Treated badly by CM on phone

[Mulan82]

ok. so that was only one cent. you can blame WDW for that. i just fully paid for my trip in September!!!

 

[bytheblood]

WOW - sounds like the CM was a bit of a jerk. Rules do need to be followed, but there is a kind way to do it. I have to tell clients no almost daily, but I do it in a way so that they respect me for my honesty and call me the next day with a smile on their face.

As much as I hate to say this, I am little by little seeing the Disney Magic we all love so much go by the wayside. (where the heck is the wayside anyway? ) Obviously the surveys are not improving the customer experience. About 4 out of every 5 calls, I recieve a CM that is either put out by my call, preoccupied with something else or just not in a happy mood.

 

[stargrazer]

I have the attitude of someone that has been in Customer Service and understands how rude John Q. Public can be. A person that is good in customer service would never say 'do it now or I'll do it for you'. But who knows what happened in this person's day? That doesn't make it right but we all have a bad day sometimes. But more likely they are being very forceful because they are expected to enforce certain rules that are not well accepted (as I've seen myself lately, CM's take a LOT of abuse).

I'm not saying OP was rude at ALL, I'm just trying to give another view here.

As as far as people venting/flaming...that is the risk you take on a message board - people might have different opinions than yours. I don't see any flaming going on, people are just being honest about their take on things. If you are looking for everyone to say I'm sorry and that was mean, you should probably stick to friends/family vs. a public message board.

 

[TheRustyScupper]

1) It is simply rude and inconsiderate to double book ADR's.
2) There are over 25,000 rooms at WDW.
3) There are another 30,000 rooms near WDW.
4) Even without double booking, there are not enough seats for everyone.
5) Double booking even further reduces available seats.
6) Why not make up your mind BEFORE you call to reserve ADR's.

NOTE: How would YOU feel if you couldn't get your choice ADR, only to find out that it was because someone had double-booked. Turnabout may be fair play, but unnecessary.

 

[Mulan82]

1) It is simply rude and inconsiderate to double book ADR's.
2) There are over 25,000 rooms at WDW.
3) There are another 30,000 rooms near WDW.
4) Even without double booking, there are not enough seats for everyone.
5) Double booking even further reduces available seats.
6) Why not make up your mind BEFORE you call to reserve ADR's.

NOTE: How would YOU feel if you couldn't get your choice ADR, only to find out that it was because someone had double-booked. Turnabout may be fair play, but unnecessary.

assuming that #2/3 are about what i said ( and you know what they say about assuming something.. ) i was just making a comparasion. i wasn't really being serious. personally, i could care less about making an ADR. my restaurant that i work at doesn't even accept them. nor do they do call ahead seating. i just make them because thats what you are supposed to do if you want TS and if i can't get le cellier at 7PM im not going to go cry in a corner. i'll just go somewhere else. or i'll eat CS. i didn't start eating at TS until last year. when i found this board. i always ate at CS. and i do make up my mind before i call for my ADRs. i pick 3 restaurants for each day and whichever one i can get, i get. however, i am very limited in restaurants because my DBF is very picky. and personally, i don't think he cares about TS anyways... he'd eat double bacon cheeseburgers all day if he could. which he can. if i did that i'd be the size of dumbo.

 

[LMarge]

IMHO it is too bad that when someone double-books Disney doesn't automatically cancel both of them. Then the CMs wouldn't be stuck trying to get people to do the right thing and make a decision.

Actually, when I booked, I was told that if you double book, if they "find it" they will cancel them both. That the new policy is - no double booking, if you do you loose them both - and there was no mention of a phone call to let you know!!! The CM explained that there is a new policy and they are routinely checking thru ADRS to check for this situation. It has become a problem and in his own words "out of fairness to everyone" should be prohibited. He also explained that you should always check the "serving times" for the TS restaurants - as some start dinner at 4:30 and others at 5:00 - while some are still considered lunch at the 4:30 time frame - this could trigger a double book as well if you had a late lunch( but it was really a "dinner hour")at one and a late dinner at another. Both your ADRS would be tossed in that situation. Hope this helps -

 

[PrincessTrisha]

I have the attitude of someone that has been in Customer Service and understands how rude John Q. Public can be. A person that is good in customer service would never say 'do it now or I'll do it for you'.

