TEMPORARY Refrigerator Removal from Walt Disney World

[LaurLaur04]

Well, since you mention it - there's nothing in any literature that promises a toilet in every room...

Maybe we should start bringing five gallon buckets....just in case

 

[LaurLaur04]

Many people are on medications that need to be refrigerated. thankfully I read about it and called Disney to make sure we'd have a medical fridge, but yes, if you advertise a fridge and then don't give people notice, you have no idea what the consequences would be. So I should just suck it up if my insulin goes bad and I'm now stuck in Florida on a weekend when my doctor's office is now closed?

It was said they will be available for medication needs. I'm sure they would do whatever needs to be done to keep your insulin cold

 

[luvmy3]

Yes that applies everywhere. It is out of their control. They did not decide "hey lets take the fridges away to piss everyone off!" There is a lot Disney does wrong but fixing faulty fridges is not one of them. I promise if you don't get a fridge your vacation will not be ruined. If it is, you have more serious problems you need to worry about.

Has anyone actually argued that Disney decided to take the fridges away to piss everyone off or say it would completely ruin their vacation? I must have missed it if they did.
While Disney is not in control of a malfunction in the certain model of refrigerator they use in their rooms, they are in control of their own customer service when these types of problems arise.

 

[Jonathan Swift]

It was said they will be available for medication needs. I'm sure they would do whatever needs to be done to keep your insulin cold

I keep my insulin in cans marked "Diet Coke." I also buy them in 24 packs because I'm a sugar addict.

 

[BellePrincessBelle]

I keep my insulin in cans marked "Diet Coke." I also buy them in 24 packs because I'm a sugar addict.

Well Diet Coke has no sugar so toss that tale out of the window...

 

[kaytieeldr]

Has anyone actually argued that Disney decided to take the fridges away to piss everyone off or say it would completely ruin their vacation? I must have missed it if they did.
While Disney is not in control of a malfunction in the certain model of refrigerator they use in their rooms, they are in control of their own customer service when these types of problems arise.

The way some posters in the several threads on the DIS are ranting, they're making it sound as if this is being done to anger guests or or ruin their respective vacations.

This isn't a business decision. Disney didn't choose to just permanently remove the refrigerators from all the rooms to make more space, or save energy, or any other reason. It's a safety issue, and despite the furor, demands, and expectations, the changeover is being processed with as little guest impact as possibly, posters are pretty much demanding compensation.

What's kind of entertaining to me is the report that Disney will compensate anyone who requests a refrigerator and doesn't get one, $15 per night - since (a) they rented for $10 per night and (b) room rates didn't increase when refrigerators were added.

 

[stitchlovestink]

The way some posters in the several threads on the DIS are ranting, they're making it sound as if this is being done to anger guests or or ruin their respective vacations.

This isn't a business decision. Disney didn't choose to just permanently remove the refrigerators from all the rooms to make more space, or save energy, or any other reason. It's a safety issue, and despite the furor, demands, and expectations, the changeover is being processed with as little guest impact as possibly, posters are pretty much demanding compensation.

What's kind of entertaining to me is the report that Disney will compensate anyone who requests a refrigerator and doesn't get one, $15 per night - since (a) they rented for $10 per night and (b) room rates didn't increase when refrigerators were added.

Bolding is mine....

Well Disney did post this on their Travel Agent website. So they set themselves up for this! What did they expect when the word got out?? Really??!!
DISNEY stated that they would credit $15 per night to a guest who had requested a working fridge and did not receive one...this of course was not talking about people who needed them for medical reasons. They would receive a working fridge!
No, Disney didn't do this to inconvenience anyone but they are choosing to give the $15 room credit as a good customer service. They are just smart enough not to give it to EVERYONE for the sake of giving $$$ away...But give it to those who feel they ARE impacted by this inconvenience. It's called GOOD CUSTOMER SERVICE PEOPLE! LoL! Disney knows how to do it.

