I complained....and I actualy got satisfaction.

[happymom52003]

Now that I have done my thing there, I have to say there were a few things that just made my stay awful.


Disney responded to me by sending me 3 4-day park hoppers and I'm suppose to get follow up calls from each particular section I complained about. Needless to say, I'm super impressed and I guess Disney really does care. Granted it did not make up for the shortcomings I experienced

Had the OP simply started a thread stating that he feels Deluxe resorts at Disney should offer more, and that he feels you do not get your moneys worth by staying there, I do not think we would be seeing so many of the type of responses we are seeing in this thread. That is an arguement that has been debated on this forum before, and I'm sure will be debated again in the future.

However, I believe that it is the comments I have highlighted above that have made people (including myself) think the OP is being a bit ridiculous.

Most of what he complained about are facts about the resort which he should have known (and a couple of which he actually did know ) before booking a stay there. He seems to be the type of person who likes to get his moneys worth....so it would make sense he would research a resort before deciding to stay there.

It would be different if he recieved poor service in several areas (or if he pulled back his bedsheets his first night there to discover crumbs and a fresh urine stain that still smelled......which I myself found on our recent trip to the Polynesian....and while it was horrible and unacceptable, I was not about to let it ruin my trip, and all I expected was for housekeeping to come change the sheet right away and to make sure the manager knew about it....gee, now I wonder what I could have got from Disney had I made a formal complaint....but I'm just not that type of person....I did not even mention it in my trip report, and I certainly did not start a thread about it).

Like it or not, none of the things he complained about were promised by the WL....these are all things that he personally feels they should offer. There is a huge difference between not getting what was promised, and not getting what you think should be offered.

The fact that he feels these things made his trip "awful" and that 3 FREE four day park hoppers did not make up for his experience is what people have the problem with.

 

[happymom52003]

We can be super sleuths together :sohappy:

:lol:

 

[devoy1701]

I completely agree with you, I LOVE WDW, I moved from MA to be closer to it and buy annual passes for my family every year. As beautiful as they are, the Luxury Resorts are not worth the money they charge. I love to tour them, especially at Christmas, and I've stayed at all of them but I probably won't again. My eleven year old son loves All Star Sports and I love the FL resident pricing there.

As far as the resturant situation in WDW, it's completely crazy. They need to double their "sit down" facilities. It's almost impossible to get a table unless you reserve one months ahead. They are lossing a ton of money by not having tables available for people. When I want to sit down and spend over a hundred dollars for dinner and I can't because theres no tables and I have to go buy pizza's instead, Disney is losing money.

And why can't I get a cheap bowl of pasta? C'mon!!!!!!

My advice to you is to stay at All Star and spend your money on other things.

OH, and stay off the buses!

Merry Christmas,

Frank

I don't get it...at any nice restaurant you have to make reservations well in advance. And don't be considering Olive Garden as a nice restaurant. All of disney's sitdown restaurants offer something unique in either their entrees, their entertainment, or atmosphere that you can't get elsewhere...this is why they are so popular and require reservations 3-4 weeks (and in some cases up to 3 months in advance..as per the new limit). I would much rather know that I have no chance getting a table at a restaurant than having a hostess tell me it'll be a 40-50 minute wait and it end up being over an hour with no luck!

And I've never had a problem ever finding a place to sit and eat my food except for at Casey's 2 Saturdays ago...

and for the OP....I love the scrambled eggs at Disney! and had left a note on my first day for extra coffee during my stay at WL and was given 3 packs every day for the remainder of my stay...and I bring a small container of flavored creamer to put in the fridge cuz I can't stand nondairy creamer...you gotta think on your toes sometimes.

 

[Wilt Dasney]

I guess my thoughts are more based on what I see as an important general principle than any complaint a specific guest has. I think the right for a paying customer to express dissatisfaction is a vital part of how business is done in this country.

It's up to the company to decide whether the complaint should be acted on, but as long as nothing is being demanded, I think the right to complain should be sacrosanct. If businesses don't know the public is unhappy (and possibly willing to take their money elsewhere as a result), they can't improve their operations effectively.

