slow poly check in

[deb305]

I appreciate the CM's frustration, and the problem is not their service. When you pay 2x to 3x more for a room you expect more. One of the problems I see is understaffing. When we stayed at GF I would notice lines to check in , but only 1 or 2 people working. We were at concierge and our check in took no more than 15 minutes, because staff was available.

 

[DebbieB]

I've been told a couple of times that the reason they ask for your approximate arrival time when you make a reservation is to gauge front desk staff levels. If they know approx how many people are checking in around a certain time, they should make certain they have adequate staff. I've stayed at moderate, deluxe, DVC and have never had more than a 15 minute wait, usually less than 10. 30 minutes is unacceptable. They need to account for the fact that it takes longer to check in at a WDW resort when they staff the front desk. They charge alot more than comparable hotels offsite, they should provide superior service.

 

[skiwee1]

I can understand being anxious to get into your room. Long check-ins happen to us whether we are at the Poly, WL, or CBR. It doesn't matter if there are ten people in front of us or one person. It all seems like an eternity when we are waiting to check in. I go with the flow and enjoy the surroundings. At the Poly they were serving fresh warm cookies to all of us so we were in no hurry! I did encounter one annoyance. When I went to the front desk one day to get a new room key there was a couple in front of me. They took 30 minutes and were not even checking in. They were not even staying at the Poly! They had stopped over from the MK to have a look around before going bak to their WDW resort. I will not say which one for fear of being flamed! Anyway they were asking for directions to get to a Walmart so they could buy a styro cooler and some groceries. They must have asked the CM a thousand questions about how many miles, how many stop lights, how many minutes to get there. They wanted to know if that Walmart had the best prices or maybe another one would be better. And on and on.......... The CM even brought out a map for them and highlighted in red where they were to drive! What a pain. So that was a major annoyance to me. Here I pay to stay in a deluxe resort and the CM, too nice in IMO, took way too much time with someone that wasn't even a resort guest. Meanwhile myself and 4 other Poly guests stood waiting for this moron to find a Walmart to save a few bucks.

 

[>>^..^<<]

Originally posted by skiwee1
They were not even staying at the Poly!

They had stopped over from the MK to have a look around before going back to their WDW resort. I will not say which one for fear of being flamed!

LOL... I am guessing it was not RPC Concierge at the Grand Floridian

>>^..^<<

 

[jordanyosh]

When you are on a Disney Vacation, you want to leave the real world behind. However, the real world controls everything that happens at Disney. Theme park income was the main-stay of the Walt Disney Co. Last quarter, theme park income was down a whopping 44%. I am all for the expectation of superior service at Disney, but I also temper that will the stark reality that Disney ultimately is a business and answers to their shareholders. With income down 44%, I would expect to see cutbacks at the parks and resorts. Sure you could say that FTP is bringing in the guests, but you have to be prudent in hiring new crew members. Would it be cost effective to hire new crew members when the influx lasted only 3 weeks? Probably not.

Also remember that the Cast Members that are there are probably overworked and underpaid. Instead of blaming them for something that is probably out of their control. Treat them as you would want to be treated given the same situation. Have you ever asked them how their day is going? Or saying "Wow! You are working so hard! Thank you so much for taking time to help us today.". CMs need positive reaffirmation as much as we do especially in hectic or trying times.

 

[skiwee1]

Originally posted by >>^..^<<
LOL... I am guessing it was not RPC Concierge at the Grand Floridian

>>^..^<<

ROFL! No it was not! Good guess though!

 

[missypie]

This may explain it:

On another thread, a poster gave a link to an article she/he wrote for the Salt Lake City Tribune comparing DL in CA to WDW. Now we all know that WDW is much bigger than DL. According to the article. DLR is on 85 acres and WDW has 30,000. DLR has 3 hotels and WDW has 20. BUT, DLR has 21,000 CMs and WDW has 54,000. If that's true, that's just over 2 1/2 times more cast members at WDW than at DLR. Those WDW CMS MUST be overworked!

 

[Mike_in_FL]

I agree with those posters who feel that 30 minutes is too long for check in unless there is an exceptional reason. The Poly is an expensive hotel, and Disney prides itself on customer service. That kind of wait is not fair to CMs or guests. BTW, my kids are used to standing in line (trained in WDW ), and enjoy walking around the lobby - I just don't think that makes it OK.

It is precisely because of the valuable nature of family time that Disney check-in takes a bit longer than the typical business-abrupt procedure. The CMs have ALWAYS made sure we had all of the information necessary to make OUR vacation "magical." A few extra minutes per family can make a substantial difference in the quality of each guest's visit.

I agree with this and other posts pointing out that the check-in process can take a little longer because of all the things that the CMs can and do offer to the people checking in. I do not, however, think that means that the check-in lines should be longer. Disney needs to staff the desks appropriately so that the lines are kept short without impacting the individual attention that guests are accustomed to. In other words, I want it all, and I believe that I am paying for it. Yes, the economy is suffering, but it is a false economy to lower costs at the expense of customer satisfaction. This is precisely when you want to offer MORE to people so that they spend their hard-earned dollars with you instead of somebody else. The FTP is an excellent example of where Disney has done this, and it is working.

Of course, a 30 minute wait does not justify being rude to the CM who is trying to do their job. They are the public image of Disney, and I admire their ability to dispense "magic" despite what some guests put them through.

Just my 2 cents,
Mike

 

[LvsTnk]

Originally posted by missypie
This may explain it:

On another thread, a poster gave a link to an article she/he wrote for the Salt Lake City Tribune comparing DL in CA to WDW. Now we all know that WDW is much bigger than DL. According to the article. DLR is on 85 acres and WDW has 30,000. DLR has 3 hotels and WDW has 20. BUT, DLR has 21,000 CMs and WDW has 54,000. If that's true, that's just over 2 1/2 times more cast members at WDW than at DLR. Those WDW CMS MUST be overworked!

When we were at the Grand Californian the service was awesome!!

 

[Buckaroo's Dad]

Hi mamamia.

we went to the Contemporary last November, I was shocked that no one was in line to check in. I saw so many people at the airport who were on there way to Disney (I convinced myself that they were all staying at the same place as me! LOL) and I was prepared for a long wait. I was so surprised when we walked in to the lobby and no one was there and our room was ready. It was 10:00 a.m.

That's because everyone else was going to The Polynesian... lol.

 

[bfosbenner]

Thanks for the feedback. There was a line just for guest services and many empty CM stations. The cm's were not the problem, staffing levels were the cause.

This was also my first visit in a long time that mousekeepers did not do anything special with the towels. My dd's stuffed animal was obviously just tossed back onto the bed.

 

[skiwee1]

Originally posted by bfosbenner
Thanks for the feedback. There was a line just for guest services and many empty CM stations. The cm's were not the problem, staffing levels were the cause.

This was also my first visit in a long time that mousekeepers did not do anything special with the towels. My dd's stuffed animal was obviously just tossed back onto the bed.

Not all mousekeepers do something special. When they do it is nice but when they don't they don't. As long as they are doing what they are supposed to be doing then you can't fault them.

 

[bfosbenner]

I fully understand. Thanks