Horrible Mousekeeping

[crltkcagle]

We stayed at POR Riverside in the Alligator Bayou section May 26th - June 3rd. On our first two days the mousekeeping was great! I recieved a towel animal, they left an abudance of coffee, towels and even cleaned out the coffee pot for me! I was thrilled with the service and left large tips everyday. Well day three into our trip the mousekeeping went from wonderful to horrible. I returned to my room to find my pillows gone. The mousekeepers had taken my pillows out of their blue satin cases, kept the pillows and left the my cases. When I called mousekeeping the manager told me that I needed to call lost and found for my pillows.
At this point I was irate, and explained to the manager that they weren't lost in the first place! I called lost and found and of course they had no pillows. As the week progressed mousekeeping only got worse. I had to call every night for coffee, towels, soap and shampoo. They were basically coming in and making the beds and leaving. I eventually quit tipping because the service was so bad! I am very diappointed in the service we recieved at POR. While I did enjoy the hotel itself I would think twice about staying there again.

[buzznwoodysmom]

I've said this before, I don't think it matters which resort you are staying in. I've read a complaint just this week about one of the All Stars, now POR, and I can tell you that our last two stays WL and CSR we had the same problems. On both trips our rooms were never cleaned correctly. I am afraid that housekeeping as a whole in WDW is falling way behind any kind of standard you would expect from any resort, much less a disney resort. Sad, but true!

[nicster]

I really think letters to resort management is called for. With details like dates & room #. How can they correct a problem that they don't know anything about? Also, a physical document rather that a phone call will go into a file somewhere. On the phone you never REALLY know who you are talking to.

[AuntKari]

I have been in the service industry all my life and when they start cutting back this is what we will see. I have read several comments now about different "bad" service at Disney. I hope they are seeing these reports and make corrections. Service can make or break a holiday-even if you are at Disney World! I hope guests do not feel obligated to tip anywhere if the serivce is not correct-that just isn't right-it should be a joyful thank you for the hard and good work done, not an obligation! I am a hospitality manager/owner and I hope Disney managers will hear us speak up on this issue. The "magic" could disappear out from under them if they aren't careful.

[buzznwoodysmom]

In both cases I did write a letter as well as send an email. And in both cases I also spoke to management at the resort. For our WL stay I had a CM call me back about my letter, for CSR I never heard back from anyone. I firmly believe that without a complaint from the guest the company won't know what's not right at their resorts. So please take the time to let someone, other than other guests or friends on Intercot, know about your concerns. Its the only way they'll know something needs correcting.

[#1donaldfan]

....Oh my.....

....we arrive at POR in a week, I hope it's as good as it always has been....I'd hate to have bad mousekeeping...we've always had great service there......maybe yours was just a fluke....I sure hope so...

....sorry you had bad service.....:mickey:

[MNNHFLTX]

That is really a shame that you had such a bad experience with Mousekeeping at POR. I am especially surprised that they took your personal pillows! My husband, too, likes to bring his own pillow to hotels (when he can). I am a little paranoid about housekeeping taking it, so I always stash it in a suitcase during the day, just to make sure. Your story makes me glad that I do.

[crltkcagle]

Thanks for the advice I will definetly write a letter to the resort.

[VolMickey]

Never had a bad experience, but haven't been to the world since last summer. Have things really changed that much with the economy, etc.? I hope not, but it's not unforseeable, I guess.

[Marymouse2003]

