A Question Before I Complain ... But I Might Anyway!

SL6827 · Feb 21, 2018

There is a supply and demand issue here with housekeeping. Disney is just not wanting to pony up the money to keep the supply up. Simple economics.

fla4fun · Feb 21, 2018

HopperFan said:
Completely agree there is a button ....... but it should be noted that as they make renovations they may have cut off your ability to talk to Housekeeping and now your call will just go to the call center. I've stopped using the phone in the room because my issues were never addressed that way. Now they may not do this at deluxe resorts.

I used the button at Pop on my Trip last month to request maintenance when the safe wouldn’t work properly and they were there in less than ten minutes. Of course maintenance may not be as overwhelmed as housekeeping right now, or as short handed, but whoever is answering the phone at least has the capability to get the message to the right department in a timely manner.

Tess · Feb 21, 2018

Moms said:
We just returned from a four night stay at The Beach Club. It was our first stay there but we are familiar with the general area as we have stayed at Boardwalk for our last six or seven visits. We love BWI but couldn't get a room so I was hoping that Beach Club would be a reasonable alternative but we were disappointed.

When we arrived at the resort our room was not ready ... it was about noon and that's fine, but for what it is worth it was literally the first time we have ever not had our room ready when we arrived ... and we have often arrived well before noon. We have stayed on property about twenty times, moderate and deluxe and I know that we have no right to expect the room before 3:00 but it was notable in our experience.

That was not the problem though ... it was housekeeping. We generally get up early and hit the parks at rope drop then return to the hotel in the afternoon for a nap or a visit to the pool before dinner and another park for the evening. We have often in the past come back to the room and had it in the middle of being serviced so we (for the first time) requested early service when we checked in. We told the cast member anytime before noon would be fine and that was that. Now the room was always serviced when we returned in the afternoons but ...

Towels were sporadically replaced .. we hung up the towels we were willing to use again and folded the ones needing replacement and placed them on the edge of the tub. It was not a big deal but two (of four) days the dirty ones were taken but not replaced.

The initial set of toiletries were never replenished ... we even requested in writing (with the tip) more shampoo but ... nothing. I generally bring all the toiletries I need with but this was a short trip and we knew that the Disney products were good so ... we ended up buying shampoo in the gift shop. The toilet paper and kleenex were not replenished either ... we managed to make it with the one plus two extra rolls that were there when we arrived but we were down to the last little bit on the last roll when we left.

There were two burned out light bulbs when we checked in and they were still burned out when we left. The chain on the ceiling fan was broken off and sitting on the dresser when we arrived and it wasn't replaced until the third day ... not huge deal but not in keeping with our experience with Disney.

We try to be conscientious and keep our room tidy to make the servicing easier, we always tip the housekeeper and dutifully place the "occupied" sign out when we are in the room. Could it be that they were not happy with out request for early service? I know they start early so "before noon shouldn't have been an issue.

I now have the usual post-visit survey and will certainly note the issues, but wonder ... has Disney cut back on amenities? I know some hotels provide toiletries only once ... but didn't think Disney had gone that route. Should I complain? I did not complain while we were there because sometimes that backfires and none of the issues was that big a deal ... just not what we have come to expect from Disney.

Same issues for all three of our rooms last October minus the burned out bulb and chain. I had to call down every day for wash cloths--never left any; toiletries hit or miss, too. I called for pre-noon service for all three rooms which were located in consecutive order and all of us were out at the same time. That is not our usual experience at BC.

rwdavis2 · Feb 21, 2018

SL6827 said:
There is a supply and demand issue here with housekeeping. Disney is just not wanting to pony up the money to keep the supply up. Simple economics.

Yep. Heard that on a recent Dis podcast.

married2mm · Feb 21, 2018

Not housekeeping but maintenance-
We had a few minor issues which I addressed at the front desk....

