Problems with guests at concierge lounges.

[gonga]

vbfamily, you are not rude at all.....you are appropriate. If there are few people in the lounge and food is going to waste, that would be a shame! I am speaking of the people that actually take the tray from their room, pile it high with food and have no regard for others. It is not an empty lounge, but full, people are waiting on line with plates in hand and some people are taking half of the food on a serving tray (because its "soooo good")! The feeding frenzy at times is a discusting site. You know the people using the trays and piling food are making dinner out of it, and do not care about the others who may want to try it. There is not wonder why Americans are over weight! There is nothing more repulsive to me than an obese person piling up food and diving in. These are the same people that get stuck in the rides and the ride has to be stopped because the safety bar cannot "snap in". I have witnessed this more than once! I know I'm going to get slammed for this but its gross

 

[ducklite]

People who are bargain hunters are also generally the ones who Have the "I paid extra for this and I'm going to make sure I get my money's worth" attitude, even if it means being boorish about it. I never mentioned a person's income. I was talking about bargain hunters. Bargain hunters come in all financial brackets.

Anne

 

[ducklite]

And I'm not saying all bargain hunters have that attitude...

Anne

 

[PatriciaH]

Oh no! Now I am scared to stay in concierge I get soooooooo angry when I see people act like that. Why pay more when you have to put up with people like that! You see it enough in the parks already. The last time we ate at Teppanyaki (November) there was a guy with his shoes off in the middle of the restaurant! I was SO glad we were not seated at his table. Everyone could see him though because he was in the middle of the restaurant. The waitresses just smiled and were too nervous to say anything to him. He was about 300lbs.+ and said his feet were swolen. Ugg... Don't get me started on people not watching their kids. I have seen so many near misses where children were saved by a caring stranger or just missed being hurt. Someone was watching out for them but it was not their parents. Makes you wonder WHY they had kids if they can't stand them.

Also, I can pay rack rates no problem, but if there is a discount I am sure as heck gonna use it.

 

[gonga]

ducklite (Anne), I think you hit the nail right on the head. if the cons level is not discounted, the "bargain hunter" would be gone. There are people in every income level that cannot justify paying "that kind of money". Once it is discounted....well you know what happens.

 

[LvsTnk]

I don't think it has to do with anyones salary, if people use the lounges for meals they just won't be able to discount it. Or, they will just offer less in the lounge so they can fill up those rooms.

Manners are manners and I am so sad to say I feel that people don't put such an effort into it like they did in the past. This seems to apply to alot of things.

 

[PatriciaH]

You know this thread made me think about something I said to my husband on our last trip. We saw so many people just dumping trash on the ground, spiting out gum, etc.. I commented on how a lot of people say the parks are "not as clean as they used to be" and "worn out and tired." Can you imagine trying to keep up with the people of today! In the 70's when the MK opened people were a LOT more polite and neat. Also a lot less people were going to the parks years ago. Now people just DO NOT care. They have no manners. There are garbage cans all over yet they throw their trash on the ground IN FRONT of one.

Do any of you say anything to the people acting like idiots? I guess you never know how a person will react, but I usualy say something like "hey, you dropped your map" at least they know someone saw them act like a pig.

 

[gonga]

Its a world gone mad! Something happend to humanity along the way and its a sad state. The innocence is gone and people do not care anymore. Things like going out to dinner, going on a plane, to the movies etc, were a special event. People used to dress in an appropriate manner, and no I do not wish to see your butt crack, or your thong or your low cut blouse. My husband and I were out for dinner in a very upscale restaurant (which cost a few hundred $ for 2) and there was a woman dressed in a J.Lo track suit and the man was in jeans and a shirt. I have seen people use cardboard boxes for carryon luggage and smelling like they haven't bathed since the spring equinox! Are we spoiled, lazy, unaccountable?? As a child all I needed to see was "the look" from one of my parents and I knew to sit and be quiet. We never behaved the way children behave today. Then again my parents did not behave the way parents do today. The people that are mindful of others are being outnumbered by the slobs, the rudes, the gimmes, the lazies and it is getting unbearable. My husband and I still get dressed up going out to dinner& when travelling. We are kind and considerate of others and try not to offend in anyway. I guess the majority of people just do not care anymore. That is the reason for child obesity, fast & processed food has taken the place of homeade food. The TV and Playstation has become the new babysitter. Children are no longer encouraged to go outside and play and they are fat. We as a nation have gotten fatter and fatter. Heart disease and cancer are on the rise. So I guess I have answered my own question, when you visit WDW, you are seeing a cross section of America and for the majority it is not a pretty sight!

 

[figmentvi]

PatriciaH....you make a good point. I too have noticed a rapid decline in good manners. I call it the "Jerry Springer mentality". And this type of behavior has been transcending all economic lines. Rich, poor, middle class, all of them.

Not discounting concierge is not the answer. It won't make a bit of difference.

 

[lizzie64]

You know I was avoiding posting on this thread but the remark about not discounting concierge just got to me.

The problems described in this post are not particular to a persons financial status. Manners are a matter of upbringing and someone on welfare may be better mannered than someone making millions. Because a person is a "bargain hunter" doesn't make him ill mannered. I know plenty of people in the upper financial classes ( or not "bargain hunters" ) who are absolute boors, and would embarrass anyone with their behavior. And I know many who search out a good deal, with the hopes of providing their families with a special vacation experience.

