Phone call from Meg Crofton rep.!!

[tirian]

I was actually interested in what you had to say. Then I read and found out it was just another complaint about paint chipping and light bulbs being burnt out.

I guess I just don't understand why this is a big deal to some of you. And I can guarantee with almost 100% certainty, that it is just a few of you. I have to believe that the 'average guest', the one who goes a few times in their lifetime, or even once a year for that matter, is far more concerned about having more attractions to experience than if a few light bulbs are burnt out or some paint has chipped.

First-time guests do notice when half of the resort's E-tickets don't function correctly, when the flagship park's entertainment has been reduced to kiddie M&G's, and when quick-service restaurants are understaffed. They also notice when their hotel room lights don't work (as recently happened to me at AKL), or when both beds in their room have broken headboards (my room at the GF last February). The occasional burnt light bulb isn't a huge concern, but a general lack of maintenance is.

To be fair, WDW has been improving its maintenance lately, and I'll give them credit for that. It still isn't where it was in the early 90s, but it's better than it was four years ago.

 

[unkadug]

I was actually interested in what you had to say. Then I read and found out it was just another complaint about paint chipping and light bulbs being burnt out.

I guess I just don't understand why this is a big deal to some of you. And I can guarantee with almost 100% certainty, that it is just a few of you. I have to believe that the 'average guest', the one who goes a few times in their lifetime, or even once a year for that matter, is far more concerned about having more attractions to experience than if a few light bulbs are burnt out or some paint has chipped.

Reading comprehension was not one of your strong points, was it?

 

[dreamscometrue]

I'm impressed with the level of professionalism; that's probably why it was forwarded all the way to Meg. TDO does need to understand they serve a number of guests who notice when the cuts have made an impact, and are intelligent enough to verbalize their feelings without resorting to "I-hate-everything" comments.

Thanks tirian.

It was actually your thread (Zip a Dee Doo Blah...) that was the catalyst for my letter! :wave:

Until your post, I'd always told people on here who 'complained' that perhaps they looked at WDW of the past through 'rose colored glasses'. Although I believed then (and still do) that things weren't perfect ever-I remember long queues, ride issues, etc.-I did read objectively the posts of you and several others.

The conclusion I reached was that some issues with maintenance and effects have reached a point where something had to be 'said'. I think that T.D.O. needs to continue to strive for perfection. If that is not the goal, then the 'powers that be' are heading down a slippery slope. How many broken AAs are acceptable...2?...6? How many burned out light bulbs are okay on Main Street U.S.A.?...10?...100? Will there ever be perfection? No. Should that be the target at WDW? Yes! That was the standard set by Walt. It is said he was meticulous and had no tolerance for anything less than perfection. Proper thing.

"It's kind of fun to do the impossible." Walt Disney

Thanks for the motivation tirian.

 

[KingdomofDreams]

^ Very nice! And I agree wholeheartedly with your conclusions. Well done! Thanks for being a voice for many.

 

[Captain Chaos]

Wonderful letter... Very well written... Point was expressed professionally... And that is very important... Glad you took the time to express your feelings to management... And I am even more glad they took the time to respond... That shows, to me, they care...

Now, maybe more of us should write letters, as professional as this one, and maybe we can make a difference in the World...

 

[dreamscometrue]

I really believe that writing letters of concern can make a difference. I think everyone with a concern should do that, and simply express their thoughts in a manner that reflects their feeling and personality. If a person is angry, write an 'angry' letter, if frustrated, write a letter to express frustration.

The key point is to make people aware of concerns. It's fine for us to discuss, debate and complain on these boards, but in fairness to T.D.O., we should express our concerns so that they are aware, and can at least consider addressing issues.

 

[Captain Chaos]

I really believe that writing letters of concern can make a difference. I think everyone with a concern should do that, and simply express their thoughts in a manner that reflects their feeling and personality. If a person is angry, write an 'angry' letter, if frustrated, write a letter to express frustration.

The key point is to make people aware of concerns. It's fine for us to discuss, debate and complain on these boards, but in fairness to T.D.O., we should express our concerns so that they are aware, and can at least consider addressing issues.

I agree with you 100%... There is also a right way and wrong way to write a letter of complaint.. And you did it the right way... again, kudos!!!!

