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When at Walt Disney World, are you a Guest or a Customer?

Guest or Customer?

  • Guest

    Votes: 70 56.9%

  • Customer

    Votes: 53 43.1%
  • Total voters
    123
  • Poll closed .
glvsav37

glvsav37

Well-Known Member
coming....anything before I land in MCO is a transaction. After my head hits that coach bus headrest, everything melts away and I am on Guest status.

now obv it's not 100% of the vacation, there are still transactions like QS meals and dealing with other guests that can kick you off the cloud from time to time. But trying to to as very little 'adult' as I can is why I use the DDP and don't rent a car or have any of the other trappings from home. I just want to come into a park and escape.


on the avatar...thanks..I have it as my desktop picture at home too.
 
Disney4family

Disney4family

Well-Known Member
I guess it's part of our fantasy that we feel we are Guests. We understand the "customer" point of view very well, but while we're there we would like to believe that we are Guests with extra customer service. Honestly, all I do in the real world is serve others and put others before me - for my family, my students and their families. I need to feel like someone is taking care of me. With a little faith, trust and pixie dust I can find it each trip.
 
bethymouse

bethymouse

Well-Known Member
"Welcome Home" is my favorite part of staying at a deluxe resort. You are a guest. In some cases, CMs go above and beyond to make you feel like a guest. Be Our Guest restaurant is a decent example of feeling like a guest. Love meeting Beast there, and the decor is outstanding! Also, any signature restaurant makes you feel like a guest, although of course it's a "bit" pricey!;) I guess what I'm saying is that the more $$$ you spend, it seems like you're treated like a guest, but in the end, you're just a customer.:( It's all in how you look at it.;)
 
glvsav37

glvsav37

Well-Known Member
the more money you spend = the more of 'guest show' you get.

But thats anywhere....I'm sure a stay at Waldorf Astoria suite level is going to get you more then a Ramada Inn.

Diner at Victoria and Alberts is night and day different then dinner at most other good TS locations at WDW.

But, the one thing you can say (at least for now) is that once you are in the parks, pretty much everyone gets the same show. And extra magic is not based on money.
 
MKCP 1985

MKCP 1985

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
bethymouse said:
"Welcome Home" is my favorite part of staying at a deluxe resort. You are a guest. In some cases, CMs go above and beyond to make you feel like a guest. Be Our Guest restaurant is a decent example of feeling like a guest. Love meeting Beast there, and the decor is outstanding! Also, any signature restaurant makes you feel like a guest, although of course it's a "bit" pricey!;) I guess what I'm saying is that the more $$$ you spend, it seems like you're treated like a guest, but in the end, you're just a customer.:( It's all in how you look at it.;)
Click to expand...
Your description of the way you are made to feel at the Deluxe resorts is probably the way Disney would want everyone staying onsite to feel about their experience. I have not yet been to the restaurant in New Fantasyland but look forward to trying it out on the next trip. My last visit to the Magic Kingdom was during a holiday party and I don't **think** it was open during those extended hours but it may have been.

Do you feel you are being treated as a valued guest when you dine at the more modestly priced restaurants?
 
Doug Means

Doug Means

Well-Known Member
rob0519 said:
I used to consider myself a guest. Now I feel we are merely customers, at least in the parks. There is nothing guest-like about fighting to get a dinner reservation 180 days in advance or planning every attraction down to the hour or having to accept 3 fast-pass choices when I have no interest in one of them. There is nothing guest-like about being told I can't watch a parade or fireworks from a decent location unless I use a fast pass and even then people are packed in like sardines.

The CR and GF continue to be the only place we still feel like guests, but I'm sure that is still true of all the Deluxe Resorts.
Click to expand...


then i guess you won't be returning? lowers the crowd numbers for me
 
Doug Means

Doug Means

Well-Known Member
i'm not sure what i am, but i certainly understand up front how much money i will be spending, so that's not an issue. i understand that most CM's are instructed to try and be above and beyond for people, and i think i've experienced a lot of that. I am a theme park fan and all it takes to really understand WDW, in my opinion, is visit some of the non-disney parks around the USA, and Disney is just so much more and thats what makes it great. the other places are good (i like them), but Disney is great. BUT i understand what i am getting into before hand and i think that some people don't. does that even answer this question?
 
bethymouse

bethymouse

Well-Known Member
MKCP 1985 said:
Your description of the way you are made to feel at the Deluxe resorts is probably the way Disney would want everyone staying onsite to feel about their experience. I have not yet been to the restaurant in New Fantasyland but look forward to trying it out on the next trip. My last visit to the Magic Kingdom was during a holiday party and I don't **think** it was open during those extended hours but it may have been.

Do you feel you are being treated as a valued guest when you dine at the more modestly priced restaurants?
Click to expand...
I have always enjoyed the character dining, especially Chef Mickeys. You feel like a true "kid" and the characters take time with you. The food at most of those buffets is just ok. I have been "lucky" to have excellent waiters and waitresses. They have made me feel at home, no matter what table service restaurant you go to. Now... quick service on the other hand is another story!;)
 
PhotoDave219

PhotoDave219

Well-Known Member
MKCP 1985 said:
People employed at Walt Disney World (Cast) are trained that the paying public are to be referred to as guests, not customers. Disney then touts this training to the public so that they expect to be made to feel special in a way different than the way they are treated as customers elsewhere.

Because the words may conjure up images that are not so different to people, depending on where they are from, here are some descriptions of what each word means, from the same common dictionary:

Guest: a person to whom hospitality is extended, a person entertained in one's house and/or a person who is invited to a place or an event as a special honor

Customer: someone who buys goods or services from a business, one that purchases a commodity or service

I am genuinely curious to see what the voting public at wdwmagic.com thinks of this question: At your last visit to the Walt Disney World Resort, did you feel you were treated by the company as a whole as a guest or as a customer?

Thank you for taking the time to vote and to post your reason for how you chose, if you decide to do so.
Click to expand...

If you have to ask this question, you know the answer....
 
Nubs70

Nubs70

Well-Known Member
Once you and your data footprint is mined and manipulated to excise, from you, the greatest possible profit, you are a customer or even less.
 
rob0519

rob0519

Well-Known Member
Doug Means said:
then i guess you won't be returning? lowers the crowd numbers for me
Click to expand...

Incorrect guess. Sorry, but I wont' be lowering anything for you. In fact, we just spent a day at the MK less than two weeks ago. The question was do you feel like a guest or a customer. I said customer, not guest and stated a few reasons. I never said customer was a bad thing and that we would not be returning.
 
MKCP 1985

MKCP 1985

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
Goofnut1980 said:
I feel like family. I love getting to interact with the CMs and learning about them. It makes you feel more like you are at "home".
Click to expand...

Does the CM always initiate the interaction with you?

Dad 2 M & M said:
We are Guests...without the expectation of perfection. If we expected perfection, we might be customers. Disney surpasses our expectations each time we go....and, YES, we do experience the occasional hiccup
Click to expand...

Having your expectations surpassed on each trip - can a vacation get any better than that?

Larry Mondello said:
You are a customer. A guest is someone that you invite to you home, or club, or whatever without expecting compensation from you "guest". Disney invites me to their resorts on a regular basis and then they tell me that I have to pay for the privilege.
Click to expand...
If you s-t-r-e-t-c-h your definition to allow people who are invited but asked to pay, how does Disney otherwise make you feel in terms of providing you value that goes beyond "buy your ticket, take your ride?"
 

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