OKW-when did lower standards become acceptable?

[Beca]

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.

Wow!!! I bet you're on the "naughty list".... ...Okay, DON'T FLAME ME!!!! I really was just "making a funny" about this..I don't think any of us will ever forget the "Why castmembers hate DVC members" thread. And,as a fellow owner, I am very grateful that you take the time to do this....but, after 10 years of "punch lists"...I'm BETTING you're on that "naughty list"!!!!



Beca

 

[drakethib]

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.

I think we should all do this.

This would alert Disney to the imperfections (when they exist) and make the room that much better for the next family that comes along.

Again, I feel being polite while doing this.

 

[LoveToDisney]

Other timeshares that I have stayed at have always had a maintenance card in the unit so you could jot down things that need attention and drop it off at the front desk so the next guest benefits from you noticing things that need attention/fixing. Does DVC not do this?
Of course, if something is wrong with the unit that affects your stay then you call right away, but otherwise a card to fill out would be helpful.

 

[ILoveMyDVC]

I have a vague memory of a comment card in the rooms at OKW many moons ago...

Many people have suggested calling housekeeping and registering a complaint. My response is:
1. Many times I do not want to work my day around an additional visit - we are not early morning, first at the gate risers.
2. I worry that the people actually doing the work are probably underpaid and over worked already with little or no voice. I wonder how many rooms they are expected to clean in a day - think about the size of a 2 bed...what happens if they get a particularly messed up room in their rotation - is time allotted for that? I don't want some poor woman fired because Disney has unrealistic demands for their staff.
3. I feel that Disney knows what is happening in their backyard and they have made a decision to let their standards slip throughout the entire "world" (anyone look out the outside window of the monorail when it stops at the Contemporary lately? The cobwebs and dust bunnies have to be more than a year old).
4. I called when I had a security concern; I called when the safe was locked and the key missing; I've called when my mom found a used condom under the sink a few visits back; I called when the air conditioning wasn't working in August.
5. I think the issues that have been discussed need to be brought to DVD's attention.

 

[Capn Dave]

I have had similar problems at SSR with the mold issue. See my thread DVC Housekeeping SSR.

 

[HGLightlyj]

OKW is my home resort. I have stayed in a studio numerous times in the last three years. I have never experienced a problem with mold or any of the negatives mentioned. I have stayed at all the DVC properties at DW except for VWL and SSR. I would report any problems to housekeeping immediately or at check-out.

 

[lllovell]

I am very new here, but I want to live in some of your houses where the dust NEVER builds up in between deep cleanings and you always move your fridge or stove over enough to sweep between the counter so that there is NEVER any dustbunnies there.

I honestly think that the level of clean versus the time that the housekeeping staff has to devote to each room is going to forever be out of whack unless we all start demanding cleaner rooms and back it up with a willingness to pay more annual fees to cover it. I am sure that those rooms are on a maintenance schedule that covers things like major cleanings where the window sills are cleaned and the furniture moved and cleaned under and the carpets are cleaned, etc. I think that sometimes you are going to get a room that is closer to the next cleaning date (and less clean) than one that has just been refirbed. I also think that unfortunately not everyone in this world is as clean as I would like them to be staying in a hotel room where I am going to be staying after them. So many gripe about not being able to check in early (even with a 4 pm check in) and yet will still be the ones griping when they get a room that needed an extra 3-4 or maybe as much as 10 hours of cleaning (have you spring cleaned lately?).

A punch list or list of needs would be a fantastic idea. Telling maintenance or housekeeping if you discover major issues is a GREAT idea. Leaving a couch pulled out that needs to be badly vacuumed under is also a great idea to me because they can quickly run a vacuum over it and the next people dont have to deal with it. Reporting issues to DVC is also a great idea, but let them know if you are willing to pay more for extra housekeepers in your annual fees.

I am all about Disney magic. I am all for clean rooms. I also feel like I have reasonable expectations of what one woman or man can clean in the small time between guests and a full blown spring cleaning every month is not possible. It would be nice, but isn't likely.

 

[mickeysgal]

(anyone look out the outside window of the monorail when it stops at the Contemporary lately? The cobwebs and dust bunnies have to be more than a year old).

Wow...I thought I was the only one that noticed this. It was filthy! I don't expect this even from the lower level non-Disney hotels/motels.

Last few visits we've made to Disney, we've stayed at OKW. We've found kid's socks under the bed, a trading pin, a keychain/flashlight. Its like a scavenger hunt! Our last visit, we thought that they took away the bedside alarm clock...I just chalked it up to more cost cutting. The last day of the trip we found it between the wall and the night stand!

Also on this last trip, maintainance was power washing the outside. We were getting ready to leave for the parks and noticed all this soapy, bleachy-smelling water coming in under the door. If we hadn't had been there, using our towels to soak it up, it would have traveled through the foyer to the carpet. (They happily replaced our towels). Either the weather stripping around the door was missing or so worn down that the water was easily coming in. To my knowledge, that stripping wasn't replaced during the course of our stay. I'm just so glad we were there, because if that water hit the carpet and damaged it in some way, I wouldn't want that burden of proof on me that we didn't cause it. Also, someone could have fallen walking into the foyer onto wet tile!

I don't know if the standards have been set a bit lower, or if the personnel staff have been trimmed back thus pushing a bigger load of work onto maintainance/housekeeping. I don't remember "finding" things left in the room in years past. These things weren't in obscure, hard to reach places either.

Makes you wonder...

 

[Kick it up a notch!]

This thread leads me to ask a couple of questions -

1) Do people never expect wear and tear?

I agree that the overall cleaning of the rooms has been getting worse, but after reading these posts, some of the complaints are about regular wear and tear items. They need to be scheduled to be replaced and Disney will wait unless they hear from us. Let them know and I agree with a previous poster, please be polite.

2) Do we all expect perfection?

If something is not right I just call and they usually fix it right away, usually with a friendly cast member. I think it is right to expect a level of quality, and when it is not that way let them know, they do pay attention and if they get a lot of return calls to the rooms for lack of attention to detail, eventually it will be corrected. Please remember a couple of things -

Lots of people complain about the cost of dues and they are tryign to keep the costs down. Also, they hire people and pay them next to nothing to do these jobs. Would you be happy working for $6/hr? I think not. That is why we get lesser service. Right or wrong, it is reality. The happier employees are the better job they will do and it is very difficult to motivate peopel who get paid dirt to do a crappy job.

I am not justifying the declining quality, just understanding how it can happen.

 

[wide awake]

This thread and the one on HA rooms has really made me think. We put our deposit down, and DH wants me to get the paperwork done and in, but I am wondering if we'll be happy with DVC. A dirty room would upset me. Others have posted that we can't expect perfection, that our own homes aren't as clean, etc... I don't want to stay in someone else's dirt. DVC is supposed to be home away from home...I don't find socks of unknown origin, toenails, toys or anything else under my own furniture. As for the idea that housekeepers are not paid a high enough wage to expect clean rooms...they accepted the job at that rate of pay, the same way I put a deposit for 150 points. If the job is too difficult for them they need to find something else. Speaking of the toenails, what kind of person leaves that for someone else to clean up ? Finally, I do not want a HA room. My DS is autistic and needs his daily bath to calm down, and DH and I are both tall...low beds, shelves, and counters would be a strain on our backs. If we go ahead with this I will request none HA and non smoking...the view or walk to the pool or bus stops are not a big deal for us.

 

[SueOKW]

The whole enchilada of not keeping things up really gets me down. I want WDW and OKW and all properties to be magically clean and beautiful like I remember from years ago. I am dreaming, I know.

You know what I read that has me sad???? Plastic blinds instead of wood. Another wonderful detail bites the dust. Maybe I won't add on like I thought I would Monday.

I would pay higher dues for better housekeeping.