VWL Studio 4533

[tigger137]

Given that there is only one studio at VWL which does NOT have a balcony, is it really unreasonable of me to expect the front desk staff to know about it and/or for it to be noted somewhere on the reservations computer system? After all, I live over 4000 miles from VWL but I know about it! (Thanks to the wonderful DISboards. )

Before I start my tale, I would like to emphasise that I am fully aware that check-in time for VWL is from 4.00pm. But we were coming direct from the Disney Dream so didn’t have much option other than an early arrival; and I had checked in online and given an early arrival time; so I couldn’t help but hope that perhaps we would be fortunate enough to get into our room earlier.

Anyway, last month we arrived at WL approx 0930. Headed straight to the Online Check-in desk and greeted the lady CM, saying we had checked in online. My only previous experience of checking in online was at Saratoga Springs where, when we arrived, I was simply handed an envelope containing all the information. So I was a little puzzled when the CM started tapping away at her computer. Then she went to another computer, then back to the one near us, and there were some other comings and goings. Eventually she said to us, a little accusingly, “You checked in online”. Well, yes – not only did I say that when I first spoke to her, but we were, after all, at the Online Check-in desk.

Next she went away and came back with 3 parcels, items which DH had ordered to have delivered to VWL. He duly signed for these and thought, as I did, that we must be in luck and our room must be ready (why else would she bring these parcels to us if we had nowhere to take them?) But she then handed us the usual pack of information and told us our room was not ready yet. So DH then said that he would need to leave the parcels until the room was ready. She did take them back but was unhappy about it because he had already signed for them.

The CM did not explain anything in the pack to us and, most importantly, did not tell us that our room keys were already in the pack. Given that the room wasn’t ready, we thought we would get the keys once it was ready. As far as we were concerned there was nothing in the pack we needed right now so I tucked it into our luggage and we left our bags at the valet desk to be stored. We sat around WL and VWL for a while and later headed out for lunch. When we returned at 1300 I asked at the desk if our room was ready and was told, “Housekeeping is in there now, give them a little while”. To me this was definitely not just a “no”, it indicated that our particular room was currently being worked on. I was told we would be sent a text when the room was ready but I wasn’t sure this would work as to send a text to our phone would require an international call.
At 1400 I asked again, a different CM. She said no, it wasn’t ready. And she was the first to mention that our keys were already in the pack we had been given earlier. So we retrieved the bags from storage and continued to wait in the lobby.

At 1445 I asked again, a different CM. Yes, the room is ready. But it was room number 4533! We’re staying a full week and have been waiting since 0930, only to be given the one and only VWL studio that doesn’t have a balcony. I was not happy. But I then proceeded to have a battle with the CM as he insisted all VWL studios have balconies. I said no they do not, one doesn’t and I’m pretty sure it’s this one – and I asked him to check. He spoke to 2 or 3 other CMs at the front desk (one of whom was dressed differently and working at a different kind of computer, set back a little from the front desk, who I thought may be some kind of supervisor) but they all seemed non-committal. He came back to me and again said, all the studios have a balcony. I again asked him to check, so he disappeared to the back office for quite a while. When he came back to me he was about to speak when a chap dressed in a Bell Services uniform appeared from the back office and said to him, “She’s right, it doesn’t have a balcony”.

The CM then told me our only options were to accept the studio without a balcony or wait for one which had just had the carpet shampooed and wouldn’t be ready for at least 2 hours. I was now so annoyed and disappointed, in addition to being tired, that I just wanted to burst into tears. I told the CM I needed to check with my DH and that I would come back.

I spoke to DH who said that he knew if we accepted the studio without a balcony I would be disappointed for the whole week. So I headed back to the front desk once more. The CM this time, the 5th one today, noticed that I was upset and immediately set out to make things better if she could. I explained about the studio without a balcony and she said she completely understood why we didn’t want that one. She obviously knew nothing about the studio with the carpet being shampooed but phoned to find out. She proceeded to discuss with the person on the phone whether there was any other studio ready and, lo and behold, found one that we could be checked into straight away. If the desk wasn’t so high, and me so short, I would have hugged her! This cannot have been more than 10 minutes since the previous CM told me categorically I only had 2 options – no balcony or wait at least another 2 hours – so I can only think that he was irritated at me having been proved right about 4533 not having a balcony.

