Rapid Fill Mug Program Fails (at more ways than you might think)

[Nubs70]

Same way here.. but working with Scandinavians.. everything is based on trust. So you do NOT want to be the guy that just is eager to have the answer first. No points for first.. everyone scores based on effective results. They value honesty and direct... not fluffy and wasteful. The guy who comes in trying to name drop, tell us how great he is, and boast about his title... yeah, those tend to be outside the circle of trust.

I have a coworker who is the type that will always offer an answer even if he doesn't know. He loves having the answer first... yet he's wrong like 40% of the time. So he only gets the courtesy nods from the real players as they ignore what he has to say

There is NOTHING wrong with "I don't know" (unless it's your sole job to know... hehehe). Always better to be clear on what is known or not... strive for accurate... rather than guessing and risk being wrong in our field.

Credibility is everything.. and it's my Achilles heel at times because I do not like to pass on other people's work with my name attached if I haven't been deeply involved. I trust people.. but I call it their work, not mine

It's also why we are the heavy hitters when people have been floundering and just getting no where.

When we were first acquired people didn't like us because we said 'no' to things. Where as the old guard said yes to everything.. and would never deliver.. where we would always deliver on time. Now we are the credible ones because they know we won't just blow smoke up their rears

If you haven't, read up on Hofsteades Cultural Analysis. Your description of the group orientation of the Nordic types is spot on.

 

[flynnibus]

If you haven't, read up on Hofsteades Cultural Analysis. Your description of the group orientation of the Nordic types is spot on.

Yeah I've been involved with them for 15 yrs. the shop keep in frozen is also a dead ringer for how they deal with persistence without correction. It's so funny. The older generation can be quite discriminatory but still very likable. Their way is very much under fire tho with immigration and the work ethic of the younger gen

 

[ford91exploder]

Why would anyone design a drink metering system with reprogrammable disposable cups??

It allows drink machine to operate without backend support from a Micros or other POS (Point of Sale) system.

 

[jaklgreen]

My parents bought them at the Wilderness Lodge years ago, they still have the cups. I don't know when exactly but they are Wilderness Lodge cups.

We have a couple from the Contemporary. Can't afford to stay there now but in the late 90s we stayed there 5 years in a row. We always took back our cups even after they stopped selling it as free refills for life and the cast members always said that they would always honor it. I guess any cast member that worked then are long gone.

 

[jaklgreen]

You mean like restaurants? If I buy a soda at mcd's I'm not going to go back a week later and get a refill (sadly I have even seen signs addressing free refills are for day of purchase). If people have that thought pattern it is still theft.

I work in a fast casual restaurant(like a Panera). Our soda machines are self serve and we put the coffee pots out too. You would be shocked by the number of people who bring in their own cup and not pay for drinks. Or they bring in a cup that they bought days earlier, like you were talking about. It happens several times a week. I can only imagine how bad it is at WDW with the number of people they get. About the price of drinks... the cost of drinks has to cover not only the drink itself, but the cup/lid/straws/waste/labor also for all of the people that want a cup for free water. I would say that at least 65% of our customers do not buy drinks but want free water. Not only do they want it in a to go cup they also put a ton of lemons in the water that is out for the iced tea. So now the "free" water has cost us 30-40 cents. That has to be made up somewhere. Oh and I forgot to mention all of those people who just want water "accidently" put their cup under the soda dispenser instead. At least most of those people buy food. We also have people come in the have meetings and will sit there, take up a big table with their laptops and paperwork spread out and get the "water", of course with lemon and maybe " accidental" soda and not buy anything at all. I think Disney went a bit far with the RFID chips in the cups. It just is not good customer service considering that people are spending thousands of dollars there a stay. Its not like a regular restaurant where the average check is under $10 a person. Personally I drink water so it does not affect me but if I was a big soda person it would be annoying. The other issue I have is how come they put a coffee maker with free coffee in your room but if you get the coffee from the food court you have to pay for it?

 

[jaklgreen]

He irons and can do tech stuff. Be still, my heart.

If I ever decide to change my mind about marriage, I'm proposing immediately!

Thanks!

I disagree with this chart. LOL I grew up in Chicago and always called it soda. When we moved to Nebraska that was the first time I had ever heard it called Pop.

