The cookware saga

[rentayenta]

I'm totally bringing those cheap food storage containers. I hate to waste and foil just doesn't work right.

 

[Mickey'sApprentice]

I think theft of easily carried items has always been a problem. It has very little to do with who is in charge of DVC and more to do with the personal values of the guests. In the early pre-JL years, OKW lost having placemats and cloth napkins because they disappeared into think air too often to replace.

Thanks Chuck. I was really thinking more of the resorts response to missing items, than the fact that the items would come up missing.

The new regime could do better in this area by...

1) making mousekeepers check off what is missing and what is not, and calling on someone to replace items after each visit.
AND
2) be more responsive when a guest says something is missing.

My thinking is that it is less expensive for DVC to NOT be so quick to make sure things are stocked. Here's why.
Guest 1: Finds full compliment of pans -- steals half.
Guest 2: Oblivious, doesn't report anything.
Guest 3: Comes in and steals half of what is there.

If DVC waits for a guest to complain that something is missing, then the cabinets will be less full. A thief can't steal something that is not there. Of course, the thief could complain that stuff is missing...and then steal the replacements.

 

[jekjones1558]

Great story, Diane. Glad you are able to keep some sense of humor about it but it is too bad because a problem like this really should not happen. You would think that cross-checking the kitchen supplies with a list would be standard procedure when a room is cleaned.

 

[mndisfam]

Another MNan here by the way.

I too have noticed more and more items missing from our kitchen inventory - wine openers, certain knives and a salad size bowl. (At two diff. SSR untis at Xmas.)

I just called housekeeping and asked for them to be sent up. I never mentioned it on the survey, bcs 1) they fixed the problem and 2) I didn't want to get someone in trouble.

Maybe we shd start mentioning it. Now, it seems like no matter where we check in, there is always something pretty obvious missing.

Its not a lot to ask that they check the kitchen inventory ahead of time for us.

 

[Dean]

We had a fiasco this last trip getting the iHome radio replaced. It took almost 2 days and in the interim they left on the door the small radio for the second BR and made 2 trips expecting to "fix it". I don't think they were going to fix the iPhone connection when it was broken. Then during the middle of that I called to get the override code for the AC since it was different than I had listed. By phone they gave me the one I knew and didn't work and someone had to come out to show us how to do the override when they could simply have given us the correct one by phone. I felt like I was talking to a call center in the islands or India every time I called either the "Front Desk" or Engineering/Housekeeping.

 

[Metr0star1]

I too have had enough oversights or damage or missing supplies. I can't believe how accomidating they were; yet aggrevating to deal with as an issue in disney, but they made a fair compensation.

Once my soak tub had a broken pipe and flooded my unit. They gave me my points back, gave me a new room, and $200 room credit.

Kitchen supplies missing, took some time to get there, but they finally arrived.

THE WORST was when I was going to Jiko's for dinner, and I ruined my $60 shirt since someone put something other than water in the iron and it stained my shirt... Disney gave me $150 room credit to replace my shirt and gave me a free ride to AKL since I lost time to transfer there for dinner.

 

[Metr0star1]

The missing wine bottle openers have to be my biggest pet peeve... You know it is the members stealing them. But why can't they do a quick inventory when they make up the room after checkout?

I guess this is how much attention they give to cleaning the dishes that are left out too...

 

[CarolynK]

Based on experience, the first thing I do when checking in is to make sure that all the burners work on the stove, that there is a pot big enough to boil 1# of pasta, and that all the glassware is clean.
I don't go thru the inventory list, but if I notice something missing or broken (like the door locks--those pins that lock the doors at BWV are frequently broken) I do call. It annoys me that the previous guest probably ignored the issue....

 

[Dean]

Some timeshares ask you to do an inventory check list at or around check in. Often they replace the items missing but they can, and sometimes will, hold you responsible for items missing and not listed. I've never seen a resort do so inappropriately but I guess it could happen.

 

[CaskPeg]

I enjoyed reading this thread so much I decided it needed to be bumped!

One fascinating part of it (hey, no disparaging remarks about what I find fascinating!) is that different DVC resorts have different cookware inventories. I never knew this and now I'm wondering whether to start a thread documenting the cookware and utensil inventories at the various resorts...

During all the stays I have made....we have called housekeeping a few times. I guess we have had a good track record as we have received what we lacked initially ...usually the same day. Yes , you do need to check that dish/ cookware inventory when you arrive to make sure all is ready . Don't know why people "take off with items" but there are some of those. Sorry to say we have to replace those items .

 

[rock_doctor]

Did you see Jim Lewis' article in the latest Disney Files? He mentions a member who calls maintenance and housekeeping when they arrive to get problems fixed. JL says he wished more members would do that and he appreciates those that do. My question is shouldn't the staff find those problems before the members check in?

I think the problem is...there are no real managers. Somebody should go behind housekeeping and check each unit before opening it up to be used. What would it take...5-minutes per unit? The house keeper isn't going to care. They want to get in and out as fast as possible. The guest should not be quality control for housekeeping and maintenance.