Unfortunately this has been going on now for years and has gotten progressivly worse. If you are lucky, you happen along some good service, but in our experiences over the past, at least 5 yrs. service over all, not just in mousekeeping, stinks. I like a clean room, when I'm staying for 10 days, so when I order my snacks, water, soda, etc. from Garden Grocer, I also order cleaning supplies. It's sad but true. It's the 1st thing I do once we get into our room.I clean the room thoroughly myself. The only thing I don't clean are the carpets and walls. We live out of the suit cases and I have mousekeeping come and take away the bed spreads, which I understand are never cleaned. We then leave the " Do Not Disturb" sign on the door the entire trip. When we return in the evening I make 1 ph call to mousekeeping for whatever we need (towels, etc.). When they come up I have them take out the dirty towels and empty the trash. I tip them, they're happy, & so am I. When we depart we leave a tip for them @ the end of the trip. 2 people @ 10 days, $20.00. Even though they haven't cleaned the room all trip, I still believe some of the people rely on tips and besides, we always are there till the week b4 Christmas and every1 needs extra $ especially @ that time of year. I know it may seem exteme, BUT I am @ peace knowing my room is clean, no 1 has any business being in the room, so if sumthn is missing, well, we'll just handle that if it comes up. We have had meds missing from nightstand drawer. Sum1 from management came to the room. We were stuck there for 1/2 the day. Had option of calling Orange County Sheriff or allow Disney to handle internally. We never heard a thing from them. We now lock meds and any other items of any value in the safe. IMHO, the poor service issue is in every area of Disney, but the worse, is mousekeeping. AnyX we had problems, I spoke to people @ the resorts, I call once home, etc. The only answer I ever got, was there has been on going problems with keeping personel in these positions. We've had toe nail clippings in the lavatories, washed out coffee cups that were so filty the towel we used was brown, used personal items thrown on the side of the bed :ack::ack::ack:, etc. Will stop for now, so as not to gross you out. So I do what I have to do, to KNOW my room is clean. It's sad, maybe extreme for some, but I do what I gotta do, so as to not have any mousekeeping problems. No mousekeeping or any1 else should be in our room. If anything goes missing of value, I think I wld opt for the Sheriff. Now I'll get off the subject and stop burning your ears, well, your eyes.
Hope things improve. Cuz I still looooove WDW. God bless,
Mary
GEAUX TIGERS!!!!!!!!!!!:number1::number1:

[crltkcagle]

Mary I don't blame you for cleaning your own room. Have you ever looked under the bed there? My son lost one of his toys under there and we pulled the bed from the wall and a whirlwind of dust came up. Upon further investigation I noticed that the curtains against the wall were covered in dust. Apparently no one ever cleans behind there. The walls in the bathroom were also quite dirty. And we also were given dirty coffee cups. They were full of used coffee grounds. I hate to waste time cleaning my room while in Disney but I think next time we go I may have to do that. thanks for sharing your story.

[ToDisney]

Mary I don't blame you for cleaning your own room. Have you ever looked under the bed there? My son lost one of his toys under there and we pulled the bed from the wall and a whirlwind of dust came up. Upon further investigation I noticed that the curtains against the wall were covered in dust. Apparently no one ever cleans behind there. The walls in the bathroom were also quite dirty. And we also were given dirty coffee cups. They were full of used coffee grounds. I hate to waste time cleaning my room while in Disney but I think next time we go I may have to do that. thanks for sharing your story.

These are the reasons why I now have a camper and want to travel in it to Fort Wilderness! The only thing I miss is the Dining plan. But I have the peace of mind that its "my bed, my sheets, my bathroom", that I am in each night when I am to tired to deal with the emotional baggage of someone else's germs.

[mrsgaribaldi]

WE pretty much don't let them in either. Not because of any problems but we just don't like having people in the room, We're very neat and we just need refills of things. Last month in POR they were excellent in leaving us towels and stuff. Sorry you had such a bad time, I think a letter is your best bet too.

[Mushu11756]

I believe the problems with Mousekeeping as well as alot of other Cast Member's that work in the parks and resorts all stem's back to the company itself. For years now people have been complaining about problems with the staff on one level or another and it seems to be increasing.

I believe it stems from the Disney Company not taking care of their Cast Member's. Let's face it they are notorious for underpaying their staff, and we expect a magical experience when we are there. Well the two do not mix.... you have an underpaid staff that is supposed to treat you like gold 24/7 but in reality are not appreciated by there own employers. Now with the bad economy I'm sure there have been cutback's on the staff as a whole.

I hope The Disney Company reads these post and stops putting profits for share holders first and starts putting it's customer service first again!

