Updated w/ Disney response. Confirmation email and reciept are jokes! Beware

[momof2n2]

She hasn't paid the full amount. She paid the deposit only. You're saying she should get her whole package for the $200 deposit. Seriously?

I'm relatively sure most readers knew what I meant: She's already made a reservation and received confirmation for it. Whether she's PIF vs. just given deposit the bottom line is the 9 days for price stated in email should have been honored.

My emphasis was on moving forward and not expecting them to offer any more in goodwill.

 

[flicx]

Wait, so you're mad that you ended up having to pay for nine days when you were going for nine days??

Anyone who does an iota of research knows how much you're gonna end up paying for a trip. If my final price was 600 bucks lower than I thought it would, I'd think something was wrong. I wouldn't just blindly confirm the purchase. Why didn't you notice that something was wrong when you originally booked the trip? Why did you just assume that you randomly got a 600 buck discount?

You're basically getting a free 200 bucks and extra FP+'s for buying a vacation. To me that is 200 bucks (and free FPs) too much. And you're still unhappy? You don't deserve anything! I find it absolutely laughable that you felt entitled to more.

Disney's guest service seems to have been fantastically generous in this situation. You're just being greedy.

I can't believe people are treating the OP like she's some wounded animal. I personally think OP comes off incredibly bad in this situation.

Not all of this is true. When I call Disney sometimes a room price is lower, they tell me I have a pin number I didn't know about and offer me a lower price. This has happened several times to me in 30 plus years of going. I had a similar experience like this years ago. They told me I had a lower price via pin. Then when I made the reservation, we got disconnected when I called back they told me I couldn't have the offer it had actually expired the previous month. Didn't matter that they had charged my credit card. If I wanted the room it was gonna be more, a lot more. So I cancelled the trip. So basically they can quote you a price and back out. Not good business. Especially considering how many guests have been shafted with their new glitchy my magic system. Funny thing if the airlines quote a price on the internet and you book they honor it. Hmmm

 

[JimmyV]

When I was going around getting quotes to build my house, I received an extremely low quote from the person doing my siding. It was so low that I made him go through the items with me line by line... We came to an agreement and I signed. Well, after he'd purchased all of the materials he called me frantically... he'd forgotten to charge me for labor. His labor charges brought him well out of the range of what would have been my best bid. Yeah, okay, dude sorry but I know a bait and switch when I see one.. You're going to honor the price you quoted. Yes, as I said it was much lower than the other quotes I had, but I assumed the labor was included in the line item since he made no mention of labor (some other companies bids were that way). He eventually realized that I was not going to budge and had to soak up the loss... he learned a lesson.

There are an infinite number of ways to handle this. Yours is certainly one. I would have taken the lowest bid from among the other contractors and subtracted a penny and raised his bid to that number so that he got paid something for his labor. I wouldn't have been able to live with myself knowing that my teaching him a lesson was going to take food out of his children's mouths, or presents from under the tree, or perhaps cause the cancellation of a trip to WDW. Everyone makes mistakes. We are human. There but for the grace of God, Do unto others, and all that jazz. And, of course, there is the issue of not ticking off the chef when he is still preparing your food. I wouldn't want a ticked off contractor working on my house. He who laughs last and all that.

 

[momof2n2]

Wait, so you're mad that you ended up having to pay for nine days when you were going for nine days??

Anyone who does an iota of research knows how much you're gonna end up paying for a trip. If my final price was 600 bucks lower than I thought it would, I'd think something was wrong. I wouldn't just blindly confirm the purchase. Why didn't you notice that something was wrong when you originally booked the trip? Why did you just assume that you randomly got a 600 buck discount?

You're basically getting a free 200 bucks and extra FP+'s for buying a vacation. To me that is 200 bucks (and free FPs) too much. And you're still unhappy? You don't deserve anything! I find it absolutely laughable that you felt entitled to more.

Disney's guest service seems to have been fantastically generous in this situation. You're just being greedy.