So, finally, some 6 hours after arriving at VWL, we were finally able to go to our room. With a balcony.

It isn’t the 6-hour wait that was the issue really, although that was hard going after having had to leave the Disney ship so early. But, as I said right at the start, I do know the check-in times. The inconsistency of information provided by different CMs led to a poor customer service experience. The fact that there is one studio without a balcony is a ridiculous situation, but it exists. However, I believe it should be policy not to allocate it as a studio (it also acts as the 2nd bedroom of a 2-bed unit) except as a last resort, when every other room is occupied, which I do not believe was the case on the day we arrived.

But the worst part of all was the CMs either not knowing, or feigning not to know, that studio 4533 does not have a balcony. I believe there are 728 rooms at WL and 136 units at VWL, so from 864 rooms to be allocated at that front desk, only one does not have a balcony or patio. Even if the front desk staff change so frequently that it cannot be included in their training, I do not believe that it could not be noted somewhere – either within the computer software or even just as a paper note on a noticeboard. It is an oddity, but surely such an oddity is something people are likely to remember once told about it.

We went on to have a good stay, as always, but it’s a shame the start was marred by something which was avoidable.

 

[bumbershoot]

Oh man, do I know what it's like to be brought to the point of tears by a room. And by frustrating levels of lower competence by CM. And I"m really glad you went away somewhere for lunch, because I also know that the frustration gets higher the longer you wait AT the hotel for checkin that for whatever reason you thought was imminent.

Last month was AWFUL for checking in. You probably know that they are still undergoing a huge change in software, and online checkins were being lost. Our info was halfway lost with 2+ of our Feb checkins (we did POR, Kidani, SSR, and VWL); POR they had a packet but no names of DH or DS, and the CC info I put in (because during the time I was doing online checkin CC info was REQUIRED), but the PIN I chose online was there. Kidani was missing the CC info and we had to create new PINs. SSR was nearly complete but then their system messed up the following day when we had to change rooms due to absolutely overwhelming mildew throughout the 2 bedroom. For us, VWL was the ONLY perfect checkin experience, but that was by the time it was the 18th.

So it's not surprising to me that a Feb checkin experience did not go smoothly. I imagine that your online checkin was partially, or fully, lost off in cyberspace somewhere, and that's why they couldn't find your info. And you just happened to get a CM who had been off the last 3 months and was unaware of the computer changes or issues they had been having.

First time I was brought to tears over a room was at Jambo's villa area, where they foisted an accessible room on us, and we just happened to not have any time between tossing our stuff in the room and racing to a Sanaa reservation. Which meant we realized the room was not OK for us (we 100% needed a tub and the room only had a walkin shower) very very late, and after a comedy of errors in getting back to Jambo after approx 10pm, when it was quite literally freezing cold (dec 2010). We had to wait until the following day, and made the rotten mistake of waiting around the hotel...there is nothing that makes things feel longer than waiting around when you'd rather be out doing something. So that's why I'm glad you got out for lunch! It would have felt so much worse if you had just been in the lobby.

For the future, they always give you the keycards in your packet. Of course they are supposed to explain that, too!

And omg I cannot imagine being at VWL without a balcony! I'm glad you insisted on getting a different room. Our stay at VWL (our first) was really great, partially because for us it was a painfree checkin, but also because that balcony was SO lovely to be on and SO peaceful. It helped to "make" the stay for me. I can't believe they actually made a room there without a balcony.

 

[twinklebug]

Having a dumpster view at VWL is better than having no balcony.

I'm sure there's a very good structural reason why this room was built without a balcony, but that room should have been built as a dedicated 2 bedroom unit since the 1br next door has a balcony. I agree with you - the assigner should be well aware of the design and the system software should be set up with a conditional 'lock' on this unit so it's never given out as a stand alone studio.

