What do you do when the room isn't *perfect*

[LisaR]

At what point do you call for housekeeping or a supervisor? In reading some posts about room conditions, I think back to many things I have overlooked through the years. I have seen stains on carpet, dirt marks on the walls, small holes in the drywall, caulking missing in the bathroom, etc. Nothing that would ruin a trip. Nothing that would make us not return. Nothing that would make us contact MS or post a negative review on The Dis when we returned. So, we have always let it go. But, when I read some of these posts, I wonder when do you actually contact someone about the condition of the room? We checked into SSR last week. The room was great. There were some dirty dishes in the cupboard. Enough to make me say EWWWW. But, we ALWAYS wash all the dishes before we ever use them so it wasn't that big of a deal. But, if we don't report these types of things, will mousekeeping ever improve? I think I would feel silly or stupid reporting a small hole in a the wall. But, over time, that hole will probably get bigger and bigger. Was it my responsibility to report it when it was small? Just curious what everyone thinks.

Lisa

 

[dianeschlicht]

I think dirty dishes in the cupboard is a BIG thing, not small. That should be part of basic housekeeping, and I would have reported that. I have never had to call about a cleanliness issue, but I often have to call and have missing items from the list brought to us. I learned the hard way once, that if I don't check everything on the list, I could be VERY dissapointed half way into making dinner! I find the most common things to be missing are pot holders and can openers.

 

[ErinC]

We have had 3 DVC stays, the 2 at VWL were fine, but our last stay at BCV I complained. The unit had obviously not been vacuumed(there were bits of paper all over the floor), donut glaze all over the coffee table, and the final kicker was the hair in the bathroom sink and all over bathroom floor that did not belong to us. At that point I wondered if the the sheets on the bed were clean? I called immediately, and asked that they send someone to reclean the room. They did come steam clean the carpet(not necessary) which then was wet for a day of our stay, but never touched the bathroom or coffee table. I complained again on Monday(asked that they come and reclean the room), they never came to clean while we were out, so finally when I complained the 3rd time at the front desk to a housekeeping supervisor, they comped us a meal, and sent someone to reclean the room while we swam in the pool. I was so frustrated upon return to find out that the housekeeper had never touched the bathroom floor, my biggest complaint! I gave up. DH refuses to stay at BCV in the near future. I contacted MS when we returned home, and they kindly offered daily housekeeping on our next DVC stay at SSR. Frankly, I don't want daily housekeeping, it's a pain for me, so I probably won't even ask for it. Anyway, to answer your question, I can live with nicks and scrapes, but other peoples body hair, and grime, NO Thanks! If the nicks and scrapes are really bad, I might report them at checkout, but I don't want to loose precious vacation time, arguing with housekeeping for 2 days to try and get a clean room. In hindsight, I should have gone to the front desk immediately, and asked for a room change, but I was all caught up in the fact that I had gotten all my requests(nonsmoking, epcot view,higher floor). Next time I'll know to request a hairless room!!

 

[disworldnum1]

I will generally report anything that is going to effect our stay. I can put up with dirty dishes,but I can't stand a dirty bathroom(especially the shower )or a room with any kind of odors. my wife will not unload the luggage cart until she does a walk through on the room to avoid any problems.

 

[LisaR]

Erin,
I would have complained in your case as well, no question about it.

Dianeschlicht,
Our SSR room was spotless. It was very obvious that it had been cleaned and cleaned well. The only issues were the dishes. I am not sure what mousekeeping does when it comes to the dishes. Do they wash all the dishes every time? I doubt it. It appeared to me that someone stuck some dirty dishes back into the cupboard without cleaning them. While gross, I washed them by hand and then ran them in the dishwasher. If I would have called someone, what would they have done? That is why I am questioning when to complain. Erin's example is very obvious and needs attention right away. The small things that I have come across over the years seem so minor. But, if they are continually ignored, like I have been doing in the past, then maybe that is like telling them that they are doing a great job. I have seen the DVC rooms go done in cleaning quality over the years. A clean room is very important to me.

Lisa

 

[jctwizzer]

In 20+ visits to DVC resorts, we have never had to call about anything except one lamp that had come apart....how that happened was a mystery

 

[POOH&PIGLET]

We have never found a messy room! The only thing we ever reported is the door to the balcony didn't open one trip. A worker was in our room in less than 5 minutes. It was late (~9pm) and he couldn't fix it right away so he said someone would be back the next day. When we came back from the parks the next day the door was fixed.

 

[JudithM]

On our very first trip to OKW eleven eyars ago, I called to let housekeeping/engineering know that one of the doors to the TV stand in the LR was loose /falling off & to let them know the jacuzzi didn't hold water. I had no idea someone would repsond so quickly! In what seemed like minutes, a CM was at our door!

On our last trip earlier this month I called housekeeping due to numerous items that I call "lack of attention to detail." I actually left a message for the new OKW housekeeping supervisor about midnight. He called me first thing the next morning. Within two hours of our phone converstaion, everything was taken care of by housekeeping & engineering. I was sure to talk to the managers involved to compliment the effecient repsonses.

