OKW-when did lower standards become acceptable?

[AFMom]

Well - that was us! We went right after the last hurricane this fall, and on out 5th day there we got back from Epcot to find that our room had been broken into. Oddly - they had gone in the studio attatched to our 1 bdrm, stole the contents of their safe, then used a crowbar to open the door between the rooms. The went through our stuff and stole a few CC's we hadn't taken, and then left through the patio doors. What an awful night that was! The OKW CM's were great, the security people were wonderful as well as management. You would think the patio doors would have been an easier way in than the front door - but hey - they theif wasn't too bright! He didn't take our laptop, he left our car keys - with a car right outside the room, etc.
As far as cleanliness - I won't tolerate dirt, mold, etc. I would certainly complain immediately. For the ammount we are paying - the rooms should be perfect. It certainly doesn'y bother me to inconvinience the staff - it should have been done right to begin with. Do you think anyone staying on cash at a delux resrot would let it pass?

 

[diznygirl]

Unbelievable. If a member of Disney security ever told me not to call 911 I'd personally see to it that he lost his employment with the company. Hope you got the name and badge number of that idiot.

DH used to work Disney security - the reason they don't want you to call 911 is that it is harder for them to find you in the maze of buildings, and the kiosk needs a heads up to get the gate open for them, and hotel mngmt has SOP for dealing with emergencies. Just hit '0' on your phone and scream for you life to the Front Desk, who will then notify Reedy Creek, or Orange County sheriff's, for you. And Disney security will be there as well, and they are top notch - only some of them are idiots!

 

[margaretCT]

I called about dusty baseboards, door panels, etc., during a trip last month at OKW. I'm allergic to dust so I look for it more, but judging from the amount of dust build-up, it must have been at least a month since these were dusted, more likely two months. No one came during my stay - I hope they took care of it after my stay.

While making a phone call to housekeeping is no big deal, what bothers me is that the units aren't cleaned routinely so there is no dust or mold build-up, etc.

I also called housekeeping on our third day. When we arrived, there was a food spill that looked like chocolate milk just outside our entrance door. It didn't bother me until the third day when it started to attract ants. Housekeeping took care of that the same day. I would have taken care of it myself but it was early morning when the ants showed up and we were on our way out, so I just ran back into the room for a quick phone call to housekeeping.

I've seen a gradual decline over the years in quality and upkeep of the units. Room problems used to be rare, but lately there have been at least one or two things each visit. I think in the future I will snap digital photos of what I percieve to be a problem and send them in an e-mail to Member Services.

Margaret in CT

PS The dust did not gross me out nearly as much as the big gob of hair that spit out out of the jacuzzi vent (or whatever it's called in a jacuzzi) after my second or third night. That's my last Disney jacuzzi. Gross. And I cleaned the jacuzzi twice before I used it.

 

[dvc guy]

If owners don't bring problems to someone attention , how do we expect it to get fixed. Like many owners if I am only staying 2 nights, small things don't boither me, if I was staying a week, I would want it fixed. Can't blame DVC if they don't know its broke l

 

[dianeschlicht]

I agree that items like that need to be brought to the attention of housekeeping so they can be fixed.

We have never seen mold or most of the other problems listed here. We did have a leaky fridge once, abut a quick call to maintenance cleared it up imediately!

I am wondering if the fact that our fantastic housekeeping dierctor moved from OKW to SSR last fall is a reason for some of this!

 

[rinkwide]

...the reason they don't want you to call 911 is that it is harder for them to find you in the maze of buildings, and the kiosk needs a heads up to get the gate open for them...

That's all good "show" but we both know that's not the real reason Disney doesn't want guests calling 911.

 

[DebbieB]

I don't know about the other resorts, but the housekeeping budget for BWV for 2005 went DOWN. It went from $4,166,958 to $4,047,659. Maintenance also went down, from $2,823,897 to $2,805,856. On the other hand, administration and front desk went from $2,414,320 to $2,692,394. Those were the top 3 items in the budget. I'd rather pay a few more cents in dues than cutback on housekeeping and maintenance.