 

[brockash]

Once again the "DISNEY CAN DO NO WRONG" outcry occurs.

After all, the room should not have the features they promised you when you booked it... that's unrealistic?

We should all just be gratefuly Disney LETS us overpay for hotel rooms that don't have the features cheaper hotels just outside the "world" have and not expect them to deliver the features they advertise..

It's Disney, expect less and you won't be unhappy!

So is the rule you apply to all hotels or do you just "SUCK IT UP" at Disney?

Seriously, they sold a hotel with features A, B and C. They need to deliver, it's that simple. If they don't deliver they need to consider other options, discounts, no cancellation penalties etc...

But instead we get the"customer is wrong" (The front desk manager at Coronado Springs has that view too!)

And at the VERY LEAST Disney should have at least notified their "guests". We're heading to Disney in a month, and while I personally an aware of the situation, because of my own obsessiveness...think of all the people that will have no clue until they arrive at the resort. Add me to the club of "whiners" who knows that it's unacceptable.

 

[bartleby1]

Bolding is mine....

Well Disney did post this on their Travel Agent website. So they set themselves up for this! What did they expect when the word got out?? Really??!!
DISNEY stated that they would credit $15 per night to a guest who had requested a working fridge and did not receive one...this of course was not talking about people who needed them for medical reasons. They would receive a working fridge!
No, Disney didn't do this to inconvenience anyone but they are choosing to give the $15 room credit as a good customer service. They are just smart enough not to give it to EVERYONE for the sake of giving $$$ away...But give it to those who feel they ARE impacted by this inconvenience. It's called GOOD CUSTOMER SERVICE PEOPLE! LoL! Disney knows how to do it.

No, GOOD customer service would have been to notify ALL guests who might be affected, not just travel agents.

 

[kaytieeldr]

Once again the "DISNEY CAN DO NO WRONG" outcry occurs.

After all, the room should not have the features they promised you when you booked it... that's unrealistic?

Posters were saying the various resort descriptions no longer include refrigerators under amenities.

Much as I loath the disneyworld website, I checked the Pop Century page. Sure enough, no refrigerator. Know what else isn't there? Television. Now, I can't claim I've looked at the website anytime in the year or so before this - but I can't imagination 'television' was removed during the very recent and sudden (and urgent) 'refrigerator' edit.

Nobody's upset over an entertainment amenity provided but not listed. Nobody seems to consider that bad customer service. Nobody appears satisfied to have received something extra.

But they have a safety issue that necessitates removing and replacing well over 20,000 units of anything, and they're doing it with as little guest impact as possible, really, if you read all the information that's been provided by the Travel Agents - and despite the risk of a fire, people are outraged and expecting compensation.

 

[luvmy3]

Posters were saying the various resort descriptions no longer include refrigerators under amenities.

Much as I loath the disneyworld website, I checked the Pop Century page. Sure enough, no refrigerator. Know what else isn't there? Television. Now, I can't claim I've looked at the website anytime in the year or so before this - but I can't imagination 'television' was removed during the very recent and sudden (and urgent) 'refrigerator' edit.

Nobody's upset over an entertainment amenity provided but not listed. Nobody seems to consider that bad customer service. Nobody appears satisfied to have received something extra.

But they have a safety issue that necessitates removing and replacing well over 20,000 units of anything, and they're doing it with as little guest impact as possible, really, if you read all the information that's been provided by the Travel Agents - and despite the risk of a fire, people are outraged and expecting compensation.

(To the bolded). A fair comparison would be if a TV was listed at the time of booking and then you found out it wasnt going to be there when you checked in (or before in this case, and not from Disney directly).
Also, people don't lose money or time if a TV isnt in their room, so again it isnt really a fair comparison.
Refrigerators were listed until the day this announcement was made, so anyone who booked before that was expecting one in their room, it was included in the cost of that room, and it doesnt have to be an itemized cost, its you pay X and this is what you get. When you dont get part of that, and you have added cost because you arent suddenly getting that, Disney should be compensating people in some way. That doesnt mean they have to give $15 fr every night there, but at the very least they could provide a cooler in the room if they have removed the fridge. Good customer service is making sure that this unintended incident has as little effect on the guests as possible. I dont think not compensating guests does that. YMMV.

