Services are being stripped

[Dean]

I can accept the things that happened that can not be prevented. Such as after we checked in a major wasp nest was built on our patio. We called and it was take care of.

I do not accept checking into a room at 5pm, which I had no problem with the time, but its not as if the room was given to us early, to explain the lack of cleaning.

But to find blood and hair in the refrigerator, dirty, nasty tub with muddy shoe prints in it, broken glass on the kitchen floor, leftover moldy food in the frig. sheets that were torn, mattress so broken down from someone jumping on it, that it was not sleepable. Even though for some reason when DVC makes commercials they seem to think that this is acceptable behavior.

Also I don't accept being put in a room that the bed is broken to the point when you sat down on it, it tipped over nor do I accept rude treatment by bellmen that yell at me to hurry up they don't have all day to take my luggage out.

And Yes each time we had less than satisfactory rooms or service I talked with the on duty manager. But I really am getting tired of having to do this.

Some things can't be avoided but a clean room in working order should be the norm.

I don't think anyone disagrees that some of the type of things you mention are acceptable, they simply have not been my experience and I haven't seen enough concerns over time to convince me things are truly worse now than they were 10 years ago. I totally disagree with DVC changing from 4 pm check in to AFTER 4 pm. IMO, after 4 pm should be VERY rare and only for very specifics and unexpected circumstances. Not that it will never happen, but it should only for a true and unexpected reason, say flu season and a number of people called in. Even then, the supervisors and other staff should be called into service. As I mentioned, I also believe DVC should put a LOT of effort and emphasis on room assignments and priority, they've officially gone the other way and never put much effort into it. Neither of these are big to me or I would bail, but I do disagree with the choices they've made in those areas.

As I see it that gives you 2 distinct and basically separate discussion. Is DVC managing our resorts appropriately? then the petty squabbles about the perks. I do not believe one can use one to effecitvely illustrate the other. As a side bar, you've got those that simply didn't understand what they were buying in to AND/OR assumed that the risks were so low that they didn't have to consider them. Given the number of people that we've seen on DIS the last few years that simply can't be pleased by reasonable DVC management, it's no wonder DVC has quit trying in some areas, like the room assignments I mentioned above. When you have people requesting a specific room AND getting verbally upset and abusive with CM when they didn't get it, who could truly blame them. We've heard from more than one CM that DVC members as a group are by far the most difficult to please. I realize there is a balance between accepting lower standards and being hypercritical, maybe I fall into the lower group now days. OTOH, I am very quick to make a list of issues with a given room and leave it for the maid or at the front desk so they can add it to their maint schedule. I try to NOT have them make specific trips for say missing items unless I need them. This is safe at DVC but can be risky at some resorts that might charge you for items.

 

[TDC Nala]

Don't understand the argument about the spa being a service owed to SSR guests. If one paid cash for the room through CRO one had to pay for the spa, right? Now DVC members have to pay for the spa too because the spa decided not to give it away for free to the majority of guests at the resort anymore. That's DVC's fault how?

So you are agreeing with me that some people are being realistic and some people candy coat things to make it sound la-di-da as if everything is always great all the time?

I agree that some people don't find the perks as important an issue as some others do.

 

[wehavesix]

Honestly, I don't remember the perks being mentioned much at all in either of the 2 sales pitches we sat through. The first was in 2007 and the little booklet was only mentioned at the end of the presentation but more as an afterthought. Kind of like: "Oh and here are some perks you might be able to take advantage of during your stays."

The 2nd tour we took in March. DH and I wanted to see the BLT model. Our eldest son and his wife were with us and agreed to participate in the presentation so we could all get those magical fastpass cards. DH and I added on but ds & ddil declined at this time. Anyway, NO mention was made of perks at all. This was with a different guide than our first guide since guide #1 has retired. I guess maybe guide #2 realized we probably already know all about the perks so didn't feel the need to mention them.

Anyway, we didn't purchase for the perks. Most of them we don't even use. We have enjoyed the special pricing of APs for DVC and some of the restaurant discounts but even the AP discount isn't one we can used every year. We bought so we can have spacious comfortable accomodations for our large family and extended family that are also priced in a way that we can afford to vacation year after year.