And I do want to add this — hopefully it doesn't come off as picking on anybody — but the idea that "this wasn't promised, so don't be disappointed you didn't get it" sounds more like something a lawyer would say than a corporation based on customer service.

Lawyers pull out contracts and point out how Clause 7 in Paragraph 3 on Page 5 clearly stipulates that no provision is made for coffee or no guarantee is provided for timely bus service, because they want to deny something to somebody. That's what's in their interest.

Businesses (theoretically) listen to complaints related to their service and decide if enough people, representing enough dollars, want to see Service XYZ that it's worthwhile to start providing it...because they want to make money by making lots of customers happy. They don't say "we never advertised that, screw them" without giving it a second thought. That would just be bad business practice.

Alright....that's out of my system. I think. :lookaroun

 

[devoy1701]

Well then why pay WAY larger prices if your not going to be around the hotel to take advantage of everything you pay for. I just came back and I paid $54 a night at PC. It just seams logical to me, if your just using your hotel as a bed, dont stay at a 200+ a night resort because you will NOT get your value outa it.

I'm not saying there should or shouldn't be more, but Disney obviously does it by traffic. If there is hardly anyone at WL using the transportation and there is a larger number of people at PC using it, they are going to allocate those buses to the resorts that need them more.

I completely agree...I stay at WL because I PLAN to use the restaurants there, I plan to sit on my balcony overlooking the courtyard and read my book...I bring 12-packs of coke and milk for cereal to put in my in-room fridge, and I plan to relax listening to the entertainment in the lobby or take regular walks around the grounds. If I was just planning to go to the parks and spend no time at my resort then I would stay at Pop.

I think some of you are missing the point. The OP seems to be of the mindset that he is paying all this money, so he should have better amenities than someone at a moderate or a value. He seems to merely be pointing this out, and clearly stated he didn't expect a response. In his opinion, the food wasn't good, so he complained. What's wrong with that. For the money he paid he expected better quality. Same with the coffee. He shouldn't have to call to have housekeeping re-stock coffee packets on a daily basis. If he was getting it from a CS location, perhaps it was always cold? How many here would be satisfied drinking lukewarm or cold coffee when you were expecting it to be hot? As for free continental breakfast, I'm not so sure he was expecting that...it seemed he brought it up as a point of comparison: I'm paying all this money, and although the grounds are beautiful and everything is maintained, the quality of food and certain services is better at a less expensive m/hotel, so what am I paying for besides themeing?

Can we add Fass Passes based on resort choices to this conversation? This is mine and Slappy Magoo's specialty....

you should ring in Slappy....

 

[happymom52003]

I guess my thoughts are more based on what I see as an important general principle than any complaint a specific guest has. I think the right for a paying customer to express dissatisfaction is a vital part of how business is done in this country.

You are absolutely right. The OP has every right to express his dissatisfaction. Again, most of the responses seen here are in response to his attitude that these relatively minor (in the opinon of many of us) things made his trip "awful" and that he stated the 3 free 4 day park hoppers did not make up for his awful expereince. Go back and read his complaints.....then compare that to the price of 3 four day park hoppers. Ridiculous. And while I feel it a bit over board for Disney to give those passes to him, it is the fact that he feels that did not make up for his "awful" experience that I find odd based on what his complaints were.


And I do want to add this — hopefully it doesn't come off as picking on anybody — but the idea that "this wasn't promised, so don't be disappointed you didn't get it" sounds more like something a lawyer would say than a corporation based on customer service.

While this may be true in some cases, I do not think it applies to the OP's complaints. Come on....serioulsy...he complained about not getting free breakfast at hotel where free breakfast is not offered. Again, ridiculous.

...

 

[maggiegrace1]

I guess my thoughts are more based on what I see as an important general principle than any complaint a specific guest has. I think the right for a paying customer to express dissatisfaction is a vital part of how business is done in this country.