As for the lack of knowledge regarding this unit not having a balcony: I don't blame them for not training the front desk CMs to know about this rooms lack of a balcony. If they did, each and every time the CMs gave out this unit they'd be cringing wondering if it's best to tell the guests up front about the issue or waiting to see if the room is unacceptable. It's better they not know at all.

I feel that WL & VWL together have a higher percentage of possibly-unacceptable room views than the rest of the resorts. In the Villas there's the dumpster view rooms and the balcony-less room. In the main lodge there are far more rooms with issues with trees blocking views, loading area view rooms and the wonderful tin roof view rooms that oddly enough are classified as "woods view". Then in both e main lodge was well as the villas there's the issue with the top floor balconies being enclosed and folk not liking those. Just saying, I can understand how the front desk manager might get upset with it all. Not saying he had a right to take an attitude if that's what he did. After all, his job is to help guests out - not to be snippy with them.

 

[bumbershoot]

Just saying, I can understand how the front desk manager might get upset with it all. Not saying he had a right to take an attitude if that's what he did. After all, his job is to help guests out - not to be snippy with them.

I understand the manager *feeling* that way too, and especially since there were so many issues in February (DH had the front desk manager of SSR get flippant with him while they were trying to solve the problems their system had caused while trying to solve problems caused by, again, their system), but to be a manager means to keep those feelings all bottled up inside until they are not around guests.

Especially when dealing with issues caused solely by their systems and CMs, and not their guests. The OP did nothing wrong; she knew checkin time, she got out for lunch, she simply trusted that "housekeeping is working on your room" meant that it would be done soon, and she wasn't given the info about the keycards...the CMs fell down on the job in explaining things to them, and then she had different info given when trying to fix the room situation... There's no place for managerial snippiness.

I love that the Bell Services guy came in at the right time to say the OP was right! But I really liked the Bell Services people at WL; they were definitely good people during our stay.

 

[Deb & Bill]

Given that there is only one studio at VWL which does NOT have a balcony, is it really unreasonable of me to expect the front desk staff to know about it and/or for it to be noted somewhere on the reservations computer system? After all, I live over 4000 miles from VWL but I know about it! (Thanks to the wonderful DISboards. )

Before I start my tale, I would like to emphasise that I am fully aware that check-in time for VWL is from 4.00pm. But we were coming direct from the Disney Dream so didn’t have much option other than an early arrival; and I had checked in online and given an early arrival time; so I couldn’t help but hope that perhaps we would be fortunate enough to get into our room earlier.

Anyway, last month we arrived at WL approx 0930. Headed straight to the Online Check-in desk and greeted the lady CM, saying we had checked in online. My only previous experience of checking in online was at Saratoga Springs where, when we arrived, I was simply handed an envelope containing all the information. So I was a little puzzled when the CM started tapping away at her computer. Then she went to another computer, then back to the one near us, and there were some other comings and goings. Eventually she said to us, a little accusingly, “You checked in online”. Well, yes – not only did I say that when I first spoke to her, but we were, after all, at the Online Check-in desk.

Next she went away and came back with 3 parcels, items which DH had ordered to have delivered to VWL. He duly signed for these and thought, as I did, that we must be in luck and our room must be ready (why else would she bring these parcels to us if we had nowhere to take them?) But she then handed us the usual pack of information and told us our room was not ready yet. So DH then said that he would need to leave the parcels until the room was ready. She did take them back but was unhappy about it because he had already signed for them.

The CM did not explain anything in the pack to us and, most importantly, did not tell us that our room keys were already in the pack. Given that the room wasn’t ready, we thought we would get the keys once it was ready. As far as we were concerned there was nothing in the pack we needed right now so I tucked it into our luggage and we left our bags at the valet desk to be stored. We sat around WL and VWL for a while and later headed out for lunch. When we returned at 1300 I asked at the desk if our room was ready and was told, “Housekeeping is in there now, give them a little while”. To me this was definitely not just a “no”, it indicated that our particular room was currently being worked on. I was told we would be sent a text when the room was ready but I wasn’t sure this would work as to send a text to our phone would require an international call.
At 1400 I asked again, a different CM. She said no, it wasn’t ready. And she was the first to mention that our keys were already in the pack we had been given earlier. So we retrieved the bags from storage and continued to wait in the lobby.