 

[ford91exploder]

Update, my parents were in Disney last week and could not use their for life cups any more. They simply won't work in the new machines and Disney is not replacing them with anything. LOL> Not sure if I would have even asked but apparently my mother did.

Time for a lawyer... Even Disney can't change a contract like this one. I'll make the popcorn...

 

[jaklgreen]

I like the freestyle machines - I am seeing them more and more across as I travel. I had heard that the upkeep on them was much more difficult than regular machines but I am not sure how true that is. I am actually shocked there are no freestyle machines on property.

They take too long. They had a couple of them in the Chase lounge for the food and wine fest last year. It takes people FOREVER to make the selection and that is after they figure out how to use it. I saw an old guy that could not figure how to get ice and you just push like every other machine. It is the whole technology thing that unfortunately a good portion of the older population has no interest in learning how it works.

 

[disney4life2008]

They take too long. They had a couple of them in the Chase lounge for the food and wine fest last year. It takes people FOREVER to make the selection and that is after they figure out how to use it. I saw an old guy that could not figure how to get ice and you just push like every other machine. It is the whole technology thing that unfortunately a good portion of the older population has no interest in learning how it works.

Ironically, its the same with the rapid fill machines. Every day last week at sports food court people both young and old just could not operate the machines. It took me several times to get it to work the first time i used it. it is not as simple as playing the cup on the black lever. U have to place it exactly centered so it read the RFID then press the button - but that does not mean pop will dispense.

 

[jaklgreen]

Update, my parents were in Disney last week and could not use their for life cups any more. They simply won't work in the new machines and Disney is not replacing them with anything. LOL> Not sure if I would have even asked but apparently my mother did.

That's a shame. I am sure that is why they only sold them for a couple of years. They probably saw there would be issues. But there should be some way they can make it right even if it is just to swap out your old cup with one of the new ones that way you have 1 last trip with free drinks.

 

[bhg469]

They take too long. They had a couple of them in the Chase lounge for the food and wine fest last year. It takes people FOREVER to make the selection and that is after they figure out how to use it. I saw an old guy that could not figure how to get ice and you just push like every other machine. It is the whole technology thing that unfortunately a good portion of the older population has no interest in learning how it works.

Absolutely true!

 

[Goofyernmost]

I work in a fast casual restaurant(like a Panera). Our soda machines are self serve and we put the coffee pots out too. You would be shocked by the number of people who bring in their own cup and not pay for drinks. Or they bring in a cup that they bought days earlier, like you were talking about. It happens several times a week. I can only imagine how bad it is at WDW with the number of people they get. About the price of drinks... the cost of drinks has to cover not only the drink itself, but the cup/lid/straws/waste/labor also for all of the people that want a cup for free water. I would say that at least 65% of our customers do not buy drinks but want free water. Not only do they want it in a to go cup they also put a ton of lemons in the water that is out for the iced tea. So now the "free" water has cost us 30-40 cents. That has to be made up somewhere. Oh and I forgot to mention all of those people who just want water "accidently" put their cup under the soda dispenser instead. At least most of those people buy food. We also have people come in the have meetings and will sit there, take up a big table with their laptops and paperwork spread out and get the "water", of course with lemon and maybe " accidental" soda and not buy anything at all. I think Disney went a bit far with the RFID chips in the cups. It just is not good customer service considering that people are spending thousands of dollars there a stay. Its not like a regular restaurant where the average check is under $10 a person. Personally I drink water so it does not affect me but if I was a big soda person it would be annoying. The other issue I have is how come they put a coffee maker with free coffee in your room but if you get the coffee from the food court you have to pay for it?

That post went from agreeing with the Disney RFID cups and justifying why they were necessary then making a massive turn into thinking that it is bogus. Which one are you backing here? I'm confused!

 

[Goofyernmost]

That's a shame. I am sure that is why they only sold them for a couple of years. They probably saw there would be issues. But there should be some way they can make it right even if it is just to swap out your old cup with one of the new ones that way you have 1 last trip with free drinks.

Who would have thought that those cup would last 20 years or that anyone would be willing to lug them back and forth that long. I'm sure when they set up the "for life" plan they didn't really know just what extremes people would go to so that they could redeem the cost of their $7.00 cup. It didn't take them long to see the folly of that decision. Also, wouldn't they have to be in the same resort they were purchased from to make that even work?

