[downsouthtigger]

Nov 3 2004
After playing atGatorland for a while, Ashley and I decided to head on property at around 3-4pm. Well we get to AS-mu and looked a little happy, it was clean and cute with the big All star music in the front. Our front desk Cm was great, Anthony I believe. He checked us in, welcomed me back on prop and asked if I was a campus rep. I told him yep and he said it was so great having me back at WDW.
Well Ashley looked at me and asked if we should go get our mug now or later. IN retrospect I shoulda said later, but I knew she wanted to collect all the resort mugs. With us being in the lobby the food court was a small ways away.
We head into intermission hall to pick up our mug I shoulda known from the blank look in the Cm's eyes that I shoulda came back later when an intelligent person was there. She looke at my id and said what is this? I took out my old CM ID and said it's basically like this one only without WDW on the top. Now aside from the new Campus rep id's not saying wdw on them, it looks exactly like a regular CP or CT ID. So she calls a team leader over, they both look at my ID, still no clue. Instead of just swiping the card to see if it works, they ring up the mug and punch in my SSN. Of course that didn't bring up anything and she just says no we don't give discounts on the mug. OK now this is upsetting me, not only are they totally clueless and rude to me about my ID, but they tell me I get no discount for some reason. Well they go get another manager and he walks up to the team leader basically says no and walks off. So she comes back to me and says my manager said no we don't give discounts, and she walks off. So now my clueless CM just looks at me and basically says so do you want the mug or not? Guess what was my answer...
So onto guest services, I tell them the story and the Cm then goes to her manager, well I don't see that manager either but she basically said, oh my manager called over there and they told her CM's only get discounts on food. So once again a manager didn't talk to me or do their job, and no this was not just about a discount, but if I was a regular guest and not a CM I feel I woulda been treated better.
WEll Ashley is upset and doesn't want to even be at AS-Mu anymore. I tell her to sit in the Lobby and I'll go take care of this. I go up to the guest service CM again and tell her the situation. I apologized if I seemed rude to her but it was Ashley and My Honeymoon, also Ashley's b-day was on the 5th and I wanted everything to be special for her. The Cm dissappears into the room to talk to her manager again. Anthony comes over and talks to me to see if everything is ok, I tell him whats up and he goes and talks to the manager too. Now I was feeling/hoping something would get done, as the manager finally came out to see me. Boy was I wrong, once again CM stigma showed up. Didn't matter that I was paying and being a guest cause what I got was horrible. Basically I told her this was not about the discounts but I was trying to make this special. I told her it was our honeymoon and about Ashleys B-day. Did she care?? No, not even a congratulations. She told me the policy the Food and beverage manager told her. She told me she was front desk manager and that I should try and talk to someone in Food and Beverage as that was not her department. She continued to tell me that she cannot go over some other departments head and how I was getting a CM discount on the room already. She said my only solutions were to buy a mug from the gift shop and I could get my CM discount and I could refill it at the beverage station since they didn't mind. Or I could charge the mug to the hotel room and she would give me the discount off later. I once again restated that I needed to resolve this quickly since she is pregnant and extremely upset. Basically she looked at me and said well then I guess you should go to the gift shop. I told her I only came to guest services cause it is guest services, I thought maybe she could help and the food and beverage manager just walked off and I couldnt find him. I Knew it wasnt her area and I just needed some help, once again she told me my options and basically told me well maybe another manager would know a way around so if you really want the resort mug try another manager tomorrow. Then she looked at me and asked if that was all, basically her way to say I'm done you don't get anything. Then she wished me good luck.
I guess thats what you get at the budgets cause we went resort hopping and yes I did get a discount on my mug at the CR. I just love how even when I mentioned it was a honeymoon and B-day she went out of her way not to care. I'm just a Cm I got my room discount I shouldn't want anything else. Like I said the discounts are petty, to see Ashley sad gets me more upset than anything. For me to be treated rudely and poorly was uncalled for, when all I wanted was for a manager themself to give me a valid explanation. Not the BS one I got where they said a refillable mug is just like alcohol, you don't get a discount on it....

[Erin]

I can't believe they treated you that way. You deserved much better and so did poor pregnant Ashley!
It's too bad that customer service wasn't a priority when taking care of their own.

Erin

[mickaholic4077]

I would contact Al Weiss right away and tell him the story of how you were treated. There is no excuse for you being treated this way. I would cc any e-mail you send to AW to ME also.

