Treatment of DVC members

[Doug7856]

...or, more likely, would create a whole new set of problems...

I don't disagree. One of the great things about the DISboards is that so many opinions are put on the table! I'm not a hospitality manger, but it seem to me that there must be a formula the provides the first X% of requests as a guarantee and the balance are informed at the time of the reservation that a guaranteed is not available but may be at check in. But you are right, ... a whole new set of problems. . .

...And, to specifically address the comment about eliminating check-in concerns, if the percentage of members getting their smoking request fulfilled is as high as it appears to be, guaranteeing smoking preference would have little impact on reducing check-in complaints. If people are getting their smoking preference as frequently as the above thread indicates, then complaints largely related to more incidental items such as view, floor or room location.

Your argument assumes that EVERY DVC member complains. Obviously only a small percentage of members actually complain or even have a reason to complain. If people know up front that the room is smoking or non-smoking, in theory complaints on the smoking issue should diminish; but then there is always some other issue that comes to the forefront!

 

[MikeSquared]

Hopefully, when you signed, you knew that none of those requests wold ever be guaranteed....

Yes, I knew that. The point being, if they try to meet my requests and can't that's fine. If "room ready" means I get the next available room and requests are ignored, I'd rather have an off-site condo or vacation home where I know what I'll be seeing out the windows. I know a request is just that, but an ignored request is a waste of my time. If I'm going to own DVC, visit Disney 2 or 3 times a year and spend my hard earned money there I'd hope my requests would be met a large percentage of the time. I keep reading posts where people requesting Epcot views and are told "that can't be requested" and it's bothering me. If I call and am told I can't request an Epcot view to begin with all 'heck' is going to break loose. I love Disney and DVC but if I, as an owner, am going to be treated like a number then I'll sell and spend my D$ somewhere else.

 

[lilstint]

Oh my Gosh!!! I hope you did not let this slide. Did any other CMs witness this? I am sure he reprimanded!

We have been home (SSR) twice an nver experinced anything negative from the CMs thankfully they seem to be happy and excited to be working in a new resort.

I hope you reported this. What month did you go? Was it right after they opened or recently?

Actually I did let it slide. We went in last month. My daughter was with me at check-in and were talking about the incident the other day (actually laughing about how unbelievably absurd it was) and she asked me if I remembered when he started yelling at me for not listening that she looked at me astounded and he said "What's YOUR problem???" If someone else were posting this I might think it was an exaggeration. It is hard to believe. I wish I had a videotape of it.

 

[DebbieB]

Yes, I knew that. The point being, if they try to meet my requests and can't that's fine. If "room ready" means I get the next available room and requests are ignored, I'd rather have an off-site condo or vacation home where I know what I'll be seeing out the windows. I know a request is just that, but an ignored request is a waste of my time. If I'm going to own DVC, visit Disney 2 or 3 times a year and spend my hard earned money there I'd hope my requests would be met a large percentage of the time. I keep reading posts where people requesting Epcot views and are told "that can't be requested" and it's bothering me. If I call and am told I can't request an Epcot view to begin with all 'heck' is going to break loose. I love Disney and DVC but if I, as an owner, am going to be treated like a number then I'll sell and spend my D$ somewhere else.

I don't think requests are ignored. I checked into VWL last week with requests of non-smoking, top floor, lake view. It was about 4:00-4:30 so all rooms should have been ready. The cm looked on the computer and said she had a top floor but it faced the bus stop walkway or a third floor facing the lake. I had a feeling we were already assigned to the top floor room but she took the extra step of seeing what else was available. She showed us where both were on the resort map. We took the third floor, lake view. It was very nice. I think they do try to match up requests as much as possible.

http://im1.shutterfly.com/procserv/47b5dd28b3127cce90fdd5a11b2600000026108AZOGTFq4ZtJ

 

[lmhannon2004]

I think if a smoking room is assigned for a non smoking request disney housekeeping should ensure that a full clean of the room is done ( ie change all bed linen pillows, hoover, open all windows and use an ioniser to get rid of the potential allegens associated with smoking.)
I have a medical reason for having a non smoking room, but would be happy to know that in the occasions when Disney can't assign me one, they've done everything they can to get the smell of smoke out rather than their usual attitude of tough, before becoming a DVC member my usual resort was All stars and never had a problem in getting my non smoking room despite my check in times dictated by my flying from the UK. I'm using my points to get married in WDW this december and am worried sick that my wedding night will be spent overlooking a dumpster in a smoking room and when talking about this with a BWV manager was told that its based on my check in time and there are no guarantees.

