crap happens, it happens a lot. It does not happen every day, but it does happen.

I figure at WDW with as many rooms they have to maintain, with thousands of people in and out of them, and then throw some hurricanes in the mix, eventually everyone that goes often is going to have a less than perfect stay.

If I get a room with any problems I call to get it fixed or replaced. If they do that, I am one happy camper. If they ignore me than I might have to react to that. I have never been ignored. Therefore all my trips I am one happy camper. To think I will never experience less than perfection when I walk in my room, is unrealistic.

 

[Johnnie Fedora]

And there are some who will go to their grave claiming Disney/DVC is never at fault for anything. It's those pesky complaining members who cause all of the trouble by insisting that the dues they pay to DVC do a little bit more than just make the checking account go down.

Still, we all love to tell prospective new members about our "deluxe" accomodations at DVC though. Doesn't sound to me like Pa@okw95 had deluxe accomodations and I don't see why anyone is afraid to hear about it.

ITA...DVCers just have expectations that keep pace with our dues payment.

I've yet to stay in a DVC unit where I've been able to leave my tool box in the car. There are always lose knobs, etc. that need tightening. Our last trip to HH the sink drain was driping, and obviously had been doing it for a while...the cabinet floor was disintegrating. Maintenence came once and after, it still leaked. I called again and no one ever showed. I hope they fixed it after we checked out. I also had to take the fireplace screen down to repair as the screen was pulled off the rod and was unclosable and a big safety hazard (a previous guest must have graduated from the "if it's not working, pull harder" school). I'm glad when people report things, but I understand why some want to wait until their stay is complete to have maintenance done. The rooms should have a card that can be completed and left by the guest that lists any problems they noticed.

 

[Scotch]

It is very sad for me, a new owner, to read increasing number of threads like this. This, of course, is mild compared to some of the other recent ones posted it regarding BCV CM attitudes toward DVC vs. cash customers, lack of hot water for several days with no apologies, etc. Amongst all the debate re how to accommodate room requests, maintenance, and so on, I don't hear anyone mention getting on the board of the HOA and making some changes to the policies. That is what I would expect with our other timeshares. Am I missing something about DVC? Are owners now allowed to run for the HOA?