Over $1000 to add park hopper

[Happy_2_B]

It's a never-ending game of CM roulette

One can choose to call, or not call, Disney- depending upon how they plan their vacations. The reality of the situation regarding the call centers, as I perceive it, is that the total combined numbers of all the people- when added up from all the different WDW enthusiast boards- adds up to a miniscule percentage of the hoards that visit Disney annually. Yet, somehow, all the rest of the world manages to get there just fine and have a wonderful vacation by doing what? Calling Disney and planning their vacations- because that is all they know to do.

In my experience, Disney call center CM's get it right much, much, much more often than they get it wrong. You will read an occasional post from someone on the boards (like this one) where a CM gets it very wrong- but those do not occur all that often. IMHO many of the issues that come up on the boards relating to CMs tend to be 'gray areas'- where we get one side of the story, and that story may or may not be completely accurate.

These call centers employ a small army of people, and all of them are at different levels of experience. Some are Disney enthusiasts that do their very best to answer your questions as best they can, and for others it is just a job. The newer ones will, of course, make an occasional mistake- as happens in all businesses across the world with new employee hires. But overall, and again speaking from my experience, they get it right most of the time.

Of note is that the experienced, knowledgeable people on the various WDW boards rarely do anything to improve the system. They go to the boards and complain- but how often do you read of someone asking to speak to the supervisor of the CM that made a mistake in an attempt to have that CM provided with the correct information so they don't make the same mistake again? Based on the posts I have read over the years, this happens rarely. You don't have to like the system- but if and/or when you call- and you don't get the information you were looking for- you have a choice, in that moment, to make the system better

 

[Madame]

Our first trip last year in Aug... CM answers...

1. 183 days out - CM - but I can book your dining now, b/c that's how 180 + 10 works... Oh the system is just not letting me right now...

After 25 mins on an international call & me arguing that it doesn't work that way. I just want to add Memory Maker!

2. Villains Unleashed tickets are not available yet... Me- I bought them this morning online & just want to know why only 1 is showing in MDE. Never mind... I'll call back... Again...

3. There is no FD to apply to your reservation. It doesn't start until the very end of August. Me (after explaining twice that it's a Canadian offer) - can you *please* just check under Canadisn offers?

This is just one trip. First trip, but I knew what I was doing thanks to the DIS.

 

[Happy_2_B]

CM answers...

My call last week. CM answers.

Me- Need the balance due on my resort reservation since I don't have my invoice from Disney yet.

CM- No problem...it is 'X' amount.

Me- 'Thank you'.

CM- 'Can I do anything else for you, do you need dining reservations.'

Me- Well since I am on the phone may as well check... transferred...

CM- How may I help you?

Me- could you check on an 8 PM R&C dinner reservation for 'X date'.

CM- That's a popular time, but I will check... Sir, one just came up- may I reserve it for you?

Me- Yes, please...

They got it right. But you never read these posts- not dramatic enough- no chance to respond with outrage at the 'system'

 

[Madame]

My call last week. CM answers.

Me- Need the balance due on my resort reservation since I don't have my invoice from Disney yet.

CM- No problem...it is 'X' amount.

Me- 'Thank you'.

CM- 'Can I do anything else for you, do you need dining reservations.'

Me- Well since I am on the phone may as well check... transferred...

CM- How may I help you?

Me- could you check on an 8 PM R&C dinner reservation for 'X date'.

CM- That's a popular time, but I will check... Sir, one just came up- may I reserve it for you?

Me- Yes, please...

They got it right. But you never read these posts- not dramatic enough- no chance to respond with outrage at the 'system'

I really don't see your point.

Imagine if I gave out as many wrong answers, insisting I was right despite evidence to the contrary, in my job. (& yes I know planning a vacation is not comparable to getting an education, but for the $ I'm spending I don't think having my questions answered correctly is unreasonable.) My 'clients' would not, I think, be pleased.

How many - insert profession - bashing posts on FB do we see vs. OMG - insert job title - went above & beyond for me today. Not so much 'drama' as I only care to comment when something inconveniences me.

I'm happy you are pleased with the level of service you have received. I am not. Isn't your experience all that should matter to you? You've shared it. No reason to try and undermine the validity of mine.

I do believe you simply want to argue. I work with adolescents that also want to argue & as with them I'm going to politely decline to engage.