At 1445 I asked again, a different CM. Yes, the room is ready. But it was room number 4533! We’re staying a full week and have been waiting since 0930, only to be given the one and only VWL studio that doesn’t have a balcony. I was not happy. But I then proceeded to have a battle with the CM as he insisted all VWL studios have balconies. I said no they do not, one doesn’t and I’m pretty sure it’s this one – and I asked him to check. He spoke to 2 or 3 other CMs at the front desk (one of whom was dressed differently and working at a different kind of computer, set back a little from the front desk, who I thought may be some kind of supervisor) but they all seemed non-committal. He came back to me and again said, all the studios have a balcony. I again asked him to check, so he disappeared to the back office for quite a while. When he came back to me he was about to speak when a chap dressed in a Bell Services uniform appeared from the back office and said to him, “She’s right, it doesn’t have a balcony”.

The CM then told me our only options were to accept the studio without a balcony or wait for one which had just had the carpet shampooed and wouldn’t be ready for at least 2 hours. I was now so annoyed and disappointed, in addition to being tired, that I just wanted to burst into tears. I told the CM I needed to check with my DH and that I would come back.

I spoke to DH who said that he knew if we accepted the studio without a balcony I would be disappointed for the whole week. So I headed back to the front desk once more. The CM this time, the 5th one today, noticed that I was upset and immediately set out to make things better if she could. I explained about the studio without a balcony and she said she completely understood why we didn’t want that one. She obviously knew nothing about the studio with the carpet being shampooed but phoned to find out. She proceeded to discuss with the person on the phone whether there was any other studio ready and, lo and behold, found one that we could be checked into straight away. If the desk wasn’t so high, and me so short, I would have hugged her! This cannot have been more than 10 minutes since the previous CM told me categorically I only had 2 options – no balcony or wait at least another 2 hours – so I can only think that he was irritated at me having been proved right about 4533 not having a balcony.

So, finally, some 6 hours after arriving at VWL, we were finally able to go to our room. With a balcony.

It isn’t the 6-hour wait that was the issue really, although that was hard going after having had to leave the Disney ship so early. But, as I said right at the start, I do know the check-in times. The inconsistency of information provided by different CMs led to a poor customer service experience. The fact that there is one studio without a balcony is a ridiculous situation, but it exists. However, I believe it should be policy not to allocate it as a studio (it also acts as the 2nd bedroom of a 2-bed unit) except as a last resort, when every other room is occupied, which I do not believe was the case on the day we arrived.

But the worst part of all was the CMs either not knowing, or feigning not to know, that studio 4533 does not have a balcony. I believe there are 728 rooms at WL and 136 units at VWL, so from 864 rooms to be allocated at that front desk, only one does not have a balcony or patio. Even if the front desk staff change so frequently that it cannot be included in their training, I do not believe that it could not be noted somewhere – either within the computer software or even just as a paper note on a noticeboard. It is an oddity, but surely such an oddity is something people are likely to remember once told about it.

We went on to have a good stay, as always, but it’s a shame the start was marred by something which was avoidable.

I'm sorry your trip didn't start out the way you planned it. It'a always exciting to arrive at your resort ready to move into a villa, but check in time isn't until after 4PM. So even if you did arrive at 9:30AM, you shouldn't have expected to get into your villa until after 4PM. It's great if you do get in earlier than that, but it's better to be happily surprised that the room is ready earlier rather than being disappointed that it isn't ready earlier.

I think the OKW and SSR CMs have a little more knowledge about the resort rather than the ones at a shared resort. I own at VWL and didn't know the room number of the villa without the balcony, nor the villas right next to the dumpster. And we were just there in January.

Plus no matter what we think about how that room should have been constructed, it was constructed without a balcony and someone gets stuck with it. It's kind of like getting stuck with the smoking optional room back in the days when smoking was permitted in the resort rooms.

I'm a little surprised that you didn't know you were given your KTTW when you checked in. Have you not checked into a DVC resort before and the room wasn't ready?