And FTR I booked through a TA and have requested a fridge. I would much rather have that fridge than the $15 a night and the hassle of having to go get a cooler and keep it filled with ice for a week.

 

[kaytieeldr]

No, GOOD customer service would have been to notify ALL guests who might be affected, not just travel agents.

Well, really, great customer service is doing everything possible to ensure your guests are safe. Here that entails removing appliances where one has already caused an in-room fire. Yes, there may be some inconvenience to some guests. Then again, there may not.

Disney didn't go into all 25,000 or so rooms immediately upon getting the fire investigation results and pull every refrigerator and refuse to replace any of them until four months from the original announcement - but the way some people are posting, it makes it appear they think that's Disney's plan.

Guests who used Travel Agents, yes, have an advantage - or should. Possibly the scope of notifying guests directly - based on staffing, bad e-mail addresses, phones not accepting calls from unknown callers - combined with the sheer number of notifications needed, makes advance notice impossible.

 

[C-CMom]

Guests who used Travel Agents, yes, have an advantage - or should. Possibly the scope of notifying guests directly - based on staffing, bad e-mail addresses, phones not accepting calls from unknown callers - combined with the sheer number of notifications needed, makes advance notice impossible.

Disney owes due diligence to all guests, not just those who use travel agents, in my opinion. Sure, they may not reach some people, but for a company that is super-good at tracking folks for marketing purposes, they really ought to try harder to grant their guests the courtesy of notification in advance. They can track individuals with RFID chips, but not shoot an email to a customer obviously in the massive database? So an email bounces back - at least they could say they tried.

We plan use of any fridge promised for a hotel room, but could easily bring a cooler with us (either collapsible or fixed, depending on mode of transportation) if notified in advance. What is "advance"? Might vary for the situation, but I know it is not via a letter in the room if they have known for awhile already.

I have used WDW as my example of what fantastic customer service should look like when comparing other companies. If this is really true that they didn't at least TRY to notify customers, then they lose that honor in my mind. Do they care? Maybe, maybe not. But I do.

 

[OrangeCountyCommuter]

Posters were saying the various resort descriptions no longer include refrigerators under amenities.

Much as I loath the disneyworld website, I checked the Pop Century page. Sure enough, no refrigerator. Know what else isn't there? Television. Now, I can't claim I've looked at the website anytime in the year or so before this - but I can't imagination 'television' was removed during the very recent and sudden (and urgent) 'refrigerator' edit.

Nobody's upset over an entertainment amenity provided but not listed. Nobody seems to consider that bad customer service. Nobody appears satisfied to have received something extra.

But they have a safety issue that necessitates removing and replacing well over 20,000 units of anything, and they're doing it with as little guest impact as possible, really, if you read all the information that's been provided by the Travel Agents - and despite the risk of a fire, people are outraged and expecting compensation.

So now we are expected to check after we make our reservations to see if the features change?? And of course if they change then we are out of luck.


I agree it's a safety issue but I have had that at other hotels and it's been handled well. Not "well you won't notice so we won't tell you or 'make it right' unless you pitch a fit" Another difference between Disney and a good hotel company!

Kind of like the room with on AC at Coronado Springs which the front desk seemed to think was just fine. I guess using Disney standards it's was, I had a room. They didn't promise AC

 

[kcwiak]

I am curious where the $15 refund came from. I just spoke to a CM and she said that they were not refunding anything. I also said we needed a fridge for breast milk and she put in a priority request but was careful to say that this was not a guarantee in any way.

