Tensions rise at Disney Reservations Center!!!

[Laugh O. Grams]

Got this little bit of news off of Mouse Planet. It might interest some of you who are having problems with CRO:


Tensions rise at Disney Reservations Center

Due to a low retention rate of new hires, the Disney Reservations Center has decided to shorten their hours and change goals, angering employees. As of last night, the call center is closing an hour early at 10 p.m. Agents who had worked until 11 p.m. were told that if they could not reschedule and arrange to work enough hours to maintain their status (20/40 hours for part/full-time), they would be fired.

We are told that waits on the travel and dining phone queues have been averaging 30 minutes to an hour on some days, with the majority of callers hanging up. Other areas have required overtime. Agents, who have been told that it's unacceptable to sign out to take a breather or get something to drink, are also not allowed to put callers on hold. In addition, a new mandate is that dining agents are expected to make at least one booking per call, resulting in a hard-sell mentality that was not previously in evidence.

So please be patient when you call the Disney Reservations Center, as they're doing their best to do their job.

 

[Gymbomom]

Well I for one think it is long overdue for them to hold some of the CM's accountable of making sure they are doing there jobs.
After so many stories of rude CM's. No CRT ressies after 30 seconds of "checking"??
I called a couple of days ago and booked a weekend of hotel in a matter of minutes, great CM.
I called a couple of days after to book the following weekend (for our January stay) and the CM put me on hold for 32 minutes to "check" my resort???????????
I was so irritated, I kept thinking she must be on her lunch or coffee break.
That being said, I hate for the magical CM's to have to be penalized because of the NOT SO magical ones.
We should pass around an email address tto compliment the ones that do their job great, so we can email Disney evertime we get off the phone, and let them know. Just a thought.

 

[jpeltier]

I like the idea of some way to compliment the CMs and to report rude CMs.There was only one CM I experienced who was not extremely polite.I've called bunches of times with questions and all of them have been answered in a timely manner. It is such a shame that Disney can't give their CMs more consideration.After all, if not for the CMs,Disney would fewer reservations.You can't book directly through the hotels anymore and many people prefer not to book through the large agencies,such as Expedia,etc.Some might not even realize that you don't have to book through Disney.
Eisner is gone.Hopefully,this is not a sign of things to come under the Igler.

 

[Stitch Inside]

The beatings will continue until morale improves.
I once read an internal company memo from a company that is no longer in business that basically said that lay-offs would continue until productivity increased.
Maybe if the CRO CMs go on strike, no one else will be able to book during my week, and it won't be as crowded.

 

[Kasmir]

I would agree that service is inconsistent at best. When I made our original ressies, I was on the phone with CRO for an hour and 40 minutes and when I received our confirmation, they were TOTALLY screwed up. I called back to correct them, and again, they were incorrect. My ressies weren't complicated or unusual either.

So I finally called again and got a very knowledgeable CRO who suggested that we cancel my other ressie and start over. Now they're finally correct.

As a business owner and a consumer, I find the level of competence that I've experienced so far to be disappointing at best. Any business owner can tell you that the company is only as strong as its weakest link. Unfortunately, the CROs that are less knowedgeable and treat customers with a lack of respect, represent Disney and do the company a great disservice.

However, I have read many, many threads that extole the great customer service, etc, that people have received.

It would seem obvious to me that not only do they need to institute better training programs, but they also need to perhaps create better incentive/appreciation programs to attract and keep higher quality employees. I find it hard to believe that employees aren't able to sign out to get a drink or take a breather (within reason). But if that's the case, then shame on Disney!

 

[Laugh O. Grams]

The beatings will continue until morale improves.

Love it!

 

[Lewisc]

DISNEY's fault for making the discount process such a secret BUT disboard members, and others, calling on a daily basis to see if there are ny PIN numbers associated with your name and/or general code discounts available doesn't help productivity.

 

[Puffy2]

I just made a reservation as well. It took 30 minutes to book "AKL, standard view, 3 nights, two queen beds, non smoking, one adult, one child, AAA rate". Good grief, if I called any other chain, they could have handled that in all of 3 minutes! What is wrong with Disney CRO ... Disney is supposed to be the ideal in customer service for goodness sakes.

 

[Stitch Inside]

What is wrong with Disney CRO ... Disney is supposed to be the ideal in customer service for goodness sakes.

I think your answer is in the OP.

