DVC removing coffee mugs and glasses from studios

[Maleficent's Dad]

Emails have been sent to Customer Service, my sales rep, and Jim Lewis (thanks for his email, Mikki! Sure he's gonna love hearing from all of us!!!).

When I get a response, I'll let you all know...

[JPL]

E-mail on the way to Jim

[Simba's Mom]

I actually had to call Member Services and they claim to know nothing about it I actually asked if I would need my own Dish Detergent so I could plan ahead. And then talked with Quality Assurance and the woman I spoke to said wow that would be below our Disney Standards I hope it's not true. So let's hope it's still just a rumour.

Unfortunately it doesn't seem to be a rumor:
Dear Dorothy, Thank you for contacting Member Services. The Coffee Cups in the Studios have always been Styrofoam Cups. The Drinking Glasses were made of glass and are being replaced with disposable drinking glasses. Sincerely, Larry Member Services | Online CommunicationsDisney Vacation Club
That was in response to my Email thru the member's website. Since then, I've sent another Email to the Member Satisfaction Team. No response from them yet.

[Ed]

The Coffee Cups in the Studios have always been Styrofoam Cups.

NONSENSE!

Every studio I've stayed in had CERAMIC coffee cups.

Please notice that "Larry" (poor guy must not have a last name, or is "Member Services" his last name? ) also did not address WHY they are replacing the glasses and eliminating the dish liquid.

Sorry. There I go again thinking that we members who shelled out many $$$ to join this "elite group" were entitled to any kind of logical explanation. My bad.

[JPL]

Wow talk about a bunch of garbage!! I just stayed at OKW studio in January and had 4 Ceramic Mugs in the cabinet. I used one to have my morning coffee on the Patio. See they are hoping nobody notices and then saying this is the way it always was. I even had real mugs at CSR when I stayed there for a night.

[ElenitaB]

Gotta love it! We stayed at studios @ BWV and @ SSR in February and had glass cups and ceramic mugs at both locations.

He mentioned something about another hotel chain secretly videotaping their housekeeping staff and they were not washing the mugs/glasses in the rooms. But he said- "That's not Disney. We are sure that everything is clean during every room setup." He also said the dish soap and mugs & glasses cost next to nothing, so he did not see that as being an issue either.

Really? I found 3 dirty mugs at our 1 bedroom @ OKW, again in February, () and have the pictures to prove it! Once I found them, I ran every single piece of Fiestaware and all the glass cups and silverware through the dishwasher.

Me thinks that having styrofoam cups @ DVC resorts might hurt WDW's environmental rating. They recently celebrated one of their hotels being given a LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) rating by the U.S. Green Building Council (or something similar). I guess they don't much care about seeking those ratings for the DVC resorts. (Sigh)

BTW, I despise styrofoam cups and consider them not only environmentally-unfriendly but human body-unfriendly. So glad that I can find a glass cup (although maybe not a clean one) at a Motel 6, but not at DVC.

[Sharon1026]

Wow. How annoying. I will be bringing my own cups when we stay in a studio.

So why are they making this move in the studios but not in the 1bdr?

I suspect it's because the larger rooms have dishwashers....

[JPL]

Unfortunately it doesn't seem to be a rumor:
Dear Dorothy, Thank you for contacting Member Services. The Coffee Cups in the Studios have always been Styrofoam Cups. The Drinking Glasses were made of glass and are being replaced with disposable drinking glasses. Sincerely, Larry Member Services | Online CommunicationsDisney Vacation Club

Dorothy,

thought about this last night and it really bothered me that they are making stuff up. Like go away you don't know what you are talking about type stance they are taking on this.
I would e-mail Larry back and say I would appreciate an honest answer and don't like being lied too and then foward your e-mail to Jim and ask are their CMs trained to lie to members that should stir the pot a little

And I loved the disposable cups would not be up to standards answer I got from Quality Assurance who knew nothing about the changes. So they are saying we are lowering our standards or not followong them not quite sure which is true. Glad I will be out of this in 2042 I can't even imagine the standards then.

[Maleficent's Dad]

Me thinks that having styrofoam cups @ DVC resorts might hurt WDW's environmental rating. They recently celebrated one of their hotels being given a LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) rating by the U.S. Green Building Council (or something similar). I guess they don't much care about seeking those ratings for the DVC resorts. (Sigh)

BTW, I despise styrofoam cups and consider them not only environmentally-unfriendly but human body-unfriendly.

Ellen,
Excellent points - what you post here was the premise of my entire email to Jim Lewis (and sales rep, and MS).
I emphasized - in quite a lengthy email - how in the most recent Disney Files publication, Jim Lewis went on-and-on about how "Green" DVC has become.
The styrofoam cups are the antithesis of being "green."

No word yet from DVC as of this morning.

[Maleficent's Dad]

Unfortunately it doesn't seem to be a rumor:
Dear Dorothy, Thank you for contacting Member Services. The Coffee Cups in the Studios have always been Styrofoam Cups. The Drinking Glasses were made of glass and are being replaced with disposable drinking glasses. Sincerely, Larry Member Services | Online CommunicationsDisney Vacation Club
That was in response to my Email thru the member's website. Since then, I've sent another Email to the Member Satisfaction Team. No response from them yet.

