Maid caught stealing at All-Star resorts

[von Slapschtick]

I've stayed at POP at least half a dozen times and the housekeeping has never been less than exemplary. I too, have left tips that weren't collected because housekeeping clearly didn't think it was for them. You always get one, she been caught so onward and upward...

 

[MOXOMUMD]

I've stayed at POP at least half a dozen times and the housekeeping has never been less than exemplary. I too, have left tips that weren't collected because housekeeping clearly didn't think it was for them. You always get one, she been caught so onward and upward...

I've stayed at POP 15+ times (that's my WDW home) and never had a problem except that once.

You should have told them to call the police then so you could file a report; if they refused you should have pulled out your phone and called them yourself.

I didn't think about it because I was so p*ssed it was my niece's $10 gift card and $15 arcade card that was buried in her makeup bag. (I mean c'mon, taking an arcade card?) Like I said, lesson learned. I also was upset that a makeup bag was gone through. I hate when things on the sink are moved around. Life goes on.

 

[Gabe1]

Either way, a misdemeanor on your record is far less damaging than a felony.

Hahaha Hahaha. I love forums. Duh doesn't seem to cover it.

 

[jkl2000]

Was she at least making things out of the towels for people?

 

[Gabe1]

Here is a good article from Wesh 2 about Disney's thought process on thefts vs the sheriff's view on reporting. It is more towards the bottom, a Mixed Message.


Family says car burglarized as they vacationed at Disney
Computer, gun stolen from vehicle
Published 5:11 PM EST Jan 07, 2013 Wesh 2

ORANGE COUNTY, Fla. —A family on vacation at Walt Disney World is furious after their car was burglarized on the theme park’s property.

The Bonds family, from Mississippi, said they returned to their car Saturday night at Magic Kingdom to find their computer, GPS, Christmas gifts and even a loaded gun gone.

The items' value is well into the thousands of dollars, according to the family.

Unfortunately, Disney security told the family that there are no security cameras in some of the park’s parking lots -- including Magic Kingdom's.

Also, according to the Orange County Sheriff Office and Disney security officers who talked with the family, car thieves are cruising the parking lots at local attractions with a handful of keyless entry devices until a car's lights or alarms go off. That allows for an easy in and out for the thieves.

“I have stories of coming back to my car, in a Disney parking lot, with nothing left,” said Jennifer Bond.

The gun taken from the family’s car was Randy Bond’s grandfathers.

“What if that gets given to somebody, or sold to someone, and somebody gets killed with that gun, I mean how am I going to feel,” said Bond.

The Bonds were also confused by the Disney security guard who told them they should not have called 911 and should have waited the more than 35 minutes it took for the guard to show up, before calling for a deputy.
But a spokesperson for the Sheriff's Office told WESH 2 that anyone who is a victim of a crime should call 911.

WESH contacted Disney and is waiting to hear back from them.

 

[WDW-LUVR]

As a trained locksmith most of the safes in Disney ain't as secure as you think it is doesn't take much to get into them if you know a bit about them you can use tools( normal household things ) to open them with either very little or no damage to the safe make it look like it was left open

Great getting going again. Good job.

 

[flynnibus]

Hahaha Hahaha. I love forums. Duh doesn't seem to cover it.

And not everyone here is bright enough to recognize stealing 20 dollars is just a misdemeanor with little criminal consequence in practice.

 

[WDW-LUVR]

Me too.

Apparently leaving a tip on the pillow is the universally accepted location. Anywhere else, and there is too much left to interpretation, and housekeeping will most likely not take it.

I tip $5.00 every morning, which I place in sealed envelopes, clearly marked "Mousekeeping".

I prepare the envelopes before leaving home, and the kids (when younger) used to decorate the envelopes with Disney themed stickers.
I then place the stack of envelopes in the bedside table drawer, and pull out the appropriately dated one each morning.

I have never had an issue with Disney housekeeping. I lock up my cash and iPad, and be sure to tip appropriately. I also keep the room fairly tidy. I see no reason to tick off the person who has unmonitored access to my toothbrush.

On another note, it has never made sense to me that I am expected to tip a food server $15-$25 for bringing me my beverages and food, but $5 is actually considered generous for the person who has access to all my valuables.

I do agree with you whole heartily and do they same thing. Another thing I also do is, the day we Arrive I head to Ghirardellis DTD and grab a bag of chocolates and leave 2 each morning with the envelopes for mousekeeping.

 

[rael ramone]

The Bonds were also confused by the Disney security guard who told them they should not have called 911 and should have waited the more than 35 minutes it took for the guard to show up, before calling for a deputy.
But a spokesperson for the Sheriff's Office told WESH 2 that anyone who is a victim of a crime should call 911.

