Starting to hate calling for ADR's

[newchic99]

I have called what seems like a million times for our upcoming trip. I only had one clueless CM. Made one ressie with her.She did seem to really be trying but just didn't know what she was doing. Called back 2 days later and changed it.
I have changed our trip , not the dining , 5 different times and have always had great CM's.
Here's hoping you get a great CM the next time you call!

 

[cdrn1]

I called yesterday to make ADR's for our May trip and the CM was very nice, efficient, and commented on some of my choices by telling me some of the dishes he had there and what he enjoyed the most. Very pleasant.

 

[KJHawley]

Really, I don't mean to be a troll. I'm trying to be honest here.

I think many of you expect too much from Disney.

Just reading the posts here:
1) you know that these Cast Members make far less money than you do.
2) You expect them to not only answer your questions, but be EXCITED about a trip they're not going on.
3) You expect them to deal with rude people (and sometimes, that rude person is YOU), and yet always be super happy to talk to you, 100% of the time.
4) Disney training fixes everything- it gives you immediate, unlimited knowledge of everthing Disney, an infinite supply of patience, and a love for you that surpasses your dog's.


I'm not saying that you should expect bad service. I'm just saying that it's unreasonable to expect ALL of the above 100% of the time.

Why not? Disney COULD get the people you're looking for- people who have eaten in every restaurant, who get paid enough to put up with every rude remark, who give 100% great customer service every time because it's ingrained in them as human beings.

But they can't, because it would cost too much. It's like leaving your shopping cart in the grocery store parking lot, instead of putting it back in the cart corral. Every one of you who calls back 20 times to change your reservation is costing Disney money. If each call lasts 10 minutes, and you've called 12 times, you've just used up TWO HOURS of cast member time! What are they making, maybe $8-10 per hour? You've just wasted $20? Then add in the extra costs of health care and other benefits- if you just look at the restaurants alone, you've already caused Disney to LOSE money!

"BUT I PAID FOR IT!!" You say. Yes, you paid hundreds or thousands of dollars on your trip, and you're going to get your money's worth! Fine. But by spending Disney's money frivolously- by spending far MORE than they expect the average person to spend- you are RAISING their costs.

And when they raise their costs, they have to raise ticket prices, food prices, hotel prices, and everything else.


I'm not saying that you can't go on rides, or eat dinner, or anything else. Just think about letting go of the "It's my right!" attitude, and be REASONABLE. Because when you're not, you're raising the cost of MY vacation.

And that's what bothers me.

 

[LindsayDunn228]

Really, I don't mean to be a troll. I'm trying to be honest here.

I think many of you expect too much from Disney.

Just reading the posts here:
1) you know that these Cast Members make far less money than you do.
2) You expect them to not only answer your questions, but be EXCITED about a trip they're not going on.
3) You expect them to deal with rude people (and sometimes, that rude person is YOU), and yet always be super happy to talk to you, 100% of the time.
4) Disney training fixes everything- it gives you immediate, unlimited knowledge of everthing Disney, an infinite supply of patience, and a love for you that surpasses your dog's.


I'm not saying that you should expect bad service. I'm just saying that it's unreasonable to expect ALL of the above 100% of the time.

Why not? Disney COULD get the people you're looking for- people who have eaten in every restaurant, who get paid enough to put up with every rude remark, who give 100% great customer service every time because it's ingrained in them as human beings.

But they can't, because it would cost too much. It's like leaving your shopping cart in the grocery store parking lot, instead of putting it back in the cart corral. Every one of you who calls back 20 times to change your reservation is costing Disney money. If each call lasts 10 minutes, and you've called 12 times, you've just used up TWO HOURS of cast member time! What are they making, maybe $8-10 per hour? You've just wasted $20? Then add in the extra costs of health care and other benefits- if you just look at the restaurants alone, you've already caused Disney to LOSE money!

"BUT I PAID FOR IT!!" You say. Yes, you paid hundreds or thousands of dollars on your trip, and you're going to get your money's worth! Fine. But by spending Disney's money frivolously- by spending far MORE than they expect the average person to spend- you are RAISING their costs.

And when they raise their costs, they have to raise ticket prices, food prices, hotel prices, and everything else.