Simba's Mom,
You might want to email "Larry" back and point out his inaccuracate information.
I know that since the mid 90's, there have never been styrofoam cups in any of the DVC rooms.

[Ed]

It really rocks my boat when people hit you with an outright lie, trying to pass it off as factual, and basically telling you that you don't know what you're talking about.

I'm anxiously waiting for Linda's rep to get back to her about what happened in the DVC roundtable meeting he referred to.

It's becoming pretty obvious that there is a definite lack of communication within the DVC offices. One group says this "wouldn't be up to Disney standards" and another says "it's always been this way". And a third says he didn't know anything about it.

Reminds me of another old saying:

"If you can't dazzle them with brilliance, baffle them with BS."

[JPL]

It seems they have CRO fever at DVC Member Services.

It really amazes me how little communication there is at a Company like Disney.

[wendy*darling]

Unfortunately, I do not have a response from my rep yet. Maybe they haven't finished coming up with their "storyline" yet? I may just have to call him back today.

I could have sworn I posted this yesterday- but it must be out in cyberspace somewhere... I think in addition to sending Jim Lewis emails, we might want to copy Bob Iger. For anyone who wishes to do so, here is his email (easily found by doing an Internet search).

Robert A. Iger
President and CEO of the Walt Disney Co.
500 S. Buena Vista Street
Burbank, CA 91521
[email protected]

I am most curious about the response to our emails and letters- since everything they changes these days (for the worse) seems to come "after guest comments and suggestions."

[MsMin]

I see it a little different than you guys. The phosphate problem in central Florida is HUGE. Disney has been fighting it for years. Dishwashing liquid has not removed the phosphates from the liquid form. So think about it. The deluxe resorts do not need to supply the liquid and the 1 bedroom has the dishwasher reducing the need for liquids so to reduce the phosphate impact -- I can see some guy saying hey lets drop the dishsoap.. well we can't wash the mugs ... then give them Styrofoam. An yes Virginia..... Styrofoam is not biodegradable but you can recycle it and Disney is great when it comes to recycling.
So who wants to help restore the lakes since Disney does have it's own water plant? Would you do it if it were in fact better for the environment? Just a thought guys...

[Aurora]

My bet is that the reason for this change is that they're stuck with a major housekeeping issue. They don't hire as many housekeepers at a DVC resort than regular resorts because there's not daily housekeeping. So in 1- and 2-bedroom rooms, the housekeepers simply load up the dishwasher and leave it on when they leave the room. In studios, there's no dishwasher, so they don't clean the dishes.

To solve the problem, they'd have to hire more housekeepers or clean rooms more often. THEREFORE since they have to preserve their cleanliness reputation it SAVES MONEY (back to the bottom-line argument) by putting in paper and styrofoam (or not putting in anything at all, ala no dishsoap).

It'll be interesting to see how they get out of this one.

BTW, the last time we were at SSR, we came back to the room to find the dishwasher running (we did not turn it on). But THERE WERE NO DISHES IN THE DISHWASHER.

[JPL]

Very simple solution to the Mousekeeping issue change out the glasses and wash them at the central location after each guest checks out.
This has nothing to do with Phophates or anything else for that matter that involves the environment or our health and well being. It's a cost cutting measure. Plain and simple I don't use Disposable cups at home and DVC is suppose to offer the comforts of home at WDW.

[Maleficent's Dad]

Styrofoam is not biodegradable but you can recycle it and Disney is great when it comes to recycling.

By and large, in the USA, styrofoam is NOT recycled. In fact, there are very few cities/communities that will recycle the stuff. San Francisco does recycle it, but most major US cities do not.

If you check National Geographic's website and search it, you'll find more articles about this.

There are some great companies in Canada which do recycle styrofoam.

The recycling of styrofoam has been a big topic with the EPA - and gets lots of internet chatter as well. Some people actually boycott stores/restaurants that use styrofoam. It's a very cheap way of serving things like coffee to go.

[Maleficent's Dad]

Robert A. Iger
President and CEO of the Walt Disney Co.
500 S. Buena Vista Street
Burbank, CA 91521
[email protected]

Thanks again, Linda!
Now I can say, Iger as been emailed as well!

[JPL]

Still waiting for responses to my e-mails I really hope they lie to me as well so I can forward the lie to Iger

[MsMin]

By and large, in the USA, styrofoam is NOT recycled. In fact, there are very few cities/communities that will recycle the stuff. San Francisco does recycle it, but most major US cities do not.

If you check National Geographic's website and search it, you'll find more articles about this.

There are some great companies in Canada which do recycle styrofoam.

The recycling of styrofoam has been a big topic with the EPA - and gets lots of internet chatter as well. Some people actually boycott stores/restaurants that use styrofoam. It's a very cheap way of serving things like coffee to go.

WE recycle Styrofoam here, by law you can not put the triangle on it if it's not recycled. We have a lot of plastic plants here and I know our system has won awards for recycling (for whatever that is worth?)
I'm not saying that yes WDW does recycle it but it is possible. So what about the phosphates in the soap? Yes fertilizers are a problem but if WDW wants to decrease it in their system it's a start.
It's sort of like the people who complain about their drinking water when their beer has more carcinogens than their water... it's a matter of perspective. Washing dishes by hand is not as ecologically safe as washing w/ a dishwasher. It sounds more green but in fact it is not...