WESH contacted Disney and is waiting to hear back from them.

But having crimes added to the public record are so unMAGICal...

 

[TP2000]

Actually, I find it distressing that somebody's lifelihood should be threatened over $20 dollars. Why is there no anonimity? Employers google their prospective employees.

Yes, yes, she could've not taken the money. But a threatened livelihood stands in no proportion to taking twenty dollars.

She was stealing money repeatedly out of many rooms. Over a period of time. So many people complained, and always people who were in rooms serviced by Ms. Francois, that Disney let the Sherriff Department come in and set up a sting with cameras and traceable currency. She got caught on their first attempt. And she was smart enough to just peel 10 or 20 bucks off each victim, so a lot of her victims never noticed or didn't bother to report it to the front desk.

From the news article...
"Deputies say 29-year-old Bruna Francois, a housekeeper, was stealing money out of guests rooms. It was brought to their attention after receiving several complaints from guests that money had been taken out of their rooms, each of which were cleaned by Francois."

20 bucks stolen from the tourist family in room 304, 20 bucks from the retired couple in room 305, 20 bucks from the newlyweds in room 306, day after day, and pretty soon you've got yourself a legit criminal.

 

[rael ramone]

Actually, I find it distressing that somebody's lifelihood should be threatened over $20 dollars. Why is there no anonimity? Employers google their prospective employees.

Yes, yes, she could've not taken the money. But a threatened livelihood stands in no proportion to taking twenty dollars. Half the people in the United States commit a worse crime every day. If only because of speeding.

There are certain things that merit instant dismissal from a job if done by an employee and that can be proved, even if it is perfectly legal. Speeding may be that offense if your job is driving a school bus and you speed in the bus with children on board.

The maid due to her job has access to hotel rooms and has trust put upon her to not take anything from the room that isn't hers. She violated a trust that was central to her job. It would be morally wrong for Disney to keep her on the job (or any job for that matter) if she violated a trust central to the job and it can be proved.

If they don't just eliminate the job due to attrition, perhaps this creates an opening for a job for an honest housekeeper or more hours for their other honest workers.

And who would want to stay in a hotel if they kept known, proven room thiefs in the housekeeping staff.

 

[Goofnut1980]

Honestly, we've never used the safes in our rooms but we have left laptops. Of course cash is much easier to hide and steal but it haves me second guessing leaving them.

I have always left my iPads and laptops out at the DVC resorts.. Shoot I have left cash for them for cleaning and unless I wrote in big bold letters, Mousekeeping Tip.. they wouldn't touch it...

 

[Goofnut1980]

Btw... is it only one person that cleans a room or is it teams? or does it depend on the resort?

 

[luv]

Btw... is it only one person that cleans a room or is it teams? or does it depend on the resort?

They work alone. They get about fifteen minutes per room, assuming nobody calls off. A few extra minutes are allotted for check-outs.

 

[The Empress Lilly]

There are certain things that merit instant dismissal from a job if done by an employee and that can be proved, even if it is perfectly legal. Speeding may be that offense if your job is driving a school bus and you speed in the bus with children on board.

The maid due to her job has access to hotel rooms and has trust put upon her to not take anything from the room that isn't hers. She violated a trust that was central to her job. It would be morally wrong for Disney to keep her on the job (or any job for that matter) if she violated a trust central to the job and it can be proved.

If they don't just eliminate the job due to attrition, perhaps this creates an opening for a job for an honest housekeeper or more hours for their other honest workers.

And who would want to stay in a hotel if they kept known, proven room thiefs in the housekeeping staff.

Indeed. I agree. Obviously she can't keep her job. And must face criminal prosecution for her action.

But the goal of criminal prosecution is to criminally prosecute people, and be the only place where people are prosecuted. It serves as the civilised alternative to mob justice. Also, a central element of criminal prosecution is that you will only be prosecuted once for the same event.
With her name and picture all over the media, this suspect faces criminal prosecution twice, once in court where it belongs, and once outside.

Not to mention, will all prospective future employers have access to all nuances that may be brought forth in court? Will this woman, whose innocence as of yet must be presumed, even be found guilty in a court of law in the first place?

Ach, it's an interesting subject!
It does dawn on me that there is a cultural difference between America and Europe regarding the reveal of a suspect's identity. In Europe, identities tend to be kept outside of the media, who report only initials, without pictures, whereas in America, more faith is placed on the notion of presumed innocence.