[TheRustyScupper]

1) It is a shame that you had bad service.
2) You complained, but not in the right way.
3) If you do not get satisfaction, you need to call the General Manager.
4) Lower level managers just want you off of their back.
5) They are trying to stop complaints from "going up hill".
6) Instead,
. . . call the General Manager's office (dial "O" and ask for your resort GM)
. . . the secretary will take a message
. . . the GM will get back to you !
. . . at the least, he will force a subordinate to resolve the issue
. . . he/she can't afford you going over his/her head !

NOTE: Many of the young managers do not have the training necessary to resolve problems. Keep going "up hill" until you get resolution.

[cgriff]

I have never been keen on tipping the housekeeper cleaning your room today for the previous day's service.

[MNNHFLTX]

1) It is a shame that you had bad service.
2) You complained, but not in the right way.
3) If you do not get satisfaction, you need to call the General Manager.
4) Lower level managers just want you off of their back.
5) They are trying to stop complaints from "going up hill".
6) Instead,
. . . call the General Manager's office (dial "O" and ask for your resort GM)
. . . the secretary will take a message
. . . the GM will get back to you !
. . . at the least, he will force a subordinate to resolve the issue
. . . he/she can't afford you going over his/her head !

NOTE: Many of the young managers do not have the training necessary to resolve problems. Keep going "up hill" until you get resolution. Thanks for giving us some insight on this, Rusty.:thumbsup:

[lightyearfan]

me and dw have been staying at the all stars music since 07 (twice a year) and we've never had a problem with mousekeeping, one problem might be the everyday tipping , we will leave our tip on the day that we check out, perhaps that cast feel once they've been tipped that they don't have to clean as well?? maybe yes maybe no, i'm sorry that you had a bad experince.

Victor

[MNNHFLTX]

me and dw have been staying at the all stars music since 07 (twice a year) and we've never had a problem with mousekeeping, one problem might be the everyday tipping , we will leave our tip on the day that we check out, perhaps that cast feel once they've been tipped that they don't have to clean as well?? maybe yes maybe no, i'm sorry that you had a bad experince.

VictorI personally don't think good housekeeping is related to the tip (same with towel animals). You have some people that are motivated to do a good job and some that are not. I'm sure both types are happy to accept the tip, whether they've earned it or not.

[Mousefever]

My guess is that you had a different mousekeeper for the first two days than for the rest of your stay. I've had the best mousekeeping service at CBR and the worst at Wilderness Lodge. I don't think that the resort level makes much of a difference. For those who tip, it makes more sense to tip everyday because the staff does change. If you wait until the end of your stay, you may be rewarding (in this case, for example) the less motivated mousekeeper.

Amy

[MickeyMousse]

I don't understand why the resort could not trace where your pillows went. They have to have a log of who cleaned your room and they should ask that person directly since nobody else should have had access to your room during that time.
I agree with previous posters, go right to the GM of the resort and nevermind the smaller people. We've always done this in different situations and had near to immediate results.
I also think it has something to do with the outsourcing at Disney. Back in the day when everyone was a Disney employee ("CM") nobody would dare do a cruddy job. Nowadays it's a roll of the dice!:(

[DNS]

I spent 25 years of my life in Customer Service and I absolutely would have insisted on seeing the manager and not left until I had some assurances that this would not continue. I believe in showing gratitude for a job well done with a good tip, but I believe in insisting on decent service.

[BelleLovesTheBeast]

Sorry to hear about your unpleasant experience. That's terrible that they took your pillows and they were never found. I've had that happen before (not at Disney) so I put my pillows in the suitcase when I leave the room.

We had problems at CBR in 07 when we stayed there. Mousekeeping only made the bed. Our trash was never emptied. We used shopping bags for trash because the trash cans were full. We never received any shampoo or soap other than our first day. On 2 occasions our dirty towel that were placed on the floor were rehung. Which is absolutely disgusting. We complained and got no response so we just decided that we'd never stay there again. It's unfortunate but it happens.