But if Disney is cracking down, they may have asked CM to do this (and even phrase it this way since a couple of people have been told the same thing by different CM's - if you don't do it, I will).

I am still in client service, in fact I train people in client service for a government department, and yes, you have to smile when someone is being rude, yes you have to be nice to everyone, yes you have to provide the best possible service you can.

However, that being said, when a client is "breaking the rules" the agent needs to be firm.

The other day one of our agents came to me for advice about this client's situation, I clarified the policy and legislation with him so he could explain it to the client. After he left my desk I logged in to listen to the call. He spoke to her in his usual manner which is pleasant and professional but the news he gave the client was not positive. After he finished, she started saying she didn't like his tone and he was being rude to her and she was going to file a complaint.

It was not how he said but what he said. A lot of people confuse being told no, with being rude.

If Disney tells their CM's "when you discover a double booking, it must be cancelled in that phone call. If the customer declines to do so, warn them that it will be done regardless and provide them with another chance to do so, if they still do not comply, cancel the reservation which was booked first (ask once, warn once, then do - which is actually our policy for dealing with client's who use inappropriate language, act in a threatening manner or are screaming).

Yes, some agents are more abrupt than others but in this day and age is it a surprise? Politeness is on the decline in our society which means that it will decline in all lines of business including Disney.

If everyone (and I do mean everyone) was just a little more aware of how their actions and manners affected others, rudeness would be a shock, not the norm.

And as for these boards becoming more "feisty" or "mean-spirited" I have heard that at least once a month since I joined.

There are lots of wonderful, helpful, kind threads on these boards, but so many times people focus on the negative - things are 90% positive and 10% negative - perhaps we needs to focus on the right number and not the wrong one.

 

[CR Resort Fan 4 Life]

Just to be clear on one thing. If you book an ADR for breakfast and the same day book an ADR for dinner that would not be considered a double booking since they would be hours apart, comparing making two ADR's that are an hour apart so they would be a double booking?

 

[DonaldTDuck]

Mulan compared double booking to not being able to decide between two cars. If you can't decide on cars, some one else has the opportunity to buy either; if you double book, no one has a chance at either of them. So it just isn't the same in any way.

 

[PrincessTrisha]

You can have a reservation for 1 breakfast, 1 lunch and 1 dinner on any given day.

Disney's "double booking" refers to having a reservation at two separate restaurants for the same dining period.

i.e. Having reservations for April 27 at 5pm at Le Cellier and at 6pm at Ohana.

 

[CR Resort Fan 4 Life]

You can have a reservation for 1 breakfast, 1 lunch and 1 dinner on any given day.

Disney's "double booking" refers to having a reservation at two separate restaurants for the same dining period.

i.e. Having reservations for April 27 at 5pm at Le Cellier and at 6pm at Ohana.

That's what I thought so thank you for confirming it.

 

[simonkodousek]

That's too bad for you OP. Unfortunately it is WDW's policy. If you double-booked there wouldn't be any seats left.

~Simon

PS: I was treated pretty poorly by a CM for dining today also.

 

[PrincessTrisha]

Mulan compared double booking to not being able to decide between two cars. If you can't decide on cars, some one else has the opportunity to buy either; if you double book, no one has a chance at either of them. So it just isn't the same in any way.

It's like when the car dealerships have a "limited time sale" and you say, "Don't sell either of those cars because I can't decide". You decide 15 minutes before the sale is over (you've secured your car at the sale price) and someone else may or may not get that other car at the sale price if they come in within those last 15 minutes looking for a car (like the one you decided you didn't want after all).

It's possible that someone may call in and get the reservation you gave up, but it's not probable unless they call in between the time you cancel (assuming that you do) and the time of the reservation.

 

[Mulan82]

yay! someone got my analogy! next time i will pick a better one though.



ps. for the record. i am not saying we should all go out and have a double booking party. im not condoning it, i just think that the CM shouldn't have said what he/she said. the OP was put on the spot and asked to consult with her husband. why was that so much to ask?

 

[simonkodousek]

By the way, it is common courtesy to let another person have the reservation at the reservation that you don't want. Just choose one at random, call them up, and cancel.

