Where's that Customer Service that we used to have??

My wife, two small girls and I come to WDW twice per year. We are annual pass holders and DVC members. We will normally use our points for one trip and pay cash for the other. In fact, we're here at OKW as I type this. We opted for our "normal" accommodations, which is a 2 bedroom, 2 bathroom at OKW. By the way, this is our "cash" trip. The room alone (7 nights) was $5000.00. Pricey, but nice.

Our first day we noticed that one of our doors leading to the balcony squeaked REALLY bad. So bad that it would wake our children if we opened it after they went to bed. I called the front desk and politely asked if they could possibly hot the hinges with some WD-40 while we were out at a park. They said that they'd be glad to. That was Sunday. After no response for two days, I bought some WD-40 and spent about 5 seconds fixing it myself. Yesterday (Tues) we received a call from maintenance asking if we needed the door fixed. I told them that I had already fixed it. Ok, I know that's petty, but that's not all.

As we were doing our laundry yesterday, we went to dry our clothes. Guess what? The dryer wouldn't turn on. Again, I called the front desk and asked if they could please have someone look at it. Here it is nearly two days later and we still haven't heard from maintenance.

Knowing we had a full sized washer and dryer, we brought very limited clothes for us and the girls. Now we can't even do laundry.

Now I'm a nice guy and NEVER like rocking the boat, ESPECIALLY at WDW, but we paid $5k for these amenities. I'm really put off with the lack of caring that they're showing. I certainly expect a WAY different outcome. Ok, I'm done venting. :)

And it's "hit the door with WD-40" not "hot the door."

Sounds like a personal trip to the front desk is needed. Say it just like you said it here. You sound like a polite person. Asking for what you pay for is not rocking the boat; it's making sure they plug the leaks.

Yes, I'd do exactly that.

I'm sorry about the dryer, that would be frustrating!

Don't forget that when you call the "front desk", you're actually getting a call center, so a trip to the "real front desk" will probably result in more action on the repairs.

That's not cool! The washer and dryer is one of the biggest perks of the villas.

I agree, you need to make the trip to the front desk, and ask to speak with a manager. They will get the ball rolling much faster than a call to the phone bank.

Hopefully they have your issues resolved soon, and you can get back to enjoying yourselves with some clean clothes!

Sorry you are having issues, but I NEVER "call the front desk." It's pointless. Good old fashioned person to person contact when there is a problem is a surefire way to get results.

I hope your issues get resolved to your satisfaction.

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Originally Posted by BrerGnat

Sorry you are having issues, but I NEVER "call the front desk." It's pointless. Good old fashioned person to person contact when there is a problem is a surefire way to get results.

I hope your issues get resolved to your satisfaction.

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While I agree in princple, in defense of the OP, I must say that sometimes it just isn't practical. For example, what if he was trying to use the dryer while the little girls were napping, and he was the only adult in the unit? He should have been able to call.

They outsourced it to China. Not exactly, but they have slowly and steadily been getting rid of Customer Service as we use to know it. There is a new level of "acceptable" and WDW is willing to live with it or lower it further. You will never see 100% of the way it was in the 70s, 80s, and part of the 90s.

That's so frustrating. They really should have responded more adequately. My philosophy is more "the squeaky wheel gets the grease" than "don't rock the boat." Some things I just let go, but for things that really bother me I am the one making repeat visits to the front desk to let them know that I'm not happy. Politely, of course, knowing they have access to my things when I'm not there. ;)

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Originally Posted by Dopey's Girl

That's not cool! The washer and dryer is one of the biggest perks of the villas.

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My thoughts exactly. We are a family of 4 so a studio is fine for us. If I were to upgrade to a one bedroom the major reason would be for the washer and dryer (I don't plan to cook on vacation so the full kitchen isn't a selling point for us), so I'd be super annoyed if it wasn't in working order.

I too suggest a trip to the front desk. I hope the rest of your vacation is wonderful, and that all issues with your room are taken care of.

Yeah, I would NOT be pleased. Nor would I be pleased with having to physically go to the front desk (and possibly wait in line to talk to someone). For that much money, you should be able to get issues resolved with a phone call...like in any other expensive hotel!!

have never done the villas but u r paying good $$ to make sure things are functioning properly. And if not, those problems should be resolved quickly - especially a squeaky door and troublesome dryer. Hopefully once out of the villa the trip has been a blast!! :joy:

We too are DVC members since 1993. On our last visit a year ago we had a studio that was a wreck. Stained carpet, gouged walls, fridge next to our bed. I couldn't believe the state of that room. We met several other couples who had the same experience. Very sad.