It's up to the company to decide whether the complaint should be acted on, but as long as nothing is being demanded, I think the right to complain should be sacrosanct. If businesses don't know the public is unhappy (and possibly willing to take their money elsewhere as a result), they can't improve their operations effectively.

And I do want to add this — hopefully it doesn't come off as picking on anybody — but the idea that "this wasn't promised, so don't be disappointed you didn't get it" sounds more like something a lawyer would say than a corporation based on customer service.

Lawyers pull out contracts and point out how Clause 7 in Paragraph 3 on Page 5 clearly stipulates that no provision is made for coffee or no guarantee is provided for timely bus service, because they want to deny something to somebody. That's what's in their interest.

Businesses (theoretically) listen to complaints related to their service and decide if enough people, representing enough dollars, want to see Service XYZ that it's worthwhile to start providing it...because they want to make money by making lots of customers happy. They don't say "we never advertised that, screw them" without giving it a second thought. That would just be bad business practice.

Alright....that's out of my system. I think. :lookaroun

I had a long thing typed out and then realized it was the same stuff I had already said..

BJ..I understand what you mean but in THIS case..and thats what we are talking about..I stand by what I have said several times..it is ridiculous.:shrug:

 

[Wilt Dasney]

I had a long thing typed out and then realized it was the same stuff I had already said..

BJ..I understand what you mean but in THIS case..and thats what we are talking about..I stand by what I have said several times..it is ridiculous.:shrug:

*continues arguing with you for 27 more posts with the determination that you WILL SEE THINGS MY WAY, DAMMIT* :fork:

(Or...not.) :lol:

Merry Christmas, Dana. :wave:

(Even if you are hopelessly wrong). :lookaroun

 

[maggiegrace1]

*continues arguing with you for 27 more posts with the determination that you WILL SEE THINGS MY WAY, DAMMIT* :fork:

(Or...not.) :lol:

Merry Christmas, Dana. :wave:

(Even if you are hopelessly wrong). :lookaroun

:ROFLOL:


I am always right!

Drew is always saying..Yes, Dana..I know..you are right!..I was wrong..I apologize...


See!


Merry Christmas BJ! :kiss:

 

[fosse76]

I am not missing the point at all..

There is no where listed that you will get a continental breakfast or any type of food free when you book your stay at any Disney resort..so to expect it because the motel 6 or Holiday Inn provides it is ridiculous.

I don't think that is what he was saying. He never once stated he expected free breakfast. He seemed, at least to me, to be saying "why am I paying all this money for, in my opinion, lackluster food when I could stay elswhere for much cheaper and get free breakfast?" In my opinion he seemed to be pointing out the quality of what he was paying for. It was a point of comparison, not a demand. He never said he expected a free continental breakfast, only that he could pay much less at a hotel across the street and get one. It seems Disney's only onsite benefits are the transportation and EMH. Without those you actually are better off off-site. I think that was his point.

In another post he said..All I wanted was a decent cup of coffee!

Well Disney does provide coffee in the rooms and whether he liked it or not is not Disneys problem..some people like one kind of coffee others like another kind..you can not please everyone..

It is true that no one has the same taste in food or beverage, but your argument is a little too dismissive. I don't drink coffee so I couldn't tell you one brand from the other. Perhaps he feels that for all the money he is paying, Disney should have better quality coffee? Or that housekeeping didn't restock his room...and perhaps he feels it isn't his responsibility to continually call and ask for what is already supposed to be in the room. Or maybe he went to the food court (or whatever they have at WL) and found the coffee to be cold and stale each time.

I personally believe that it is threads like this that make people say.."Hey..If I complain about this or that I will get something free so Hey..Let me complain because of blah blah blah"..and Disney graciously takes care of them..which they do not have to do at all.

He said he didn't expect a response, so your point is moot. His main point of his complaint is that felt that for all the money he was paying, he felt that he received less quality than he would have received had he paid less and stayed at a cheaper hotel/motel.

It is sad really..I think he did not have one valid reason for any of his complaints.:shrug:

I disagree. Though I do agree that his disatisfaction with Disney's attempt at satisfaction is a little disingenuous. Especially since he said he didn't expect a response at all.

