Housekeeping disappointment

[rngrblu9]

the last 2 times we've gone to disney i have been very disappointed in the housekeeping. in december, we stayed at ssr & i found peanuts in & under the couch & a sock behind the curtain in the master bedroom. earlier this month, we stayed @ okw. i found an ibruprofen pill on the master bedroom floor, staples on the floor in the living room, the plastic ties that keep price tags attached on both floors & the real kicker was a small bottle of vodka behind the vcr!!! maybe it's just me cause i have a toddler who puts everything in his mouth so i get down on my hands & knees & check but i find this unacceptable...maybe i'm too picky!

 

[dhluvsDisney]

Wow! I guess I'm not the only one. Just got back Monday night, and we must say the housekeeping left a lot to be desired. One of the worst things we found, was the cob webs on the light over the dinner table (in 2 places). I told the gals when they came on day 4 to do a "full" (rofl) cleaning and we had guests over for dinner that night, and they politely pointed out the cobwebs to us. I had to call mousekeeping to complain in order for it to be cleaned. As well, the dish soap and dishwasher soap was empty (next to none when we arrived), and they did not replace them. When they did trash and towel service, they left the dirty towels on the racks, and just threw the clean ones on the sink. I'm not picky, and rarely notice things, but these were blatent. Too bad, because I love the resort and the staff.

 

[LisaS]

When they did trash and towel service, they left the dirty towels on the racks, and just threw the clean ones on the sink.

We had one of those note cards in our 1BR at VWL saying to leave towels on the rack if you want to reuse them and put towels you want replaced in the tub. So I wonder if that's why they didn't remove the used towels. I didn't get a chance to test the system on our trip because when mousekeeping arrived for T&T, we were puttering around the villa so I just offered to trade her a filled trash bag for a couple of fresh towels.

 

[Longhairbear]

On our last visit in a one bedroom, I had put all the used towels in the wash, to fill my load of whites, not remembering that T&T was that day. They were in the dryer, and housekeeping left a new set of towels. I ended up with two sets of towels!

We had one of those note cards in our 1BR at VWL saying to leave towels on the rack if you want to reuse them and put towels you want replaced in the tub. So I wonder if that's why they didn't remove the used towels. I didn't get a chance to test the system on our trip because when mousekeeping arrived for T&T, we were puttering around the villa so I just offered to trade her a filled trash bag for a couple of fresh towels.

 

[eliza61]

the last 2 times we've gone to disney i have been very disappointed in the housekeeping. in december, we stayed at ssr & i found peanuts in & under the couch & a sock behind the curtain in the master bedroom. earlier this month, we stayed @ okw. i found an ibruprofen pill on the master bedroom floor, staples on the floor in the living room, the plastic ties that keep price tags attached on both floors & the real kicker was a small bottle of vodka behind the vcr!!! maybe it's just me cause i have a toddler who puts everything in his mouth so i get down on my hands & knees & check but i find this unacceptable...maybe i'm too picky!

Every body has the own level of acceptable. You have a toddler so you have to be extra careful. I have teenagers, if I found a empty vodka bottle I'd probably do a breathalyzer on them. Write a nice letter.

 

[Snookies]

We had one of those note cards in our 1BR at VWL saying to leave towels on the rack if you want to reuse them and put towels you want replaced in the tub. So I wonder if that's why they didn't remove the used towels. I didn't get a chance to test the system on our trip because when mousekeeping arrived for T&T, we were puttering around the villa so I just offered to trade her a filled trash bag for a couple of fresh towels.

This is now the standard in the hospitality industry. The in-room notices usually state that it is an effort to conserve the environment. I believe this is also a cost control issue. The bottom line is that if you hang up used towels, they will not be replaced in most places. It seems to me that the complaints about housekeeping at WDW (DVC or otherwise) have become more pervasive since housekeeping was outsourced. This may be perception rather than reality, however because I've been finding things like clothing tags and small aspirin bottles at WDW for years and years. Any thoughts?

 

[dianeschlicht]

This is now the standard in the hospitality industry. The in-room notices usually state that it is an effort to conserve the environment. I believe this is also a cost control issue. The bottom line is that if you hang up used towels, they will not be replaced in most places. It seems to me that the complaints about housekeeping at WDW (DVC or otherwise) have become more pervasive since housekeeping was outsourced. This may be perception rather than reality, however because I've been finding things like clothing tags and small aspirin bottles at WDW for years and years. Any thoughts?

