Starting To Get Very Concerned With ...

[gazeborob]

I am starting to get very concerned about my investment in my future vacations with Disney. It seems that more and more I am reading post about bad housekeeping and bugs in our vacation homes. I can understand that the location of DVC is in the south, so I can see that there will be some bugs. But lets not let it get out of hand. These rooms should be check! My real concern is with the housekeeping. What the heck are we at the BCV paying $2,478,290 in dues to housekeeping for? Can it really take that much time to check the rooms over completely for cleanliness? That works out to about $11,915 per room for the year. I realize that there are other cost associated with housekeeping other than just cleaning the room, but that is still a lot of money. Perhaps what they should do is promote a couple of top housekeepers into room inspectors. These inspectors can be in charge of checking the room up and down before it is released to the guest. If the room isn’t clean when the guest check in, then there is a person responsible to go back on. If there is already these people there, what the heck are they doing? Get rid of them now! I really hope that DVC will get a good handle on this soon, because I don’t believe that this is just isolated cases being posted here on this board.

Please note that I used BCV numbers because that is where my home resort is. I feel the same way about all resorts and their upkeep.

I am really hoping that I don’t have a problem at Christmas.

Rob

 

[colleen costello]

I have never been in a DVC room - - BCV or otherwise -- that wasn't very clean. My family has had no problems so far.

I just attribute the "messes" that some people find to the fact that housekeeping is a low-paying, hard, less-than-stimulating job. It's not rocket science... It's demanding physically and probably pretty boring and even gross at times... I guess I am just saying that the old adage "It's hard to find good help" applies here. I bet the turnover in housekeepers is high, and I bet their motivation and job satisfaction is fairly low. That said, our rooms have always been fresh and nice and the housekeeping staff I have encountered have always been friendly and polite.

Let's hope the nasty rooms are just the exception to the rule!

 

[Granny]

Rob...I wouldn't get too bent out of shape by a few reports here. The vast majority of people on these boards have had excellent experiences at their DVC stays.

Unfortunately, as in all things, it's the bad news that gets all the attention. Several recent posters have posted trip reports that indicate that their rooms were fine upon arrival....and of course there are no comments and the threads disappear.

Please don't let an internet forum be the way you judge your investment. Go to WDW and stay at your DVC room and see for yourself. Only then can you really figure out if you made a good choice or not.

Have a great trip!

 

[pmcpmc]

attention are only noticeable when you stay in the room so its up to everyone to make sure that these items are reported and to the best of my knowledge they are repaired quickly.
When you are replacing sheets cleaning vacuuming ,its hard to see every little thing.
How many rooms does each housekeeper clean each day.?

 

[gazeborob]

Granny,
I have been to the BCV twice, and my sister has been there once. We have never had a problem yet, and hope we never do. I was just raising a point that we spend a lot of money on housekeeping, and it seems that the problems are becoming more frequent. I really hope the number of complaints goes down real soon.

Rob

 

[ClarabelleCow]

Funny - I just got back from OKW, and I had the same concerns. We were in unit 3222 a 2 bedroom, definately not impressed with housekeeping. We didn't have pot holders or measuring cups. We called twice and never received the pot holders or measuring cups. Then on the last day, they decided to powerwash the outside of the building, which is great, but shouldn't that be planned when people aren't in the units!!! Water was coming in through the door, we had to carry our bags out and we all got drenched, they did stop spraying when we came out, but water was dripping. When I called for a bellman, I advised that my parents were with us from unit 3226, so there would be 9 of us and tons of bags, they sent one van, I asked the bellman to call for another van, he said they wouldn't send one, so we could either walk or wait!! We walked, not big deal, but I didn't like the attitude that they wouldn't send more help!The unit was clean, but not sparkling, probably in line for refurbishment, top burner on stove didn't work, knob missing from dishwasher, rust on washer, TV cabinet broken, pillows on couch not looking too good, rip in plastic at chair at table. I did call and they didn't have any other rooms. My only request was that both our rooms be near each other, we were in 3222 and my parents were in a studio at 3226, yes same building, but not very close, you couldn't sneak out in your PJ's to visit for coffee in the AM. The bathrooms could have used a real scrubbing, they were clean, but not sparkeling, I am in the process or drafting a letter to J. Lauders regarding this. But I think the big problem is cutbacks everywhere. The busses were horendous, it took us 1 1/2 hours to go to Fort Wilderness from OKW, granted we messed up and decided to go to Downtown Disney, to get a direct bus, but still, that is way to long!!! We waited 35 minutes outside the MK at 12:10 at night on 12/2 for a bus to OKW, they must have known the christmas party was going on!! And yes we did have little black bugs in our room, which I understand because we are in Florida, but I guess in general I was just dissapointed because we never really felt the "Magic" at OKW, and I won't even get into checkin on 11/28, I understand its one of the busiest times, but who decided on staffing!!! I felt really bad for the bellman!!

 

[Happy Birthday Cat]

it seems that the problems are becoming more frequent. I really hope the number of complaints goes down real soon.

Rob: I think you will see more frequent complaints only because DVC is growing so fast and these boards are becomming more popular. More people = more complaints. I'm with Granny on this one. Most people never have an issue and never report here that they don't.

HBC

 

[Chuck S]

My only request was that both our rooms be near each other, we were in 3222 and my parents were in a studio at 3226, yes same building, but not very close, you couldn't sneak out in your PJ's to visit for coffee in the AM.