 

[wehavesix]

I can accept the things that happened that can not be prevented. Such as after we checked in a major wasp nest was built on our patio. We called and it was take care of.

I do not accept checking into a room at 5pm, which I had no problem with the time, but its not as if the room was given to us early, to explain the lack of cleaning.

But to find blood and hair in the refrigerator, dirty, nasty tub with muddy shoe prints in it, broken glass on the kitchen floor, leftover moldy food in the frig. sheets that were torn, mattress so broken down from someone jumping on it, that it was not sleepable. Even though for some reason when DVC makes commercials they seem to think that this is acceptable behavior.

Also I don't accept being put in a room that the bed is broken to the point when you sat down on it, it tipped over nor do I accept rude treatment by bellmen that yell at me to hurry up they don't have all day to take my luggage out.

And Yes each time we had less than satisfactory rooms or service I talked with the on duty manager. But I really am getting tired of having to do this.

Some things can't be avoided but a clean room in working order should be the norm.

Wow! I'm sorry you've had such poor experiences. I would be upset too if I had had those kinds of issues. Thankfully we haven't ever had a dirty villa. Knock on wood. We've had some minor issues such as problems with the Internet connection, a slow drain in a bathroom sink, and a toilet that wouldn't stop running. Some things, like the Internet and toilet problems, we asked to be corrected and the problems were rectified quickly. Less pressing things we simply reported to maintenance as we checked out.

 

[lilpooh108]

I can accept the things that happened that can not be prevented. Such as after we checked in a major wasp nest was built on our patio. We called and it was take care of.

I do not accept checking into a room at 5pm, which I had no problem with the time, but its not as if the room was given to us early, to explain the lack of cleaning.

But to find blood and hair in the refrigerator, dirty, nasty tub with muddy shoe prints in it, broken glass on the kitchen floor, leftover moldy food in the frig. sheets that were torn, mattress so broken down from someone jumping on it, that it was not sleepable. Even though for some reason when DVC makes commercials they seem to think that this is acceptable behavior.

Also I don't accept being put in a room that the bed is broken to the point when you sat down on it, it tipped over nor do I accept rude treatment by bellmen that yell at me to hurry up they don't have all day to take my luggage out.

And Yes each time we had less than satisfactory rooms or service I talked with the on duty manager. But I really am getting tired of having to do this.

Some things can't be avoided but a clean room in working order should be the norm.

Wow--the dirty stuff---that's nuts. Which resort was this?

 

[tjkraz]

Any idea who is polled, cash guests and/or DVC owners? What is the sample size?

Bill

As specialists in data gathering and analysis, I'm going to assume that Market Metrix' results are both unbiased and statistically valid.

So you are agreeing with me that some people are being realistic and some people candy coat things to make it sound la-di-da as if everything is always great all the time?

I'll simply suggest that other people's experiences have been vastly different from your own and I'm not sure why you feel more weight should be placed on your opinions (allegedly "realistic") vs. others experiences ("candy coat[ed]" in your words.) Nobody likes to enter a dirty room or deal with a rude Cast Member, but I suspect there are people posting on this thread who have many more DVC stays under their belts than you do. That perspective shouldn't be casually dismissed.

You also seem to be implying that those who disagree with your comments are only doing so because they don't care about spa access or valet parking perks. That is not true.

I've saved hundreds of dollars via the Annual Pass discount and would certainly be disappointed to see it removed. However that doesn't change my overall outlook. I didn't buy DVC because of discount perks. I bought knowing full well that the perks can and DO change.

If the AP perk is removed, it may change my personal spending habits. But Disney will have to face the fallout of those decisions in the same way that Niki Bryan spa now risks losing your business.

 

[Sammie]

Wow--the dirty stuff---that's nuts. Which resort was this?

Actually I see no purpose in sharing which resort other than to say it was DVC and two different resorts, both very loved by many. We spoke to management they were as horrified as we were, but they truly did not offer any explanation as to why this happened.

All I know is that, for years we never had these problems and within the last two years, this has become more and more common. I just think DVC has lost its focus on keeping up the resorts and housekeeping and gone to putting focus on sales and promotion. I wish I was wrong but I know things have changed and not for the better in these categories. Perks are nice but I really just want a clean room in good working order, as that is what I bought into.

I am also less than pleased with the way they communicate changes to us, such as the loss of valet parking. I don't even have a problem with the change, I just think it was less than professional to have members drive up to BWV and find out from a CM. I signed up for the Webcast this evening and I got two emails reminding me of the event and a postcard.

They communicate what they want to, sales promotions and they ignore what they wish to ignore. If they can get those webcast emails out and postcards they could just as easily get out communication about changes and the guidebook that comes in the middle of the year.

I just think management has forgotten, several important factors. That if they want the membership to add on or do referrals you have to make sure the membership is pleased enough with the product to do that. Right now I would not add on and would not refer anyone.

Perks are nice to have and I have enjoyed some of them but I just want what I paid for.

 

[Dean]

I am also less than pleased with the way they communicate changes to us, such as the loss of valet parking. I don't even have a problem with the change, I just think it was less than professional to have members drive up to BWV and find out from a CM. I signed up for the Webcast this evening and I got two emails reminding me of the event and a postcard.

I don't recall anyone that supported the way it was instituted or the way it was communicated. However, given the way members respond to such things, I understand one reason it might have been done as it was.

 

[crisi]

I don't recall anyone that supported the way it was instituted or the way it was communicated. However, given the way members respond to such things, I understand one reason it might have been done as it was.

With so many members who have so many priorities, they really can't win. Some people would happily pay more dues for more housekeeping, more maintenance, faster refresh - even valet parking. But I'm also sure that every time the dues bill arrives Disney gets phone calls from people telling them the dues are too expensive, they can't afford it, they'll be pressured into selling. And I'd give really good odds that these past couple of years Disney has gotten far more of those phone calls than in the past.

If DVC had stayed pretty small (say OKW and BWV), they could probably have let dues skyrocket to provide a really world class experience. People who couldn't afford - or chose not to afford - the dues would sell - but there would be a big enough population of wealthy Disney fans to fill the place.

But DVC has hundreds of thousands of members - and my guess is that the vast majority of us are pretty middle class. We save for our Disney trips and the dues bill is a big deal to us. And DVC is large enough where the market of "rich Disney fans willing to pay $10 a point in dues" is not large enough to support the number of points out there.

 

[KYCruiseCrazy]

And insurance on the buildings themselves. Property insurance rates in Florida have skyrocketed over the years.

Property insurance rates have raised everywhere not just in Florida.

 

[SunnieRN]

JMHO on service. I think the recent issues of poor service relate to a reduction in staff and excessive member requests. This opinion is based on a recent experience at BCV. We checked in late one tuesday night this past March. When I went to use the sink in the bathroom one of the faucets broke and the water wash gushing out and could not be stopped. I ran to the phone to call for help. Thank God the drain was not clogged. It took maintence over 30 minutes it make it to the room. They apologized for taking so long with such an emergency but they said with the rif they were the only maintenance crew covering BW,BWV,BC, and BCV for the night.But here's where I learned alot. They had two way radios getting calls from a dispatcher on other issues. I could not believe some of the calls. For example, "room XXX just called again and they are very upset and want someone to help them with closing their blinds now". These poor guys were being run ragged. The best they could do was shut off the water and wait to come back in the morning when more people were working. I'm sure they must really struggle with some of the requests. I remember thinking a couple of times "you got to be kidding me with that call".I 'm sure it must be tough for them also and yes I know everyone's request is the most important thing in the whole wide world.JMHO. Thanks for reading.

I hate to say it, but if I were staying at Boardwalk, with a boardwalk view, especially on a lower floor and the blinds didn't work, I would have called. Not twice most likely, but I can see where that could be an issue. This could be true especially if you have young children who wake up the second the sun comes up!

What I don't understand is that as DVC owners, we are paying for the poor cleaning, maintenance, front desk, and transportation. Why Disney doesn't focus on improving these services that we pay for is beyond me.

It really gets my dander up when I read that members feel that they have to clean their own rooms upon check in. We often will completely wash all of the dishes that we intend to use after finding dirty dishes in the cupboard.

Disney could make the DVC a very special 5 star club. It could be done if they wanted to, but for some reason, they choose not to.

Bill

Our rooms, to date, have been clean and well maintained. House keeping seems to have done adequate work during our visits! We have yet to stay at BLT and I am concerned with all the reports of it "looking worn out" already. The person who brought up the question about the issues of cost vs quality of work has valid points, that may be more of an issue as time goes on!

 

[DaveH]

We bought in 2001 and the perks have changed a fair amount in that time. Some are good for us and some not. The comments on these boards makes it sound like the some of the guides are stressing perks more than before. Perks are offer to us to get us to do something we may not otherwise do. We would buy AP's before the discount and are glad the perk is there. We have not bought them the last 2 years because we do not like the value of the parks right now. We do less park days and spend our time and money else where using our DVC points. We have had some issues with rooms and most were taken care of in a timely manner. I usually contact management on duty if it is warranted. I found a calmer tone gets more done. I have found housekeeping very gun shy. It seems they only get yelled out. A kind word or calm complaint works wonders. I do have my complaints about DVC but nothing major and I am overall happy with my purchases.

 

[CNPHILLY]

Property insurance rates have raised everywhere not just in Florida.

It's not everywhere...mine have actually gone down and I am paying quite a bit less than I was three years ago (from the same insurer, no less). If you haven't shopped around and have just accepted increases from your insurer, you may be surprised at what you can save. You may even find out that you are way overinsured now depending on the current value of your property and when you first obtained coverage because of the housing market collapse. And notwithstanding that, Florida is a completely different beast when it comes to property insurance.

Sorry all for the interruption. Continue on with the perks/quality/etc. debate if you like.

 

[DebbieB]

Property insurance rates have raised everywhere not just in Florida.

I think that is why Hilton Head's dues have gone up at a higher % than the WDW resorts.

 

[BEASLYBOO]

I think that is why Hilton Head's dues have gone up at a higher % than the WDW resorts.

Unfortunately for Florida, after Frances, Rita and Wilma, my personal homeowners ins, went up from $1400 to $3900, in one year, and that's without claims. It stayed that way for 3 years, and if you had a mortgage you had no choice but to pay it. Most ins. carriers bailed out of FLorida so Citizens was it, you couldn't even shop it. Today, 5 -6 years later without hurricanes etc. it's still high at $2100. The rates will never go back to what they should be. Bear in mind that these rates aren't for the Taj Majal, they are for a 2 bedroom villa (nice word for duplex) in Wellington/Palm Bch Cty. I have friends who live in the tornadoe belt/mid-west who have more expensive homes than mine and they pay less than $1000 per year. So yes ins. rates have gone up everywhere but in Florida they are not proportionate to other states, we have to repay the hurricane fund!

My company has a hardware retail store in Vero (E. of I-95) and not a single ins. carrier will insure it. We get coverage for it through Lloyds of London, it's extortion rather than ins., it's cost $13,700 more per year than our Stuart location. I can't begin to guess what the ins. cost is for HH & the Vero resort, I'm sure it's astronomical .

 

[Dean]

We bought in 2001 and the perks have changed a fair amount in that time. Some are good for us and some not. The comments on these boards makes it sound like the some of the guides are stressing perks more than before. Perks are offer to us to get us to do something we may not otherwise do. We would buy AP's before the discount and are glad the perk is there. We have not bought them the last 2 years because we do not like the value of the parks right now. We do less park days and spend our time and money else where using our DVC points. We have had some issues with rooms and most were taken care of in a timely manner. I usually contact management on duty if it is warranted. I found a calmer tone gets more done. I have found housekeeping very gun shy. It seems they only get yelled out. A kind word or calm complaint works wonders. I do have my complaints about DVC but nothing major and I am overall happy with my purchases.

I think some guides stress the perks more than others and some people focus on them during the sales tour more than others. Not that it really matters I guess as one should not rely on verbal banter alone.

Ultimately it doesn't matter what a given cost is but the aggregate. The difference with timeshares is they pretty much function like the federal government in that they have a blank check. The difference is that the timeshare must raise taxes to balance the budget each year. Of course there are some things they can do to reign in costs, and they do what they can up to a point, but in the end they can't have a deficit.

I haven't studied the HH budget but I do know that the town of HH has raised taxes a fair amount on timeshares the last few years. HH is also a small resort and though it doesn't have a lot of on site services, I'm sure the beach house and lack of economy of scale translates to inefficiency of the services and thus higher overall costs on a per member basis.

 

[DaveH]

I think some guides stress the perks more than others and some people focus on them during the sales tour more than others. Not that it really matters I guess as one should not rely on verbal banter alone.

I agree.

 

[Tamar]

Wow, I guess we've been really lucky with our experiences and services over the years. Rooms have been clean, problems have been fixed, 99% of castmembers have been cheerful and helpful.

I really appreciate the discount on APs and this last trip for the first time I used the free Internet. I travel a lot, and MANY hotels charge $10-12/day for Internet access.

I never liked the valet parking, because when I'm ready to go, I'm ready to go and would rather walk to my car than stand around and wait for it, so things have worked out very well for us.

 

[jagson]

I've solved my dilemma over the perks issue. I no longer eat at any WDW restaurants at the resorts, since valet parking was terminated; I take my family off site to nearby restaurants, which I feel are better in price, and quality of food (really, does anyone think WDW food is better than mediocre, and worth the inflated prices); or we just prepare meals in the unit, or order in a pizza (from an off property vendor), and forget the hassle of going out. Next, I no longer play at the WDW golf courses, as there are many great courses nearby at a fraction of the cost. There once were free annual passes included with the purchase at OKW, way back in the early days. That was gone before we became members, but the gist is we rarely go the parks because they are overpriced, and overcrowded. Seems WDW keeps building accomodations without regard to theme park capacity; the more the merrier philosophy. Its poor planning in my opinion, just cram-em in. But, all that said, we like WDW because its a short drive away, and nice facility where we can stage from. There are the pools, and beautiful grounds to walk through that are very relaxing, and free (unless or until they charge for that). There's actually more to do off WDW than on property. Sounds like I'm boycotting WDW, but maybe the Management will see their bottomline drop, and react in a positive manner, ie upgrade their product.
PS: We do appreciate the free internet, but I bet anyone that will be gone within the next 5 years, due to "membership upgrade".
Think of your timeshare as only a place to lodge, and enjoy the perks available, but don't get too comfortable with them, for they will be taken away at some time.

 

[Dean]

I've solved my dilemma over the perks issue. I no longer eat at any WDW restaurants at the resorts, since valet parking was terminated; I take my family off site to nearby restaurants, which I feel are better in price, and quality of food (really, does anyone think WDW food is better than mediocre, and worth the inflated prices); or we just prepare meals in the unit, or order in a pizza (from an off property vendor), and forget the hassle of going out. Next, I no longer play at the WDW golf courses, as there are many great courses nearby at a fraction of the cost. There once were free annual passes included with the purchase at OKW, way back in the early days. That was gone before we became members, but the gist is we rarely go the parks because they are overpriced, and overcrowded. Seems WDW keeps building accomodations without regard to theme park capacity; the more the merrier philosophy. Its poor planning in my opinion, just cram-em in. But, all that said, we like WDW because its a short drive away, and nice facility where we can stage from. There are the pools, and beautiful grounds to walk through that are very relaxing, and free (unless or until they charge for that). There's actually more to do off WDW than on property. Sounds like I'm boycotting WDW, but maybe the Management will see their bottomline drop, and react in a positive manner, ie upgrade their product.
PS: We do appreciate the free internet, but I bet anyone that will be gone within the next 5 years, due to "membership upgrade".
Think of your timeshare as only a place to lodge, and enjoy the perks available, but don't get too comfortable with them, for they will be taken away at some time.

Your choice of course, I'm sure Disney actually loves people like you. You spent money on DVC, pay dues, likely will eat occasionally at Disney venues and will spend money here and there. Plus your one body that isn't at the park that day when it's crowded.

Still, if you're going to DVC resorts but not really interested in Disney, why own or stay on property. You're paying a premium to do so and there are actually nicer resorts (other than theming) off property with better pools, larger and nicer units and more activities that are MUCH cheaper. For Orlando you could do this for 10% or less the cost of DVC for the same size options. A better resort with a nicer room with a better pools and more activities at a fraction of the price seems like a no brainer. I personally enjoy Disney resorts, restaurants, etc so a premium is still OK with me up to a point. The truth is I've been able to stay at DVC resorts for every trip I've tried through the exchange system so I've enjoyed the savings and the DVC options. All I give up is a few member only perks.