When I got home I wrote to Claire Bilby directly and received a phone call. I told the rep that if that ever happened again I would be selling my points.

We usually stay at Pop Century now and the housekeeping and service is far superior to any of the DVC resorts.

I don't know how they're still selling memberships.

I would definitely make a trip to the front desk in person, ask for the manager, and not take anything less. I would, in a polite but firm way, let them know you are not happy about this, that you expect it to be fixed immediately, or you want to be moved to another unit, and that you expect to be compensated for your loss.

I would also contact DVC about the matter and let them know you are not happy. I would also write WDW's main corporate CS office of affairs and tell them too.

To me, that's not rocking the boat...that is making sure that they know we all still expect a higher standard of service. Im not a complainer, but when something like that happens, especially with 5k having been spent, I always demand that the problem be addressed immediately.

Good luck!

I think you've been more patient than I would have been. Definitely find a manager and have a discussion about this. I'm curious as to what they will say.

I'm so sorry to hear about your frustration... I agree, a phone call really SHOULD be sufficient, but it seems it really isn't these days.

Twice we've had similar issues... once, I was travelling on my own and got locked out of my room b/c the inside "swing over lock" was still on - I had exited out of my friend's adjoining room, forgetting I hadn't ever unlocked that part of my door. It took them almost 2 hours to get someone to me - at 11pm in January!!! I was exhausted, and VERY chilly. I did speak to a manager, and got a one night room credit, a red rose and a FP for some rides that next day. Apparently, they had been inundated with calls b/c they were having troubles with teens in an overseas touring group also staying there... whatever, at least they did try to make it a bit better in the end.

The second time, we were once AGAIN locked out of our room... somehow, the same "swing lock" had swung over behind the Mousekeeper as they had left. (We knew they had been there b/c my wise teen thought to stick her camera in the opening of the door and take a flash picture of the room to see if it had been done up... :thumbsup:) Once again, it took almost an hour and a half for someone to come get us in... and the reason?? Shift change!! Seriously?? We started calling about 2:40... got in about 4:15, with barely enough time to shower, change and get to our ADR for the Hoop de Doo. We were NOT happy, but never pressed the issue... not sure why, just didn't feel like going thru it, I guess.

So... I feel your pain... seems the buck is often passed to someone else, who fails to follow through until you REALLY get after them. :(

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Originally Posted by Aurora

Sounds like a personal trip to the front desk is needed. Say it just like you said it here. You sound like a polite person. Asking for what you pay for is not rocking the boat; it's making sure they plug the leaks.

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I agree with this. Phone calls can get swept under the rug so easily. But a face-to-face encounter always gets the job done at Disney. That's what I've found.

You don't call the front desk for a maintenance issue, you press that button on your room phone that says "Housekeeping/Maintenance" and then you select Maintenance when asked. And then you state your issue directly to someone in Maintenance. If you really called "the front desk" then you were barking up the wrong tree. If it was me, I would call maintenance repeatedly, and then go to the desk in person and ask for the general manager if the repair was not timely. There's no use complaining AFTER a trip, you have to speak up DURING the trip and you have to get the right person's ear.

Our last trip was in 2011 to the Wilderness Lodge (hotel, not villas). We had a very nice courtyard view, but the balcony was a mess. It was covered in bird droppings and spider webs. Over the course of our trip, we called the housekeeping/maintenance line 3 times and stopped by the front desk 1 time. It was never taken care of.

A few years back (2007, maybe) we stayed at the Contemporary. I had ordered flowers from the Disney Florist to be delivered to the room for my wife on our anniversary. Apparently, they drop them off with the front desk who then delivers them to the rooms. Well, the girl dropped ours on the way to our room, which broke the vase. (We found this out after visiting the front desk later that night when they never showed up.) The girl that delivered them was working the desk that night and didn't seem to care. They broke and that was that... she decided not to deliver them or even call the florist for a replacement. I had to find out on my own. I ended up calling the Disney Florist and was able to get my money back.

So, at least for us, Customer Service has taken a back seat at WDW in recent years. Luckily, we still have memories of enough good experiences to continue going back. We still have a great time, but it's beginning to make us question paying the kind of money it takes to stay onsite anymore. In fact, on our next trip, we decided to stay offsite. I haven't stayed offsite since 1985.