Perhaps each item would not have been bad if it were the only thing, but with numerous items, I felt someone should be aware of the lack of attention to details. As members (& even as guests) we have an obligation to help maintain our "home away from home." No one person/CM can do it all. We have to be part of the team that helps keep our home the way we like it.

I encourage each of you to speak up at the time you see something that is not right. Don't come back here & complain & expect someone to do something about it now. We all need to be proactive!

 

[jade1]

"What do you do when the room isn't *perfect* "

Go to the parks.

 

[officer tigger]

On our last trip back in April we called housekeeping for our condition. No big deal, but the counter tops were dirty and sticky. The light in the bathroom was out, and the batteries in the tv remote were dead.
They responded in no time and fixed everything. Like I said no big deal, just a bummer to start off the trip.

 

[kathleena]

I call to report things that are broken, but since I've never had any other issues (i.e. dirty dishes, unclean counters etc) I don't know exactly what I would do. I think it would depend on what it was.

I don't think that unclean dishes that were put away by a guest in a cupboard is the fault of housekeeping. Dirty counters and table tops and areas that need vacumming, yes. But I have my doubts that housekeeping takes down and cleans every dish.

 

[HUFF590]

I don't know about everyone elese but my DW cleans up the room every trip,I mean she cleans the bathroom tolits sinks shower floors I mean cleans! Even if the room is spotless. I always have to have a suitcase full of cleaning supplies, I say we are on vacation and she replies not till I've cleaned the room. So I just go to the pool or wonder around for a while. DW can't use the restroom untill she has cleaned it.

 

[tinker925]

I have to admit that I too clean when I arrive, other people's version of "clean" does not comply with mine. I especially scrub the tub with Ajax, and from these boards I have learned to fill with hot water and run a bit of dishwashing soap in it then run the jets, God only knows what could have been in there prior to our arrival. I admit I'm picky but rather safe than sorry. I also clean it very well before I leave too, I do the same with my "home at home" so why not my "home away from home".

 

[Mickey527]

I also do a quick spot clean when I enter the room, bathrooms mostly esp. the jacuzzi tub. That 10% discount at Bath Basin means great jacuzzi soaks in cocoa butter balls. I don't vacuum the first day unless there is a mess, but I do vacuum every day when we are there.
I think if I did see hair I would call though, that just means they didn't bother even trying to clean the bathroom
I don't cook much and when I do it is paper plates all the way so I don't even look at the dishes.
I have only had to call maintanence once and they showed up within minutes. We had a huge hornets next on the ceiling of the balcony. I love to sit on the balcony in the morning before everyone is awake and that nest kept me inside. The hornets came back the next day and rebuilt so maintanence came back again and sprayed this time after they knocked the next down. Never saw the buggers again. Peggie

 

[Ksp]

This may be going off topic for the thread....I'm not sure...so I'll make this quick.

We haven't ever had a room that looked dirty, but have you ever found that the supplies they restock the rooms with are not the same?

I notice this mostly when we're in studios - not the same amount of cups, sometimes no plastic forks/knives, no sponge for the sink....

 

[3DAN]

I have been in DVC since 1994. There always has been some very small item at the Old Key West that shows a slight amount of wear. I usually let the front desk know about it so that at some point it can be repaired. I plan on coming to WDW for a long time. I treat OKW like it is my own home. I definitely want it to remain in top shape. The front desk or housekeeping always is interested. I suspect that they also want to keep the place in top shape. We also had prompt service when something was broken. I can't say that I have any lingering bad memories from DVC.
Bill

 

[timC]

Was it my responsibility to report it when it was small? Just curious what everyone thinks.Lisa

I would have to say YES. You should report those items you mentioned.

They wouldn't spoil my trip either, but I would still report anything that is not up to Disney standards... Mgmt wants to know about these things. A hole in the wall is a maintenance issue that'll need to be addressed at some point. Holes don't heel themselves.

Dirty dishes in the cupboard are a health hazard. Mgmt needs to know how often this is happening so they can take preventative measures. Perhaps a process issue with housekeeping, better communications with guests.

 

[dcfromva]

I report everything that is not up to standard. I have rarely had a housekeeping issue, but most often it is things such as burnt of light bulb, a leak under the sink, broken remote control, et'c et'c.

I figure that if I don't make mention of these things, mgmt might not know about it. (How would they otherwise know that the remote wasn't working, for example?) And then the next guest has all these little things wrong with the room, too.

I have never had the maintenance staff working on a problem when I am in the room even the time I reported the water leak under the sink. They took care of it after we left the room.

-DC

 

[spearenb]

In the limited number of stays I have had at BWV and VWL, I can say that the only cleanliness problems I have had was the disgusting mold on the AC registers at BWV. We aren't talking about a spot of mold, we are talking about over 50% of the register being covered. Two registers in fact.

MS did return one days points for the inconvenence of them not coming and cleaning it (which I requested). I hope that they were cleaned for the next occupants (but I doubt it).

So, other than that, was the rooms perfect? No. but we can live with some imperfections...

 

[goofeyshell]

Slight embarassment for us when I called to say the phone in the 2nd bedroom was not working......they came right over and plugged it back in