VWL - Just back and not happy

[DVC-LEROY]

Just returned on Oct 8th from VWL and have to say that I'm very unhappy with our treatment. (letter has already been sent to DVC mgt) We requested a 2 bdrm and a studio, non-smoking, upper floor - all our arrangements were made 11 mths out. Both rooms were not ready at the same time - so my elderly parents initially were without a room but assured a room close by. Unfortunately close by meant on another floor which was completely unacceptable. When we tried to remedy the matter we got some "I just work here" attitude and were told that something couldn't be done till the next morning. The next morning we were told that we could have rooms closer together, that it was a mistake, but we would have to give up our rooms for the 4 hours between check out and check in. And - they would waive the fee they normally charge for a room change - how nice of them. We should have been charging them for the 4 hours that we would be without rooms. I can't believe they had the nerve to bring up the room change charge. Now here we were at Disney with a large group, all family, some potential DVC'rs (9 of us in the villas alone). I have parents who are elderly with medical problems so I need them nearby - and I'm trying to situate everyone. By the time we found someone with some authority and brains we ended up keeping our original rooms just because we had wasted so much time already.

 

[AZKathy]

I am so sorry! I know the concerns for elderly parents! Was the rest of the trip good? I hope so!

 

[yasuern]

Wow I am so sorry that your trip started this way! As much as we all hate to admit it - even Disney has some not so wonderful CMs - thank heavens that the wonderful CMs out number the sub par CMs. I hope the rest of your trip was good - I hope your parents are well and enjoyed themselves - but most of all I hope you don't lose the magic that you must have to have joined DVC to begin with.
PS
Whats the CMs name - we are going to VWL in Dec and would like to avoid this person if at all possible.

 

[Simba's Mom]

Wow, this really upsets me-I feel terrible for your treatment. When we were there in June, we also got several "could care less" CMs with attitudes like "this resort is so beautiful you should thank us for letting you stay here". I also wrote letters to DVC management and to Rilous Carter, the GM of WL (who never responded, by the way). We did get a phone call from the front desk manager at WL (in response to our DVC letter, not even aware of one we sent to Mr. Carter) who promised things would improve and CMs would be spoken to about the proper, courteous way to treat guests. Obviously if she spoke to them, it fell on deaf ears. That's the main reason that although we "own" at VWL, we wish we owned somewhere else-the CM attitudes we've encountered. I'm glad you wrote the letter. Please let us know the response.

 

[RoutemanDan]

I also own at VWL and have encountered less than enthusiastic CMs at check-in.I am hoping we will find on our next trip down in April/May nicer front desk staff.

 

[DiznEeyore]

I am so sorry to hear of the trouble you experienced. How completely frustrating!

I have to say that while of course there are less than wonderful CMs everywhere, I'm surprised that so many people feel that the WL CMs are so bad! We had just the opposite experience there! The CMs all knew us by name and were so friendly! My dh's knee acted up and he ended up using a cane, and each time we were in the Mercantile, they always asked about him.

On the other hand, we felt that the CMs at OKW weren't cheerful, knowledgeable or helpful (except for Cat, the front gate guard). We sent a letter to OKW noting Cat's wonderful service and wishing that others there might pick up some of that Disney magic again.

Just goes to show that everyone's experiences are different, I guess.

 

[skorpie]

I'm also very sorry you had a bad experience at the VWL. When we were there this past July, the CM we had went out of his way to check on our room request. I had this "thing" about having a balcony with railings. The CM took time and went to check with a manager if indeed we had 1BR with a balcony with railings. We were very happy with our room! I hope we have the same success on our trip this December!

 

[vernon]

Sorry to hear you didn't have a good experience. You don't mention in your post if you specified when you made the reservations that there were medical reasons that made it vital that your rooms were close to one another. If you did specify that then there is no excuse for you not getting rooms close to each other.
While I think it should be the case that every effort is made to ensure parties on the same booking are put as close to each other as possible, I can see situations where this is not easy to do. IMHO priority in that situation should go to groups who have known medical conditions necessitating close proximity to each other. If you didn't inform them at time of booking then , IMHO, you're making it very hard for the booking staff to guarantee you'll get what you want.

Personally , in your situation I would make sure I request IN WRITING, what I need and that I get a confirmation IN WRITING that Disney has received and acknowledged that request.

Rooms not being ready seems to becoming a problem, some of that is due, IMHO, to the cutbacks in cleaning staff and some of it is because guests don't make the effort to inform staff that they have vacated the room. I'm sure there could be a system that would allow guests to let it be known when they plan to leave the room, that doesn't involve cleaning staff calling or banging on the door early in the morning of departure. An efficient system would benefit both guests and staff.

 

[Tagrel]

Sorry you had such an unmagical visit home.

We stayed at AKL, WLV and BCV this last August and found the CM at AKL VERY unmagical, BCV was fine, but nothing exceptional and WLV the best by far. We actually ended up dealing with two front desk CMs at WLV, and both went out of their way to do everything they could to make our stay magical.

Since all the CM's are only human, and will each have 'bad' days, I guess this is only to be expected, but it gives such a sour start to your vacation experience when you run into the 'unmagical' CMs.

I think Disney knows this and tries to teach the CMs the importance of superb customer service (after all, we are paying a premium price - even us DVCers!). It sets the tone for your entire perception of that resort. For us, WLV is now our favorite. BCV was also wonderful (but not quite MAGICAL), and AKL will never get our money again.

That first impression is SO important, and I strongly feel that the front desk CMs should be some of the most highly trained and friendly personnel at the property. They set the mood for your entire stay. If they aren't capable of maintaining a high standard then they should be moved out of direct contact with the customers.

Just another 2 cents,

 

[wdwendyd]

You say "Both rooms were not ready at the same time". What time were the rooms ready?

 

[DVC-LEROY]

Thanks for the responses everyone! I will let you know what happens. I know I left alot of the information out but I got frustrated just writing about it again. First of all - I have to say that the bell staff was excellent, housekeeping that we encountered was great, and the staff at WCC couldn't have been better. Some of our family stayed in a deluxe room in the main lodge and had no complaints. It was definitely our mistake to take the one room without the other - even if they assured us the other would be ready within the hour (this was around 3:30 when we first checked in as I recall). When we made the initial reservations we were informed that the rooms would be together - as close as possible but definitely on the same floor, we explained our situation at that time and were reassured - though not in writing (that won't happen again). DVC and WLV lost an opportunity for us to buy more points or even have family members buy in. Aside from the room fiasco - we had a great time at the parks and excellent weather (which I was worried about considering the recent tropical systems). We're going to BCV in February so I haven't given up on DVC completely.