TrainsOfDisney
Well-Known Member
I’m confused… there’s zero upside to either? There’s no positives in either situation?
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Refurbishment coming to Disney's Grand Floridian Resort lobby
- Thread starter wdwmagic
- Start date
I worked as a concierge at Disney for a time. Went through training at DU and everything (most beautiful "backstage" location I've ever seen, would have bought merch from then if they had any). So I have a bit of an opinion haha.
Was trained that unless we had to (using specific programs, rare oddball situations, using the phone, or getting supplies), we were to always be out in front of the desk. Never to actually conduct business as a regular thing there. It sucked. In the late evenings I always disregarded the rule though, simply because I could... At least at my location we weren't really free to do too much movement either, as we had particular spots we were supposed to stand in unless allowed otherwise, again always in front on the desks. The iPads broke often, software wasn't particularly designed for them (bad ports),c onstant crashes and freezes, power issues, and regulations around showing guests the iPad, making them useless in many respects.
There are 0 benefits to "mov[ing] around the lobby and interact[ing]" as a concierge. Going to and from the line of guests doesn't count. I maybe got 1-2 chances to just walk the lobby a shift (usually when told to clean), and I could talk to guests outside of them coming up to me (or more likely me coming up to them), but otherwise we were either too busy or not busy enough to do so! Could be a location based thing, but most of my colleagues preferred talking amongst themselves, while most guests actively ignored me asking if they needed anything (let alone engaging in conversation outside of that)! The iPads didn't help, except in rare situations where it was necessary to move away from the desks (quite rare), and had far more problems than they were worth compared to the computers. Unfortunately.
Of course that's just my opinion based on my experiences, your milage may vary.
Disone
Well-Known Member
I have work hotels for over 30 years and 7 of those where Disney Front Desk. 2 as hourly and 5 in a salary capacity.
These are two very interesting takes. Thank you both for sharing
TrainsOfDisney
Well-Known Member
glad they got rid of that old birdcage…. It was “wasted space”
Sirwalterraleigh
Premium Member
Sorry…
There no positives to the employees or customers with “free floating” over stations
Seems like some romantic idea of ever so helpful and sharp as a tack employees (they are still underpaid and most as stuck) schmoozing white picket fence families with two kids, a dog and a cat…on like a Sofa in the lobby or looking out a grand vista window…engaging in “friendly family business transactions…welcome HOME!”
…a cute concept…but not really a thing
The upside from the operation I can see is maybe this eliminates some of the ability of the staff to hide/use their cells.
People hid 25 years ago as much as they could…no Way Anything would have got ever done with smart phones.
It was like herding cats as is
Also…pads still are not for heavy use. Connections still suck…batteries still really suck…they don’t take the beating they’ll receive
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Sirwalterraleigh
Premium Member
Photos from today:
God…that’s slow
Are they aware they can put more than 1 nail in a day?
TrainsOfDisney
Well-Known Member
Oh gotcha! Yes I agree. All i wanted to do was pick up physical keys, had already done all the check in stuff and I get “oh sure let’s have a seat over here on the couch” - ummmm ok?
Sirwalterraleigh
Premium Member
The idea is very soon no one will be doing ANY of that…and they can dump the labor costs down to a few people with pad
Believe it or not…these ideas were covered all the way back in the 1980’s…the technology just wasn’t close. Now it’s on the doorstep
castlecake2.0
Well-Known Member
What do we think is happening to the tea room
FoodRockz
Well-Known Member
I miss the tea room too!
My take was based on a (sadly short) time working at Disney, and probably 5+ years of staying in Marriotts growing up as a kid, plus my studies. No, that is not a typo... My dad did a lot of business travel for various government clients for essentially my entire youth, so I tagged along when possible. Learned a lot about how guest service worked in hotels large and small, from the Waldorf Astroia and JW Marriotts, to Fairfield, Courtyard, and the like, which almost certainly played an even bigger role in what I define guest service as, and how best to serve the guest, compared to many CMs I've met.