 

[devoy1701]

Tirain has been the instigator of a lot of what has been going on with the fan base around here...so I'm definitely not surprised that he sparked your interest to write that well written letter!

I actually owe him a PM... :dazzle:

I do not doubt that TDO takes these letters and comments to "heart" per say...but not until they become a constant flow or stay in the open instead of being one-offs will TDO consider changing any of their approaches.

Even with their attendence numbers down, which it looks like will happen again this year, that doesn't matter to them because increased ticket and room rates are going to be increasing their overall revenues and margins. So with us unable to affect their cashflow...we just need to become a constant knat flying around reminding them that we do notice these things...and just because maintenance has been improving (somewhat) over the past couple months, doesn't mean we should just let it go either.

 

[captainkidd]

Fantastic letter!

It really sums up what I think a lot of us feel, but get frustrated in trying to say. Those of us that have been a bit hard on WDW lately KNOW of it's potential for perfection. We've seen it. That's why the issues such as burned out light bulbs and attractions not working properly are so noticeable.

 

[fosse76]

First-time guests do notice when half of the resort's E-tickets don't function correctly, when the flagship park's entertainment has been reduced to kiddie M&G's, and when quick-service restaurants are understaffed. They also notice when their hotel room lights don't work (as recently happened to me at AKL), or when both beds in their room have broken headboards (my room at the GF last February). The occasional burnt light bulb isn't a huge concern, but a general lack of maintenance is.

I agree. I was a first-time guest in 2006, and while my experience wasn't bad (I still had a good time), there didn't seem to be anything "special" to me about the general upkeep and maintenance of the park. I didn't see any less trash on the ground than at my local Six Flags (not that the place was overflowing with litter, but there still was some); the CMs, while not rude, didn't seem overly enthusiastic; I noticed a few burnt-out bulbs, but nothing that wouldn't be atypical of ANY business; some attractions' effects looked like they weren't functioning.

The point is that Disney prides itself on its above-reproach standards on cleanliness and customer service, and to this at-the-time first-timer, it seemed to me those claims were exxagerrated. And the customer service is more of the philosophy to silence the squeaky wheel with a freebie as opposed to actually solving any problems.

To be fair, WDW has been improving its maintenance lately, and I'll give them credit for that. It still isn't where it was in the early 90s, but it's better than it was four years ago.

I don't know about that. Splash Mountain seemed to have had a large amount of issues AFTER its refurb, which in my opinion is unacceptable. That's hardly stellar maintenance. Personally, I think they fix problems on attractions when they occur. So many of the problems, individually, are small enough that they aren't extremely noticeable. But when these small problems accumulate over time, it leads to significant downtime for the attraction to repair.

 

[wendysmom]

I have to share an incident that took place with our family during the Marathon in January. (My son-in-law was running in it.) We had a 2bdrm DVC room at Boardwalk. About midnight the night before the race, DD knocked at our door. They had discovered a nasty stain on their sheet, and had called down to housekeeping. After waiting an hour with no one showing up, they went for the big guns, i.e. "Dad". My husband called down, and very politely, but firmly, explained the situation and why we were so disappointed in the response from housekeeping. He went into us being long-time Disney fans, our expectations for excellence there, etc. Well, there was someone there with fresh sheets in 5 minutes. The next day (race day) we stumbled back exhausted into our unit and discovered all of our clothing neatly piled and the rooms obviously done. At DVC you only get Trash/towel service on day 4 so my DH called down. They explained that the head on Boardwalk had been called about out problem. The end result: the head of housekeeping with a team of 6 had completely redone our room and we would receive daily housekeeping. We were shocked and impressed. Then, two days later my DH was ill, and being a loving, caring family :lookaroun we left him in the room since my DD was dying to check out Harry Potter and Hogwarts. He called down to say skip the housekeeping since he was in the room, and sick. Thirty minutes later, the head of housekeeping knocked on the door with a tray of chicken noodle soup, crackers and water!! She said they'd appreciated the manner in which he'd handled a bad situation and hoped we'd stay again at Boardwalk!

My DH wrote them when we got home about how well we'd been treated and was thanked for it. So...I think it really does matter how you say it. Now...me...I'd have probably been shouting about how late it was, etc. etc.!!:lol: