Ms. Charlene Paez
Complaint Specialist
Better Business Bureau
Dear Ms. Paez,
I have reviewed our files for the Bell Family sailing July 27, 2008 on the Disney Magic. My review has shown me that these bookings were handled per the normal office procedures. The invoices that Mr. Bell and his family received clearly stated that final payment was not due to our office until May 3, 2008 with final payment being due to Disney on May 13, 2008. Three of the cabins elected to pay final payment with a personal check prior to this final payment deadline. When they came in to make payment no one mentioned making any special arrangements for the final payment. Nothing was mentioned until after the fact and at this point Mr. Bell was already upset.
On April 28, 2008 Mr. Bell called and came into our office with questions about how the final payments are processed. It was explained to him by Kelly Revoir and Christine Connelly, two agents in my Fresno Office, that final payments are processed to the various vendors in the order that they are due, not when payment is made. We explained in detail that a report is generated for accounts payable with bookings to review and balance closer to the final payment date. It was in fact discovered that on Mr. Bell’s own reservation that a credit card payment made in September 2007 had not authorized and his booking had an additional $750.00 balance. After reviewing his records he agreed that the payment had not been debited from his account and he made arrangements for this payment.
From speaking with Mr. Bell it seemed that his main concern was that he was not able to pre-book shore excursions for his cruise. When I called Disney in regards to his concern I was not aware that Disney in fact required final payment in order to book shore excursions even though final payment was not due. I spoke with various agents trying to resolve this for my client, Mr. Bell. I did not “go off” on an agent I was simply an advocate for my client and attempting to resolve the problem of pre-booking shore excursions for his cruise and his family’s cruise. The end result was that my Disney Sales Representative advised us to reserve the desired excursion on one of the paid in full reservations and that she would transfer the excursion to the correct booking once payment had posted to their reservation.
I am not sure how Mr. Bell feels that my email to him was “hateful”. I simply advised him that I was working to resolve the issue that he had recently brought to my attention and that if he was so dissatisfied, as he indicated in his emails and our phone conversations, that it was his prerogative to book directly with
Disney Cruise Line next time. It was not my intention to insult him or his family; I was simply trying to diffuse the conflict while attempting to resolve the issue at hand. I did not feel it was productive to assign blame and that it was better to work together to resolve this to everyone’s satisfaction.
In conclusion I would like to reiterate that payment was sent to
Disney Cruise Lines in a timely manner and that all the bookings are in fact paid in full and available for Mr. Bell and his family to book their shore excursions. If you have any questions or need any additional information I would be happy to discuss this with you further. I can be reached in the Fresno Office at (559) 438-7447.
Sincerely,
Craig Mungary
Manager
cc Mr. Thomas Bell
Just ask the porters for luggage tags when you arrive.