As for the comment that housekeeping was working on it right now, I think that is something the CMs will tell a guest even if they don't know if it is true or not. It makes the guest think that their room will be ready sooner, rather than later. And it wouldn't make the guest feel very good if the CM said they didn't know the status of the room readiness at all, which is more likely the case. I think that was just a guess on the part of the CM.

 

[disneynutz]

As for the comment that housekeeping was working on it right now, I think that is something the CMs will tell a guest even if they don't know if it is true or not.

I agree, this is their standard answer. I often will play with the CM and say something like, "do you really know or are you trying to make me feel good"?
They will get a funny look on their face, some will say that they don't really know, once in a while they will try to call Mousekeeping to get the real answer.

We learned this lesson when we were told that they were working in our room at 10:00 and told the same thing at 5:00. I explained that if the room needed that much cleaning, I didn't know if we wanted that one. Turns out it was ready around 1:00 but never got statused.

Bill

 

[tigger137]

I'm sorry your trip didn't start out the way you planned it. It'a always exciting to arrive at your resort ready to move into a villa, but check in time isn't until after 4PM. So even if you did arrive at 9:30AM, you shouldn't have expected to get into your villa until after 4PM. It's great if you do get in earlier than that, but it's better to be happily surprised that the room is ready earlier rather than being disappointed that it isn't ready earlier.

I did say right from the start that I was fully aware of the check-in time, and I did not expect to get the room before then - I just hoped.

I think the OKW and SSR CMs have a little more knowledge about the resort rather than the ones at a shared resort. I own at VWL and didn't know the room number of the villa without the balcony, nor the villas right next to the dumpster. And we were just there in January.

Plus no matter what we think about how that room should have been constructed, it was constructed without a balcony and someone gets stuck with it. It's kind of like getting stuck with the smoking optional room back in the days when smoking was permitted in the resort rooms.

I'm a little surprised that you didn't know you were given your KTTW when you checked in. Have you not checked into a DVC resort before and the room wasn't ready?

As it happens - no. Generally we will have flown across the Atlantic that day so won't arrive until well after check-in time.

I don't see why it should surprise you that we didn't know about the keys. Any more than it should surprise me that you own at VWL yet don't know the number of the studio without a balcony.

As for the comment that housekeeping was working on it right now, I think that is something the CMs will tell a guest even if they don't know if it is true or not. It makes the guest think that their room will be ready sooner, rather than later. And it wouldn't make the guest feel very good if the CM said they didn't know the status of the room readiness at all, which is more likely the case. I think that was just a guess on the part of the CM.

Personally I'd rather they didn't guess. That is not good customer service at all. Far better that CMs should be honest and not mislead guests into thinking their room will be ready sooner rather than later.

 

[tigger137]

Oh man, do I know what it's like to be brought to the point of tears by a room. And by frustrating levels of lower competence by CM. And I"m really glad you went away somewhere for lunch, because I also know that the frustration gets higher the longer you wait AT the hotel for checkin that for whatever reason you thought was imminent.

Last month was AWFUL for checking in. You probably know that they are still undergoing a huge change in software, and online checkins were being lost. Our info was halfway lost with 2+ of our Feb checkins (we did POR, Kidani, SSR, and VWL); POR they had a packet but no names of DH or DS, and the CC info I put in (because during the time I was doing online checkin CC info was REQUIRED), but the PIN I chose online was there. Kidani was missing the CC info and we had to create new PINs. SSR was nearly complete but then their system messed up the following day when we had to change rooms due to absolutely overwhelming mildew throughout the 2 bedroom. For us, VWL was the ONLY perfect checkin experience, but that was by the time it was the 18th.

So it's not surprising to me that a Feb checkin experience did not go smoothly. I imagine that your online checkin was partially, or fully, lost off in cyberspace somewhere, and that's why they couldn't find your info. And you just happened to get a CM who had been off the last 3 months and was unaware of the computer changes or issues they had been having.

I wasn't aware of the problems they were having with online check-ins. By the way, I'd forgotten until you mentioned PINs but not one of the 5 front desk CMs said anything to us about setting up a PIN. I only found out that we should have one the first time I tried to pay for something on my KTTW, so we then had to go and get them set up. I expect that was something that the first CM should have done, along with telling us that the keys were already in the pack, so the others would have thought it was already done.

