We had an enjoyable time at Disneyworld this February, save for one sour taste their customer service left in our mouths–and in our pocket book. Disney puts on a great show, treats patrons graciously at all their attractions, but when it comes to money–there is no compromise, no negotiation, no capitulation to the old credo of customer satisfaction. One would think with all the gazillions of dollars they rake in and the importance of maintaining good will and repeat business they would treat customers better. Not so!We have gone there several times; we won’t be going again. Meg Crofton, by way of a junior flunky (Meg can’t be bothered to reply in writing not even by proxy, she just has flunkies call disgruntled customers) says if you can’t follow our rules tough; if you can’t prove we screwed up, tough. Well Meg, good luck in a declining economy–you’re going to need it.
We booked a reservation for the RV and ourselves at Fort Wilderness Resort but confirmed it on the phone with a live person. The purpose of the call was to verify that we could get a AAA discount (20%) for the stay. The person my wife spoke to said since we had already made the reservation she could not adjust the price but to just ask for the discount at check-in. So we did that. Having first greeted us warmly, the person at the gate took on the appearance of someone confronted by a bum begging for a handout. “Oh no, I’m sorry; we are not allowed to change the balance due on your reservation.” After further discussion, we were told that we could take it up with the manager on duty at that portal into this resort, but those were the rules. The manager had the same unyielding, corporate gatekeeper response. We were told we would have to take it up with the people in charge at the headquarters. We did that in writing, in a letter to Meg Crofton, head of WDW. Instead of writing a reply, she had a flunky call us back reciting the same litany of why were not entitled to the discount–no apology that the operater who spoke to us was mistaken and no adjustment in price. The fact is that AAA and other groups get deals on blocks of rooms (or in this case, RV sites) but there were no discounts remaining for that time. The person on the phone didn’t tell us that. Maybe we would have gone anyway, maybe not. The problem is that she gave us the wrong information and Disney won’t accept the consequences of their mistake. That kind of corporate arrogance doesn’t deserve reward in the form of repeat business; it deserves punishment in the form of warning you away from this greedy bunch.
So if you are thinking about going there, think twice. At the least, get all the financial arrangements in writing because Disney will not bend–not to you anyway.
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