~Simon

 

[Kristina]

Actually, when I booked, I was told that if you double book, if they "find it" they will cancel them both. That the new policy is - no double booking, if you do you loose them both - and there was no mention of a phone call to let you know!!! The CM explained that there is a new policy and they are routinely checking thru ADRS to check for this situation. It has become a problem and in his own words "out of fairness to everyone" should be prohibited. He also explained that you should always check the "serving times" for the TS restaurants - as some start dinner at 4:30 and others at 5:00 - while some are still considered lunch at the 4:30 time frame - this could trigger a double book as well if you had a late lunch( but it was really a "dinner hour")at one and a late dinner at another. Both your ADRS would be tossed in that situation. Hope this helps -

What if I wanted to have dessert at another restaurant? It does happen.

Sounds like an unbelievably lousy business policy if you ask me. If I found out, at the door of a chosen TS with my hungry family, reservation # in hand, that it had been canceled in that matter, I'd be quite angry. Disney doesn't usually go out of their way to make us mad so if were even the case I'd think it would be wise to put yet one more message in the long dialog we have to listen to before we make our PS reservations. Or fix the problem in some other way, but canceling people without letting them even knowing? Not very smart or kind at all, nope not very Disney at all.

What they could do instead, which I would be all for is to cancel one, then make darn sure that everyone who checks in gets a printout of all their reservations so they know about it. Or maybe when you make your second one for the same time period, the CM on the phone tells you that she sees there is another one and if she puts this second one in the system the other will cancel itself, then leave it up to the caller what they want to do.

 

[Allison]

ps. for the record. i am not saying we should all go out and have a double booking party. im not condoning it, i just think that the CM shouldn't have said what he/she said. the OP was put on the spot and asked to consult with her husband. why was that so much to ask?

But, if what the CM said is Disney policy, how can they not say it?

 

[Mainebound]

I'm sure no one here would want to have 3 ADRs for dinner on the same day, knowing they were preventing others from eating at those spots.

And I'm sure that if anyone would, DISers would. No one else is that obsessed with planning thier WDW vacation.

I'm glad they are cracking down. It's not fair to hold more than one ressie, even if it seems more convenient to some.

 

[mattsdragon]

Just an observation. . .She was doing her job, and while it may have been an honest mistake on your part, she probably hears that several times daily. I know you can't reflect her tone in your post, but she didn't sound rude.

Hanging up on someone, on the other hand. . .

Remember, people in this call center aren't like the telemarketers that call you, they probably catch more crap in a hour that most people do all day. I don't think it's too much to have a little understanding.

 

[goofyernmost]

Just an observation. . .She was doing her job, and while it may have been an honest mistake on your part, she probably hears that several times daily. I know you can't reflect her tone in your post, but she didn't sound rude.

Hanging up on someone, on the other hand. . .

Remember, people in this call center aren't like the telemarketers that call you, they probably catch more crap in a hour that most people do all day. I don't think it's too much to have a little understanding.

That is all so true. It is human nature to acknowledge rudeness in others but never ourselves. I also work in a form of PR and deal with complaints all day long. The complainer is never at fault, it's always our "stupid system" or our "stupid rules" or our "bad attitude". Someone had mentioned earlier that in today's language being told "no, you cannot do something" is perceived as being rude.

Denial can go on until one is blue in the face. The common sense fact is that if you intentually double up you WILL deprive others. Than it is thoughtless, self absorbed and rude.

This really is a no brainer...in my opinion Disney had to get "tough" because they were being ignored by the "rules do not apply to me" crowd. Plainly put, if you don't double book you will not get canceled. Unfortunately, as with anything, some innocent bystanders get caught up in the tough attitude because there has been so much abuse of the system that the CM"s can no longer trust anyone to be honest. Let's say that you tell them that you have to check so you will get back to them later. What's to stop you from never calling back. (my guess is that happened a lot) When they tell you that you have to decide or they will decide for you they are only speaking the truth! They are trying to be fair to everyone. That is their only weapon against people that are above the rules. Customer (Guest) Service is a system designed for ALL Guest, not just the desires of a few.

I'd like to see more of this type of behavior coming from Disney and directed at line cutters, fastpass abusers, smokers and profanity in the parks. We need more rules now in a society that feels entitled to everything.

I'm sorry that this OP got caught up in it but when it was said that they hung up on the CM they lost my support. Telling someone what the rules are is not rude...not accepting that the rules apply to you...and then getting angry about it...is!