For the future, they always give you the keycards in your packet. Of course they are supposed to explain that, too!

We will know in future. We usually don't arrive until well after check-in time so didn't expect to be given keys until the room was ready.

And omg I cannot imagine being at VWL without a balcony! I'm glad you insisted on getting a different room. Our stay at VWL (our first) was really great, partially because for us it was a painfree checkin, but also because that balcony was SO lovely to be on and SO peaceful. It helped to "make" the stay for me. I can't believe they actually made a room there without a balcony.

Thank you for understanding, and for the

 

[bumbershoot]

I'm sorry your trip didn't start out the way you planned it. It'a always exciting to arrive at your resort ready to move into a villa, but check in time isn't until after 4PM. So even if you did arrive at 9:30AM, you shouldn't have expected to get into your villa until after 4PM. It's great if you do get in earlier than that, but it's better to be happily surprised that the room is ready earlier rather than being disappointed that it isn't ready earlier.

I think the OKW and SSR CMs have a little more knowledge about the resort rather than the ones at a shared resort. I own at VWL and didn't know the room number of the villa without the balcony, nor the villas right next to the dumpster. And we were just there in January.

Plus no matter what we think about how that room should have been constructed, it was constructed without a balcony and someone gets stuck with it. It's kind of like getting stuck with the smoking optional room back in the days when smoking was permitted in the resort rooms.

I'm a little surprised that you didn't know you were given your KTTW when you checked in. Have you not checked into a DVC resort before and the room wasn't ready?

As for the comment that housekeeping was working on it right now, I think that is something the CMs will tell a guest even if they don't know if it is true or not. It makes the guest think that their room will be ready sooner, rather than later. And it wouldn't make the guest feel very good if the CM said they didn't know the status of the room readiness at all, which is more likely the case. I think that was just a guess on the part of the CM.

She said she knew the checkin time more than once. The only reason they had expectations later on was because of the CM saying that housekeeping was cleaning the room at that moment. This was CM-caused.

She didn't know the keycards would be there because the CM hadn't told her. "My only previous experience of checking in online was at Saratoga Springs where, when we arrived, I was simply handed an envelope containing all the information." That was her previous experience with this sort of thing. Unless you have heard it ahead of time somewhere, people rely on the CMs to give them vital information. And even with the amount of time I spent reading and responding while DS does his learning work, etc, I still miss pretty big things sometimes. A more normal message board user could easily miss such a thing, which is why it's important for CMs to do their full jobs. AND each time WE checked in, the CMs made an effort to show me the keycards and make a big production about putting them in the little pocket. Of course, half the time it was obvious because they had missed names and had to print the cards, or messed something up and had to REprint the cards, but still, they told us the cards were in there.

If they are telling people that housekeeping is working on a room when they aren't, that's flat out lying and to me that's 100% unacceptable. If they are working in such a position and haven't figured out a way to tell guests the unpleasant TRUTH, they need retraining or need a new position. We cannot simply accept lies to be told to us by CMs. That's not OK.




OP, they didn't set up a PIN, either? That has been part of the online checkin process, but they should have verified it at least. I kind of hope you remember the names of the good and the lackluster CMs and can maybe write in. Give kudos to the good and get some extra attention/training given to the not-so-good.

 

[tigger137]

I kind of hope you remember the names of the good and the lackluster CMs and can maybe write in. Give kudos to the good and get some extra attention/training given to the not-so-good.

I made a note of the CM who was so understanding and found us a room, and who turned my day around. Later I took a small gift to the front desk for her with a thank you card, having checked that this would be okay. She had gone but I left it with a colleague. It was suggested I fill a card in that would go on her record but they couldn't find one for me so I wrote a brief note to her line manager instead. The CM I spoke to said people rarely say thank you officially and that it would be very much appreciated by both the individual and management.

 

[tigger137]

OP, they didn't set up a PIN, either? That has been part of the online checkin process, but they should have verified it at least.

I don't remember being asked to set up a PIN when I checked in online although I did give a credit card number. I checked in quite a long time ahead so maybe it's something that was brought in after then. We have used PIN numbers with our credit and bank cards here for many years, can't use cards to pay in shops without one. So I don't think I would have missed it if asked when checking in online.