I can't believe people are treating the OP like she's some wounded animal. I personally think OP comes off incredibly bad in this situation.

You've never gotten to a check out and had something ring up as less only to find out it was 10% because all "Such and Such Brand" was on sale that day?

I know I've gotten to a checkout and found out that my loyalty card was allowing 5% all full-price items.

I know I've stayed in hotels where the 4th night was 50% off.


ETC.

If OP gave her dates and was given a total why WOULDN'T she believe them?
Start date and end date were correct. If it were me and I was given a lesser total, I would just think I'd gotten a better deal than I had hoped for and be grateful. Not think somehow they eliminated two days but STILL MANAGED to have the same check-out date. That part is what makes the whole thing bizarre. Now, if each date was listed and the last two dates said, "$0.00" next to them, then THAT would have jumped out at her.

 

[flatlandcycle]

I understand why people believe that OP should pay the proper price for 9 nights. I still think that Disney needs to compensate people, every once in a while, for "Glitch City." If this had happened to me my area variable would be a lot greater than my trip variable. "Well, were not very good at this," is tiresome.

 

[itchin2go]

You've never gotten to a check out and had something ring up as less only to find out it was 10% because all "Such and Such Brand" was on sale that day?

I know I've gotten to a checkout and found out that my loyalty card was allowing 5% all full-price items.

I know I've stayed in hotels where the 4th night was 50% off.


ETC.

If OP gave her dates and was given a total why WOULDN'T she believe them?
Start date and end date were correct. If it were me and I was given a lesser total, I would just think I'd gotten a better deal than I had hoped for and be grateful. Not think somehow they eliminated two days but STILL MANAGED to have the same check-out date. That part is what makes the whole thing bizarre. Now, if each date was listed and the last two dates said, "$0.00" next to them, then THAT would have jumped out at her.

I get what you're saying. I get why she would believe that was the real price. Yes, sometimes you get a discount that you knew nothing about. WIN!

However, if it were me, and after the mistake was found, I realized that Disney was just trying to charge me what they should have quoted in the first place, I'd lose some of my righteous indignance.

And if, after Disney charged me exactly what they would have charged anyone else, they then offered me a gift card and fastpasses, I would consider this a windfall ... my lucky day.

I would not be spending a moment of my time on the matter ten days later.

Really, I understand why OP was unhappy at first, and I understand why she pursued the matter. Disney did make a mistake and it was certainly worth a phone call to see what could be done. I don't fault OP for that ... at all.

But to recap, she's being charged exactly what anyone else would be charged .... and she's getting some kind of substantial perks ....

Let's look at it this way. If the quote number was for one night, but the dates were for 10 nights, should Disney give 9 nights for free?

 

[maxiesmom]

I understand why people believe that OP should pay the proper price for 9 nights. I still think that Disney needs to compensate people, every once in a while, for "Glitch City." If this had happened to me my area variable would be a lot greater than my trip variable. "Well, were not very good at this," is tiresome.

They have offered compensation for the glitch. $200 and assorted perks. Which is more than a third of the cost of the glitch.

 

[ziravan]

I get what you're saying. I get why she would believe that was the real price. Yes, sometimes you get a discount that you knew nothing about. WIN!

However, if it were me, and after the mistake was found, I realized that Disney was just trying to charge me what they should have quoted in the first place, I'd lose some of my righteous indignance.

And if, after Disney charged me exactly what they would have charged anyone else, they then offered me a gift card and fastpasses, I would consider this a windfall ... my lucky day.

I would not be spending a moment of my time on the matter ten days later.

Really, I understand why OP was unhappy at first, and I understand why she pursued the matter. Disney did make a mistake and it was certainly worth a phone call to see what could be done. I don't fault OP for that ... at all.

But to recap, she's being charged exactly what anyone else would be charged .... and she's getting some kind of substantial perks ....

Let's look at it this way. If the quote number was for one night, but the dates were for 10 nights, should Disney give 9 nights for free?