But more to the point, if you are staying anywhere, you expect a certain type of quality. He stayed at a Deluxe and found the quality lacking. He found the food aweful, the coffee lacking, the transportation nonexistent. For what he paid he expected better. He had a right to voice his opinion. If I go to Gordon Ramsay's restaurant here in New York and pay $40 for a meal, I expect it to be better than something I could get at Outback Steakhouse. Otherwise, what am I paying for?

don't get it...at any nice restaurant you have to make reservations well in advance. And don't be considering Olive Garden as a nice restaurant. All of disney's sitdown restaurants offer something unique in either their entrees, their entertainment, or atmosphere that you can't get elsewhere...

I can walk across the street from my upper east side apartment and find FAR SUPERIOR restaurants within walking distance at much cheaper prices than ANY of the restaurants at WDW.

 

[Main Street USA]

I guess my thoughts are more based on what I see as an important general principle than any complaint a specific guest has. I think the right for a paying customer to express dissatisfaction is a vital part of how business is done in this country.

It's up to the company to decide whether the complaint should be acted on, but as long as nothing is being demanded, I think the right to complain should be sacrosanct. If businesses don't know the public is unhappy (and possibly willing to take their money elsewhere as a result), they can't improve their operations effectively.

And I do want to add this — hopefully it doesn't come off as picking on anybody — but the idea that "this wasn't promised, so don't be disappointed you didn't get it" sounds more like something a lawyer would say than a corporation based on customer service.

Lawyers pull out contracts and point out how Clause 7 in Paragraph 3 on Page 5 clearly stipulates that no provision is made for coffee or no guarantee is provided for timely bus service, because they want to deny something to somebody. That's what's in their interest.

Businesses (theoretically) listen to complaints related to their service and decide if enough people, representing enough dollars, want to see Service XYZ that it's worthwhile to start providing it...because they want to make money by making lots of customers happy. They don't say "we never advertised that, screw them" without giving it a second thought. That would just be bad business practice.

Alright....that's out of my system. I think. :lookaroun

The point is that he expected these things when he KNEW he wouldn't be getting them in the first place, and if he didn't know, he should have looked up some BASIC info on the hotel first. HIS fault...and NO ONE elses. You can't fault someone else when you don't have the responsibility or brains to know what you're paying for.

I think that a hotel charging those prices should probably have those things, too, BUT when I pay for a deluxe at Disney, I know EXACTLY what I'm getting for my money going in. Period. WL doesn't offer some of the things he wanted, and as an adult opening his wallet, he should have KNOWN that already.

You can't complain about how much you paid when you agreed to pay it, then got EXACTLY what you paid for.

 

[Main Street USA]

I don't think that is what he was saying. He never once stated he expected free breakfast. He seemed, at least to me, to be saying "why am I paying all this money for, in my opinion, lackluster food when I could stay elswhere for much cheaper and get free breakfast?" In my opinion he seemed to be pointing out the quality of what he was paying for. It was a point of comparison, not a demand. He never said he expected a free continental breakfast, only that he could pay much less at a hotel across the street and get one. It seems Disney's only onsite benefits are the transportation and EMH. Without those you actually are better off off-site. I think that was his point.

Right, and KNOWING all of that, he still CHOSE to pay the money to stay there! Imagine that!

It's a simple, typical story of a guy who made a poor decision and now he wants to blame someone else. LOL DOH!

 

[maggiegrace1]

I don't think that is what he was saying. He never once stated he expected free breakfast. He seemed, at least to me, to be saying "why am I paying all this money for, in my opinion, lackluster food when I could stay elswhere for much cheaper and get free breakfast?" In my opinion he seemed to be pointing out the quality of what he was paying for. It was a point of comparison, not a demand. He never said he expected a free continental breakfast, only that he could pay much less at a hotel across the street and get one. It seems Disney's only onsite benefits are the transportation and EMH. Without those you actually are better off off-site. I think that was his point.