She did say they could be rented at about $10-12/day - at our expense.

Please someone tell me I am wrong!

 

[luvmy3]

I am curious where the $15 refund came from. I just spoke to a CM and she said that they were not refunding anything. I also said we needed a fridge for breast milk and she put in a priority request but was careful to say that this was not a guarantee in any way.

She did say they could be rented at about $10-12/day - at our expense.

Please someone tell me I am wrong!

See, right there is an example of poor customer service. If they have them available for rent, then they have them available to put in a room.

Apparently TAs got a notice that their clients would be refunded $15 a night if they request a fridge and do not get one. I'm not sure how much truth there is in it, I requested a fridge through my TA but he never mentioned the refund.

 

[dani7776]

See, right there is an example of poor customer service. If they have them available for rent, then they have them available to put in a room.

Apparently TAs got a notice that their clients would be refunded $15 a night if they request a fridge and do not get one. I'm not sure how much truth there is in it, I requested a fridge through my TA but he never mentioned the refund.

I'm booked for Aug 30 and spoke with my travel lady she said she put in a request for a fridge but that's all it is a request ! Didn't say anything about $15 a day credit I'm still gonna order my stuff through garden grocer and get a cooler from there just in case as long as I'm in disney I'm happy with or without fridge lol ( maybe a little happier with

 

[Aliceacc]

See, right there is an example of poor customer service. If they have them available for rent, then they have them available to put in a room.
.

Not necessarily.

I think the vast majority of those 25,000 rooms will probably be occupied by people who choose not to rent. I certainly don't think Disney has anywhere NEAR 25,000 fridges stocked up somewhere, just waiting to be rented, in addition to the 25,000 they're installing in the rooms.

If we were in a position to go on vacation this year, I would buy a cooler and use the ice machines... my husband is diabetic and his insulin needs to be kept cool. Honestly, it wouldn't be a tremendous deal for us.

I certainly wouldn't be looking for a refund, whether it was a Disney resort, one at Universal, or the place we stay in Lake George. As long as my husband was able to keep his insulin chilled, we would be just fine.

 

[luvmy3]

Not necessarily.

I think the vast majority of those 25,000 rooms will probably be occupied by people who choose not to rent. I certainly don't think Disney has anywhere NEAR 25,000 fridges stocked up somewhere, just waiting to be rented, in addition to the 25,000 they're installing in the rooms.

If we were in a position to go on vacation this year, I would buy a cooler and use the ice machines... my husband is diabetic and his insulin needs to be kept cool. Honestly, it wouldn't be a tremendous deal for us.

I certainly wouldn't be looking for a refund, whether it was a Disney resort, one at Universal, or the place we stay in Lake George. As long as my husband was able to keep his insulin chilled, we would be just fine.

I should have said, if they have them to rent at the expense of the customer, then they have them to "rent" to the customer for free. Why should the guest have to pay to rent a fridge when they booked a room that included one in the cost of that room? They shouldnt, and good CS would be Disney offering a rental free of charge.

I feel the same about being compensated, I'm not looking for a refund, and I wouldn't demand one if my request for a fridge isnt met (even though it is needed for a semi-medical reason). However that doesn't mean I don't recognize what can be done on Diseny's part for good customer service. Other guests may demand to be compensated for the added expense of renting a fridge, taking a cab to go buy a cooler, etc and I think they are definitely justified in doing so.

 

[aaarcher86]

I am curious where the $15 refund came from. I just spoke to a CM and she said that they were not refunding anything. I also said we needed a fridge for breast milk and she put in a priority request but was careful to say that this was not a guarantee in any way.

She did say they could be rented at about $10-12/day - at our expense.

Please someone tell me I am wrong!

Sounds like the CM gave you the rental fee before fridges were added in all resorts. Disney isn't making people rent them. You can request one. Medical need will get priority, but they aren't going to make you pay for one.

Whether they will credit for not meeting the request I have no idea on.