Disney got my money for the last time

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xdan0920

Think for yourselfer
That information was readily available to the OP well before. He said he was there on Sunday, and times guides are good through the entire week, and they are available at both the resort and the park entrance. You have to be trying exceptionally hard to not see them.
Quoting you because it's most recent.

The idea that this is the OPs fault is comical. The OP asked a Disney CM, a concierge no less, and was given bad info. This is 100 million bajillion % Disney's fault. We can argue what level of compensation(if any) Disney should have offered, but I don't see anyway to argue that this wasn't Disney's fault to begin with.
 

raven

Well-Known Member
Let me ask you all this: If the OP posted the exact opposite on here (telling everyone about the wonderful thing that Disney did for his family to compensate them for their troubles and were allowed to see the fireworks that night), would you all be on here complaining that Disney did the wrong thing? I don't think so. You'd more than likely be telling him that it was great that the company did such a wonderful thing and they are still living up to their reputation of making dreams come true.
 

wdwfan22

Well-Known Member

Really they
No. I'm talking about the paid extra hours event with free ice cream.


"Where Dreams Come True"
"Happiest Place on Earth"
"Where Magic Happens"

Aren't these all phrases identified with Disney? Isn't Disney known for making Magical Moments and making dreams come true? They certainly put it all over their social media and want everyone to know this. So it's kind of hard to read this statement when everyone knows they pride themselves on being #1 in guest service.

A little girl was told she would be able to see the fireworks over the castle and her heart was set on that after a CM told them that they would be able to. This is definitely a Disney fault. Being sent to Epcot, DHS or DAK isn't an option. They could've simply offered the family to stay if they wanted.

Are you serious? If they wanted to see them that bad then they should have stayed on Sunday. They shouldn't have been offered FREE admission to a special ticketed event. An apology is all that is necessary.
 

Matt_Black

Well-Known Member
Let me ask you all this: If the OP posted the exact opposite on here (telling everyone about the wonderful thing that Disney did for his family to compensate them for their troubles and were allowed to see the fireworks that night), would you all be on here complaining that Disney did the wrong thing? I don't think so. You'd more than likely be telling him that it was great that the company did such a wonderful thing and they are still living up to their reputation of making dreams come true.

No, we wouldn't, but it's not an either/ or deal. Magic Kingdom Cast Members can not be held accountable for a mistake made by a resort hotel Cast Member.
 

GlassHalfFull

Well-Known Member
I'd also, again having worked in customer service at another major theme park, like to ask which theme park would have handled this better? I haven't been in/heard of one park around the world that doesn't reference Disney's training and culture to make things better if possible in their customer service training.. As an engineer I have heard about using "Disney Magic" when dealing with customers even.. It's generally the Gold standard in Theme park customer service for a reason..

I once was questioned by security for 45 minutes at Cedar Point because long story short, one person heard my uncle tell my mom, we can get them(my sister and I who were too old for their Kids admission tickets) in.. and even though the ticket taker said we all had tickets, they were convinced we snuck one of us in because the person didn't believe that my uncle(there for a company picnic), would have extra tickets, as we continually explained. Once it was cleared, did we get anything in compensation etc? no.. just were told we were allowed to go into the park..

There will be mistakes no doubt, they do employ humans, not just AA... But I am sure that with a more level head and speaking up the chain this could have been resolved rather pleasantly for all involved.. maybe even with a better view/experience than the OP originally planned..
 

jakeman

Well-Known Member
Quoting you because it's most recent.

The idea that this is the OPs fault is comical. The OP asked a Disney CM, a concierge no less, and was given bad info. This is 100 million bajillion % Disney's fault. We can argue what level of compensation(if any) Disney should have offered, but I don't see anyway to argue that this wasn't Disney's fault to begin with.
So...I agree. He got the wrong information from a cast member who's primary job is to deliver correct information. I get that. It sucks and Disney is 100% in the wrong. I also agree that adequate compenstation should have been to provide viewing for the fireworks (logistically that's a nightmare but whatever, they could have been sent to the Top of the World at the Contemporary).

The first part of the story I get 100%, the second part...man...I don't know. I know folks check their brains at the door, but like there's literally giant balloons that say Mickey's Not So Scary when you get to MK.

It is 100% Disney's fault and the CM should be fired, blacklisted from the theme park industry, have their retirement annulled and every supervisor above her up to Bob Iger should be let go for a failure to adequately train their staff, but...man...there's a Times Guide on the desk of the Concierge. Maybe just snag one when you are done talking to the incompetent CM and give it a looky-loo?
 

rob0519

Well-Known Member
Well, again, the app was down. It's kinda the concierge's job to know what they're talking about, no?

Just more proof that Disney hotels really have little idea of what constitutes Concierge service. I will admit they will hand out fast passes if you have a legitimate complaint about something. However, not knowing their most popular park is closed for a hard ticket event in the next 24 hours it pretty bad.
 

rob0519

Well-Known Member
Go to the Poly beach and watch the fireworks from there. It's a better view anyway.

Fourth floor balcony of the Contemporary is pretty good too. There are other ways to see Wishes than from inside the park. The Conceirge and the OP both should have known that.
 

rob0519

Well-Known Member
Was your resort TV broken? There's an entire channel devoted to park hours. Had the resort completely run out of park guides and times guides? If the app wasnt working FOR You, did you try using the website instead?

I understand your annoyance over rides being down and getting incorrect information. But the correct information was readily available without going to your resort desk.

I agree with you to a point, but if Disney is going to bother to pay people to provide Concierge service, than their information should be correct. Say I'm walking through the lobby and ask the same question about seeing Wishes. The Concierge says Thursday. I should not have to log on to the internet, watch my TV or wait and wait for their website to function correctly.