 

[lllovell]

You have many more important things to worry about on your wedding day hun. Don't sweat this one!!! We are debating to death something that rarely happens (from a quick poll here - about 2% of the time!). Make sure you requested it for your ressie and all will be fine.

There is always the chance that you would arrive and your non-smoking room would have been smoked in, and they will do everything that they can to make it right for you!!!

Fretting over this will get you nowhere. Enjoy the time between now and your wedding knowing your magical plans will be just fine! (I saw a HUGE wedding group at WDW the day after a hurricane with t-shirts on where they had to mark though one day and put the next day since the parks were closed for the storm. I have never seen such a large group having such a good time before! Its all about attitude. )

 

[MikeSquared]

I don't think requests are ignored. I checked into VWL last week with requests of non-smoking, top floor, lake view. It was about 4:00-4:30 so all rooms should have been ready. The cm looked on the computer and said she had a top floor but it faced the bus stop walkway or a third floor facing the lake. I had a feeling we were already assigned to the top floor room but she took the extra step of seeing what else was available. She showed us where both were on the resort map. We took the third floor, lake view. It was very nice. I think they do try to match up requests as much as possible.

Good to hear this! This is the way it should be handled.

 

[lilstint]

In response to llovell...I may have not made myself clear. We still love Disney. Yet, you can certainly understand that my experience has led me to believe that there is a lot of truth to many of the posts on this thread expressing concern that DVC members are treated poorly as opposed to "paying?!" quests. I am just really questioning the wisdom of joining DVC.

 

[Sherri]

Hi- We are back from the boardwalk. I expected the worst after reading some posts on this and other threads. It was by far the best experince ever. We got a wonderful room that had both Non handicap and Nonsmoking requests filled. It was overlooking Luna pool and the Tower of Terror in the background. It was a perfect distance from the elevator.
We had one minor incident prior to check out in the room and it was handled wonderfully and professionally. We can not say enough good things about our experience there.
We did poolhop to SSR. It was not crowded and we loved the slide and how the light turns green and you go down, how modern and high tech. BUT once after the light turned green and my son went down, a little girl swam over to the bottom of the slide, my son went right into her. Why the lifeguards didn't blow the whistle when she started over to the mouth of the slide was beyond me. He did go into her and thankfully she was alright, but nobody came over to see if my son was okay also. He clearly waited for the greenlight, I have it all on tape. Although SSR is my home resort, I probably would not stay there unless there were no other choices. I have not read the best things.
I look forward to staying at the boardwalk again.

 

[athenna]

Hi- We are back from the boardwalk. I expected the worst after reading some posts on this and other threads. It was by far the best experince ever. We got a wonderful room that had both Non handicap and Nonsmoking requests filled. It was overlooking Luna pool and the Tower of Terror in the background. It was a perfect distance from the elevator.
We had one minor incident prior to check out in the room and it was handled wonderfully and professionally. We can not say enough good things about our experience there.
We did poolhop to SSR. It was not crowded and we loved the slide and how the light turns green and you go down, how modern and high tech. BUT once after the light turned green and my son went down, a little girl swam over to the bottom of the slide, my son went right into her. Why the lifeguards didn't blow the whistle when she started over to the mouth of the slide was beyond me. He did go into her and thankfully she was alright, but nobody came over to see if my son was okay also. He clearly waited for the greenlight, I have it all on tape. Although SSR is my home resort, I probably would not stay there unless there were no other choices. I have not read the best things.
I look forward to staying at the boardwalk again.