So housekeeping was outsourced too???? I thought it was just the valets and baggage folks.

 

[dwelty]

We were at SSR at the beginning of may. We did not receive T&T service on the 4th day and had to call to get it. We also had a bad experience from a Castmember at checkin who was a new hire from a S.E. Asian country. Her english was not that good, and she could not print all of our keys to the world. We had to come back the next day to get them all printed up. She ended up checking us in all over again on that day which messed up our dinning credits (We were now short one day) and only our teenage son had charging priveliges. Is Disney doing what the cruise ship industry is doing and recruting people from third world countrys to work at Disney for less money? (By the way, I am not blaming her incopentence on her national origin, she was improperly trained. My question is a side note)

 

[Snookies]

So housekeeping was outsourced too???? I thought it was just the valets and baggage folks.

I would swear that I read something about this in the Orlando Business Journal a long time ago, but in reference to your question I did a quick net search and found a recent job posting for housekeepers at WDW. The applicants needed to apply in person at Team Disney Orlando. I apologize for posting erroneous information. My bad...

 

[Snookies]

We were at SSR at the beginning of may. We did not receive T&T service on the 4th day and had to call to get it. We also had a bad experience from a Castmember at checkin who was a new hire from a S.E. Asian country. Her english was not that good, and she could not print all of our keys to the world. We had to come back the next day to get them all printed up. She ended up checking us in all over again on that day which messed up our dinning credits (We were now short one day) and only our teenage son had charging priveliges. Is Disney doing what the cruise ship industry is doing and recruting people from third world countrys to work at Disney for less money? (By the way, I am not blaming her incopentence on her national origin, she was improperly trained. My question is a side note)

Given my last post, I'll stick to opinion rather than "facts," but I think these types of issues in general reflect 1) labor shortages in some areas (it may be even worse at DL in SoCal where the turnover is amazing); 2) relatively low wages for these types of positions (which may affect the "buy-in" of employees; and 3) a cutback in initial training from 2-days to 1-day. I also think that a number of the type of positions mentioned in your post are staffed by college interns in the Walt Disney World college program. None of these are necessarily good or bad from my view, but the lack of experience may sometimes result in time-consuming glitches that have to be redone to be corrected.

 

[dianeschlicht]

Given my last post, I'll stick to opinion rather than "facts," but I think these types of issues in general reflect 1) labor shortages in some areas (it may be even worse at DL in SoCal where the turnover is amazing); 2) relatively low wages for these types of positions (which may affect the "buy-in" of employees; and 3) a cutback in initial training from 2-days to 1-day. I also think that a number of the type of positions mentioned in your post are staffed by college interns in the Walt Disney World college program. None of these are necessarily good or bad from my view, but the lack of experience may sometimes result in time-consuming glitches that have to be redone to be corrected.

I'd buy that explanation if I didn't already know that WDW employees go through a week long "Disney university" orientation with classes and working with an observer etc. We got a concierge person in December who had just finished her DU class, and she was VERY good, because it was all fresh in her mind. I noticed last week that she is still working at OKW and now works both the check in and concierge desks.

 

[dhluvsDisney]

I, too, had heard housekeeping was outsourced. As for the note about the leaving the towels in the tub... surprise I would have gladly done this, but no notes anywhere. I actually did see this note when we transferred our last night to VWL, but it was definately not at OKW.

 

[Snookies]

I'd buy that explanation if I didn't already know that WDW employees go through a week long "Disney university" orientation with classes and working with an observer etc. We got a concierge person in December who had just finished her DU class, and she was VERY good, because it was all fresh in her mind. I noticed last week that she is still working at OKW and now works both the check in and concierge desks.

Some time ago, the in-class portion of Disney University had been cut back from 2-days to 1-day as a cost-cutting measure. At the time, there was concern expressed by some cast members that this would affect the quality of service. Out of curiosity, I wonder if the 2nd in-class day has been restored.

 

[crisi]

This is now the standard in the hospitality industry. The in-room notices usually state that it is an effort to conserve the environment. I believe this is also a cost control issue. The bottom line is that if you hang up used towels, they will not be replaced in most places. It seems to me that the complaints about housekeeping at WDW (DVC or otherwise) have become more pervasive since housekeeping was outsourced. This may be perception rather than reality, however because I've been finding things like clothing tags and small aspirin bottles at WDW for years and years. Any thoughts?