Would I go back? Not as anything less than a GEM (a title I'm always annoyed Lee Cockerell introduced, but that's another story for another day). No union protections, but much more power to make sure things get done correctly, which is all I really want at this point. Maybe, maybe, a specific kind of coordinator or something, but it would have to be with a good enviornment and ideally a team that actually supports each other.
This is the biggest thing for me. The CMs who were my colleagues were a mix of a handful of DCP folks (most younger, almost none local), people who transferred to my location for the hours (everyone who wanted to leave left to a different resort or job within Disney as soon as they could, so turnover was constant), or lifers (a handful of CMs who'd been in their jobs for 10, 15, even 20+ years).
I am perhaps most interested in those lifers. One of them did work on the trains at MK on the side (and had an absolutely crazy list of jobs he'd done for Disny over the years), another said he perferred teaching the concierge core class at DU versus actually working as a concierge (he also screamed at a guest while training me), and another (a woman probably in her 60's or 70's) told me to quit and go work for Marriott because "to work here means you have no future - you can't make a life out of working here". Toss in our department's union steward (who I grew close to even though I wasn't in the union), and a few others, and most of them worked the hardest out of the bunch (but none of them ever promoted byeond FSA/coordinator). And they all encouraged us to get better jobs if we could. Some did. Most didn't (or couldn't).
Those who stayed for the hours got beat down eventually (due to my location's particular quality issues - I know I mentioned this to you before, but for everyon else who doesn't know, "We're not the Grand, don't go above and beyond" was said to me (or heard by me being said to other CMs) out of the mouths of management multiple times. So many times I heard that phrase, I just about went nuts. The number of them who quit, found new jobs, or even just started dropping hours where possible abd going to other resorts (or never picking up hours at my resort again) was nuts. Impacted my own ability to work at other resorts, because the number of CMs willing to work there was slim! While the DCP folks may have been holding up the resort for much of the day (especially the night), the folks simply here for a paycheque (or who needed the hours because they weren't getting them at their primary resort), made up 85% or so of the people I delt with, and were very much the most problematic.
They never really tried (doing the bare minimum if that), always talked amongst themselves in front of guests, and floated policy like Mickey and friends taking a dip in our pool. Most weren't terrible, but the lack of care was obvious. The number of guests who would outright tell me, sometimes with names attached, about my colleagues who dealt with them previously and didn't live up to expectations, were just plain rude, or otherwise didn't even attempt to fix their problem or explain things, were easily mountainous. "A lack of passion" was how one of the lifers discribed most of our crew, and they weren't wrong. Showed up, clocked in, put in minimum required effort, and clocked out.
As for the DCP contingent? Hard workers because Disney made them work longest and hardest without the protections or benefits given by the union. Never had an issue with any of them, in fact I often worked the most with them because our schedules overlapped so much. Was always told that concierge DCPers were among the cream of the crop, and in large part, any I met never dissapointed. Would have preferred some of them get training and oppertunities for promotion above many full-timers who did, but that wasn't an option... Many of them got the screws put to them by those above them because they could.
Are concierge underpaid? Probably. $18-19-ish an hour isn't great, but it certainly isn't terrible (had significantly less ofered for an admin job with Seaworld corporate, for example). Comparable with what you could make at a big box retailer, but with union protections, cheap (especially compared to the federal insurance marketplace) insurance, and other fringe benefits too. Certainly more secure of a job than, say, working at Wal-Mart. Was it enough to live on in the Orlando metro area? Absolutely not, but the union held the cards there and Disney wasn' terribly interested in playing ball (so I was told). It's in line with what their competitors pay though, I can tell you that! Mobility could have been better (we struggled with finding good folks for back office functions, and enough trainers, particularly for later shifts, but the newer of us who wanted to take on the roles ended up at the bottom of a senority-based list that could take years to resolve), and scheduling was annoying. Toss in a surprising lack of training on many essential situations, the in-fighting, office politics, and the feeling that doing something was often seen as the worse option than doing nothing at all (until someone wanted to blame you for something), and it was not ideal. I heard deluxe locations, DVC, and Coronado were better enviornments, but never got a chance to test it out.