 

[tjmw2727]

Bad at multi quotes but: asking for a supervisor is easier said than done - most times you just get a dial tone and if you do get a supervisor they may not even be in the same call center as the original CM.

In the past I have come to the boards to say what a great call I had - and even more important than that I do complete the survey each and every time I have to call.
Pointing out incorrect information isn't necessarily bashing.

My opinion is that too many of the CM's are not trained properly and its a shame. I can help not only by taking the survey but by posting correct information here when I have it and helping others if/when they ask for my help in real life.

 

[Nohal]

A few years ago I booked bounceback at a value and had the free QS plan. Later tried two separate times to upgrade to DDP and both CM's tried to charge me the entire price for dining. If I didn't know better I would have voided the free dining. Never did upgrade and just went with QS.

DS booked this year and added DDP to his reservation. Called later and added Memory Maker. Told me the price went down so I figured that he had a pin code attached to his name as DDIL asked that everything with the reservation was the same and told it was. Turns out the CM cancelled his original reservation to just book a new one with Memory Maker and no dining. Fortunately DS had his original reservation confirmation on his phone. He still had to pay for DDP but at least he got it and was reimbursed for the meals he paid for. It took awhile for the front desk to even figure out what was what on his reservation and they did fix it and gave them 3 anytime FP+ for the next day but they shouldn't have had the aggravation to begin with.

 

[Happy_2_B]

No reason to try and undermine the validity of mine.I do believe you simply want to argue. I work with adolescents that also want to argue & as with them I'm going to politely decline to engage.

Apparently someone missed the smiley face at the end of the sentence- it was meant as a joke. Taking your misplaced assumption of my desire to begin an argument- and comparing that in the same paragraph with adolescent behavior- IS engaging me. Perhaps you might want to consider looking that definition up, as your command of the English language seems to be somewhat lacking. No one undermined anything, the only part of your post that was quoted was 'CM answers...' to use as a springboard for another post. I did use the word 'you' in the last sentence- and a better choice of pronoun could have been used- so I can see how you might have believed it was directed at you- but it doesn't excuse the comments made. Since you chose to not engage me 'politely', I am choosing not to engage you just as 'politely' in my response.

 

[tjmw2727]

Just had to add that my sister in law who has tickets to the MNSSHP on the 9th and lives in Florida was just told that she would need both a park day and her ticket to enter the party ....... Wrong

She called me to say I was wrong ..

So she did call back again because she was unsure - even though I told her she could enter at 4ish with just the party ticket and was then told - well no you don't need a park ticket but you can't go to the party until 7. Wrong again

We are meeting at ASMu to attend the party together - she lives an hour away but we are flying in the day before. She had taken a 1/2 day off work and was planning on taking her kids out of school early to be at MK by 4ish based on my information. Now she is questioning this based on bad CM information.

Hopefully she will trust me - otherwise my dd's and I will be at the party at 4 and meet her at 7 ..
xx fingers she just trusts me ?

 

[B-Ride]

$1,000 for Park Hoppers - well worth it.

 

[3DisneyFanz]

I would venture a guess that based on call volumes the odds are in your favor of getting a solid answer. I will agree though that some things are just as easy to get here but again accuracy is always a perception issues as well.

 

[Lucius Best]

Of note is that the experienced, knowledgeable people on the various WDW boards rarely do anything to improve the system. They go to the boards and complain- but how often do you read of someone asking to speak to the supervisor of the CM that made a mistake in an attempt to have that CM provided with the correct information so they don't make the same mistake again? Based on the posts I have read over the years, this happens rarely. You don't have to like the system- but if and/or when you call- and you don't get the information you were looking for- you have a choice, in that moment, to make the system better

Very well said. I don't know how you know exactly how all these experienced, knowledgeable people react when they are given bad information, but I'm sure you are right. It is much easier to go on the internet and complain than to actually speak to a manager so that the CM who is giving out wrong information can be corrected. You are exactly right, it's not only our choice, but our responsibility to make the system better. If money is tight at Disney, and they can't afford to hire competent CMs in the call centers, or train their CMs properly, it is up to us to help them out.

