What has happened to Mousekeeping ?????

[shelleyz]

I take the bedspread off the bed and fold down my blanket and sheet before I sit or lay on my bed. That's the only thing I don't like about the hotel rooms. My husband would probably say I'm a germ freak and a neat freak but I had no complaints about our room at All Star Sports or Pop Century. I did make DH use hand sanitizer, which he hates and kept telling him to keep his hands off the railings and off his face. One lady was laughing at me when I told him not to touch the railings, but thats o.k., we didn't get sick.

 

[wendylovesdisney]

When I stayed at the Polynesian 2 years ago we had a crib placed directly outside our hotel door, apparently from the previous occupants. There was a dirty hand towel inside of it. I ignored it until it was still there the next day. Every time I went in and out I saw this crib. I called the main desk by the the late afternoon of the next day and was assured it would be removed. That night it was still there and I pushed it down the hall ( I am embarassed to say by someone ELSE'S room). It was still there the next day and I blew my stack. Also, I noticed dirty dishes would sit in the halls from room service all day long. This is a far cry from what it was like the in the prior years. We are going in a year (we skipped a few years because of a new baby)and hope it is not the same or worse.

 

[webray]

This has been going on for years...lol. We stay (or use to anyway) on disney property a lot...sometimes twice a month, or more..lol.

Anyway..in the past 15 months...we have been checked into dirty rooms 12 times. Most of the problems are in the bathrooms...there is just no way anyone cleans these things..or wipes up the floor. One time..the room hadn't even been cleaned from the last guest..the room was disgusting.

We have had this problem with dirty rooms at a variety of resorts...Contemporary, All Stars, Boardwalk and so on...doesn't matter where we go.

Needless to say..we started staying at the Dolphin again, and the Universal resorts...we definately don't have these problems there.

 

[Zippa D Doodah]

You know, this thread has been sort of enlightening for me. We have had three previous trips to WDW, and never had a problem until last time -at AS Music. The bedspread on one bed were from AS Sports (no big deal). What was a big deal was the fact that the TV remote was covered with what I can only assume was snot or phlegm when we checked in. It became a really big deal for DW and me when DD6 picked it up to turn on the Disney resort channel fisrt thing when we opened the door. Mousekeeping did bring a new remote within 15 minutes, but I was aggravated enough that I will not stay at AS Music again.
Like many others who have posted, I don't care if the trashcan is out of place or there is a smidge of dust on the valance above the window. But for the money they charge for these rooms each night, isn't Disney obliged to at least live up the standards of the mid-range motels/ hotels we use in other places?

 

[dgaston]

Since this thread started out with a report about POR, I thought I'd best post our experience last weekend (1/30 to 2/2). Our king bed room in bldg 28 was very clean, the bathroom fine, and housekeeping delivered each of our requests very promptly (sharps container, refrigerator, coffeemaker (sans coffee--therefore the next request) and coffee). Mousekeeping even created a sort of Minnie from a coaster and towels. As just adults we didn't have the usual travel assortment of stuffed animals!

I was disappointed we didn't get into the Mansions as requested, but our stay was more accomodating than at some deluxes. (At Boardwalk, they never delivered some requests).

We first experienced towel animals at POR (then Dixie Landings) in 1998. Our mousekeeper was Maria, and she has been the best--no other resort housekeeping has come close for pleasant room surprises.

 

[k&a&c'smom]

Have to say, I think the pp who commented about the trash cans out of place has been a little maligned - the way I read it, they were simply pointing out some inconsistencies or quirks of mousekeeping, but in general was happy with it.

Most of our stays we have had great service - however, the first year we stayed at the Poly, one of the beds had small black hairs covering the sheets found when I was climbing in for bed!! EWWW!! I called mousekeeping and requested clean sheets, and they immediately sent 2 people to strip the bed and re-sheet (is that a word?!). During this operation, they apologised several times, and I responded that I was quite sure the last occupant had remade their bed prior to departure, and mousekeeping assumed it was not used. No big deal, and taken care of swiftly.

During our Dec. stay at the BC, mousekeeping was mostly good, there were just some minor things we felt could be better. The tub was not scrubbed at all during our stay and there were a few pieces of trash left from the previous occupant. As has been previously stated, I feel that cutbacks on staff has really impacted mousekeeping. I am definitely not a spotless housekeeper myself, but I do like a neat room when I travel.

OK, let me have it!!! Where and how have my observations been completely unjustified?!!

 

[Dory41]

I agree with you jaysue. To me, it all boils down to guest's expectations and whether Disney (or any company for that matter) meets them. All companies understand that to achieve long term growth and profits they need to meet (if not exceed) their customer's expectations. If the general public is not getting value for their dollar then they will eventually go elsewhere. Having worked in the travel industry, if I received complaints from numerous clients about a particular resort/hotel I would definitely not recommend it to future clients, thus affecting it's future revenues. I guess what I am trying to say is that if a company does not listen to their customers feedback (both positive and negative) it will directly impact "what the general public is willing to pay" since there will be less people who will be willing to pay. Just "simple" business sense.