 

[JimC]

...When I asked him if "911" worked from the phone, he told me that I was not to use it - that guests were discouraged from calling 911. I told him that if I awoke to a stranger in my room, I was most certainly going to call 911 however unDisney that might be.

I believe if you dial 911 on Disney property it is routed to a dispatcher at Reedy Creek. I don't believe it goes to Orange County unless its referred out from Reedy Creek. I don't know how a 911 cell call would be routed.

 

[wide awake]

As an ex-dispatcher, I can tell you that large buildings will often show as one location...no matter how many halls, wings, etc...Impossible to find the area of the problem unless the caller can be very specific about details. 95% of the time the caller is hysterical and not much help in giving good directions...luckily the hysteria, seriousness of call relationship is inverse. Another point people need to understand...911 does not get you help any quicker...your incident has to meet criteria for dispatch, and it is handled by dispatchers according the the seriousness of the incident...not which phone number you called.

 

[drakethib]

We checked into OKW on the 20th of January - 2 bed bldg. 32.
A few days into our 10 day stay, I remarked to my DF that the mold in the bathroom and the bedroom windows was pretty nasty. He said that he had noticed and couldn't believe that I hadn't said anything thus far. It was the same in May and has been for quite some time when I thought about it. He then pointed out that I would never tolerate a room in that condition anywhere else and in fact I had complained to the manager of our hotel in Las Vegas for an almost identical situation. (But then again, I HATE Las Vegas so my tolerance is very, very low). The clock in the other bedroom never worked. We had to call security on our first night because when we checked into the room, the door from the mb to the balcony was open. We shut it and made certain that the door in the living room to the balcony was shut and locked. When we returned from dinner (just my children and I were there the first night), the lr/balcony door as wide open. I was spooked but the security guard was very dismissive. When I asked him if "911" worked from the phone, he told me that I was not to use it - that guests were discouraged from calling 911. I told him that if I awoke to a stranger in my room, I was most certainly going to call 911 however unDisney that might be.
My question to the wind is: When did I accept lower standards at WDW/OKW just because it was me beloved DVC? Has anyone else experienced foggy rose colored glasses?

I will say that we had a problem with an air freshener that was sprayed in our room on our last trip but that was about it.

Disney stated that they were just changing over to a maintenance management system and it had they were having problems with the dispatching.

I will be the first to say do not hesitate to call and complain if the room is not up to standards, but I highly encourage being polite to the Housekeeping when explaining the problem.

If they do not address it in a very timely manner, call the Manager on Duty and demand satisfaction.

Everyone who stays on sites spends a small fortune regardless if it is a value resort or the GF.

We should be indeed “ be their guest” and be treated as such..

 

[offtheice]

Unbelievable. If a member of Disney security ever told me not to call 911 I'd personally see to it that he lost his employment with the company. Hope you got the name and badge number of that idiot.

God . I hope you or the hubby dont screw up on your job. Maybe someone will think the same way you do..

 

[DebbieB]

I work in a large office building and we are told to call the security desk rather than 911 direct. That way security can describe where the area is and be there when the police/ambulance shows up.

 

[rinkwide]

...you or the hubby...

Life partner, thank you.

 

[MassDisLovers]

We have owned at OKW since '92 (and BWK since '98) and have always looked forward to going there. On our last two trips, however, we have noticed a definite trend toward "shabby" for OKW. We've had carpets that were ripped, upholstry that needed a real good cleaning and bathrooms that simply had reached the end of their "niceness". I have to say that we are becoming increasingly disappointed with OKW. When we bought 13 years ago we did so "because it was Disney" and we asssumed we'd always be able to count on a Disney level of service. Sadly, that hasn't happened at OKW the last couple of years.

