Guess who phoned us....

[aj_macack]

Two days ago, my mom received a phone call from a Disney Exec. named Jackie. She was calling to speak to my mom about an e-mail that they received from us. My mom and I wrote an e-mail to Disney about six weeks ago about our disappointment about the hours changes in March and the extended rehab dates for Blizzard Beach (our vacation was March 6-13th). She said her main reason for calling was to apologize. She said that with the decline in tourism this year, Disney was forced to cut their hours. She tried to explain that they usually don't post their hours too far in advance for the reason that they don't want to have to change them later based on attendence.
She felt really bad that I had been planning our vacation for about five months, finally got the park hours for March, so that I could plan our days there, and then they were unexpectedly changed. She told my mom that she hoped that I wasn't too upset.
She also said that the reason that the Blizzard Beach rehab was extended was because with the decline in guests. Disney felt that Typhoon Lagoon was meeting guests demands, and that to open Bliazzard Beach would leave the parks too empty. (a cop-out if you ask me).
The woman was extremely polite, and hoped that we had had a "magical" vacation, and wished us a great week.
Oh, she also told my mom that it's important to Disney that they receive feedback from guests, as it helps them to realize things that they're doing wrong.

Sorry that this post was so long, but I thought that some people might want to know that writing an e-mail isn't pointless. You do get a response, just don't forget to include your phone number!!!:animwink:

 

[wdwforus]

Too bad that they couldnt have seen a way to intice you to a quick return trip for your dissapointment. Although it is nice to see some customer service at work it would have been even nicer in my opinion to see them try harder to get people to make return plans. Maybe a little percentage of a room stay or a pass?

 

[bailey5697]

The evening I saw the May park hours I was so upset I wrote Disney. LOL, I really wrote it in the heat of my anger, I was tearing up as I wrote it!! :lol:
Anyway, I was direct but not nasty regarding their hours. More importantly the fact that there are NO Spectromagic's listed in May, and no Fantasy in the Sky Fireworks from May 1-10 (When we are there). I definitely let them know this was going to alter my trip!
Just yesterday (a week after I wrote the lovely email ) I received a reply from them stating that they have reviewed my 'comments' and they were sending it to the appropriate parties. I will be contacted with a few weeks.
LOL I'm leaving in 3 weeks.
But we'll see. I felt better after writing it and have since been told that it is more than likely they will add a Spectro parade and fireworks hopefully that first week in May.
(Crossing my fingers :lookaroun )

 

[MicBat]

Isn't that great?! I got a call a few months ago from WDW when I emailed them about COP.

 

[Maerj]

Originally posted by MicBat
Isn't that great?! I got a call a few months ago from WDW when I emailed them about COP.

What did they have to say about it? I would love to see COP, but its been closed each time that I have been to WDW. I never got to see the Timekeeper attraction either.

Also, aj_macack, I think that is very cool that they called you, nice customer service indeed!

 

[MicBat]

Originally posted by Maerj
What did they have to say about it? I would love to see COP, but its been closed each time that I have been to WDW. I never got to see the Timekeeper attraction either.

Also, aj_macack, I think that is very cool that they called you, nice customer service indeed!

Not much.. just that they appreciate my comments and that it was a seasonal attraction. The woman went on to say that it was also one of her favorite attractions.

 

[bdhowell]

I love Disney's guest service!

One time I was eating in EPCOT and I gave my credit card to the server and it was declined. I had no cash with me...oops...and the ATM wouldn't read my card. I then went to guest relations and they were very understanding. The manager came and talked to me and asked me if I could call my bank to retrieve some information. It was 4:04pm and my bank closed at 4:00pm. The manager understood and gave $80.00 in Disney Dollars to pay for the bill, which was $67.00. It gave me enough to pay and give a tip. It was sooooo nice of them to help me in this very embarrassing situation. :sohappy:

 

[bailey5697]

Originally posted by MicBat
Not much.. just that they appreciate my comments and that it was a seasonal attraction. The woman went on to say that it was also one of her favorite attractions.

So they basically call, just to call? They don't have any solution to the complaint?
What exactly IS COP's season?

 

[Nansafan]

Regarding COP's season: we've been lucky, COP and Timekeeper are open whenever we visit. This is due to the fact we only travel during the busiest seasons, summer, Christmas etc.