Disney made three mistakes here. 1. The original mistake, 2. The horrible customer service that includes a CM admitting their mistake and trying to make it right, only to be overruled by her superiors, and 3. Letting it drag out in open media with 22,000 otherwise pro-Disney fans looking on.

Disney could fix this today. They should. That they won't reinforces current perceptions that are definitely not in Disney's interest to reinforce.

Anybody read the book, "The Influentials"? 10% of the population makes decisions for 90% because they're vested. When you go to vote, because you're not vested, you ask the opinion of your friend that you KNOW is current on political issues.

DISboard readers are The Influentials when it comes to Disney. Your friends all know that you are the resident Disney expert. It's not just about the 22,000 people reading this thread. It's about the 220,000 people that turn to them for all things Disney as well.

 

[flatlandcycle]

They have offered compensation for the glitch. $200 and assorted perks. Which is more than a third of the cost of the glitch.

Zero lodging and food revenue from me would be my response.

Disney, roll up your sleeves and recode your mess, or compensate me for my time spent double checking for your errors.

 

[itchin2go]

Disney made three mistakes here. 1. The original mistake, 2. The horrible customer service that includes a CM admitting their mistake and trying to make it right, only to be overruled by her superiors, and 3. Letting it drag out in open media with 22,000 otherwise pro-Disney fans looking on.

Disney could fix this today. They should. That they won't reinforces current perceptions that are definitely not in Disney's interest to reinforce.

Anybody read the book, "The Influentials"? 10% of the population makes decisions for 90% because they're vested. When you go to vote, because you're not vested, you ask the opinion of your friend that you KNOW is current on political issues.

DISboard readers are The Influentials when it comes to Disney. Your friends all know that you are the resident Disney expert. It's not just about the 22,000 people reading this thread. It's about the 220,000 people that turn to them for all things Disney as well.

Yeah, but my opinion of Disney hasn't dropped because of this.

I get that one CM was less than "magical", but what they've offered at this point is more than fair.

As one poster pointed out above, you book 9 days, you pay for 9 days. I don't see the great injustice in all of this.

 

[maxiesmom]

Zero lodging and food revenue from me would be my response.

Disney, roll up your sleeves and recode your mess, or compensate me for my time spent double checking for your errors.

The OP does have that choice too.

As far as being compensated for having to double check, I double check prices everywhere. It is part of being a smart consumer. Computers screw up. It happens. It does stink when it happens, but we all need to try and protect ourselves in case it happens to us. Know prices when you buy.

 

[crazymomof4]

I haven't read through all of this long thread but my take is, undesirable errors/changes happen in life and in WDW and you have to roll with it sometimes.
For example, back in March our 180 day window opened for ADRs. Tomorrowland Terrace Dessert party is a 180 day ADR. It says so IN WRITING on the WDW official page for this dining experience. When I called (within my window) I was told that yes, it is a 180 booking and I was entitled to this ADR on that day BUT booking was not available for that week in Sept and to try back later in the day. What followed was a 4 week hassle of DAILY phone calls, speaking to some CMs who were less-than-Disneyesque and hearing a miriade of differing and conflicting reasons for why we were not able to make this ADR and given NO ANSWER as to when I would be able to book. Mind you, if booking suddenly opened one morning, my chosen date could have feasibly been booked in a few hours by persons who were calling for the very first time that morning! So yes, DAILY calls were needed. I and dozens of others who wanted to book this lamented our frustrations daily on a thread. My reason for telling my "sob story" is that in the end, we (myself and all many haggard and frustrated on that thread) got our ADRs for TTDP...........and that is ALL WE GOT!!! No compensation for all of the teeth-nashing caused by Disney not "honoring what they have in writing" on the website and the total lack of any helpful information forthcoming from any of the many many CMs we all spoke with daily and sometimes several times a day. The bottom line was always, "All we can tell you is to keep trying. Have a magical day". Ya, after a month of this we were all pretty ticked off but I didn't read of ANY of us on that thread expecting compensation for Disney not holding to their stated policy. I guess we could have ranted endlessly to WDW customer service and angrily demanded something for our trouble (again, directly caused by WDW not holding to what is in writing) but when we finally got our ADRs we were all just so happy we got them and that the ordeal was over that I guess none of us even thought of maybe getting a few extra fastpasses out of it.
I'd have been thru the roof over-joyed if WDW would have offered me even a $25 gift card and extra fastpasses as an apology for the month of trouble that was caused.
Life's not perfect. WDW is not perfect.
IMO if OP agreed upon a certain price for the 9 day vaca when she booked over the phone or online, (whatever it was) then the fact that WDW made a mistake in an email doesn't get a "discount" to that ORIGINAL price FIRST agreed upon by BOTH parties. WDW already "apologized" for the error with the perks.... more than most people get when an institution makes a clerical error.
If the IRS mistakenly sent you a tax refund twice the amount you were entitled, good luck trying to convince the Feds that you should be able to keep it bc it "was not YOUR error".