I am guilty of standing by and not doing anything to improve the information coming out of Disney's call centers. Planning my last trip three different CMs gave me three different answers about how the 4th FP at the kiosks works. But I did nothing to correct them. Instead I selfishly came on the DISboards, read the FP+ threads and got my questions answered here. When I was booking my room on the phone, trying to see what was available at different resorts, the CM tried to overcharge me several times, but luckily I had my computer open and the numbers seemed wrong, and I could see he was mistakenly giving me pricing for preferred/water view rooms when I was asking for a standard room. Again, I never asked for a manager, so that's my fault if that CM does it to someone else.

I did send several emails to guest communications on my trip, such as when the dining system (both phone and MDE) was down for a couple of days and we couldn't check for last minute ADRs. I was going to send another email when I got home, because I had run into a couple of software bugs/glitches on the MDE app and figured I could list them out for Disney to fix. Then I had an epiphany: I don't work for Disney! It's not my job to point out the flaws in their systems, why should I waste my time.

 

[3DisneyFanz]

Very well said. I don't know how you know exactly how all these experienced, knowledgeable people react when they are given bad information, but I'm sure you are right. It is much easier to go on the internet and complain than to actually speak to a manager so that the CM who is giving out wrong information can be corrected. You are exactly right, it's not only our choice, but our responsibility to make the system better. If money is tight at Disney, and they can't afford to hire competent CMs in the call centers, or train their CMs properly, it is up to us to help them out.

I am guilty of standing by and not doing anything to improve the information coming out of Disney's call centers. Planning my last trip three different CMs gave me three different answers about how the 4th FP at the kiosks works. But I did nothing to correct them. Instead I selfishly came on the DISboards, read the FP+ threads and got my questions answered here. When I was booking my room on the phone, trying to see what was available at different resorts, the CM tried to overcharge me several times, but luckily I had my computer open and the numbers seemed wrong, and I could see he was mistakenly giving me pricing for preferred/water view rooms when I was asking for a standard room. Again, I never asked for a manager, so that's my fault if that CM does it to someone else.

I did send several emails to guest communications on my trip, such as when the dining system (both phone and MDE) was down for a couple of days and we couldn't check for last minute ADRs. I was going to send another email when I got home, because I had run into a couple of software bugs/glitches on the MDE app and figured I could list them out for Disney to fix. Then I had an epiphany: I don't work for Disney! It's not my job to point out the flaws in their systems, why should I waste my time.

The problem is the lack of complaints is taken as acceptance of the "features" of the system. I found it very telling that the recent survey we received was all about asking us if we experienced any of the known issues in the MDE system (which we did). I don't know if this is a sign of awareness for trying to improve or to gauge the level of acceptance with the issues.

 

[Robo]

The direction of the thread has shifted from "Disney phone information is sorely lacking" to "Disney phone information is the ultimate correct information" to "It's the guests' fault that Disney phone information is sorely lacking."

 

[3DisneyFanz]

The direction of the thread has shifted from "Disney phone information is sorely lacking" to "Disney phone information is the ultimate correct information" to "It's the guests' fault that Disney phone information is sorely lacking."

If I'm responsible for making my own magic once I get in the park then why wouldn't I be responsible for making it before I arrive?

 

[GreatLakes]

Disney does a bad job of training their CMs in many regards. At my company every single customer facing employee is trained to either know the correct answer to any question or know where to go to find the correct answer. It seems like Disney doesn't have any knowledge base that their CMs can access to accurately answer questions. I have had some extremely wrong answers or had phone CMs who I had to tell about a product in order to book it. When I first called to inquire about "Dine with an Animal Specialist" at Sanaa the person had no idea what I was talking about.

That being said I have had far more good experiences with them then bad but they really should either know the correct answers to everything or have the ability to find the correct information.

 

[anncro54]

I agree with you - luckily, you knew the real scoop and the risks of you had let that CM cancel and rebook your tickets . I definitely feel sorry for someone less informed who calls and gets everything screwed up!

I think either they were clueless or maybe just having a bad day.

 

[Nancyg56]

If I'm responsible for making my own magic once I get in the park then why wouldn't I be responsible for making it before I arrive?

The problem is that if someone calls and is not aware that information they have received in incorrect, there goes their magic, through no fault of their own. I do not think that the bulk of CM's give out incorrect information, but the fact that we read so many accounts here that detail the numerous calls one must sometimes make in order to access the correct information indicates there is a lot of room for improvement.

It is not always easy to correct a mistake that has been made once you arrive at the resort or the park. Guests should not be responsible for knowing the answers before they call Central Reservations.