Aloha!

 

[Hawk]

Originally posted by Dory41
I agree with you jaysue. To me, it all boils down to guest's expectations and whether Disney (or any company for that matter) meets them. All companies understand that to achieve long term growth and profits they need to meet (if not exceed) their customer's expectations. If the general public is not getting value for their dollar then they will eventually go elsewhere. Having worked in the travel industry, if I received complaints from numerous clients about a particular resort/hotel I would definitely not recommend it to future clients, thus affecting it's future revenues. I guess what I am trying to say is that if a company does not listen to their customers feedback (both positive and negative) it will directly impact "what the general public is willing to pay" since there will be less people who will be willing to pay. Just "simple" business sense.

Aloha!

That may be the case in a normal travel situation where the ratio of accommodations to attraction area is much higher - say New York, L.A. , San Francisco. WDW is roughly the size of San Francisco - so are you saying the ratio of accommodations is the same? I doubt it. For the foreseeable future, there will continuously be more demand for accommodations inside WDW than demand for what is available at a reasonable rate outside of WDW. Therefore, WDW will charge what a person is willing to pay; and there are plenty willing to pay their rate! I guess being in travel doesn't require a college degree, even a "simple" one.


Hawk.

 

[Dory41]

That may be the case in a normal travel situation where the ratio of accommodations to attraction area is much higher - say New York, L.A. , San Francisco. WDW is roughly the size of San Francisco - so are you saying the ratio of accommodations is the same? I doubt it. For the foreseeable future, there will continuously be more demand for accommodations inside WDW than demand for what is available at a reasonable rate outside of WDW. Therefore, WDW will charge what a person is willing to pay; and there are plenty willing to pay their rate! I guess being in travel doesn't require a college degree, even a "simple" one.

Just a few thoughts....

I don't see the relevance of accomodations vs. attraction area. Did you mean to say accomodations vs. visitor count? Orlando has well over 100 hotel/resorts that consistently offer discounted rooms which leads me to believe that they are no where near capacity. WDW's advantage over outside accomodations are perks such as early admission, transportation, and the 'magic' of staying at a Disney themed resort but if the 'magic' is lost due to not meeting guests expectations, inadequate housekeeping, etc. then they will lose market share. Did you know that WDW only reinstated early admission after they saw a noticeable drop in their occupancy rates? If you reread my comments you will see that I didn't disagree with your statement of "what the general public is willing to pay" but rather agreed with jaysue's comment of "pay more, expect more". WDW understands this or they wouldn't spend millions on advertising or offer discounts throughout most of the year.

Lastly, while I love a healthy debate and discussion, I for one do not appreciate condescending and in the case of your last post, downright mean comments. If that is the way that you normally speak then I would ask that you please not make them towards me.

Aloha.

 

[jann1033]

while our housekeeping was good last time, I did notice some were better than others..however I wonder about having a valid complaint when your room is not made up when you put out a do not disturb sign...I would guess they would wait and go back to those rooms after completing the rest on that floor and if the sign is still out after that, returning at end of shift. if you want it made up early, don't use the sign..same with requesting early cleaning..do you really expect them to run back and forth from floor to floor to accomadate your nap time? they have a lot of rooms to clean and only so much time to do it in.

if I do not supply something my market views as beneficial to them why should they use me? in the hotel industry I would have to think the perception of cleanliness ranks pretty high on what customers expect from any hotel charging premium rates....when one can get a larger clean room off property for a whole lot less, a premium priced on property room better be great or why spend the extra money especially since some of the other perks( trans. for one) are also not as good as they used to be. Disney is beginning to lose their edge due to lack of what made them great in the first place..exceptional service . It is getting more difficult to justify the difference in cost between on and off property and I have to think disney is feeling the pinch...why else would they do such long drawn out "refurbishing" and try to get people sealed into staying on property by the time share sales they seem to be pushing

 

[RescueRanger]

Dory-
I thought Hawk's comment was totally uncalled for. That is why I reported it to a moderator. Whether anything is done about it, Idon't know. HAwk is now on my ignore list. This isn't the only thread that Hawk seems to think he knows more than others. To try to make yourself look smarter by belittling others only shows the depth of your ignorance.

 

[Dory41]

Rescue Ranger,

Thanks for your comments. I am pretty new to this forum and to be honest I was shocked and pretty upset after reading Hawk's post. But hey, the "magic" is still alive and well inside of me because......

I'm doing the double digit dance!

Aloha!