That is considered "close by" at OKW. I've requested nearby accomodations and sometimes been in different buildings, although the buildings have been next to each other. A far as "sneaking out in your PJ's for coffee", if your PJ's are in halfways decent condition...people do it all the time at OKW...

 

[BCV23]

Another in agreement with Granny. The posts about a problem get tons of hits and responses, while good reports slip to the next page. Not that I don't believe that there are sometimes problems...it can just get overblown on these boards.

 

[Cmadsen]

It was our first trip "home" and I can't say enough good things about our unit or housekeeping. As the bellman was bringing in our 20 ton bags, he heard me casually mention to my friend that I didn't think we had enough hangers. In less than two minutes he was at our door with a handful of hangers. The unit was immaculate (and yes, I am a white glove inspector...Mother would be proud) and we didn't experience so much as a burned out lightbulb. We made sure to call housekeeping to compliment their efforts! I'm sure we may run into a future instance where things are not perfect, but I'd like to hear from some of you who have had good experiences, too. I confess, some of the posts on the board had me very nervous about room and housekeeping conditions, but I was most pleasantly surprised and pleased. We're sure happy to be DVC'ers.

 

[Disney Doll]

I've been a member since 1997 and have gone an average of 2-3 times per year and have stayed at all WDW resorts except VWL and have never had any major housekeeping issues. Any minor issues I had were recticfied quickly and efficiently.

 

[pirateparrot]

I also think different people have different expectations. I know that everything is not perfect in my regular home and it is just me living here so I guess I would not expect everything to be perfect at my other home. The villas get a lot of hard use with guests checking in and out I would guess on average every 5 days or so. In a period of a year that is 73 groups per year. That is a lot of wear and tear anywhere.

I do expect a clean room but small dings and the occasional minor problem should not spoil anyone's vacation. I am a new member and have not stayed at any DVC property but some of the issues I have seen in various trip reports indicate to me that some people are looking for problems rather than just enjoying their vacations.

Maybe DVC needs to put a survey type card in the room to report the more minor issues so they can be addressed the next time the room is cleaned with critical issues being reported immediately.

Hope I don't get flamed for this but sometimes reading this board gets me down because of all of the negativity. I plan on enjoying the next 50 years at WDW DVC and I won't allow myself to sweat the small stuff.

 

[Dean]

Originally posted by ClarabelleCow
My only request was that both our rooms be near each other, we were in 3222 and my parents were in a studio at 3226, yes same building, but not very close, you couldn't sneak out in your PJ's to visit for coffee in the AM.

I would agree that if you were in the same building, that is VERY close.

 

[jcodespoti]

My only request was that both our rooms be near each other, we were in 3222 and my parents were in a studio at 3226, yes same building, but not very close, you couldn't sneak out in your PJ's to visit for coffee in the AM.

I would have...but thats me..my wife would be freaking out, but hey, I like walking around in my mickey mouse boxers


Joe in CT

 

[Granny]

Originally posted by gazeborob
Granny,
I have been to the BCV twice, and my sister has been there once. We have never had a problem yet, and hope we never do. I was just raising a point that we spend a lot of money on housekeeping, and it seems that the problems are becoming more frequent. I really hope the number of complaints goes down real soon.

Rob

I just wanted to point out that I'm not flaming anyone for reporting their bad housekeeping experiences. Personally, I like to see all the reports, good and bad.

I was just trying to point out that the bad reports tend to stick around longer with more comments...just human nature.

I wish I could find the poll I did a while back asking people about their housekeeping experiences upon arrival....it was overwhelming in people not having problems.

 

[Granny]

Aha! I found the poll....which was focused only on the cleanliness of the room upon arrival. Note that this would not include maintenance items such as inoperative appliances and such.

http://disboards.com/showthread.php?threadid=301625

About 3/4 of the voters indicated they had never had a problem with the cleanliness of their room upon arrival.


Funny...I see that the poll was taken almost exactly a year ago. Maybe room cleanliness issues are a seasonal thing?

 

[Rob&Jan]

We have never had a problem with... Housekeeping,.... Front Desk Staff,... DVC Staff,.... Member services, ....our DVC Guide did I miss anyone.
The way we look at with all the suffering and sacrifice going on in the world we count ourselves darn lucky to be able to enjoy these vacations at all.

Happy holidays to all and Peace on Earth

 

[dianeschlicht]

Yep, what Rob & Jan said!!

 

[DrTomorrow]

Yep, what Diane said!!

 

[CarolA]

I think that attitude may have a lot to do with it. I read some of these posts and just laugh. I have a friend who is the worlds' pickiest person. She goes into every hotel room and examines every detail and then begins calling!!! She looks under the bed, deep in the closet etc. Put her in any resort/hotel and she will probably find something. Sometimes I think people hold DVC to that kind of standard.

Plus when I read some of the negative posts I sometimes wonder if there are underlying issues. I have read some (not all) where the post was so negative that you wonder if maybe there was not something else going on in the poster's life that influenced the way they felt and they just went looking for things to be wrong.


So... my suggestion is to take anything you read on message boards like this with a healthy dose of skeptism, that includes positives and negatives. Remember the poster is NOT you and unless you know them personally you don't know if their outlook is just like yours.