 

[lobelia]

Who would have thought that those cup would last 20 years or that anyone would be willing to lug them back and forth that long. I'm sure when they set up the "for life" plan they didn't really know just what extremes people would go to so that they could redeem the cost of their $7.00 cup. It didn't take them long to see the folly of that decision. Also, wouldn't they have to be in the same resort they were purchased from to make that even work?

I am actually astonished at the amount of guests that are doing this. I guess when I posted that I thought if they bothered with bring mugs back it was good brand reinforcement to let them fill up their mugs again while at the resorts. I didn't realize the enormity of the situation.

 

[ford91exploder]

I am actually astonished at the amount of guests that are doing this. I guess when I posted that I thought if they bothered with bring mugs back it was good brand reinforcement to let them fill up their mugs again while at the resorts. I didn't realize the enormity of the situation.

And HOW many Hotel stays and Park tickets did that 'free' soda sell, I'm guessing a multiplier effect in the hundreds of millions with word of mouth etc.

THIS is an example of how the OLD Disney collected the dollars flying overhead, They did not sweat the small stuff by giving away a few tens of dollars of supplies they created customers who spent tens of thousands of dollars over decades and a BIG reason they came BACK was because of the 'Free' soda.

The Old Disney guys - not so dumb, The new ones to quote my grandmother dumber than a bag of hammers

 

[JenniferS]

Who would have thought that those cup would last 20 years or that anyone would be willing to lug them back and forth that long. I'm sure when they set up the "for life" plan they didn't really know just what extremes people would go to so that they could redeem the cost of their $7.00 cup. It didn't take them long to see the folly of that decision. Also, wouldn't they have to be in the same resort they were purchased from to make that even work?

It reminds me of when I bought a fridge in 1990. The promotion was 50% of your purchase price back in 10 years. When you bought the fridge, you had 30 days to register (pre-internet) and wait for your redemption certificate by mail. Then, you had 90 days from the 10 year anniversary to certify-mail in your certificate.

The refund was supposed to take 6 weeks.

When I hadn't received my refund by week 12, I called the 1-800 number.

Here's the kicker. The company anticipated a 15-20% redemption rate, and had set aside a 10 year bond to cover 25%. The actual redemption rate was MORE THAN 55%!

They thought they had made the process so onerous that fewer than 2 in 10 would satisfy each step.

Disney's reasoning must have been the same. Who would have thought that folks would lug those things back and forth for 20 years?

Companies are constantly mis-judging the steps that folks will take to take advantage of a "bargain".

 

[flynnibus]

I honestly don't believe people bring these mugs back 20 years later... I'd wager most of the time it's more of "well, I bought this other mug to replace the mug I had that had lifetime refills... so I should still get the same thing"

If Disney just charged reasonable prices people wouldn't be so stingy.

and I totally agree on the 'redemption rate' comment. I don't think it is as much 'dumb people now..' but 'dumb people then' that offered lifetime anything.

 

[Nubs70]

It allows drink machine to operate without backend support from a Micros or other POS (Point of Sale) system.

Since a guest already has a profile built in a back end system, would it not make more sense to use non programmable RFID transponders with a unique identifier? The unique identifier is saved in your profile at the POS. Or is it cheaper to allow the drink stations to operate autonomously? If backend is used, could not drink preference data be sold to beverage companies for targeted marketing.

 

[kittybubbles]

I am sure Disney would say the offer of free refills for life was the for the life of the mug and that the life of the mug was 5 years...

 

[ford91exploder]

Since a guest already has a profile built in a back end system, would it not make more sense to use non programmable RFID transponders with a unique identifier? The unique identifier is saved in your profile at the POS. Or is it cheaper to allow the drink stations to operate autonomously? If backend is used, could not drink preference data be sold to beverage companies for targeted marketing.

I think this speaks more to Disney IT's outsourcing and product siloing there IS no one there with a global view of what Disney's diverse pool of IT systems are capable of.

So I i'd imagine F&B contracted with an outside vendor to get 'secure' drinks not knowing or caring that there is a global system being installed for guest entitlement.