Your Mission - Inspect The Room

[lugnut33]

DVC Pres. Jim Lewis wants you to inspect your room when you enter it and make note of any problems like, burned out lights, broken furniture or fixtures, cleanliness etc. Take those problems down to the resort manager so they can be taken care of.

That was his personal message in DVC Files magazine this month.

Does anybody do this currently? I'll be honest, I try not to look at the room too closely because I'm there to have fun.

 

[drusba]

We have actually been doing that for years. As soon as we get into the room, we check all the lights, inspect for cleanliness, particularly kitchen and bathrooms, look about for anything damaged and if we notice problems call housekeeping and inform them (we haven't been contacting resort manager). Usually the only problems we find is a light bulb that is out or something else minor; once we discovered the air-conditoner was not working, and another time that bathroom sink was not draining. In all cases, any issues were corrected first day we were there.

 

[Sandisw]

I have not specifically inspected things but if something caught my eye, I would report it.

So far, we have not run in to anything that needed reported.

 

[lugnut33]

We have actually been doing that for years. As soon as we get into the room, we check all the lights, inspect for cleanliness, particularly kitchen and bathrooms, look about for anything damaged and if we notice problems call housekeeping and inform them (we haven't been contacting resort manager). Usually the only problems we find is a light bulb that is out or something else minor; once we discovered the air-conditoner was not working, and another time that bathroom sink was not draining. In all cases, any issues were corrected first day we were there.

Maybe you're the person he was talking about in the article?

 

[rcchello]

We don't do a thourough check but we make certain the things we use are there are report any maintenance problems we spot.

Since I cook breakfast every morning we call them to report missing pans, utensils and glasses almost every trip. It amazes me the number of times and there are missing pots or mixing bowls.

We have also reported doors that do not open correctly and ones that are off their tracks.

I am not embarassed to call them and report things. Everything is usually remedied within a couple of hours. I wish everyone did it so I would not find as many things wrong.

 

[TisBit]

I don't "inspect" my room, but if I find problems in my room during my stay I will report them. I think there are good ways for members to use alternative reporting methods, maybe forms to fill out on check out day or even through the intranet for non-urgent repairs...but honestly, it would just lead to complaints that they weren't addressed immediately.

 

[bub]

Am I wrong to expect that most of these things should be noted by mousekeeping, rather than waiting to be noticed and fixed by guests? We've been fairly lucky with maintenance and cleanliness issues, but I know that is not always the case. I don't mind making note of things that happen during my visit, but when I first arrive, I think the room should be ready to go. Where is the quality control here?

 

[drusba]

Am I wrong to expect that most of these things should be noted by mousekeeping, rather than waiting to be noticed and fixed by guests? We've been fairly lucky with maintenance and cleanliness issues, but I know that is not always the case. I don't mind making note of things that happen during my visit, but when I first arrive, I think the room should be ready to go. Where is the quality control here?

Expectations unfortunately are not always fulfilled and I think it has to do partly with the system. Mousekeeping is outsourced to a separate company. The maids have their assigned job which is to clean the room. It is apparently not part of their assignment to check for things that are not working, missing, damaged, etc. They don't carry around papers where they could record such things,they cannot use room phones except in an emergency, and absent their allowed break time they cannot leave where they are doing rooms and go down to central housekeeping and report something. In other words, the work system appears to be designed to assure that the maids really don't report any problems with the room. The alternative would be to have someone to inspect rooms for problems on some regular basis, but that is also apparently not done or atleast not done often enough. In other words, if the member/guest does not report a problem, it is likely to stay as is.

 

[TisBit]

Am I wrong to expect that most of these things should be noted by mousekeeping, rather than waiting to be noticed and fixed by guests? We've been fairly lucky with maintenance and cleanliness issues, but I know that is not always the case. I don't mind making note of things that happen during my visit, but when I first arrive, I think the room should be ready to go. Where is the quality control here?

One of the major issues with DVC complaints is room turnover times. People want housekeeping to get the rooms cleaned and ready for the next guest. There are two problems with this. One, these are not hotel rooms, they are villa's with more rooms, more beds, full kitchens, etc. Second, they are not cleaned daily, so it will also take longer to do a good job....

Really, if you want housekeeping to report all maintenance issues, if it is in a villa or a hotel room you have to give them an extra 15-20 minutes per room to check every bulb, check the tv's, check the faucets, showers, drawers, doors, cabinets, etc. They would actually need a full sheet that would have a checklist of what they need to check and have them complete it for hte room, but this still wouldn't get the room fixed prior to turnover, it would merely report the problem.....and most of the time the guest will turn around and rereport it immediately with a phone call when they find the same problem.

I think some of the big and obvious things do get reported through the chain, but simple stuff just doesn't get caught/noticed. The housekeepers are trying to get from one room to the next and not making notes or trying to call maintenance.....

 

[disney11fan]

expectations unfortunately are not always fulfilled and i think it has to do partly with the system. Mousekeeping is outsourced to a separate company. The maids have their assigned job which is to clean the room. It is apparently not part of their assignment to check for things that are not working, missing, damaged, etc. They don't carry around papers where they could record such things,they cannot use room phones except in an emergency, and absent their allowed break time they cannot leave where they are doing rooms and go down to central housekeeping and report something. In other words, the work system appears to be designed to assure that the maids really don't report any problems with the room. The alternative would be to have someone to inspect rooms for problems on some regular basis, but that is also apparently not done or atleast not done often enough. In other words, if the member/guest does not report a problem, it is likely to stay as is.

is mousekeeping outsourced at disney. Even in the resorts (not dvc) ?

