*SECOND* UPDATE 3/1 - page 3- So I made complaint, but no response . . .

[boucheresq]

I made a complaint via email to customer service about 12 days ago; and other than the initial email, have not heard a response. Any recommendations for what, if anything, I should do next? thanks!

 

[DVC-Don]

Last time I did an email to WDW it took about 6 weeks till they called me.

 

[kilee]

Many people say it takes weeks before they get a response. I think Disney gets so many emails that it takes awhile to properly respond to them.

 

[eeyore0062]

Since Disney receives many emails, both complimentary and not, it takes a long time for them to read them and respond. You may not hear back for weeks.

 

[civileng68]

Since Disney receives many emails, both complimentary and not, it takes a long time for them to read them and respond. You may not hear back for weeks.

I agree that they are probably heavily inundated with correspondence, however, as someone who's living is managaing a customer service department of a large company, I have to say that is unacceptable. 6 weeks for any type of response is NEVER acceptable.

One phrase we use here is "Ultimate Customer Service" and basically that means that no matter what, Customer Service comes first. The philosophy most companies that strive for "Ultimate Customer Service" use is to grow in the Customer Service area as the company grows or business grows. Basically that would mean there is no excuse for a 6 week response.

I just cannot believe it takes that long. that's unreal.

 

[Ted and Holly]

I agree that they are probably heavily inundated with correspondence, however, as someone who's living is managaing a customer service department of a large company, I have to say that is unacceptable. 6 weeks for any type of response is NEVER acceptable.

One phrase we use here is "Ultimate Customer Service" and basically that means that no matter what, Customer Service comes first. The philosophy most companies that strive for "Ultimate Customer Service" use is to grow in the Customer Service area as the company grows or business grows. Basically that would mean there is no excuse for a 6 week response.

I just cannot believe it takes that long. that's unreal.

I agree that it is unacceptable for customer service at most companies. BUT, Disney has a heck of a lot more employees and customers than most other companies.

If they following the general trend in Contact Center Management, they are probably using the same agents to answer email as those that answer the phones. They weed out the "easy" ones in which a boiler plate response can be sent and forward the more difficult ones on to more specialized people. The initial response you get is totally automated. Bascially acknowledging that it is "in line".

Consider how many phone calls, emails, and web contacts Disney gets every day. I am sure they make their numbers with the phones, but at the expense of slower email replies.

Ted

 

[SnackyStacky]

I agree that they are probably heavily inundated with correspondence, however, as someone who's living is managaing a customer service department of a large company, I have to say that is unacceptable. 6 weeks for any type of response is NEVER acceptable.

One phrase we use here is "Ultimate Customer Service" and basically that means that no matter what, Customer Service comes first. The philosophy most companies that strive for "Ultimate Customer Service" use is to grow in the Customer Service area as the company grows or business grows. Basically that would mean there is no excuse for a 6 week response.

I just cannot believe it takes that long. that's unreal.

Define large.

Walt Disney World is host to hundreds of millions of visitors per year. Imagine how many of those people have something to say about Disney's product? Probably quite a few.

I think it's commendable that Disney takes the time to respond to their guests via a phone call - where there's an interactive element - so if you have a further question, complaint, or suggestion, you don't have to resubmit another form. You deal with it right there. They don't just send a form letter, and I'm all for that.

 

[boucheresq]

wow- I had no idea it would take so long. I guess my thought is that, with a company as large as WDW, they should anticipate a large volume of comments and have the appropriate number of people to handle them. As much as I love WDW, I guess it bothers me sometimes that they are quick to take the moola; but not as quick to handle issues that need to be resolved - but that's with any company. For example, I had an initial ressie but changed it for the MWY dining plan and they had to refund my money for the first ressie and do a whole new one (no clue why). Even though I used a cc for deposit, they are returning the money to me by check which, 5 weeks later, I still have not received. I would like that money too, you know?