 

[DVC~OKW~96]

I stayed in a one BR at OKW over Christmas. The shelf over the bathroom sink was detached from the brackets. I called and they came and fixed it and apologized.

When I checked out, like a total idiot I left the chef's knives I had brought (I did a lot of cooking over the holiday) in the far left hand drawer of the kitchen.

I called three hours after leaving the villa, and the great runaround began.

Suffice to say, I've not gotten my knives back. Totally disappointed in the way it was handled, or more appropriately not handled.

Previous visits have resulted in being given villas with mold growth in the bathroom to the point of being severe.

Mold is not an innocuous thing. It is the cause of many illnesses and should always be brought to the attention of housekeeping. It should be a matter of insisting that it be thorougly cleaned (there are products that kill and remove the spores almost instantly).

It's not just OKW though. BCV are not a whole lot better and they are newer, nor are BWV.

Neither are the parks! Been in a WDW park restroom lately? Pigsty.

The whole place is showing wear and tear from lack of proper cleaning and maintenance.

 

[diznygirl]

That's all good "show" but we both know that's not the real reason Disney doesn't want guests calling 911.

And that "reason" would be......?


Regarding the cleanliness: We are at OKW right now and we haven't noticed anything. After reading this thread I was going around checking the windowsills! (They must have done their spring cleaning!)

 

[Mooobooks]

Although we own at Old Key West, we only stayed there recently, last October. The place was both shabby and dirty. Any little spot that was between two pieces of furniture was not cleaned, including nail clippings on the floor, etc.
I have not encountered anything like that at Wilderness Lodge Villas or Beach Club Villas, which is where we generally stay, or at the Boardwalk Villas, where we stayed last spring.
So, unless the other resorts are all booked solid, we won't be staying at "Mold Key West" again.

 

[MDonley]

Wow ... It sounds like OKW won't make it until 2042.

Problems can occur at any of the DVC resorts though. We were in a 1BR at VWL for 9 days in January. We noticed that the TV in the bedroom was misssing its remote, called maintenance and in 10 minutes, he was knocking on the door with a choice of 3. Neither he nor I could understand why someone would want to "borrow" a remote, but maybe it was packed in error. Stuff happens. As we were getting to leave, we checked over everything to make sure we hadn't left anything that was ours behind (as we always do). When DW moved the sofa, she discovered a gold mine of paper and food (potato chips, crackers, etc.). You just know that we left the sofa sitting in the middle of the living room in order to "assist" housekeeping!

After VWL, we headed to a 1BR at VB. Can you believe that we had a light go out in the whirlpool room the night before T&T. They caught it and fixed it that next day ... BEFORE I had a chance to tell them about it.

 

[dianeschlicht]

I will say that we had a problem with an air freshener that was sprayed in our room on our last trip but that was about it.

Disney stated that they were just changing over to a maintenance management system and it had they were having problems with the dispatching.

I will be the first to say do not hesitate to call and complain if the room is not up to standards, but I highly encourage being polite to the Housekeeping when explaining the problem.

If they do not address it in a very timely manner, call the Manager on Duty and demand satisfaction.

Everyone who stays on sites spends a small fortune regardless if it is a value resort or the GF.

We should be indeed “ be their guest” and be treated as such..

This post, and most especially the last line, says it all!

 

[BigTigger]

We've been OKW members since 1996 and BWV since 2003 and have been making annual trips for ten years now. Our first visit in 1996 was without incident or issue. On every trip since then I've done an arrival punch list that I've walked down to talk with the front desk about. The list has varied from wear and tear items to just plain inexcusable items (dirty dishes in the dishwasher). Mold has to be the #1 item on my top ten list. I'm extremely picky to make a list, but I pay for OKW and BWV to be perfect and i won't cut DVC any slack like I would myself at home where I'm the maintenance man. I think a lot of people on vacation don't want the hassle of calling maintenance and just ignore minor problems.