 

[The Empress Lilly]

She was stealing money repeatedly out of many rooms. Over a period of time. So many people complained, and always people who were in rooms serviced by Ms. Francois, that Disney let the Sherriff Department come in and set up a sting with cameras and traceable currency. She got caught on their first attempt. And she was smart enough to just peel 10 or 20 bucks off each victim, so a lot of her victims never noticed or didn't bother to report it to the front desk.

From the news article...
"Deputies say 29-year-old Bruna Francois, a housekeeper, was stealing money out of guests rooms. It was brought to their attention after receiving several complaints from guests that money had been taken out of their rooms, each of which were cleaned by Francois."

20 bucks stolen from the tourist family in room 304, 20 bucks from the retired couple in room 305, 20 bucks from the newlyweds in room 306, day after day, and pretty soon you've got yourself a legit criminal.

But we (and prospective employers) don't know that. Surprising nuances can turn up in a court of law. Unexpected facts too.

What if our suspect visited a mousekeeping cantina the night before. And some experienced older mousemaid told the supsect how she had been stealing for sveral years without being caught. That the trick was to only take money from a stack of cash, only small amounts, and that nobody would find out. What if our suspect applied this newly learned trick the next day for her very first time?

What if experienced mousethieves understood that they shouldn't steal from their own rooms, but from rooms that were being cleaned by their colleagues?
"Oh hi Bruna, mind if I take some of your spray, I'm out"
"Sure, it's in the tray in by the tv, help yourself, I'm busy in the bathroom right now'

 

[JenniferS]

But we (and prospective employers) don't know that. Surprising nuances can turn up in a court of law. Unexpected facts too.

What if our suspect visited a mousekeeping cantina the night before. And some experienced older mousemaid told the supsect how she had been stealing for sveral years without being caught. That the trick was to only take money from a stack of cash, only small amounts, and that nobody would find out. What if our suspect applied this newly learned trick the next day for her very first time?

What if experienced mousethieves understood that they shouldn't steal from their own rooms, but from rooms that were being cleaned by their colleagues?
"Oh hi Bruna, mind if I take some of your spray, I'm out"
"Sure, it's in the tray in by the tv, help yourself, I'm busy in the bathroom right now'

This is a great defense, and perhaps her lawyer will try using it, but it is entirely inconsistent with the facts stated in the article. The police were presented with enough circumstantial evidence to warrant a "sting" operation - which was successful THE VERY FIRST TIME. This appears to be a habitual criminal with a problem.
I don't want a known petty theft having a key to my hotel room. Period.

 

[The Empress Lilly]

This is a great defense, and perhaps her lawyer will try using it, but it is entirely inconsistent with the facts stated in the article. The police were presented with enough circumstantial evidence to warrant a "sting" operation - which was successful THE VERY FIRST TIME. This appears to be a habitual criminal with a problem.
I don't want a known petty theft having a key to my hotel room. Period.

Fair enough. Sure.

But do you want this woman to never have a job at your fast food joint either? Must she never be able to feed her children again, even after the judicial system has inflicted whatever punishment society has agreed upon?

 

[JenniferS]

Fair enough. Sure.

But do you want this woman to never have a job at your fast food joint either? Must she never be able to feed her children again, even after the judicial system has inflicted whatever punishment society has agreed upon?

That's pretty much how it works where I live in Canada. McDonald's, Tim Hortons, Subway, anywhere you handle cash, insist on a police check before hiring.

Similarly, I used to have to get one every year when I volunteered at my kids' school.

These background checks are broken into multiple categories: crimes of a sexual nature, assault, crimes against property, and theft (among others). It indicates if charges are current or if your conviction has been served. It also includes any peace bonds (restraining orders) issued against you.

You are not required, of course, to provide one if asked; but good luck getting hired or being allowed into that volunteer position if you refuse to supply one.

Bonus injustice - you have to pay for it. Not sure how much it is now, but it used to be $25, or $15 if accompanied by a letter from the institution (school, coaching, scouts, etc.) for whom you will be volunteering.
Needs to be renewed every year.

Screw up here in Ontario, and there are permanent repercussions. Worse yet, dropped charges will also show up on the background checks. Many employers infer that a dropped charge does not necessarily mean that you are "not guilty", but maybe you just got lucky as there was not enough evidence to proceed.

 

[bsiev1977]

Fair enough. Sure.

But do you want this woman to never have a job at your fast food joint either? Must she never be able to feed her children again, even after the judicial system has inflicted whatever punishment society has agreed upon?

Would it bother me if I was just a customer there? Probably not.
If I was the manager there, would I want to hire her? Probably not.