I'm not saying that you can't go on rides, or eat dinner, or anything else. Just think about letting go of the "It's my right!" attitude, and be REASONABLE. Because when you're not, you're raising the cost of MY vacation.

And that's what bothers me.

No flames from me! Great post!

 

[MickeyCrazed]

From what I have read they work in a room full of phone banks and are poorly paid and poorly trained with a high turn over rate. Sounds like Disney is getting what they are paying for. Every profession in every part of the country has people that are just putting their time in, I am sure everyone knows the type. Unfortunately thats the one you get to talk to occasionally.

I am not trying to make excuses, I just think that great customer service is a thing of the past. Its not something that happens naturally, it requires some very good management and a commitment corporate wide.

I humbly yield my soap box

Yup... that's how most call centers operate, and sadly, I have heard the same about Disney.

 

[pyrxtc]

Really, I don't mean to be a troll. I'm trying to be honest here.

I think many of you expect too much from Disney.

Just reading the posts here:
1) you know that these Cast Members make far less money than you do. I can guarantee by the pay rate you stated that they make more than I do!
2) You expect them to not only answer your questions, but be EXCITED about a trip they're not going on. It is their job to be happy to help you and not be annoyed to just do their job.
3) You expect them to deal with rude people (and sometimes, that rude person is YOU), and yet always be super happy to talk to you, 100% of the time. They should be happy that the previous rude phone call is over or try to be even nicer to the rude person in order to get them to change their attitude.
4) Disney training fixes everything- it gives you immediate, unlimited knowledge of everthing Disney, an infinite supply of patience, and a love for you that surpasses your dog's.


I'm not saying that you should expect bad service. I'm just saying that it's unreasonable to expect ALL of the above 100% of the time.

Why not? Disney COULD get the people you're looking for- people who have eaten in every restaurant, who get paid enough to put up with every rude remark, who give 100% great customer service every time because it's ingrained in them as human beings.

But they can't, because it would cost too much. It's like leaving your shopping cart in the grocery store parking lot, instead of putting it back in the cart corral. Every one of you who calls back 20 times to change your reservation is costing Disney money. If each call lasts 10 minutes, and you've called 12 times, you've just used up TWO HOURS of cast member time! What are they making, maybe $8-10 per hour? You've just wasted $20? Then add in the extra costs of health care and other benefits- if you just look at the restaurants alone, you've already caused Disney to LOSE money!

"BUT I PAID FOR IT!!" You say. Yes, you paid hundreds or thousands of dollars on your trip, and you're going to get your money's worth! Fine. But by spending Disney's money frivolously- by spending far MORE than they expect the average person to spend- you are RAISING their costs.

And when they raise their costs, they have to raise ticket prices, food prices, hotel prices, and everything else.


I'm not saying that you can't go on rides, or eat dinner, or anything else. Just think about letting go of the "It's my right!" attitude, and be REASONABLE. Because when you're not, you're raising the cost of MY vacation.

And that's what bothers me.

They have those jobs not to make one reservation per day for each guest but to make any and all reservatrions for all guests as many times as they want. they applied for and took the job. they should do it correctly1 I work with "external guests" every day and some may not be happy about the line that they just stood in or how much money they just spent but am always, ALWAYS, polite and respectful of anything they need.
When you take a job that involves dealing with the public, your personal life goes on hold and so does your bad mood! Everyone loves letting me help them cuz they know I will always be smiling and ready to go. Even as I took kids photo's days after a miscarriage, I still smiled and got great smile pictures. When i thought I couldn't take it anymore, I quit that job. I had to! I couldn't stop crying watching all the babies come through but the customers would never have guessed.
I'm not one to waste poeples time but usually people are more willing to help you when you ahve a polite conversation, the CM's answering these phones are tired, I understand that, but if they can;t do their job correctly or wiht the rdue or huffiness, then they should work elsewhere.

 

[Slapster]

I think KJHawley is a pseudonym for RIger

 

[Lorelai]

Really, I don't mean to be a troll. I'm trying to be honest here.

Every one of you who calls back 20 times to change your reservation is costing Disney money. If each call lasts 10 minutes, and you've called 12 times, you've just used up TWO HOURS of cast member time! What are they making, maybe $8-10 per hour? You've just wasted $20? Then add in the extra costs of health care and other benefits- if you just look at the restaurants alone, you've already caused Disney to LOSE money!

