As I always tell my co-workers and kids -- Hey, Reality and Eutopia just don't always co-exist... Disney was designed to give folks the perception that those two entities COULD combine, but increasingly, let's face it, everything is under society's TOME philosophy (They Owe Me). These days, when life hands people lemons... they wanna throw them at someone. If you are at the receiving end of those "lemons" (and if you also are facing the constraints of pay freeze, lost benefits, etc -- your own personal lemon tree!), well, even the sweetest person with the world's greatest work ethic could sour over time. Personal service is bound to suffer.
Does any of this make it "right"? Does knowing this make us feel any better?
Nah. Even if we "know" that say, a newbie CM made an honest mistake, or the computer has a nasty billing glitch, or our housekeeper just wasn't into the latest towel origami.... we will keep a score card over the course of our trip of these events and feel that twinge -- no matter how big or how tiny -- of disappointment that something has "marred" what was going to be "perfect". And people will feel inclined to tell others, to share the kinks in the grand plan. Look how many trip reports obsess over the bad points -- look how trips reports with wild tales of woe are widely read! (I'm guilty of readin' em... even have been known to write my own pitiparty lines now and then...) And people will strangely tune into this sad prose far more closely than our praise. Face it, "Done Wrong" sells.
And just as what goes up must come down -- people will invariably, whether conscious of it or not -- look for something to bring their "downs" back "up".... usually in the form of some sort of compensation. Frankly, I think the fact that SSR found an air mattress was especially creative of them, (I too share the image of the short-straw CM or summer kid being dispatched to the nearest Wal-Mart, LOL!) Giving the person a larger room was more than generous. But refunding their money? Seems a bit over the top. Especially given that the refunding obviously happened well past the actual stay (after all, why didn't they just refund during the whole $750 billing event...) As for what should be the "norm" -- where is that written? Who are these "hospitatily experts" and what in fact IS the established "norm" for vacation compensation? Disney always seemed to me to be among the most generous of businesses in that regard -- my DH swears their policy is "Just make the problem goooo awayyyyyyyy..." So does this "Hoteliers Code of Compensation" vary with hotel grade, too? (Wine at the Waldorf, applejuice at the All Stars?)
And here's a question -- should any person in a WDW resort, if a similar chain of events occurs to them, receive the exact same treatment? Society as it is, don't think for a second someone won't try it. "Hey, HE got an air mattress AND a bigger room AND his moolah back -- why not ME?" I can only imagine the # of calls WDW will get for a rollaway in the weeks to come.
I think the author decided at some point to change his topic and do a piece on Disney's declining customer service, and catered to that type audience. I have no issue with that change of mind or topic -- it's a free country, he's entitled to write it -- it doesn't mean I have to read it or agree. Some of the data was misleading -- but find me an article in today's news that isn't. I think quality and service have declined at WDW over the past 10 yrs -- but again, find me a place that hasn't. Business focus so heavily placed on the almighty profit margin and bottom line, and Disney as a business can be a tough concept for some to swallow when you connect it so tightly to vacation memories and personal feelings. I doubt anything in that article was news to Disney -- heck, they probably said, "THAT'S all that happened? Whew!"
I will confess, though, that I'm bothered about the whole reimbursement thing for the author. I just don't see where that was in any way justified. And because DIsney IS a business, and because I own a piece (although microscopic!) of that business, I resent it when I see "my company" being forced to compensate due to a customer's sheer devil-doggin'. If you are after resolution of the problem (i.e. sleeping accommodations) then the air mattress should fit as neatly into that plan as a rollaway (frankly, the rollaways can be quite uncomfy!) Certainly a larger room is a true improvement (after all, a real bed is a TRUE upgrade from the rollaway you originally agreed upon.) And a billing error -- fixing that is good payback. A call at 1 am? A lapse in timing judgement on an otherwise ok idea. Construction occurring? Yes, it's happening -- but to me that issue falls under guest negligence. If you are writing about SSR you would do your homework and know it's still under construction, and even if WDW said, "not a problem" you would still surely surmise that the effort would be VISIBLE while on the grounds. Not sure how WDW is at fault for that in a cash-liable way. As for CM attitude in dealing with the minor issues (cash register / computer glitches, food service, etc) well again, maybe not a pleasant experience. I always try to be as positive as possible in those situations -- and it usually is reflected back to me, often gratefully in fact. After all, that CM doesn't want to be stuck with a jammed computer (and potentially nasty patrons, in some cases) any more than you want to stand there idly holding your ham sandwich for the next 20 minutes. Frustrating, yes -- a cause for cash reimbursement, no. As for the thread link posted (woman at AllStars promised connnected rooms), well, I think she was dealt a nasty blow that possibly -- possibly -- could have been reconciled with better negotiations at the time. I would have pressed WDW to find something else -- if not that night, the next day. I think finding ANY room at a hotel -- especially All Stars -- that is "quiet" is like asking for an honest politician, though. The CMs have no way of knowing who will be noisy. And that can be very tough to enforce -- they would have to literally sit on those teens' mouths. CMs or even police can come say something, but as soon as they leave, chaos ensues...kids are like that (especially the unruly, poorly supervised ones). Her DH is probably onto something by suggesting they hold out for a deluxe -- I'd say a moderate might work too though. I also think she's under incredible pressures with a special needs child and perhaps WDW's lack of streamlined communications is making things worse... I'd say she's owed a phone card and someone willing to get her plans for this trip RIGHT without all the worries, if nothing else! THe fact that WDW promised her a connecting room and didn't provide is an issue that might just merit compensation -- but to me, that's something best done right there, on the spot, making it a win-win there, not after the trip is already over. They were probably just too darn tired / frustrated to optimally negotiate that. Maybe the writer of the news article can give them HIS payout -- it's more warranted for them than him.
if not, I am pretty darn pleased to spend vacations there for a long time to come.
Sometimes people see what they want to see...