Many of us on this board are here to search out good deals and become "bargain hunters". I shudder to think that we are grouping everyone on these boards into the ill mannered and rude category.

I have booked us into the AKL Concierge. I have a AAA rate now, but if AP rates are available, you'd better believe that I will make use of them. Yes, that is looking for a bargain. Does that mean that we will rape and pillage the concierge lounge - I think not

 

[ducklite]

As I said, not all bargain hunters are that way. But it's been my PERSONAL experience that the worst of the bunch would NOT have stayed in a concierge room if they hadn't gotten a tremendous discount on it.

Anne

 

[jlieblaw]

ducklite...Just curious. How do you know the worst ones have been the "bargain hunters?" Did you ask them? And if you did ask them, did you think of perhaps asking them to watch their children better, etc? I certainly don't know what I would have done if I'd seen someone acting inappropriately in conc. but I have asked people before to watch their language when my dd was around and I've also told children to stop misbehaving. I've even told teenagers (that I didn't know) in church to be quiet and listen to the message so they would quit distracting others. I know that it's not our job to be their parents, but if something is happening that bothers us to the extent that it diminishes our enjoyment, especially when paying for a wonderful vacation, I think we should be able to do something about it and not let it ruin our time. This goes for not only conc. behavior but also restaurant/resort service, cm attitudes...anything. Perhaps nothing would change but you never know. They might be embarrassed enough to stop their bad behavior.

But please don't blame it on the discounts. There are so many of us that can only afford a deluxe with a discount. If I can actually afford conc. with a discount, I'll be extremely delighted. Perhaps Disney needs to crack down on some of the abuse. They certainly have the right to refuse service to someone. They might lose that customer but I'm sure they'll make many others happy.

 

[deb305]

With all due respect this string appears very snobbish. With my husband as a CEO of a mid-size company financially we are in the top 3% of income, but stayed at GF Concierge Sugarloaf, and yes the discount was a main reason.
And yes, at the urging of the staff, we participated in the practices mentioned.
Traveling with a 13 month and 4.5 year old, we elected to take snacks to our room, rather than subject the entire building to our tired and cranky children. (90% of kids that age would behave the same). When showing us our room the concierge staff recommended we use the tray under our ice bucket to bring food up. While our kids are well mannered, they are still kids (Thank God) so they are not going to be well skilled in using thongs to pick food off trays, or to pour lemonade for themselves. Rather than have them serve themselves,and keep the buffet sanitary, we parents "pile up" to share.
No, I didn't wear my robe down to breakfast, but I took no offense to those who did. There were all types at Sugarloaf, Country clubers, blue collar and even some Harley types. Disney World seeks, and achieves valuing all of their guests. Overall all of the guests were kind, wonderful to our children, and the other kids were fun and respectful.
If you don't want to mingle with "those kind of people" suggest you stay at a hotel with different values than Disney's eqalatarian (sp) family values.

 

[madcoco]

Wow never expected this many responses.

vbfamily: We love the AKL and will stay again. It was a cash stay.We use all our points in the summer. We enjoyed our stay. But we like the concierge lounges for relaxing for a few minutes and grab a quick snack. It just seems hard to do anymore. We just went back to our balcony most of the time and enjoyed the view. This experience was just a 180 degree turnaround from our 1st and 2nd stays at AKL. Imho the AKL concierge staff is one of the friendliest around and do a wonderful job. A few ruin it for the rest.

 

[vbfamily]

Madcoco,

If you go back to AKL, will you still stay in concierge or will you now just book a savannah view room?

Do you mind me asking if you paid cash or used points for this room?

It looks like you were there at a relatively slow time of year, I can't imagine what the lounge would have been like at Easter or Spring Break.

 

[ducklite]

Jlieblaw-

In two cases, yes, I "knew" these people from these boards, and yes, they were there because of the discounts. And one of them made no bones about it that they were going to get anything that they could out of it, including every meal.

And trust me, I think nothing of telling misbehaving children to stop acting like banshees. Having fun and making happy noise is one thing, but chasing each other around a lounge or up and down hallways and bumping into strangers screeching at the top of their lungs when their parents were no where in sight is another.

Anne

 

[lizzie64]

Deb305 - Well said. I felt the same way when I saw some of the posts on this thread. I felt compelled to put my.02 in.

 

[madcoco]

Sure didn't want this to be snobbish. The intention had nothing to do with income levels. You can only ignore so much. Hands in the food. Virus' in the food. You can't stop germs but you can give it a good fight. I don't think most of us want to visit the school of etiquette when we visit Disney, but we are not there to visit a pig farm either.

 

[ducklite]

It has nothing to do with income levels. It has to do with the "GIMMEE" attitude.

Anne

 

[LuvBuzz]

Nice post Deb305. I was a little taken aback by some of the posts here. Ill-mannered people are annoying to rich, poor, and bargain hunters. We are a middle class family and we would love to stay at a deluxe concierge!!! luckily we get to stay at the Carribean Beach each time! Also...my 3 year old ds asks if he may be excused before leaving the dinner table each night. It's annoying when people don't teach their children manners and allow them to "run and scream up and down the halls from excitement" One manner I have taught my son is to mind his business. We say..no that person is not being nice...but let's worry about ourselves. No..that person should not have dropped their napkin on the ground...but let's just pick it up. Not trying to sound harsh...just have never seen a post like this on here..... Of course I'm fairly new!!