 

[SnackyStacky]

wow- I had no idea it would take so long. I guess my thought is that, with a company as large as WDW, they should anticipate a large volume of comments and have the appropriate number of people to handle them. As much as I love WDW, I guess it bothers me sometimes that they are quick to take the moola; but not as quick to handle issues that need to be resolved - but that's with any company. For example, I had an initial ressie but changed it for the MWY dining plan and they had to refund my money for the first ressie and do a whole new one (no clue why). Even though I used a cc for deposit, they are returning the money to me by check which, 5 weeks later, I still have not received. I would like that money too, you know?

Money is a WHOLE different issue as far as I'm concerned.

Customer Service can take their time to call back, but I COMPLETELY agree on the money end of it. I had paid off a reservation prior to check in. I applied a code to that reservation that lowered the rate, so Disney owed me money. It took a good month to get that money, and it was ALL electronic transfers!!!! NO CHECKS! It took far too long.

Disney really needs to get it together when dealing with refunding guests their money.

 

[WDSearcher]

I agree that they are probably heavily inundated with correspondence, however, as someone who's living is managaing a customer service department of a large company, I have to say that is unacceptable. 6 weeks for any type of response is NEVER acceptable.

I just cannot believe it takes that long. that's unreal.

Depending on the nature of the complaint, it's impossible to say whether 6 weeks is too long or not. If the complaint was something that needed to be investigated or checked into, then it is quite possible that it will take a while before final determinations can be made as to what happened and what should be done. Likewise, if someone asked for a certain type of response or compensation for the complaint, that will need to be run through the proper channels. Also, Disney receives literally thousands of e-mails where guests list a complaint or make a compliment, but never indicate in the e-mail proper that they'd LIKE a response. Due to the sheer amount of correspondence Disney receives per week, it's impossible for them to respond to every single e-mail, letter and phone call. If you don't indicate in your e-mail or communication that you'd like a response, you may find that you don't get one, other than an acknowledgement of your initial correspondence.

 

[WDSearcher]

wow- I had no idea it would take so long. I guess my thought is that, with a company as large as WDW, they should anticipate a large volume of comments and have the appropriate number of people to handle them. As much as I love WDW, I guess it bothers me sometimes that they are quick to take the moola; but not as quick to handle issues that need to be resolved -

Well, first off, it's only been twelve days, and without knowing what the complaint was, it's hard to know if 12 days is "too long" or "not long enough." Sometimes things need to be investigated, and as others have said, yours isn't the only e-mail that Disney got that day. If your complaint dealt with a CM, that CM will need to be contacted to give their side of the story, and the incident will need to be looked into. If it dealt with a process or a technical thing, then whoever is in charge of that area will need to be contacted to see what the problem was and if it has been solved. If it was something related to a ride, show, attraction or element of the park, then there's a process for that too -- finding out exactly why that ride, show, whatever operates that way so that your concern can be responded to. Also ... in your e-mail, did you ASK them to respond? Did you, for example, say, "And please let me know how this is being dealt with" or something similar? If you didn't specifically request a response, you may not get one. For example, if a complaint comes in that says, "I was in the FW bathrooms and they were filthy!", WDW may send a quick, "Thank you for your e-mail" response and then pass along that info to the custodial manager in that area and then consider it dealt with and closed. It's not likely that they'll send another e-mail to that guest past the initial response. So you have to think about how you worded your e-mail and what kind of response you're looking for.

 

[boucheresq]

The return of money was one issue. The issue I wrote the letter about is in the "Disney Restaurant" section of this forum - I made a complaint about the new dining plan which I hated when my dh and I used it. I did ask for a response, specifically mentioning that dh and I were intending to go to WDW in October but would wait to make ressies until we rec'd a response from them. if you search under "We hated the new dining plan", you will find the letter. Thanks!

 

[crazee4mickey]

I agree that it will take a few weeks--I sent an email within a week I received an email saying due to the nature of the situation it was being forwarded to Disney's executive offices. I was so thrilled to get a personal phone call from them--in all it took approx. 3-4 weeks. Even though Disney's as huge as they are, they still take the time to personally contact their guests

 

[WDSearcher]

I made a complaint about the new dining plan which I hated when my dh and I used it. I did ask for a response, specifically mentioning that dh and I were intending to go to WDW in October but would wait to make ressies until we rec'd a response from them.