That was the big dear among the older concierge I worked with, and even the ones I've talked to before/after my tenure. I don't think it's going to happen though, especially as unless they massively update the app, many guests won't use it. International guests and groups will have to show up to talk to a CM anyway, alongside CMs staying on company business (I dealt with managers, directors, and the like, coming in from as far away as Tokyo, London, and Buenos Aires), and any CMs needing to verify their blue (I only ever saw blue) for discounts. Among others. They'd need close to a full contngent just to deal with non-check-in issues that inevitably pop up which can't be solved by 2 CMs with an iPad, a coordinator trying to deal with the line, and a manager who tells you "it's not my job" to deal with guests (it happened to me). It'll take years for Disney to do it properly, if they can figure out how. Maybe DVC. Maybe club level. Maybe the deluxe properties. But the moderates (especially Coranado) and the values? No chance. Not unless Disney forces the issue, and I don't think they realistically can given what I've seen. However, everyone I talked to was, like you, sure this was coming down the pipe regardless! Which scared the ever living God out of me (and, apparently, the concierge union).
Almost certainly just a light refresh, or so I hope. Nice sitting area!
Tha Realest
Well-Known Member
In the last few months we’ve stayed at Courtyard by Marriott, a Hyatt, and two Hilton hotels. Never once did anyone at checkin have an iPad. Now, some have streamlined the experience where the “desk” is more of a podium (usually a set of podiums) but all had conventional computers. Cities were nicer hotels in Washington DC, Indianapolis, and central Ohio.
I do not recall any non-Disney hotels having checking or concierge with iPads in hand.
I do not recall any non-Disney hotels having checking or concierge with iPads in hand.
Sirwalterraleigh
Premium Member
I’d be shocked if they didn’t kill it…to be honest
castlecake2.0
Well-Known Member
Almost a double standard, saying that Disney should be like every other “real” hotel for the check in experience, but want uniquely Disney in every other aspect.
Sirwalterraleigh
Premium Member
How so?
The “unique” is that there are gigantic life size props in parks outside of the windows of their hotels and some boats/choo choo
As at hotelier…Disney has always been “begrudging” at best. Remember that they reluctantly took over the operations of them in the first place and that was when they were an elaborate mom and pop outfit.
Current “design” approaches strongly indicate they want them more streamlined/marriott to perhaps outsource them down the road. Very hard to dispute that angle.
So “unique” to Disney as far as operations goes is a bit of a modern day fantasy…people are paying 200% of the market “value” of the room (on a good day) and need to feel justified in doing so…so they go along with this fantasy.
But in the end check em in and get em out of there. Use the KISS method
TrainsOfDisney
Well-Known Member
An iPad hanging off the neck does not make it more Disney. I would argue it makes it less Disney since it distracts from the theme and makes things look less professional.
At the grand specifically - what used to make it more Disney was the landscaping, birds in the lobby, orchestra and piano player.
Poor piano player is all that’s left…. And those hours have been cut down to the bone.
MagicHappens1971
Well-Known Member
I can’t see how people continue to say Disney wants to outsource their hotels. Does Disney enjoy operating them? Probably not. But they are raking in the $$$$, day after day, year after year. I don’t see any future where Disney outsources their hotels operations.
Sirwalterraleigh
Premium Member
The money has never been made on the hotel ops. Ever
They run at really high overhead
About 90% of the profits in Florida have always been the gift shops. Which is probably declining in a changing retail landscape
It’s not a coincidence they try to overmonetize hotels, bars, restaurants, and tickets with increasing frequency for 10+ years…they’re not making more…they’re recouping ground that has been lost. Similar to how they’re trying to use streaming to make up for massive broadcast/cable declines.
There’s a lot of common sense into these things…they’re just not gonna admit the vulnerability. You have to dig a bit. But not much
Disone
Well-Known Member
Yes this may absolutely be correct. Recently learned what I consider to be an impressive financial statistic about one of the deluxe hotels, just that one, made a profit of over 11 million in 1 month. For clarification, this was literally profit. Not revenue. But actual money in the pocket after expenses, actual Profit. Wow.