"BUT I PAID FOR IT!!" You say. Yes, you paid hundreds or thousands of dollars on your trip, and you're going to get your money's worth! Fine. But by spending Disney's money frivolously- by spending far MORE than they expect the average person to spend- you are RAISING their costs.

Do you not get that Disney is a service industry??

Listen, I've waited A LOT of tables, and you know what, if someone asked me to bring their plate back 3 times, I would do it -- with a smile on my face. Why, because it was MY JOB.

You act as though the CMs are working in a sweat shop for crying out loud. And what's with the "wasting their time" deal - they're not paid by the call, they're paid by the hour.

I'm truly saddened to hear that Disney is just scraping by, I'll bet all of these people calling and making reservations to eat in their overpriced restaurants is really taking them down. Oh wait, it's not a 1-800 #, that's right - I AM PAYING FOR THE CALL.

I think your rationale is ridiculous.

 

[Fionasmommy]

Every one of you who calls back 20 times to change your reservation is costing Disney money. If each call lasts 10 minutes, and you've called 12 times, you've just used up TWO HOURS of cast member time! What are they making, maybe $8-10 per hour? You've just wasted $20? Then add in the extra costs of health care and other benefits- if you just look at the restaurants alone, you've already caused Disney to LOSE money!

But by spending Disney's money frivolously- by spending far MORE than they expect the average person to spend- you are RAISING their costs.

Not true at all. I called 2 weeks ago to cancel a TS and reserve Mickey's Backyard BBQ. Disney pocketed another $50 from my family. I'm planning to call and reserve the Perfectly Princess Tea Party. That's another $200. I'm also looking at Grand Adventures in Cooking, for $28.17 more.

Furthermore, if you're just looking at how much time each CM spends with a guest - why not talk about the CM's at the parks or the hotels??

Why do some CM's give "Magical Moment" certificates to people when something extra special happens? What is that, 10 - 20 minutes on a single guest?? Isn't that a WASTE of time? And that paper is costing Disney money!

And those poor resort CM's who have to deal with people checking in and badgering them about requests - that's an easy 5 - 10 minutes WASTED! They need a trap door in the floor for those extra pesky people who want to choose their room AND add a note to the reservation about a birthday! Move along, people, your alloted 2.5 minutes has run out!

And getting back to Dining CM's at CRO, can you imagine how much time they WASTE fielding calls about a possible Toy Story meal?! The nerve of people!! Who told them they could want a character meal for their son??

Puh-leeze!

Thankfully, Disney has other ideas about customer service - which includes a great attitude (doesn't take any extra time to be nice) and a willingness to go the extra mile when appropriate. I'm going to keep calling, and I'm sure they don't mind, nor are my phone calls the very reason for a couple CM's apparent lack of knowledge or bad attitude.

 

[1stTimeDisneyer]

I am also going to Disney for the first time in May and have called many times. The first time I called I made 4 ADR's and the CM was great and even told me a couple of places to try. The second time I called I wanted to add a ADR for breakfast at Kona. While I was doing that the CM said hey I see you are going to Boma and WCC. They asked what parks I was going to on those days. When I told him, he said I should change them becasue I would be traveling to the other side of Disney. He could give me the same times but change the days so we do not have to worry about travel. He was very nice to do that. The 3 time I called I added 2 more ADR's and the person was very nice and made sure to put down my Allergy. The 4th time I called I wanted to buy a Slipper Dessert and had to call 3 different LONG DISTANCE numbers and never got anywhere. I went through the same thing the 5th time I called. The 6th time I called I changed the time on my breakfast ADR to very early and this CM was not that great. I told her I wanted to eat at 7:30 and she made the ADR, but did not cancel the other one until I asked her about it. I also asked if we could go over all my ADR's and she was not happy. She said you read and I will tell you yes or no. Not very nice.


So yes I have called 6 times and made 10 LD phones calls, that I am paying for. Ordered one special dessert, one OOP meal, and a Taxi. I have spent more money calling them and buying stuff than the amount of time they spend on the phone with me. All of this took maybe 30 mins.

I work Customer Service and no matter how bad my day, life, or job is I have to be nice. We all have bad days but it should not come out of the phone.