 

[ziravan]

The OP does have that choice too.

As far as being compensated for having to double check, I double check prices everywhere. It is part of being a smart consumer. Computers screw up. It happens. It does stink when it happens, but we all need to try and protect ourselves in case it happens to us. Know prices when you buy.

Most grocers and major retailers will credit the difference when they quote the wrong price, computer error or otherwise.

For example, my wife and I were pricing a major appliance a few months ago. We knew the price should be about $3400 for the model we wanted. We visited a Lowes not near us. They had a sign for the appliance for $2700. I asked. Clerk looked it up, got his manager who told us this was a mistake, a leftover from a previous sale. (Current sale was a 10% gift card rebate.)

Manager says he's taking down that sign right now, but since they quoted me that price, I could have it right then and there. If I left, it wouldn't be available when I returned.

I bought. I got the $2700 price AND the gift card rebates.

That's customer service.

It's not too much to ask of Disney.

 

[practicallyperfect77]

Most grocers and major retailers will credit the difference when they quote the wrong price, computer error or otherwise.

For example, my wife and I were pricing a major appliance a few months ago. We knew the price should be about $3400 for the model we wanted. We visited a Lowes not near us. They had a sign for the appliance for $2700. I asked. Clerk looked it up, got his manager who told us this was a mistake, a leftover from a previous sale. (Current sale was a 10% gift card rebate.)

Manager says he's taking down that sign right now, but since they quoted me that price, I could have it right then and there. If I left, it wouldn't be available when I returned.

I bought. I got the $2700 price AND the gift card rebates.

That's customer service.

It's not too much to ask of Disney.

The store I regularly shop at gives you the items FREE if you mention a wrong price. There was a sign for the chicken I love for 3.99/package. I bought 6 packages...usually 5.99. They rang up 5.99 and I ended up getting all 6 packages free. I would have happily paid the 3.99 tho. But great customer service and probably why I always shop there.

OP - my $.02.....yes, I do believe you should get the 9 nights for what you were originally quoted. I am in the same boat in that I don't think I would have thought something was wrong. I would keep the $200 and extra FPs....that time of the year I'd rather have the FPs vs money anyway.

 

[crazymomof4]

Most grocers and major retailers will credit the difference when they quote the wrong price, computer error or otherwise.

For example, my wife and I were pricing a major appliance a few months ago. We knew the price should be about $3400 for the model we wanted. We visited a Lowes not near us. They had a sign for the appliance for $2700. I asked. Clerk looked it up, got his manager who told us this was a mistake, a leftover from a previous sale. (Current sale was a 10% gift card rebate.)

Manager says he's taking down that sign right now, but since they quoted me that price, I could have it right then and there. If I left, it wouldn't be available when I returned.

I bought. I got the $2700 price AND the gift card rebates.

That's customer service.

It's not too much to ask of Disney.