 

[aubriee]

I guess I'm in the minority, but I've always gotten great CMs. They've been polite, friendly, very helpful, made my ressies or answered my questions very quickly and most have even gone out of their way to look for me good deals. They've even made personal comments about the weather and told me good things about the hotels or restaurants I've chosen. I hate to see that Disney is being so hard on them. There may be a few bad ones, but I think most are very good at their jobs.

 

[sotoalf]

Agents, who have been told that it's unacceptable to sign out to take a breather or get something to drink, are also not allowed to put callers on hold.[/I]

Isn't anyone else mildly disturbed by this draconian policy? This might be why morale is so low. And then they're expected to smile and tell customers to have a magical day!?

 

[Laugh O. Grams]

I hate to see that Disney is being so hard on them. There may be a few bad ones, but I think most are very good at their jobs.

I agree...that's the problem with this type management technique. Making it harder on all employees in order to weed out the bad ones is a sure fire way to lose your best people!
I think that everyone should take it a bit easier on the CMs for the time being. There are a lot of new programs being installed company-wide with the transion to new leadership and Bob Iger, and I'm sure that many of them are sitting on pins and needles wondering what's next.

 

[CarolA]

Of course if folks didn't call 12 times a day for codes life would be easier LOL! (And you KNOW at least a few callers get mean when they don't get the code)

 

[TwingleMum]

How very unfortunate. It makes me sad to think how far the company has fallen. When I was in college in our business admin class we studied the book "In Search of Excellence" , at that time Disney figured prominately in how wonderfully they were run. Just but yourself in the poor CM's place and realize this could be your Mom, Sister ,Daughter, Son, Brother or Dad ( did I cover enough relatives??) Would you want them not to be allowed bathroom breaks, drink breaks or stretch breaks??? Dare I say the U word. They need a union to protect the basics ~ food , bathroom , benefits etc. Lets try and not add to their stress by being unreasonable.

 

[DebbieB]

Of course if folks didn't call 12 times a day for codes life would be easier LOL! (And you KNOW at least a few callers get mean when they don't get the code)

They need to have a better system for discounts. Like announce that discounts will be released on a certain date. Just like everyone has gotten used to hours being released on the 1st of the month. That would eliminate alot of phone calls and frustration.

What I think is really bad is that they do not advertise an 800#. So unless you are lucky enough to see one posted on the internet, you are having these long phone waits and paying too!

I'm glad I joined DVC!

 

[Puffy2]

This is solely a management problem.

If I could book a AAA discount online like EVERY OTHER hotel in America...I wouldn't have had to even make the call.

If their employees were adequately trained, I bet the call would have been shorter than 30 minutes (I was put on hold for about 8 minutes after I told her I needed two double beds, the woman came back and told me "mam, those rooms come with two queens, not doubles. ". This is fairly basic stuff - of course two queens was just fine...the point was I needed TWO beds...I don't think it should have taken her 8 minutes to get that straight.

Sorry, just ranting.

Also, management should know that a happy employee is a more productive employee. They should give them adequate breaks - it will also cut down on workmans comp cases for carple tunnel syndrom and eye disorders (from staring at a computer screen constantly.)

 

[ILoveWDW2003]

They need to have a better system for discounts. Like announce that discounts will be released on a certain date.

They do have a system - they announce them when they see the need for discounts, and not before.

 

[kdtwiss]

well, sticking up for myself here - had I not called quite a bit - I would never have known I had a pin code and very likely would be staying offsite. Not the CM's fault about the mystery of the code, but not my fault either.

That said, I have never had a bad experience with any CM.They have always been kind and helpful, though I always try to be kind to them also. Do unto others...

 

[Laugh O. Grams]

So the CRO CM's are being treated poorly and over half of the average Disney customers are hanging up before making resort/dining reservations? You don't need a Master's Degree from Wharton to know that this is really bad business!!

 

[Got Quattro?]

Isn't anyone else mildly disturbed by this draconian policy? This might be why morale is so low. And then they're expected to smile and tell customers to have a magical day!?

It's how call centers are ran. I run one for a very large tel com company.

Each associate is expected to answer x calls a day, and be on each call for x minutes (talk time)

every time an employee takes an unscheduled break, or keeps a customer on the phone x minutes past the talk time objective, people begin to stack up in que waiting for an associate.

Call center people for the most part work 2 hours, then get a 15 minute break. The 2 hours and a half hour lunch ect ect