There have been reports of it for years and years. We've had clean rooms at CRO hotels, but I've always though DVC rooms aren't cleaned well enough for their use patterns - they need more than the hotel clean they get.

We've found all sorts of things in hotel rooms over the years - though I'm not sure if we've found much more than a stray sock at WDW. Keep in mind the type of cleaning hotel staff does - they run the vaccuum over the traffic pattern, dust the tops of the furniture, change the linens, wipe down the bathroom. They don't scrub baseboards, look under beds and in couch cushions or behind TVs, and many of the items described in the OP don't pick up with my vaccuum well at home either - I've vaccuumed rooms to find I still have staples, popcorn kernals and clothes tags on the floor. When our kids were little, the first thing we did in any new space was do the "parent check" - people drop all sorts of things that fall in places a "hotel clean" isn't going to find. (And, God forbid, don't bring a blacklight! You'll never leave home again!)

There are a surprising number of DVC members who arrive with their own Lysol and clean the room to their standards when they arrive. Hotel clean is not clean - its "tidy."

 

[Anthony1971]

There are a surprising number of DVC members who arrive with their own Lysol and clean the room to their standards when they arrive. Hotel clean is not clean - its "tidy."

I also wash all the dishes that I intend on using and most of the time just put everything in the cabintes in except pot and pans. As my MIL informed me (and we are taking them) The ???? don't cook on vacation
I am not bad... and yes the HotTub if we are going to use it

 

[Boston5602]

Crisi please dont menetion black light , I do not want to think about it !! <G>

I also have clorox wipes to clean up when we check in , and clean dishes before we use them .

 

[LisaS]

I, too, had heard housekeeping was outsourced. As for the note about the leaving the towels in the tub... surprise I would have gladly done this, but no notes anywhere. I actually did see this note when we transferred our last night to VWL, but it was definately not at OKW.

I wasn't sure if the note in our VWL villa was directed at those who get daily housekeeping (those who booked through CRO) or applied to T&T day for those booked on points. I was hoping some other folks would chime in as to whether we are supposed to be putting the used towels in the tub. I can't even remember what we did on our December trip. I'm often on autopilot with things like this and try to do the environmentally conscious thing, so I may well have dropped the used towels in the tub as we left the room on T&T day on that trip as well.

 

[Snookies]

I wasn't sure if the note in our VWL villa was directed at those who get daily housekeeping (those who booked through CRO) or applied to T&T day for those booked on points. I was hoping some other folks would chime in as to whether we are supposed to be putting the used towels in the tub. I can't even remember what we did on our December trip. I'm often on autopilot with things like this and try to do the environmentally conscious thing, so I may well have dropped the used towels in the tub as we left the room on T&T day on that trip as well.

Ditto with respect to autopilot. I throw them in the tub at DVC because I'm in the habit of doing so from all of my business travel. Frankly, however, I also launder the towels at DVC and rehang them if I'm not willing to wait for T&T or full cleaning day. I don't know if we're supposed to or not, but when I rehang towels (clean or otherwise) at DVC, they are not replaced and when I throw them in the tub they are.

 

[mommypants]

This past December we stayed at SSR and had 2 2-br villas. Our guests' villa was fine. Our villa had a huge black (grease?) stain in the carpet next to the dining table, our bathroom had a very dirty floor that didn't appear to be mopped since the last guests departed, and the two frying pans were burnt and rusted out.

We only called about the frying pans because you can't cook eggs on a burnt pan or they stick. After two phone calls, they finally replaced only one of the pans.

That was kind of disappointing. I think we were in some of the older SSR buildings (across from DTD), but since SSR was a newer resort, I didn't expect that at all.

 

[kespo]

I also wash all the dishes that I intend on using and most of the time just put everything in the cabintes in except pot and pans. As my MIL informed me (and we are taking them) The ???? don't cook on vacation
I am not bad... and yes the HotTub if we are going to use it

Wow, glad to hear I am not the only one. I bring full cleaning supplies and a very large can of Lysol. I clean everything as soon as we enter the room. Even after a long drive from NJ. I also take the comforter off and throw it in the closet right away. Does any hotel ever wash the comforter????