 

[KJHawley]

They have those jobs not to make one reservation per day for each guest but to make any and all reservatrions for all guests as many times as they want.

I'll start with this because I think it's a good example of how we're misunderstanding each other. The call center does NOT exist to make any and all reservations for all guests as many times as they want.

On a busy day, how many tens of thousands of people are in the parks? How many thousands of people eat at the TS restaurants with an ADR? I don't know, but Disney does. They estimate what percentage of people will make ADRs, and how many of those guests will call every day, and how many times each guest will call. If every TS restaurant guest made 6-12 calls, and took up huge chunks of the CR's time, then the call center would be swamped. They wouldn't be able to handle all the calls. The'd have to hire more people, and buy more equipment. And all that money would have to come from somewhere- ticket prices, and restaurant prices, and everything else that Disney charges for.

The thing is, I'm not going to cause all that work for Disney- YOU are. And yet it's not just YOU who will have to pay more- I will too.

Maybe I'm reading too much into your original post, but it sounds like you were changing ADRs basically just for fun, and chatting up the CRs just because you like talking to people about Disney. That may or may not be true- I apologize if I offended you. Let me use a completely different example.

It's midnight at the MK on an EMH night. You've been in line for Space Mountain for half an hour, behind a family of four. The youngest, in a stroller, is sound asleep, and obviously not going on the ride. The 8 year old, barely tall enough, is sobbing uncontrollably because it's way past his bedtime and he's way past exhausted. The two parents, with bags under their eyes, are bickering with each other- they're hot, exhausted, and tired of hearing their children wail. If you asked either one of them to be totally honest, they'd both rather be back at the hotel, asleep in bed or having a good stiff drink.

But they're not. They're in line in front of you, waiting in line for a ride they don't really want to be on. Why are they there? THEY WANT TO GET THEIR MONEY'S WORTH! They paid hundreds of dollars on their tickets, and by gum they're going to ride on every ride in the whole park! They're not even having fun, they (and the other families just like them) are just making the lines longer for everybody else.


So, I'm not saying that Disney shouldn't have good customer service, or that they shouldn't train their people, or anything like that. I'm just saying that people shouldn't take advantage of a Disney service just because they can.

 

[TDC Nala]

Every time there is a post where somebody got treated rudely by a reservationist, the excuses come out.

1) Give them a freakin' break, the job sucks and they're not paid much.
2) Give them a freakin' break, they don't have time to chat with you.
3) Give them a freakin' break, it's your fault you couldn't make up your mind the first time you called.
4) Give them a freakin' break, you're taking up so much time that Disney will have to raise ticket prices for the rest of us just to accommodate people like you.
5) Give them a freakin' break, their job is not to plan your vacation for you.

While I wouldn't fault a reservationist for not being chatty, isn't it enough that they shouldn't act put upon when you ask for a reservation change, or that they ought to know basic information such as the fact that Raglan Road takes ADRs? I had to talk a reservation agent into checking on the computer, since she was absolutely certain that Raglan Road didn't take ADRs. I knew they did because 1) I read it here and 2) I have friends who were able to make one on another trip. But anyone who didn't know that, and spoke to this lady before I did, didn't get their ADR and probably had to wait around on a weekend night, just to find out that the people getting in before they did actually had ADRs.

 

[KJHawley]

Do you not get that Disney is a service industry??

Listen, I've waited A LOT of tables, and you know what, if someone asked me to bring their plate back 3 times, I would do it -- with a smile on my face. Why, because it was MY JOB.

You act as though the CMs are working in a sweat shop for crying out loud. And what's with the "wasting their time" deal - they're not paid by the call, they're paid by the hour.

I'm truly saddened to hear that Disney is just scraping by, I'll bet all of these people calling and making reservations to eat in their overpriced restaurants is really taking them down. Oh wait, it's not a 1-800 #, that's right - I AM PAYING FOR THE CALL.

I think your rationale is ridiculous.

Okay, you admit that you were a great waitress because it was YOUR JOB to do so. Why? Did restaurant management instill it in you? Was it something you already felt- they just had to find you, hire you, and keep you paid and happy? Either way, Disney has to do all these things too. it's a lot harder- and a lot more expensive- to hire and keep really good people. The better the service, the more it costs. If they didn't care about good customer service, they'd hire a few high school kids, give them a brochure, and sit them at a phone.