Glad to hear you enjoyed the BW, I love it, too.
But that being said, I would never not stay somewhere due to what others have said and/or what I've read.
The great thing about DVC is there is choices. I am looking forward to going and forming my own opionions.

 

[Sherri]

Glad to hear you enjoyed the BW, I love it, too.
But that being said, I would never not stay somewhere due to what others have said and/or what I've read.
The great thing about DVC is there is choices. I am looking forward to going and forming my own opionions.

I do agree, about forming your own opinion. Probably if you read these boards long enough you wouldn't really want to stay anywhere (lol).
I was just really not impressed with the pool staff. I have read alot about the CM's and maybe if you are flexible and are open minded then you can have a positive experience. I guess after staying at the boardwalk I feel spoiled.
We really had the most wonderful Cm's. We did get on bit of wrong information which caused us to miss the early day at MGM. We were really bummed about that, but all the friendliness and whole atmosphere made everything feel fine. I can see how some minor infractions like that would set some off (well judging by some issues on the board). I guess I felt like we have been planning and looking forward since September and nothing would ruin our time. We are considering adding some points even.
We go to Vero beach in July, can't wait.

 

[athenna]

I do agree, about forming your own opinion. Probably if you read these boards long enough you wouldn't really want to stay anywhere (lol).
I was just really not impressed with the pool staff. I have read alot about the CM's and maybe if you are flexible and are open minded then you can have a positive experience. I guess after staying at the boardwalk I feel spoiled.
We really had the most wonderful Cm's. We did get on bit of wrong information which caused us to miss the early day at MGM. We were really bummed about that, but all the friendliness and whole atmosphere made everything feel fine. I can see how some minor infractions like that would set some off (well judging by some issues on the board). I guess I felt like we have been planning and looking forward since September and nothing would ruin our time. We are considering adding some points even.
We go to Vero beach in July, can't wait.

I can definately see where you're coming from. Didn't mean to sound like a jerk. I'm open minded and I can't wait to get 'home' to SSR. If we believed everything we read, we'd have never gotten to any DVC resorts. lol JUST KIDDING.

 

[barb45]

We just got back from the Boardwalk and the check in staff was very professional and very nice. We got our room right away, non-handicap but it was a smoking room. I didn't realize it until later because it didn't stink - it wasn't until I took the extra blanket out of the closet and it smelled bad. I didn't complain though because like I said the room was fine. As it seems always happens to us, we were about as far away from the lobby/Epcot/pool as you can possibly get!! I would never complain about that though because I think it is the luck of the draw. I got my room early (the view was bad but I don't care - when I get back to the room I'm too tired to sit outside - I just flop right on the bed). The room was spotless, the staff was nice, we were at Disney - what more could you ask!! It was our first trip to the Boardwalk and I would go back in a minute. We also took a quick look at SSR because we added on there and I'm not sure I would want to stay there on our next trip when we will have our 2 year old grand daughter because you could end up so far away from the pool and community areas. We'll have to decide that later. Any thoughts?

 

[Sherri]

I can definately see where you're coming from. Didn't mean to sound like a jerk. I'm open minded and I can't wait to get 'home' to SSR. If we believed everything we read, we'd have never gotten to any DVC resorts. lol JUST KIDDING.

Oh my gosh, i'm sorry, I didn't mean that you weren't open minded.
I'm recovering from pnemonia which I picked up in Florida and this is my first day back on the boards, so my thoughts are still jumbled and didn't mean to seem unkind. Of course your not a jerk. I was just reminding myself to be more open minded and take all of the neg. with a grain of salt.
Actually I didn't know what to expect when getting to the boardwalk after all that I read on these boards. Nothing could contain my happiness when I walked into the lobby, all the doubt turned into magic.
The last day I got locked in the bathroom when I went to change into pants for the flight home. I was in there for twenty minutes. The maid and the supervisor and someone else were all up there talking to me and my husband and kids. They were fantastic! They offered us a later check out and free breakfast. We declined both, but thought the gesture was so nice.
I really do love it there.