Which brings up the other point of, if you're going to have almost your entire business and customer experience run on a billion dollar plus wireless information system, you better be sure it's uptime is 99.# %. I was in the MK for just one day in March and the app was not available from park open until 7:00 pm. The lines at the kiosks to add another attraction were longer than most standby lines.
 

KikoKea

Well-Known Member
I'm thinking it is more likely that the concierge assumed the OP had MNSSHP tickets since he asked about watching the fireworks on Thurs night. Anyone who does even minimal trip planning, as the OP apparently did since he scheduled a park for each day, would have to know the party nights. Should the concierge have assumed? No. Should she have mentioned it was a party night? Yes. Should the OP should have been aware of the party and double checked? Yes. Both made a mistake.

Sad that the daughter was disappointed. Dad might feel guilty too, since he did not make sure they saw the most important even of the trip, satisfying the daughter's desire to see the fireworks, until days after their arrival. He unloaded on a MK customer service CM since his trip wasn't perfect, hopefully not using the language he posted, and does not appear to accept any responsibility at all in the matter.

I agree with someone above who said you should do the most important things first, just in case of rain or other problems. Next trip, we are going to watch and wave farewell to the MSEP and I'm not going to put it off until the last night.

Hopefully, they put the experience behind them and enjoyed the parks anyway.
 

Polydweller

Well-Known Member
This discussion needs to be backed up a bit because there are all kinds of suppositions going on.

1. We only have one side of the story, there is likely a lot more going on. Sorry, but having investigated many such situations it's almost never as simple as one side tells you. People have selective hearing and will honestly swear that what they are saying is true even when it's only partially so. That's why in everything you investigate all sides to get the full, impartial understanding. Without the other side of the story we don't have enough information to know for certain what the CM did or did not say and whether or not misinformation was given. As such, we shouldn't take sides on partial info.

2. What exactly is the loss to the OP? They lost the ability to see the fireworks from INSIDE the park. They could still have seen them outside the park, even right at the gates. So, there was no monetary loss. Monetary compensation is not likely to happen and not really appropriate.

3. The app not working is not an issue. There are numerous people reporting that it was and there are no reports of a systematic outage. That suggests something wrong with the OPs equipment.

4. Offering to come back 15 minutes before the fireworks doesn't work OP. The party fireworks do not end the night like regular Wishes so that was asking to see half of the party for free. If they had done that they would open a large loophole for people to get in to a party. After 40+ years in hospitality I can tell you people try to scam you daily and the only thing you can do is stick to the rules you've set out. If you had lost monetarily due to our fault then I'd look at something otherwise by policy.

5. So, no monetary loss, there was the ability to see the fireworks outside the park (and they are great from the Poly and with the music), just what is to be compensated? There was no real loss at all. The OP wanted to see the fireworks and could have.
 

LuvtheGoof

DVC Guru
Premium Member
I agree with you to a point, but if Disney is going to bother to pay people to provide Concierge service, than their information should be correct. Say I'm walking through the lobby and ask the same question about seeing Wishes. The Concierge says Thursday. I should not have to log on to the internet, watch my TV or wait and wait for their website to function correctly.
And maybe the CM did state that Thursday was a party night, and the OP didn't get that part of it. No way to tell. Maybe he just heard what he wanted to, without hearing the rest. Not saying it did, but it might have.
 

rob0519

Well-Known Member
Poor planning. As with anything, find out for yourself with a couple sources to ensure you have your facts straight. Relying on people to tell you is dangerous because there are a lot of moving parts. I'm sure she didn't do it on purpose.

Ride stoppages and closures happen.

You also probably could have purchased tickets to the Halloween Party last minute.

You seem more disgruntled than anything. It sounds like the only issue you had was one cast member giving you bad information and you failed to confirm for yourself. There is so much information all over the park in print, I'm not sure why the app being down was your downfall.

Also, what specifically went wrong the bands and meal plan? Typically, I see people complaining something is wrong when they actually just don't understand how the bands work, what kind of tickets they bought, or what comes with their particular meal plan.

Sorry, but Concierge level service means they SHOULD know an answer to a simple question. The person at the desk should have been able to find the correct information just as easily or more so than a customer. Disney does not get a pass from me on this one.

Ride stoppages, I agree, are inevitable. With the amount of people going through on an hourly basis, day after day, things will break, or someone will try to get out of a vehicle, etc.

I can tell you that on our last trip, the front desk clerk neglected to assign our credit card to any of our 5 Magic Bands, so when the bill came there was not way to pay for it. That caused a whole lot of confusion in the restaurant. Additionally, only 2 of the five bands would open the resort room door. I have no idea why, but it took almost 2 days for front desk to fix it. So, it's not always that people don't know how the bands work or what is included in the meal plan. Sometimes it's plain human error or a technology failure.
 

Chef Mickey

Well-Known Member
I'm in finance. Not a Wharton grad...but even with my lowly degrees, I still think people are ridiculous and unrealistic in their assumptions and expectations of a for profit company.
Exactly. It's no surprise they WANT to make money and they are looking for new revenue streams. These places are extremely expensive and complex to run. Disney does an outstanding job.
 

rob0519

Well-Known Member
The concierge definitely screwed up but I'm sure they didn't do it on purpose and its not like those Halloween dates are announced at the last minute.

You said it yourself. The Halloween dates are not announced at the last minute. If everyone here expects the OP to know about the parties than certainly a Concierge level employee should know about them first. She screwed up, yes. On purpose, no.
 
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