The guy was already there before we even returned to our room; most impressive!
Clearly there's a vast differentiation between the services provided

Hopefully · Feb 21, 2018

HopperFan said:
Completely agree there is a button ....... but it should be noted that as they make renovations they may have cut off your ability to talk to Housekeeping and now your call will just go to the call center. I've stopped using the phone in the room because my issues were never addressed that way. Now they may not do this at deluxe resorts.

It “may have cut off your ability to talk to Housekeeping” but it may not have.
In our refurbished Villa at the BCV in October I used the button 3 times. I had what I requested (a cutting board etc. not missing items) within 15 minutes each time. Iwas surprised by the speed of response.

disneyag · Feb 21, 2018

Disney has a lot of nerve calling some hotels "Deluxe" and charging a fortune for them and then not replenishing towels or toilet paper! I agree that the OP should have called Housekeeping while at Disney, but the fact remains---the guest shouldn't have to police housekeeping staff.

Ninja Mom · Feb 21, 2018

You shouldn't be expected to "herd" housekeeping into providing services, nor should you be expected to know ahead of time that you need to call someone, go down to the front desk, leave notes etc or otherwise interrupt your vacation to get proper service. You paid a premium price for your room. You should have had premium service.

I'm sorry that you had poor service and I'm sorry that some people here on these boards expect that you should be the one solving Disney's housekeeping problems. Thank you for sharing your concerns. Definitely share your concerns about your stay with guest services.

email wdw.guest.communications@disneyworld.com

or send a letter to:

Walt Disney World Guest Communications
Executive Offices
Post Office Box 10040
Lake Buena Vista, Florida 32830-0040

~NM

Best Aunt · Feb 21, 2018

AngiTN said:
You don't mention if you called to ask for additional items when they weren't left as you asked, in writing. Why didn't you? I for sure would have done that before going to buy some. I'm highly confused by this choice you made. I gotta admit
It's possible your housekeeper did not speak, or read, English.

This.

AngiTN · Feb 21, 2018

Ninja Mom said:
You shouldn't be expected to "herd" housekeeping into providing services, nor should you be expected to know ahead of time that you need to call someone, go down to the front desk, leave notes etc or otherwise interrupt your vacation to get proper service. You paid a premium price for your room. You should have had premium service.

I'm sorry that you had poor service and I'm sorry that some people here on these boards expect that you should be the one solving Disney's housekeeping problems. Thank you for sharing your concerns. Definitely share your concerns about your stay with guest services.

email wdw.guest.communications@disneyworld.com

or send a letter to:

Walt Disney World Guest Communications
Executive Offices
Post Office Box 10040
Lake Buena Vista, Florida 32830-0040

~NM

Was going to buy their own while on vacation a better solution than "herd" houskeeping or going to front desk?
I'm amazed that some folks here think that you should be upset and write a letter once you get home vs. solving it while you are there.
Otherwise I agree, it's not good that they had to deal with it. Not at all. I'm pretty sure no one here has said it was either. But just what do you think is the proper action when you need to get more supplies while there? Go without and write a letter once home? Surely not.

buzznina · Feb 21, 2018

Jennasis said:
Your complaints are valid and should be voiced to WDW. Except for the room ready at noon thing. Our room has NEVER been ready before check in over the last 17 years. Our last 5 years worth of trips have had us wait past check in too at every resort level.

I totally agree with Jennsis. I personally, would have went and talked with a manger after the first couple of issues. I use to let the little things go, but with WDW raising rates and cutting services I am no longer going to do it.

Tess · Feb 21, 2018

Ninja Mom said:
You shouldn't be expected to "herd" housekeeping into providing services, nor should you be expected to know ahead of time that you need to call someone, go down to the front desk, leave notes etc or otherwise interrupt your vacation to get proper service. You paid a premium price for your room. You should have had premium service.