 

[Anal Annie]

I'm confused. Did you have a request on your reservation that said any room besides that one and they didn't honor it or you were just upset that that was the room they initially assigned to you when they got around to it?

We often arrive early in the day and never expect that our room will be ready so we just drop our stuff with bell services and head out to the parks. We learned the hard way. The one time we tried to wait was at Paradise Pier at DL back in 2005 as we didn't buy park tix for our arrival day (just figured we'd go to the pool since it was really only a half day). We checked in, got a late lunch and wandered around the hotel awhile waiting (but it was ALMOST time). I stopped at a house phone by an elevator bank to call the front desk to check on the status and while my back was turned DS (then 8) got into one of the elevators (alone) with the glass fronts that face the lobby there. Not sure what he pushed but he apparently tried to stop it from taking off without us but was too late so he hit several buttons at once and then the elevator stopped and got stuck in-between 2 floors!! We called the front desk from the same house phone who then sent the manager up and they called facilities maintenance who couldn't get it open so then they called the DL fire department!! Nobody could get those doors open so they had to call the Otis Elevator company who manufactured the elevator!! They had to go up to the floor above where it was stuck and lower themselves down onto the roof of the elevator car and go into it through the roof to work on it from inside!! Meanwhile, he was scared and hysterical and everybody in the lobby could see him (as could we). It was a task tho trying to get him to calm down while everybody in the lobby was pointing up at him and sure made for a memorable start to our trip. The manager was very apologetic and he upgraded our room to a theme park view and then sent up a huge balloon to him with a cute stuffed Goofy. That was the LAST time we'll ever try to just wait it out.

Sorry you had a crappy start to your trip - been there. Hopefully it will improve.

 

[paults]

Given that there is only one studio at VWL which does NOT have a balcony, is it really unreasonable of me to expect the front desk staff to know about it and/or for it to be noted somewhere on the reservations computer system? After all, I live over 4000 miles from VWL but I know about it! (Thanks to the wonderful DISboards. )

Before I start my tale, I would like to emphasise that I am fully aware that check-in time for VWL is from 4.00pm. But we were coming direct from the Disney Dream so didn’t have much option other than an early arrival; and I had checked in online and given an early arrival time; so I couldn’t help but hope that perhaps we would be fortunate enough to get into our room earlier.

Anyway, last month we arrived at WL approx 0930. Headed straight to the Online Check-in desk and greeted the lady CM, saying we had checked in online. My only previous experience of checking in online was at Saratoga Springs where, when we arrived, I was simply handed an envelope containing all the information. So I was a little puzzled when the CM started tapping away at her computer. Then she went to another computer, then back to the one near us, and there were some other comings and goings. Eventually she said to us, a little accusingly, “You checked in online”. Well, yes – not only did I say that when I first spoke to her, but we were, after all, at the Online Check-in desk.

Next she went away and came back with 3 parcels, items which DH had ordered to have delivered to VWL. He duly signed for these and thought, as I did, that we must be in luck and our room must be ready (why else would she bring these parcels to us if we had nowhere to take them?) But she then handed us the usual pack of information and told us our room was not ready yet. So DH then said that he would need to leave the parcels until the room was ready. She did take them back but was unhappy about it because he had already signed for them.

The CM did not explain anything in the pack to us and, most importantly, did not tell us that our room keys were already in the pack. Given that the room wasn’t ready, we thought we would get the keys once it was ready. As far as we were concerned there was nothing in the pack we needed right now so I tucked it into our luggage and we left our bags at the valet desk to be stored. We sat around WL and VWL for a while and later headed out for lunch. When we returned at 1300 I asked at the desk if our room was ready and was told, “Housekeeping is in there now, give them a little while”. To me this was definitely not just a “no”, it indicated that our particular room was currently being worked on. I was told we would be sent a text when the room was ready but I wasn’t sure this would work as to send a text to our phone would require an international call.
At 1400 I asked again, a different CM. She said no, it wasn’t ready. And she was the first to mention that our keys were already in the pack we had been given earlier. So we retrieved the bags from storage and continued to wait in the lobby.