 

[RescueRanger]

Dory -
Sorry, I didn't notice you are new to the boards. WELCOME!!! There are alot of people on the boards with good advice. I have saved alot of money since I found them. You will find that most of us are here to pass on our experiences to help others with their questions or sometimes just for moral support. So please don't let one bad experience scare you away. We should not be treating our new members the way that they are sometimes. Heck, for that matter, no one should be treated that way, old or new.

 

[Hawk]

Originally posted by Dory41

I
Lastly, while I love a healthy debate and discussion, I for one do not appreciate condescending and in the case of your last post, downright mean comments. If that is the way that you normally speak then I would ask that you please not make them towards me.

Aloha.

Dory41:

My apologies for the comment, now that I have re-read it after reading your post. It doesn't and it didn't come across the way I meant it. Unfortunate and I am sorry. I meant that there is no study (dollar wise) done by those who will go to WDW because of those benefits you describe rather than the savings and cleanliness which several in this post advocate. My point being that WDW has the upper hand because people would rather stay onsite as those benefits outweigh any "super clean" or "cost benefits" and WDW knows it. So as long as those benefits remain, they will continue to charge what the public requires. It is a dollar game to the current WDW hierarchy and we are naive if we think it is anything different.

My intention was not to run you down. Please attribute my post to a quick reply without considering the consequence.

Hawk.

 

[jann1033]

Originally posted by Dory41
. I am pretty new to this forum and to be honest I was shocked and pretty upset :

Aloha!

I guess that happens on any forum ( I don't really go to many but here)but for some reason I expected people who claim to love such a fun place to be less
obnoxious but have seen from this site that ain't always the case any way I am jealous you are from Hawaii. daughter just got back a trip to there and we just got back from wdw and both are asking ourselves "exactly* why* do we live in Ohio?"

 

[mtdevine615]

I wasn't going to reply to this but it seems to have generated a lot of comments.
We have just returned from 10 nights at PC. I was a little worried going down since we usually stay at deluxe resorts. After staying at PC we will probably not stay at a deluxe again.

The maid service was the very best we have ever had bar none, any hotel any where. After meeting Betsy she even invited us over for dinner. Maid service is not slipping at PC.

 

[goofy4tink]

At this point in this discussion, I wonder what exactly are our expectations as far as house(mouse)keeping go. What is it we really need to have done. For me....the carpet isn't a huge issue. After all, I only walk on it. But, the sheets have to be fresh when I check in. I have to have the bathroom clean. No toenail clippings, little curly hairs in the tub, toilet wiped down. I don't want to find leavings from the previous tenent. While I'm there, I'm not nearly so picky. I just don't want to see evidence that someone was there before me. I realize that there are many rooms for these people to clean. But, if each room was completely and thoroughly cleaned between reservations, then there might not be such a problem. We are very tidy people when we travel. All housekeeping has to do it wipe down the vanily area and the bathroom area. And then straighten the beds. I leave them almost made. Except for our departure day. THe last day I tear the bed sheets off so there is no chance they could be mistaken for not having been used. Do I care about cob-webs? Nope. But, if there are cob-webs in addition to a 'dirty' toilet, stuff in the tub area, clumps of hair behind the bathroom door and left behind food products....then yes, I'm going to complain!!
So, could you all tell us what your 'perfect' situation would be? I am just interested, no attempt at sarcasm here. No insult is intended. I seriously would like to know how others feel.

 

[colleen costello]

Goofy4tink, I agree with your post completely. I mostly expect a clean room when I check in. After that I don't worry too much. We have DVC now, and a lot of our WDW days are spent at those properties. DVC only gets housekeeping intermittently -- they tidy every 4 days and do a full cleaning at a week. This has not been a problem at all. We make the beds and I take out the trash and I keep the room and bathroom tidy. Even on vacation I am a "cleaner" and I like to keep out room tidy so we don't lose stuff. HOWEVER at check-in I expect a room that looks like it's "for me" without any DNA from previous occupants!

 

[jann1033]

goofy4tink: our routine is almost identical to yours, even down to the really messed up bed the last day! I also do not want to see any residual organic matter laying around since that makes me wonder what I am *not* seeing ( yes, I have watched way to many TV programs about hotel bedspreads and what they harbor yuck )
the things that would really gross me out and make me call the front desk would be dirty bathroom fixtures or floors ( asking for health problems imo) or dirty sheets or roaches/rodents or layers of dirt, stinky musty or rotten smells. if the room smelled or something or was really dirty/lots of cobwebs, dust an inch thick, obviously not recently cleaned, I would probably ask for a new room. if it just looked like it wasn't cleaned well after the last guest( hair and assorted bits and pieces), I would ask to have in cleaned immediately. if I saw roaches/rodents, I'm out of there and better have a refund in my hand.

 

[Aisling]

It seems that some people would like the water to part and angels to sing them to sleep as soon as they get on Disney Property.

That'd be me!