In this case, particularly because it's a new dining plan, Disney is probably receiving a lot of complaints and comments about it. So the more they get, the more time they need to spend evaluating whether the new program is a good fit for guests or not. That will take some time, since it's not just a quick decision. They have to let the program "settle in", and they'll have to talk to Guest Service folks, look at Guest Service scores, talk to the reservations managers, and then add all of that to the comments they're getting from guests. And then they have to determine what the next move is. That's going to take longer than 12 days.

 

[DisneyDar]

I agree that they are probably heavily inundated with correspondence, however, as someone who's living is managaing a customer service department of a large company, I have to say that is unacceptable. 6 weeks for any type of response is NEVER acceptable.

One phrase we use here is "Ultimate Customer Service" and basically that means that no matter what, Customer Service comes first. The philosophy most companies that strive for "Ultimate Customer Service" use is to grow in the Customer Service area as the company grows or business grows. Basically that would mean there is no excuse for a 6 week response.

I just cannot believe it takes that long. that's unreal.

I would venture a guess that your large company isn't quite as large as WDW, thus more time is needed for their response. While it's nice to think that simply hiring more folks to answer each and every email on a daily basis would be the ultimate answer, I'm sure you wouldn't want those costs passed down to you, which is what would happen.

 

[currycook]

Dont use email for a complaint is my recommendation, talk to someoene on site or send a formal letter. Email would be choice 3.

 

[DebbieB]

wow- I had no idea it would take so long. I guess my thought is that, with a company as large as WDW, they should anticipate a large volume of comments and have the appropriate number of people to handle them. As much as I love WDW, I guess it bothers me sometimes that they are quick to take the moola; but not as quick to handle issues that need to be resolved - but that's with any company. For example, I had an initial ressie but changed it for the MWY dining plan and they had to refund my money for the first ressie and do a whole new one (no clue why). Even though I used a cc for deposit, they are returning the money to me by check which, 5 weeks later, I still have not received. I would like that money too, you know?

That doesn't sound right, they should have credited your card. I would call rather than send an e-mail.

 

[seashoreCM]

Didn't get a response in what ytou think is a reasonable time? Send a copy of your same inquiry (letter, etc.) again, same date and all.

Somehow I think the telephone should be last choice. Below email.

Nine out of ten calls do not reach the person desired. Disney might have called you, got your answering machine, and then put your case on the bottom of the pile and gone on to the next case.

Or it could be worse, Disney leaves a message, you call back and hold for a while on long distance, then whoever talks to you says they have to get back to you. Repeat this paragraph.

Disney hints:
http://members.aol.com/ajaynejr/disney.htm

 

[Laugh O. Grams]

Dont use email for a complaint is my recommendation, talk to someoene on site or send a formal letter. Email would be choice 3.

I agree. A formal letter is the best way to get attention. Emails are so "dime a dozen" these days and are not taken as seriously IMO. Sit down and write a letter stating that you have emailed with no response and are frustrated. You'll get Disney's attention for sure! Good luck!

 

[TN Traveler]

I've read so many good suggestions and comments in this thread, I can't remember who said what so pls forgive the lack of direct quotes. First, I agree w/1 poster that said it should NEVER take 6 weeks to respond to an email. I too worked in Customer Service--for 13 yrs. Our #1 goal was to respond to clients regardless of what the situation was, w/in 24 hrs of rec'g the card, email, phone call whatever. Even if it was nothing more than "Thank you for your suggestion. We are looking into this and will contact you as quickly as possible." This lets the person know we got their msg and we are taking it seriously. Granted the company I worked for did not have the level of phone calls, people etc that WDW does but it was the US Distribution Center for a major tool company and not only did we have contact w/suppliers, factories and companies all over the US, we also dealt directly w/end users so we did have several phone calls. The average was 50 calls per day, per CSR and there were 30 CSRs.
For the last 10 yrs I have been a travel agent and our #1 goal is to be the best service oriented agency in this area. At one particular agency we had to answer the phone w/in 3 rings; perferably w/in 2 rings. It's all about service.
I'm sure Disney staff is very busy and doing the best they can but an acknowledgement of your card, email, letter, call etc is expected.
Karen