As to your second point- yes, the employees are paid by the hour, but Disney pays by the CALL- or more precisely, by the minute. Look at it this way: let's say there are 100 Disney employees working in a call center. If each phone call took 12 hours, they wouldn't be able to help very many people, would they? They'd have to hire more people to keep up. On the other hand, if they can get each call finished in two minutes, they can then help more people. So, the longer you keep a CM on the line- and the more you call- the more call center employees Disney needs to have. And that costs more. And costs more is BAD, because it means higher prices for all of us.

As for the last point- about Disney just scraping by and all that. Disney is a publicly traded corporation. Ultimately, it's the STOCKHOLDERS who are in charge. And the stockholders want to make lots and lots of money. The stockholders don't care about our ability to make multiple ADRs, or to ride lots of rides, or to eat lots of food, or whatever. It's Iger's job- and every Disney employee's job- to make money for the stockholders. So, if you TAKE money from Disney by using up CM time unnecessarily, they have to make money for the stockholders in some other way- by taking more money from ME.

Many people think that "Oh, Disney is such a wealthy company, it's not going to hurt them if I have long conversations with CMs, and send my food back fve times because it's very good but not perfect, and I'm going to stay in every park and ride every ride just because I can."

I disagree with that way of thinking. I'm not saying we shouln't have standards: rides should be fun and safe, dinner should be well prepared, and CMs should be helpful. But when we're setting an impossibly high standard- as many people do with Disney- we're setting ourselves up for disappointment, and costing everyone money when we raise a ruckus about it.

 

[KJHawley]

But anyone who didn't know that, and spoke to this lady before I did, didn't get their ADR and probably had to wait around on a weekend night, just to find out that the people getting in before they did actually had ADRs.

And would this have ruined your vacation?

I have read many posts on this board about how similar mistakes literally RUINED their vacation: "My 8 year old DS didn't get his special birthday cupcake, and he was in tears the whole night! It traumatized him, and ruined my entire family's 8 day vacation!"

I made up the part about the cupcake, but the rest of it has come from many, many posts here.

So your CM didn't want to look up the info in the computer. She thought she knew the answer, and didn't want to waste time looking it up. She didn't want to waste time, because she had 87 callers in line behind you. If there were more CMs answering phones, she wouldn't have to rush with you. Of course, more CMs means more cost for Disney.
Alternately, people who just needed info on restaurants, menus, prices, etc. could find a less expensive way of finding out what they want- guidebooks, the DIS, or whatever. Then, when you have a real CM issue (like yours), the CM would have all the time in the world to help you.

 

[Fionasmommy]

I'm sorry, but I am at the argument that we're calling CRO so much that it's not only costing them money hand over fist, but costing them so much that they have to hire more workers and charge everybody more across the board. Yes, we're horrible!!!



Let's be very generous, and say that Disney pays the phone service CM's $10.00 per hour. And let's be even more generous and say that they give them full health and dental coverage. We'll even push the number up further - let's say it costs them $400 per month, per employee. About what it would cost for any of us to get it OOP - and far more than it actually costs a large corporation.

So $10.00 an hour, plus the health insurance breaks down to $12.50 ($400/month divided by 160 hours per month = $2.50 per hour).

Now let's take ME for an example.

In all of my calls, I've probably "wasted" 20 - 25 minutes of their time. I have booked several special activties which required a credit card guarantee and that takes more time - even if you do it in one call, they have to ask for the number and run it separately for each reservation.

Let's be generous again and assume I'm going to further waste 35 -40 more minutes of their time between now and May. I still have to order a birthday cake, book the Princess tea party, Grand Adventures in Cooking, etc. etc. Shouldn't be a half hour worth of my time or theirs, but hey we're being generous, right?

So, I take an hour of Disney's time, at a price of $12.50 for the employee(s).

From me, Disney gets:

$28.17 - Wonderland Tea party
$28.17 - Pirate Cruise
$108.00 - CRT lunch
$108.00 - Mickey's Backyard BBQ
$175.00 - Bibbidi Bobbidi Boutique (full castle package)
$200.00 - My Perfectly Princess Tea Party
$28.17 - Grand Adventures in Cooking
--------

For a grand total of $675.51

And that's not even looking at our meals - which include a character or table service meal each day.