I'm sorry that you had poor service and I'm sorry that some people here on these boards expect that you should be the one solving Disney's housekeeping problems. Thank you for sharing your concerns. Definitely share your concerns about your stay with guest services.

email wdw.guest.communications@disneyworld.com

or send a letter to:

Walt Disney World Guest Communications
Executive Offices
Post Office Box 10040
Lake Buena Vista, Florida 32830-0040

~NM

Amen NM! I certainly complained while there (daily) about our missing items and it certainly didn't rectify the situation. During my calls, I indicated that I know mistakes happen, yadayadayada, and I didn't want anyone to be in trouble, but I would like my wash cloths, towels, toiletries, etc. each day. Didn't happen. . .

The final straw was coming back in the afternoon for a swim and finding our balcony door standing wide open and still no toiletries and wash cloths. . .enough was enough. I politely let the housekeeping manager know that our service x3 rooms had been totally unacceptable and anything could have slithered in our room while that door was open. I was promised better and complete service for the remainder of our stay--a minimum I should think. :sad2:

dansdad · Feb 21, 2018

SL6827 said:
There is a supply and demand issue here with housekeeping. Disney is just not wanting to pony up the money to keep the supply up. Simple economics.

That's not the problem. They cannot get enough people willing to do the job. They have even upped the sign on bonus to $1750 and the referral bonus to $750 per.

SL6827 · Feb 21, 2018

dansdad said:
That's not the problem. They cannot get enough people willing to do the job. They have even upped the sign on bonus to $1750 and the referral bonus to $750 per.

You think? Give them another $5-8 an hour raise to go with that and I bet their turnover would drop drastically. Its just Disney not wanting to pay what is needed to keep the help.

dansdad · Feb 21, 2018

SL6827 said:
You think? Give them another $5-8 an hour raise to go with that and I bet their turnover would drop drastically. Its just Disney not wanting to pay what is needed to keep the help.

I can't see them upping the hourly pay to $22-$25 per hour. That would be more than double the industry standard. You think our room rates are high now.

SL6827 · Feb 21, 2018

dansdad said:
I can't see them upping the hourly pay to $22-$25 per hour. That would be more than double the industry standard. You think our room rates are high now.

What is their standard rate now? I was thinking it was like $10 an hour?

tsme · Feb 21, 2018

We stayed at BC this past January and had the same issues with replacing items. We left notes & some things were left, some weren’t. We also tipped every day. There also was no welcome package in the room with the in room dining menu & activities calendar in it. When we asked a maid about it she said they don’t put that in the rooms, to go to the front desk. We did that & were told it should’ve been in the room, 20 minutes later a housekeeper knocked on the door with it & waited for a tip. Normally when we ask for extra blankets, pillows, extra, we always tip. But since that trip we had to repeated ask (felt like we were begging) for things like TP, & having to go to the front just to be able to order room service, we were a bit peeved & just said thank you. It was kind of enough is enough kind of situation.

melissapealo · Feb 21, 2018

AngiTN said:
Was going to buy their own while on vacation a better solution than "herd" houskeeping or going to front desk?
I'm amazed that some folks here think that you should be upset and write a letter once you get home vs. solving it while you are there.
Otherwise I agree, it's not good that they had to deal with it. Not at all. I'm pretty sure no one here has said it was either. But just what do you think is the proper action when you need to get more supplies while there? Go without and write a letter once home? Surely not.

I completely agree. Some things can wait and taken care of once home but housekeeping should have been addressed while there.

SL6827 said:
You think? Give them another $5-8 an hour raise to go with that and I bet their turnover would drop drastically. Its just Disney not wanting to pay what is needed to keep the help.

I agree that higher pay might improve the turnover rate. However I think it goes beyond Disney as many companies under pay employees.

dansdad · Feb 21, 2018

SL6827 said:
What is their standard rate now? I was thinking it was like $10 an hour?

$17 per hour.

melissapealo · Feb 21, 2018

SL6827 said:
What is their standard rate now? I was thinking it was like $10 an hour?

According to the Disney careers site from jobs posted last week the starting rate is 10.50 per hour, with a 1,250 sign on bonus

A Question Before I Complain ... But I Might Anyway!

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