The difference is that when you went to Lowes and discovered the price conflict, you had not PREVIOUSLY entered into a contract (as the OP had, verbally over phone or by completing a booking online), thus agreeing to a given price. The OP gave her word to WDW Co. that she wished to book a 9 day vaca for x amount of $.
If you had purchased the appliance online at the higher price and were picking it up at the Lowes store and noticed the sign for the lower price, I doubt very much they would have lowered the price for you . ... bc you already agreed to the price shown online and commited via the online purchase process.

 

[Luckybee]

If I am understanding the OP correctly, and I think I am she was quoted a PACKAGE price in writing and paid the deposit. She was not quoted on a daily basis. If that is correct certainly in Canada where I am this would be a binding contract. The only question that I would have is with regard to a clause someone(not the op) mentioned regarding price changes prior to payment in full. I'd want to know how often that is applied, whether the clause is there to cover things like tax increases, extraordinary unforeseen costs etc. and whether that clause is predominant in ALL documents, or buried.

What some of the posters seem to be missing is that this is not a case of "obvious pricing error" . Generally at least where I am the standard is akin to "if its too good to be true". This would not fit into that criteria by any stretch. Im assuming (as dangerous as that is) that although US law differs from Canadian in many respects, that the basic facets of a contract would be the same or certainly similar. If so this isn't a question of whether Disney should honor the price, rather its one of whether they'll get away with not doing so even though they would be legally obligated to do so( with the only uncertainty being the clause referred to) .

On a personal note dh and I have travelled extensively throughout the world most times booking non pkg holidays. On the odd occasion when we have booked a pkg price (maybe only 8-10 trips) out of 100 -200 I have only broken my cost down on a per night basis to determine if the pkg price was better than the nightly cost. If it wasn't why would I book a pkg ? In 99% of travel pkgs are always less costly that booking individual components. Even if the op had seen the savings 20% would be nothing, and certainly not unusual in the travel world for savings on a pkg.

 

[ziravan]

The difference is that when you went to Lowes and discovered the price conflict, you had not PREVIOUSLY entered into a contract (as the OP had, verbally over phone or by completing a booking online), thus agreeing to a given price. The OP gave her word to WDW Co. that she wished to book a 9 day vaca for x amount of $.
If you had purchased the appliance online at the higher price and were picking it up at the Lowes store and noticed the sign for the lower price, I doubt very much they would have lowered the price for you . ... bc you already agreed to the price shown online and commited via the online purchase process.

I disagree. Her word was expressed in an invoice confirmation quoting her a price for a total nine day package. THAT is what she agreed to pay, and that is what Disney agreed to sell at.

The whole point of a confirmation is to provide written assurance to an agreement.

Disney made a mistake. They need to own it.

 

[crazymomof4]

I disagree. Her word was expressed in an invoice confirmation quoting her a price for a total nine day package. THAT is what she agreed to pay, and that is what Disney agreed to sell at.

The whole point of a confirmation is to provide written assurance to an agreement.

Disney made a mistake. They need to own it.

Then I am misunderstanding. I thought the price she agreed upon at the time of booking was a higher price (bc it was based on the 9 days she wanted) and she initially just didn't notice that the email price was not in agreement (was lower bc it was a price for 2 days less than she wanted) with the price she originally booked for.

 

[Halloweenqueen]

I keep reading about the computer glitch, but no confirmation from the OP that she even booked online.

 

[maxiesmom]

Most grocers and major retailers will credit the difference when they quote the wrong price, computer error or otherwise.

For example, my wife and I were pricing a major appliance a few months ago. We knew the price should be about $3400 for the model we wanted. We visited a Lowes not near us. They had a sign for the appliance for $2700. I asked. Clerk looked it up, got his manager who told us this was a mistake, a leftover from a previous sale. (Current sale was a 10% gift card rebate.)

Manager says he's taking down that sign right now, but since they quoted me that price, I could have it right then and there. If I left, it wouldn't be available when I returned.

I bought. I got the $2700 price AND the gift card rebates.

That's customer service

It's not too much to ask of Disney.

That is not customer service. That is mandated by the government. And it still required to bring it to the attention of the appropriate person then and there.