So,

675.51
-12.50
-------
663.01

Hmmm....

Looks like Disney is still managing to make a few bucks off me. Maybe I should call some more, to really get my $663 worth!

 

[Lorelai]

Okay, you admit that you were a great waitress because it was YOUR JOB to do so. Why? Did restaurant management instill it in you? Was it something you already felt- they just had to find you, hire you, and keep you paid and happy? Either way, Disney has to do all these things too. it's a lot harder- and a lot more expensive- to hire and keep really good people. The better the service, the more it costs. If they didn't care about good customer service, they'd hire a few high school kids, give them a brochure, and sit them at a phone.

As to your second point- yes, the employees are paid by the hour, but Disney pays by the CALL- or more precisely, by the minute. Look at it this way: let's say there are 100 Disney employees working in a call center. If each phone call took 12 hours, they wouldn't be able to help very many people, would they? They'd have to hire more people to keep up. On the other hand, if they can get each call finished in two minutes, they can then help more people. So, the longer you keep a CM on the line- and the more you call- the more call center employees Disney needs to have. And that costs more. And costs more is BAD, because it means higher prices for all of us.

As for the last point- about Disney just scraping by and all that. Disney is a publicly traded corporation. Ultimately, it's the STOCKHOLDERS who are in charge. And the stockholders want to make lots and lots of money. The stockholders don't care about our ability to make multiple ADRs, or to ride lots of rides, or to eat lots of food, or whatever. It's Iger's job- and every Disney employee's job- to make money for the stockholders. So, if you TAKE money from Disney by using up CM time unnecessarily, they have to make money for the stockholders in some other way- by taking more money from ME.

Many people think that "Oh, Disney is such a wealthy company, it's not going to hurt them if I have long conversations with CMs, and send my food back fve times because it's very good but not perfect, and I'm going to stay in every park and ride every ride just because I can."

I disagree with that way of thinking. I'm not saying we shouln't have standards: rides should be fun and safe, dinner should be well prepared, and CMs should be helpful. But when we're setting an impossibly high standard- as many people do with Disney- we're setting ourselves up for disappointment, and costing everyone money when we raise a ruckus about it.

First off, I was a school kid when I waitressed, so you'll get no "poor baby" from me when it comes to adults being rude. If a student can be polite, so can a full grown adult. There is no excuse for having poor manners. Especially for adults. There are so many people who work lousy hours and get paid far less than a Disney employee. So put away the violin - it's not working.

Second, no one ever said they were calling reservations just to talk. They're calling to make, or change, an existing reservation. By the way, they say that right on the recording. I think that perhaps Corporate Disney is savvy enough to realize that people's plans change.

Look at it this way, the probability of each phone call taking 12 hours is highly unlikely. Therefore, Disney will maintain the same allotment of hours to accept reservation calls, there will just be a longer wait period, or the need to call back on the next day, for the consumer. It is no skin off of Disney's mousy nose if I call on Saturday or Sunday. After all, I am still paying for the call. Still no 1-800 # for reservations, right?

Lastly, If Iger was so up in arms about the reservation takers spending a few extra minutes on a call, then he should invest in hiring those who can navigate a computer program. I could have had my ADR's done in 5 minutes -but the CM I got last week had no idea how to use the system. She was apologizing like crazy, but I was patient, and quiet, and I let her do her job. She needed a lot of time to think it out. I'm a teacher so I'm used to poeple needing time to master a task. No big deal.

Just realize that if this reservation system were that big of a headache to maintain, I think they'd make a smarter plan. So bravo for all of your hard work in crafting the excuses, but that's all they are.

 

[Karnak]

I have called what seems like a million times for our upcoming trip. I only had one clueless CM. Made one ressie with her.She did seem to really be trying but just didn't know what she was doing. Called back 2 days later and changed it.
I have changed our trip , not the dining , 5 different times and have always had great CM's.
Here's hoping you get a great CM the next time you call!

Man, y'all blow my mind. I've NEVER talked to a rude CM on the phone, and seldom found a rude one once I'm at Walt Disney World. Perhaps that's because I don't feel the need to change my plans, once they are made.