 

[athenna]

Oh my gosh, i'm sorry, I didn't mean that you weren't open minded.
I'm recovering from pnemonia which I picked up in Florida and this is my first day back on the boards, so my thoughts are still jumbled and didn't mean to seem unkind. Of course your not a jerk. I was just reminding myself to be more open minded and take all of the neg. with a grain of salt.
Actually I didn't know what to expect when getting to the boardwalk after all that I read on these boards. Nothing could contain my happiness when I walked into the lobby, all the doubt turned into magic.
The last day I got locked in the bathroom when I went to change into pants for the flight home. I was in there for twenty minutes. The maid and the supervisor and someone else were all up there talking to me and my husband and kids. They were fantastic! They offered us a later check out and free breakfast. We declined both, but thought the gesture was so nice.
I really do love it there.

Oh my gosh, pnemonia! I am so sorry to hear that!
Yes, the BW is beautiful, I am hoping to stay there in the near future.
Oh no, you got locked in the bathroom! Thank goodness they came fairly quickly. I think I would've taken them up on the late check-out That was nice of them.
I hope you feel better soon!
Pixie dust for you

 

[DrTomorrow]

[...] We also took a quick look at SSR because we added on there and I'm not sure I would want to stay there on our next trip when we will have our 2 year old grand daughter because you could end up so far away from the pool and community areas. We'll have to decide that later. Any thoughts?

Well, how far away were you from the pool at BWV - how long of a walk was it from the door to your room to the pool? Did that cause a big problem for you this trip? Because at SSR, you can either be at College Park - a 5-10 minute walk at worst; The Springs - right accross the street from the pool; or The Paddock - a short trip on the bridge over Saratoga Lake. And, IIRC, you could hop the bus for a short trip to the Town Center if you needed to.

Be well!

 

[barb45]

Dr. Tomorrow - good point! You'd like to be close to the pool but we aren't usually too lucky in that department no matter where we stay. At the AKL I was thrilled with our Savannah view but with our typical luck we were the furthest away from the pool that you could possibly be. Actually I exagerated a bit with the pool walk at Boardwalk because it wasn't THAT far. I thought the walk was much worse for getting to Epcot. Actually after walking 20 miles a day whats a few more to get to the pool (hehehe).

I just really wanted to post how awesome the staff was at BWV!

We were there for 2 days and then we moved to the Wyndham Palms for 3. We had a deal where we had to go to the welcome center for pre-check in and what an ordeal that was. The girl was so rude and no matter how much I smiled and tried to get her to lighten up, it was like pulling teeth. Then finally after I worked my "Disney Magic" on her for about 10 minutes, she started to smile. My husband walks in then and finishes the process. We get into the car and I say "what a b...." and he says well she seemed nice. Then I tell him how nasty she was until I worked her for a while. Anyhow, I felt much better after I left and I hope it brightened her day too.

 

[Sherri]

Oh my gosh, pnemonia! I am so sorry to hear that!
Yes, the BW is beautiful, I am hoping to stay there in the near future.
Oh no, you got locked in the bathroom! Thank goodness they came fairly quickly. I think I would've taken them up on the late check-out That was nice of them.
I hope you feel better soon!
Pixie dust for you

Thanks- Slowly i'm feeling like myself again.
I was stuck in the bathroom at the BW between fifteen and twenty minutes.
I was going to take them up on late check out because we had a very late flight home and I was sick, but then thought of the poor person who would be stuck waiting for my room when it could be available sooner.
Thanks for the pixie dust!

 

[athenna]

Thanks- Slowly i'm feeling like myself again.
I was stuck in the bathroom at the BW between fifteen and twenty minutes.
I was going to take them up on late check out because we had a very late flight home and I was sick, but then thought of the poor person who would be stuck waiting for my room when it could be available sooner.
Thanks for the pixie dust!

Wow, that was really kind and unselfish of you!

 

[Sherri]

Wow, that was really kind and unselfish of you!

Us DVCers have to stick together (lol).