[downsouthtigger]

I'm on the employee website right now trying to find contact info.
Funny I can find the names of the GM at the All star resorts but now way to contact anyone except for the reservation number.

[roxie]

Originally Posted by downsouthtigger

I'm on the employee website right now trying to find contact info.
Funny I can find the names of the GM at the All star resorts but now way to contact anyone except for the reservation number.

Disney is not alone in that. Have you tried to complain to any company via phone lately? It's almost impossible. Everything is totally impersonal. It's email or nothing. And if you do have a phone number - good luck!

Sorry for the bad experience, Fred. Hope you and Ashley had a good time other than the hotel ordeal.

[tinkerbell]

Oh DST I am soo sorry about that .. but dont put down all the Values because of that .. I really believe you would not have been treated that way at PC.. at least I hope you wouldnt have ..it strange though .. another CM did post a while back that they recieved shoddy treatment at PC and felt that they were treated that way because they were a CM (or may have been a CP) thats just so rotten that your first day was so ruined.. I agree write a letter ..not email to

Mr. Al Weiss
President
The Walt Disney World Resort
P.O. Box 10040
Lake Buena Vista, FL 32830

[got2lovedisney]

I agree that guest services should be about pleasing the guest but...(dons flame retardant suit)...was the discount really worth all that hassel? There has got to be a point where it's prudent to just walk away...it's YOUR honeymoon. You shouldn't let other people's lack of customer service skills ruin your day. Move on.
(still wearing suit for protection )

[crystalrp]

I can see both points here. Don't worry got2lovedisney...no flames from me!

[downsouthtigger]

Originally Posted by got2lovedisney

I agree that guest services should be about pleasing the guest but...(dons flame retardant suit)...was the discount really worth all that hassel? There has got to be a point where it's prudent to just walk away...it's YOUR honeymoon. You shouldn't let other people's lack of customer service skills ruin your day. Move on.
(still wearing suit for protection )

No Flames here and I even said to the manager all I was looking for was an actual explanation from the manager of food and bev, not the whole "its just like buying alcohol which is why we don't give a discount". So basically buying a drink regardless is now considered alcohol?? The main problem was the front desk manager and her unprofessionalism which spiraled it further down. I mean honestly do you sit and tell a guest well I'm a manager of another department, so talk to them not me?? Do you say to them well if you want your discount go to the giftshop and just refill that mug?
G2LD, the discount started the chain reaction, but if I got a proper response as opposed to being brushed aside well you know. Plus how do you tell the manager it's a birthday and a honeymoon and they don't even congratulate you?? I'm still surprised about how many times I mentioned it and she just looked at me like, "what do you want from me, you're getting a room discount already?"

[crystalrp]

You would sort of think their CMs should be their most important guests wouldn't you? The better they are treated, then the better they will treat people, etc. Sorry this happened on your special trip.

[disneyguy]

OK, personally I think that is awful!!! I don't know if it is just the Values, or just ASMu. I just didn't feel the full Disney feel when we stayed at PC. I remember hearing a story about why you ended up at ASMu, but cannot remember what it was. Can you refresh my memory?

[downsouthtigger]

Originally Posted by disneyguy

OK, personally I think that is awful!!! I don't know if it is just the Values, or just ASMu. I just didn't feel the full Disney feel when we stayed at PC. I remember hearing a story about why you ended up at ASMu, but cannot remember what it was. Can you refresh my memory?

HEy DG, what happened was that the CM discounted rooms were all taken, plus the only things that were available was the AS-Mu or Ft wilderness cabins. 4 nights at the cabins was coming out over 1 grand, so naturally I took AS-mu. After the specials and the people who pushed their vacas back due to the hurricanes there was just no room left! I sometimes feel I shoulda stayed OFF prop this time....but things turned out ok in the end, but only cause THIS castmember had to make the magic!

[mickaholic4077]

Were you able to get in touch with Al Weiss yet,DST? I'd love to find out what the resolution was to your problem.

[downsouthtigger]

I wrote an e-mail to guest relations, the response I got was that it was under review. I don't know if I really want to bother Mr Weiss with such a trivial matter. He's a great guy and has so many things to do.
I made things special and I guess that means that Cm's did there job, just with this Cm taking the reigns and making it happen!

[Erin]

That's the point. You should of been able to enjoy the magic instead of having to make it that day.