It is true that no one has the same taste in food or beverage, but your argument is a little too dismissive. I don't drink coffee so I couldn't tell you one brand from the other. Perhaps he feels that for all the money he is paying, Disney should have better quality coffee? Or that housekeeping didn't restock his room...and perhaps he feels it isn't his responsibility to continually call and ask for what is already supposed to be in the room. Or maybe he went to the food court (or whatever they have at WL) and found the coffee to be cold and stale each time.


He said he didn't expect a response, so your point is moot. His main point of his complaint is that felt that for all the money he was paying, he felt that he received less quality than he would have received had he paid less and stayed at a cheaper hotel/motel.


I disagree. Though I do agree that his disatisfaction with Disney's attempt at satisfaction is a little disingenuous. Especially since he said he didn't expect a response at all.

But more to the point, if you are staying anywhere, you expect a certain type of quality. He stayed at a Deluxe and found the quality lacking. He found the food aweful, the coffee lacking, the transportation nonexistent. For what he paid he expected better. He had a right to voice his opinion. If I go to Gordon Ramsay's restaurant here in New York and pay $40 for a meal, I expect it to be better than something I could get at Outback Steakhouse. Otherwise, what am I paying for?



I can walk across the street from my upper east side apartment and find FAR SUPERIOR restaurants within walking distance at much cheaper prices than ANY of the restaurants at WDW.

Read Main Street USA's response below...

Right, and KNOWING all of that, he still CHOSE to pay the money to stay there! Imagine that!

It's a simple, typical story of a guy who made a poor decision and now he wants to blame someone else. LOL DOH!

Thats what I have been saying..HE knew and still complained...that is why it is ridiculous to me...

 

[Wilt Dasney]

The point is that he expected these things when he KNEW he wouldn't be getting them in the first place, and if he didn't know, he should have looked up some BASIC info on the hotel first. HIS fault...and NO ONE elses. You can't fault someone else when you don't have the responsibility or brains to know what you're paying for.

I respect your passion, and I guess your points make sense taken individually...but when you put them together, the only conclusion seems to be that no one can ever criticize Disney for not offering a service, because either

(a.) they knew ahead of time it wasn't offered and still paid, so they can't complain.
Or
(b.) they didn't know ahead of time it wasn't offered, meaning they didn't do their homework, so they can't complain.

Put it all together and it seems like the company has a pretty effective shield against any complaint (related to lack of a particular service, anyway) by any customer...ever. :lol:

Maybe I have your meaning wrong, though.

 

[epcotWSC]

I wouldn't mind complementary breakfast, but with these resorts being so big, how are they supposed to make it work? Would there be one or many locations where they make breakfast for people to just come in and eat? Maybe have people drive around the resort and go door to door giving you breakfast? I could see it as being quite annoying to implement.

 

[amjt660]

Hello All
Read (and re read) the OP and replys to get a sense for this thread.
I understand both sides of the issue.

1) OP expected more than what he got for the money he spent.
His examples were in my opinion weak but I get the just of his position.
Disney resorts are overpriced but it is the whole captive audience /stay within the magic thing that keeps us coming back.

2) It does not sound like he took steps during the vacation to try and fix the problems ( talking to housekeeping, front desk, Roaring forks staff,etc). I personally have no problem talking to front desks of hotels if a have a problem (big or small). I just choose to do it in a timely fashion in order to give the hotel a chance to fix the problem.

3) When the complaints were lodged he did receive in return his 4 Day passes. No skin of Disney's nose as it will get them back into the parks spending money and Disney kept all of the original $$ for the stay. Now if Disney had given them a % reduction on the cost of the hotel stay that would not have sat well with me.

So overall the OP complained about small issues much too late and Disney stroked his ego with some free passes.

Nice little story but probably not worth debating about too much.

Too many people play the system this way and there really is not much that can be done about it. Personally I try to postion myself in the middle inbetween "All out - nothing is good enough - you owe me" type and the "Oh well - nothing can be done about it - door mat" type.

I suggest we move on to more important issues.