 

[Granny]

We have actually been doing that for years. As soon as we get into the room, we check all the lights, inspect for cleanliness, particularly kitchen and bathrooms, look about for anything damaged and if we notice problems call housekeeping and inform them (we haven't been contacting resort manager). Usually the only problems we find is a light bulb that is out or something else minor; once we discovered the air-conditoner was not working, and another time that bathroom sink was not draining. In all cases, any issues were corrected first day we were there.

I do this as well. Not so much as an inspection, but just to be sure that things work and no cleaning/maintenance issues. We also only contact housekeeping/maintenance...never the front desk or resort manager unless the issue were so great that we would need to call it to management's attention.

My thought is that if I check things out right away and call maintenance, it is quickly repaired and the rest of the trip doesn't need any attention from them.

I don't do an inventory of dishes/pots/utensils. As long as they have the coffee pot, toaster and a couple plates and knives we are set to go.

 

[Deb & Bill]

Like I posted on Diane's other thread, as we find a problem we report it. But there really isn't a reason why DVC can't have someone checking out the villas on a regular basis, whether monthly or less frequently, for problems. Even to go around to the villas and ask the members staying in the villas what kind of problems they have uncovered during their stay. All it would take would be one Quality Mgmt person at each resort.

By the way, I wonder how many stays JL has had with his family in a BLT studio?

 

[RLRDA]

If there is something broken or obviously wrong we've brought it to the front desk's attention. Mostly it is because we don't want to be blamed for it when we check out (who knows if they're aware of it already ). When we stayed in BLT in 2009 I noticed that the plexiglass backsplash in the kitchen of our 1BR was badly cracked. My DH took a picture of it and he showed it to a CM at the front desk. That way they knew it was like that when we checked in. Sadly, the resort had only opened for guests 2 weeks before . I've called about broken lamps/burned out bulbs/missing kitchen items. It doesn't happen often.

 

[Mr. Disney 652]

We do it right away too...if not for us, then for the next great vacation

 

[PrincessV]

I do a thorough bed bug inspection each stay, so I generally see it then if anything else is amiss, and I definitely call maintenance or housekeeping for any issues. Best I can recall, some things I called about over the years include finding the latch-lock broken off the door frame at SSR, a sliding glass door handle broken off and left sitting on the coffee table at BCV, and a non-draining shower drain at BWV. I found all upon arrival and called immediately; the first two were taken care of ASAP; the third wasn't at all during our stay.

 

[wbl2745]

We just got back from AKV last night, but when we checked in on 12/1 the studio my brother and his wife were staying in had not been cleaned at all! It was about 6:00 PM and we had a debate between mousekeeping and the front desk as to who was going to fix this. It took a couple of hours for someone to show up and prepare the room for occupancy.

What a mess!

 

[LIFERBABE]

Someone needs to be checking. Checked into BLT studio after 11 pm and it looked like someone knocked their drink off the too little nightstand. It had been there for a while because when I stepped on it it was hard and crunchy

Notified the housekeeper this morning and it was cleaned in 20 minutes which I am pleased about, but my room was not needed all day and it still had issues.

 

[Shadeaux]

Like I posted on Diane's other thread, as we find a problem we report it. But there really isn't a reason why DVC can't have someone checking out the villas on a regular basis, whether monthly or less frequently, for problems. Even to go around to the villas and ask the members staying in the villas what kind of problems they have uncovered during their stay. All it would take would be one Quality Mgmt person at each resort.

By the way, I wonder how many stays JL has had with his family in a BLT studio?

A few hours after we checked in at OKW last month, we got a call from housekeeping checking to see if everything was okay with our unit. They may not have someone physically checking the rooms, but at least they're doing something. I mentioned a few maintenance issues (dripping toilet, noisy balcony door, burned out bulb & missing shower door handle) and was told she'd report them. Maintenance called that night wanting to come fix the problems, but we told them to wait until the next day. Due to a misunderstanding, they didn't show up when they said they would, but were there within 30 minutes of me calling that afternoon.

 

[TisBit]

We just got back from AKV last night, but when we checked in on 12/1 the studio my brother and his wife were staying in had not been cleaned at all! It was about 6:00 PM and we had a debate between mousekeeping and the front desk as to who was going to fix this. It took a couple of hours for someone to show up and prepare the room for occupancy.

What a mess!

I hope management was involved in this and the debate wasn't something drawn out. I am sure they were trying to figure out what happened (if the room wasn't reported as being vacated or missed by a housekeeper), but it shouldn't have caused an undo delay. Also not sure why it would take several hours to get someone up to fix the problem.

 

[toocherie]

during my stay in a THV last month I was lazy and didn't report a lack of hot water (it was warm, but not hot, in the shower--sink was fine) until the fourth day. It took them several hours (while we were at a park) to fix it but it was fixed. We also reported burned out lightbulbs and a non-working coffeepot one morning. They brought us a new coffeepot and when we plugged it in we realized it didn't work either--and the problem was a GFI that had tripped!

I have had issues in the past with French doors that wouldn't lock (in fact the doorknob fell off in maintenance's hand--kinda important since we were on the first floor!) and missing pots/pans/etc. I also found it interesting when I couldn't find a hairdryer in the THV master bath and called housekeeping to find out there is only one hairdryer in the THV even though there are two bathrooms (makes NO sense to me)