At 1445 I asked again, a different CM. Yes, the room is ready. But it was room number 4533! We’re staying a full week and have been waiting since 0930, only to be given the one and only VWL studio that doesn’t have a balcony. I was not happy. But I then proceeded to have a battle with the CM as he insisted all VWL studios have balconies. I said no they do not, one doesn’t and I’m pretty sure it’s this one – and I asked him to check. He spoke to 2 or 3 other CMs at the front desk (one of whom was dressed differently and working at a different kind of computer, set back a little from the front desk, who I thought may be some kind of supervisor) but they all seemed non-committal. He came back to me and again said, all the studios have a balcony. I again asked him to check, so he disappeared to the back office for quite a while. When he came back to me he was about to speak when a chap dressed in a Bell Services uniform appeared from the back office and said to him, “She’s right, it doesn’t have a balcony”.

The CM then told me our only options were to accept the studio without a balcony or wait for one which had just had the carpet shampooed and wouldn’t be ready for at least 2 hours. I was now so annoyed and disappointed, in addition to being tired, that I just wanted to burst into tears. I told the CM I needed to check with my DH and that I would come back.

I spoke to DH who said that he knew if we accepted the studio without a balcony I would be disappointed for the whole week. So I headed back to the front desk once more. The CM this time, the 5th one today, noticed that I was upset and immediately set out to make things better if she could. I explained about the studio without a balcony and she said she completely understood why we didn’t want that one. She obviously knew nothing about the studio with the carpet being shampooed but phoned to find out. She proceeded to discuss with the person on the phone whether there was any other studio ready and, lo and behold, found one that we could be checked into straight away. If the desk wasn’t so high, and me so short, I would have hugged her! This cannot have been more than 10 minutes since the previous CM told me categorically I only had 2 options – no balcony or wait at least another 2 hours – so I can only think that he was irritated at me having been proved right about 4533 not having a balcony.

So, finally, some 6 hours after arriving at VWL, we were finally able to go to our room. With a balcony.

It isn’t the 6-hour wait that was the issue really, although that was hard going after having had to leave the Disney ship so early. But, as I said right at the start, I do know the check-in times. The inconsistency of information provided by different CMs led to a poor customer service experience. The fact that there is one studio without a balcony is a ridiculous situation, but it exists. However, I believe it should be policy not to allocate it as a studio (it also acts as the 2nd bedroom of a 2-bed unit) except as a last resort, when every other room is occupied, which I do not believe was the case on the day we arrived.

But the worst part of all was the CMs either not knowing, or feigning not to know, that studio 4533 does not have a balcony. I believe there are 728 rooms at WL and 136 units at VWL, so from 864 rooms to be allocated at that front desk, only one does not have a balcony or patio. Even if the front desk staff change so frequently that it cannot be included in their training, I do not believe that it could not be noted somewhere – either within the computer software or even just as a paper note on a noticeboard. It is an oddity, but surely such an oddity is something people are likely to remember once told about it.

We went on to have a good stay, as always, but it’s a shame the start was marred by something which was avoidable.

When we joined in JUly 2002 (BWV resale) we had pts to use up before August UY. We ended up at WLV studio in JULY ( never in july again) I was also a memebr on the Disboards at the time and knew about that no balcony room 4533. I told my DW we might have a long wait for a room because I bet we get room 4533, and I will not accept it. Guess what we got room 4533 at check-in and ready. I asked if it had a balcony because when we joined DVC we were told all DVC rooms have a patio or balcony. The CM checked and noted it did not have a balcony and I said I don't want it. We did get another room but CM said we had to wait. They didn't want to make the switch but I wasn't budging. I told them they need to put that room into the cash inventory not DVC because it has no balcony which it should have. I for one did not spend 10 grand at that time for DVC (2 months earlier) to not have a balcony or patio.
Now before someone jumps in a says but you only booked 2 months out you get what's left BULL!!! I joined because I liked the DVC setup and was told all DVC room have balconies or patios. To this day that room is still in the DVC inventory when it should be in the cash inventory.