Just my 1.64 cents ( 2 Canadian cents)

Later

 

[wvdisneyfamily]

^ I agree.

 

[One Lil Spark]

The point is that he expected these things when he KNEW he wouldn't be getting them in the first place, and if he didn't know, he should have looked up some BASIC info on the hotel first. HIS fault...and NO ONE elses. You can't fault someone else when you don't have the responsibility or brains to know what you're paying for.

I think that a hotel charging those prices should probably have those things, too, BUT when I pay for a deluxe at Disney, I know EXACTLY what I'm getting for my money going in. Period. WL doesn't offer some of the things he wanted, and as an adult opening his wallet, he should have KNOWN that already.

You can't complain about how much you paid when you agreed to pay it, then got EXACTLY what you paid for.

Well said, Zac. This is pretty much dead on to my feelings on the matter.

 

[CleveRocks]

Just stayed 10 days at WL. Always visited the place and always wanted to stay there, but since I spend 90% of my time away from the hotel and on WDW property, I never really wanted to shell out $3000+ for a place to sleep. Granted, its got tremenous theming and since I've been to Yellowstone and Yosemite, its a fond reminder; but I basically will only be sleeping there. Regardless I took the plunge and booked it.

Now that I have done my thing there, I have to say there were a few things that just made my stay awful. I sent these complaints to Disney:

• 
  Why is it that I can stay at a $75/night motel and get a free continental breakfast, but at WL I would have to bump up to "concierge level" for $400/night to get a free pastry? I actually find this insulting!

• 
  Fresh brewed coffee? How hard is this to provide?

• 
  Roaring Forks? Menu could be printed on a postage stamp and there are only 18 or so tables to sit at. When you have a 700+ room hotel, where are we suppose to eat? The only other place is Whispering Canyons and as most people know, there are more non-hotel guests there and you cant eat unless you have a reservation!

I agree there's no excuse for the dreadful bus service you had.

But, honestly, the complaints I quoted above are really your own responsibility, not Disney's. You had every opportunity to research what WL offered and what it didn't. You had expectations that didn't match the reality. It's not like Disney advertised something that they didn't deliver. For example, the lack of continental breakfast. INSULTED? Really, you could have and should have known that they did not provide that, and then you could have decided for yourself whether or not to stay there. Same with meal availability. All the information is out there, you just have to look for it.

Even before the days of the Internet, I closely researched everywhere I traveled. I went to book stores, pored through guidebooks, wrote down hotel telephone numbers and then called to ask lots of questions about things like amentities, available restaurants (including having them mail copies of menus to me, etc.).

So while I'm sorry you had some dissapointments, the ones outlined above were YOUR doing, and not Disney's.

 

[CleveRocks]

But why is it ridiculous, if that's part of what you'd like to get out of your ideal resort experience?

In my mind, getting something back isn't the point. It's just about letting Disney know that, in your opinion, what you got compared to what you paid wasn't satisfactory and they might want to think about changing things. They can agree or disagree, but surely it's reasonable to at least express the opinion. No? :shrug:

There's a HUGE difference between having just plain bad service (as the OP had with occasional buses) and feeling insulted that you weren't offered an amenity that doesn't exist.

He didn't word it as, "I wish they'd offer this, and I let them know so they can improve it for the future." No, he did not say it that way. He said he was INSULTED that that amenity wasn't offered.

You don't knowingly pay for something and then complain about getting ripped off for getting exactly what you paid for. You are supposed to know what you are paying for before you pay for it.

I just bought a new car last week. It doesn't have a convenient cup holder for the driver or for the front seat passenger. I knew this before I bought the car, obviously. I'd consider writing a letter to the manufacturer to suggest they could make their customers happier by including convenient cupholders in future models. But am I justified in writing the manufacturer and COMPLAINING that I'm INSULTED that I can't have a decent cup of coffee while driving??? Of course not!!!

Before I bought the car, I checked it out fully. If the wheels fall off, I have a valid complaint. But if I don't like the way the wheels look, I shouldn't have bought the car in the first place.