I work out my daily itinerary for the park, double check it carefully, and THEN call and make my dinner reservations based upon where I plan to be at meal time. Works like a dream, and I don't have to backtrack all over the park either.

I've made these plans for my family, with a group of up to eight, as well as for myself when I go solo.

Plan it out BEFORE making reservations (and buying tickets where needed), and you won't have to keep calling to make changes.

I should add that I always make my plans well in advance.

Enjoy.

 

[LindsayDunn228]

Man, y'all blow my mind. I've NEVER talked to a rude CM on the phone, and seldom found a rude one once I'm at Walt Disney World. Perhaps that's because I don't feel the need to change my plans, once they are made.

I work out my daily itinerary for the park, double check it carefully, and THEN call and make my dinner reservations based upon where I plan to be at meal time. Works like a dream, and I don't have to backtrack all over the park either.

I've made these plans for my family, with a group of up to eight, as well as for myself when I go solo.

Plan it out BEFORE making reservations (and buying tickets where needed), and you won't have to keep calling to make changes.

I should add that I always make my plans well in advance.

Enjoy.

This is exactly what me and my husband do. We have already made our reservations for our November trip and decided which day we are going to which park and where we are going to eat. When our 180 day mark comes around we will call and make our ADR. No calling again, no need to. Simple and it works for us.

 

[TDC Nala]

So following that logic, as soon as the CM I spoke with said you could not make ADRs for Raglan Road (she didn't even know what Raglan Road was) I should thank her, apologize for wasting her time when I know there are 86 people trying to call in, and hang up, even though I know for a fact that Raglan Road not only exists, but takes ADRs. And in order to maximize the call center's volume, I should not call back in an attempt to get a CM who has actually heard of Raglan Road.

Things change. I've made ADRs for the planned number of diners only to have some friends get in touch later and ask if they could join in. Should I not change the ADR and hope they can seat the extra people? Should I cancel it (that would necessitate a call to the call center, so maybe it would be best to just let it go) and just try our luck at the door? Should I tell my friends "sorry, but I already have an ADR for so many people and I don't want to waste the call center's time by trying to change it, they have so many people calling in who actually made firm plans ahead of time?"

Didn't realize there was etiquette involved.

 

[KJHawley]

Hmmm....

Looks like Disney is still managing to make a few bucks off me. Maybe I should call some more, to really get my $663 worth!

I'm sorry to say, but this is faulty math on several counts.

First of all, you're looking at the total amount of the ENTIRE purchase, and saying that the call center somehow made that as "profit". That's simply not true. First of all, add up all the costs associated with producing a particular meal- the food ingredients themselves, the waitperson who served you, the chef who cooked it, the chef's and waitresses' health insurance, the salaries of everyone in the benefits departments for Disney who arrange the benefits, the physical building of the restaurant itself, the physical building of the human resource department where the person who arranges the chef's health insurance works, the heating, air conditioning, and electricity of all the various facilities involved, the decor of the restaurant, the tableware your meal was served on, the chair you sat in, the table you sat at, the light bulbs that lit your dinner, the music that played while you ate, the Disney bus you rode to the restaurant, the salary for the bus driver, the benefits for the bus driver, the mechanic to keep the busses running, the mechanic who fixes the stuff in the restaurants and all the other buildings, the cost of the soap, water, and paper towels in the restaurant's restrooms, all the advertising you see on TV, the free promotional videos, payouts from various lawsuits, retirement benefits (don't laugh at that one - retirement benefits are one of the main reasons Japanese car companies outperform American companies)...

I could go on for hours. There are probably THOUSANDS of individual costs that go into charging what they do for a meal. The salary (and benefits, or whatever) of the CM you talked to are just one SMALL FRACTION of that! And you think that somehow using up hours of CM time doesn't cost Disney money? It's pretty much the same thing as going into the restaurant and breaking a plate, smashing a chair, or stealing their paper towels. It all costs them money!

Do you know why all the Detroit car companies are shutting down factories and laying off workers? Because they LOSE MONEY every time they sell a car. That car may have a $20,000 sticker on it, but it may have cost the company $22,000 to make. A high price tag does not mean a high profit!


Yes, you spent $663. Yes, it seems like a lot of money. But overall, you don't have ANY IDEA whether Disney even made a profit from you, let alone how much. I'm sure it's a safe bet that Disney profited from you