I sent a letter to WDW Guest Relations in February and have had no response. My letter was completely positive and told of three cast member who made our Christmas 2002 trip awesome. I didn't expect an answer but hearing about the above experiences, I now feel like I should have. It would have been nice to receive some acknowledgement from them. Maybe next time.

 

[bailey5697]

Originally posted by Nansafan
Regarding COP's season: we've been lucky, COP and Timekeeper are open whenever we visit. This is due to the fact we only travel during the busiest seasons, summer, Christmas etc.

I didn't expect an answer but hearing about the above experiences, I now feel like I should have. It would have been nice to receive some acknowledgement from them. Maybe next time.

The squeeky wheel gets the grease, and you weren't squeeking apparently. LOL
I hope to have a great experience when we go.

I am hoping COP is open when we go, I want to see it and my MIL remembers it from the Worlds Fair and would love to see it!

 

[guwag]

I wrote to Disney last year to complain about a Voucher that they were giving out on the 100YOM site if you found all of the 100YOM flashing pins on the site.
This voucher entitled you to a free special edition Sorcerer Mickey pin if you bought one of the 100YOM flashing pins in any of the parks. The catch was that the voucher ran out just as High Season kicked in and I was going during High Season.

Maria Kirkland from the Executive Offices at WDW actually phoned me a few times to discuss the problem - she was phoning from WDW to an English Mobile phone, I can't imagine the cost!
In the end she mailed me the badge that I missed out on free of charge

 

[NowInc]

Juuuuuuuust a side note here..

its a lot easier to SAY you care then to actually mean it. Its good buisness practice to tell the public what they want to hear, but do any "complaints" get solved? nope. They give you reasons/excuses but dont really do anything about it.

 

[Maerj]

Originally posted by NowInc
Juuuuuuuust a side note here..

its a lot easier to SAY you care then to actually mean it. Its good buisness practice to tell the public what they want to hear, but do any "complaints" get solved? nope. They give you reasons/excuses but dont really do anything about it.

Uhhhm, yeah, but how many companies actually call like this to at least talk to you about your complaints? And these guys seem to call you anywhere in the world, AND, where they could make things right, it looks like they did. There isn't much they can do about things that happened to guests in the past on their trips but apologize and try to make it better in the future.

 

[NowInc]

Originally posted by Maerj
Uhhhm, yeah, but how many companies actually call like this to at least talk to you about your complaints? And these guys seem to call you anywhere in the world, AND, where they could make things right, it looks like they did. There isn't much they can do about things that happened to guests in the past on their trips but apologize and try to make it better in the future.

Any large company will make the effort to call simply because they can afford it. How exactly does disney make anything right by simply calling? All they did was give excuses with no hints at a solution. Im not anti-disney by far..but I just think that its not a good idea to see a simple phone call as "progress" towards changes in the future.

 

[Maerj]

Well, the guy in England got his pin, but like I said, what can they do if the opening hours were shorter than you expected on your trip? All they can do is apologize at that point and hopefully learn from that and keep the parks open longer in the future. I don't think that most companies would call people up like these guys seem to. I can't see Universal Studios calling like this.

 

[rosie.ca]

does anyone have an email address i can use?
i have tryed before and the email kept bouncing so i never got a response about my question

 

[NowInc]

Originally posted by Maerj
Well, the guy in England got his pin, but like I said, what can they do if the opening hours were shorter than you expected on your trip? All they can do is apologize at that point and hopefully learn from that and keep the parks open longer in the future. I don't think that most companies would call people up like these guys seem to. I can't see Universal Studios calling like this.

Not to defend universal...but...everytime i or another person has ever had a complaint about something, we revieved free 1 day passes....

 

[Maria]

Originally posted by bailey5697
So they basically call, just to call? They don't have any solution to the complaint?

It´s called "guest relations, customer service, public relations, guest satisfaction"... :animwink:

Notice how good it works to know that they took the time to read your letter and thank you for it, that it even makes people come and let us know in boards like this!. It´s a customer that feels taken into consideration and that surely will talk about it and return to the place. :animwink:

Not always a real solution is needed but an ear to vent the frustration... For us, clients, the solution may be very simple, but in most of the cases, it is not. By letting the company know about our feelings towards certain things, they can "sense" the market a bit and helps to take decisions in the future.