Vwl never again

I explain to my friends about the tipping, from car then to room, and let them decide how they will handle it. On my own I do tip twice, it is just easier for me. I do like the VB set up as well, but it does take me long to get everything upstairs!

I just got back from a great 9 night BWV, VWL stay. Baggage was handled same at both.

Bobbi:offtopic:
 
Sorry, if that is all you have to complain about I'd say you had a pretty good stay!!! We LOVE VWL!
 
I don't know, this is my opinion, but I think the real point of this story is being lost. The valet, who I now know doesn't work for Disney but some other outside concern, did not explain the process to the OP. (I didn't know that before because I never valet, nor do I use Bell Services at OKW) In fact, it sounds like they (valet) were a little curt to the OP. (The CUSTOMER). If it's true that the Valet owns one part of luggage transfer and Bell Services owns the other, why not just explain that. For what any of us pay for that Magical Disney Experience, that's not very magical in my opinion. This process should be seamless for Disney's customers, and if it needs to be explained, do it with the famous Disney smile.

This kind of customer service snafu is why Disney is having a hard time competing with the upscale resorts like Four Seasons, etc. I wouldn't condemn VWL for this, it sounds like a customer service issue if the interchange between the customer and Disney wasn't handled in a satisfactory manner. Not good if someone smarmy is the first greeting a customer gets in a vaunted Disney Resort. Just my .02....
 
I haven't used valet at arrival at BWV for awhile. I used it when my mom was alive, she couldn't handle the luggage and it was too much for me alone. But going back many years, it was always the valet who unloaded the luggage from the car onto the cart. I would tip him and then tip the bellman when he brought it to the room. At departure, the bellman would take it to the car and load it, I tipped him and also gave the valet a tip for bringing up the car.
 
I'm not sure this is always true. At least at BWV, the Bell Services person brought our stuff all the way to the car on departure, so no tip to Valet. (This would be different, of course, if we were storing luggage for a later departure.) It was only on arrival that 2 separate services dealt with luggage.

You are correct, Bell Services loads your car, better chance for a tip. :thumbsup2

I did a study at VWL and BWV and spent time with BAGS and Bell Services at both locations. After chatting them up a bit, Bell Services at both locations admitted that the process changed to improve tips. I like the funny look on their faces when they know that you know. :goodvibes

I don't have a problem with people making a living, I have noticed that the BAGS folks have a less than Disney attitude.

:earsboy: Bill
 
I don't know, this is my opinion, but I think the real point of this story is being lost. The valet, who I now know doesn't work for Disney but some other outside concern, did not explain the process to the OP. (I didn't know that before because I never valet, nor do I use Bell Services at OKW) In fact, it sounds like they (valet) were a little curt to the OP. (The CUSTOMER). If it's true that the Valet owns one part of luggage transfer and Bell Services owns the other, why not just explain that. For what any of us pay for that Magical Disney Experience, that's not very magical in my opinion. This process should be seamless for Disney's customers, and if it needs to be explained, do it with the famous Disney smile.

This kind of customer service snafu is why Disney is having a hard time competing with the upscale resorts like Four Seasons, etc. I wouldn't condemn VWL for this, it sounds like a customer service issue if the interchange between the customer and Disney wasn't handled in a satisfactory manner. Not good if someone smarmy is the first greeting a customer gets in a vaunted Disney Resort. Just my .02....

I agree! I've been in the OPs shoes and have said "never again" based on some really terrible first impressions of businesses. But then (after some personal enlightenment) I realized that that attitude was only hurting me and that I would be missing out on nice things/experiences if I let the actions of one or two people represent an entire company/industry. Now, when I have a bad experience with a representative of a company, I speak to a higher up and I will continue to escalate the issue until I find a person who understands and listens to why I am upset. My life is a lot more laid back now and things usually work out for the best ;) The OP has every right to be upset at poor treatment from a DVC representative - how he handles it from here is really his business - it's not my place to judge. I don't have to do what he does and while I probably wouldn't have called the policy "stupid" to the valet manager (as I'm sure HE did not institute the policy), I do have to agree that it IS stupid.

Terri
 
We drive to WDW but never leave luggage in car. Next time, upon arrival, check the bags in when you check in. They will hold them until the room is ready. We often arrive at 8 am the day of our trip, drive all night. We check the bags, get our keys, and passes then head to the parks or to get some breakfast. Sometimes the room is ready early but we plan on it being ready after 3 pm.

Last trip the THV was avialable when we arrived. We setup housing and then went to park. That was first time the room was ready before noon.

It usually works out for the best by checking the bags. There is usually a big pile of luggage at the entrance/bell station of every resort.
 
It's the same way at every Disney resort.

Sounds like "Valet Mgr." didn't explain the process correctly and OP was confused.

Someone loads your bags onto the cart and they place the cart into the holding room while you check in, park your car, etc. once you're done, you give your ticket to the bellman and they bring your luggage up. It's that simple. It's never been a problem.

OP, sounds like the person that talked to you was not informed himself or just a real curmudgeon. He should have explained how to do it easily. But it also sounds like you were hell bent on doing it "your" way instead of letting Disney do it the way they do. It works the same at every resort I've been to. DVC or not.
 
Here is my two cents.

If you want to be annoyed, absolutely have the right to be and sounds like Valet did not explain process properly or possibly in a courteous manner.

(My attempt at humor...) The real issue was you had just completed an 18 hour drive, did not sleep enough, were hungry, wanted to yell at the rest of your party for their little annoyances on the drive but knew you couldn't. Not to mention young kids (assuming you have with a mini-van).

Add to that the 30 minute bus ride to EPCOT (that you didn't want to do) and the quick turnaround back to the resort, you were ready to snap. :rotfl2: You and the Valet probably both could have used a drink!

Aside from the policy, I have to defend the Valet and Bellmen in general. They have always been very friendly and efficient. In many ways they do start the magic for our trips.

Others have mentioned the tipping and a reason to lug your stuff yourself, which you can do. I prefer to let them handle, I have never had any issue with others handling my bags. We usually have 1 small bag with things we need for the day bathing suits, shorts etc that we open if our room is not ready, and go about our day ( we store this as well once we make our clothing change). On the occasions when we need to get to our bags (while being stored) because we forgot to take something out they have always been very helpful. As far as tipping, they work hard and I tip for services provided. If it means tipping twice upon our arrival, I don't see it as a big deal with all the other money I spend at Disney. :offtopic: I find more offense to those using resort cups for free refills from 2003!
 

I don't have a problem with people making a living, I have noticed that the BAGS folks have a less than Disney attitude.

:earsboy: Bill

Funny cause the people out front, from valet to greeter, have always given me the most Disney warm and fuzzies. :)
 
This incident is related to the separate status of Valet (employees of BAGS, INC) and Bell Services (employees of Disney).

Sent from my iPad using DISBoards

I can't go into detail but we had an incident with Bell Services last year and we were told (by numerous administrative people) that Bell Service staff is NOT Disney staff. They are contracted. I don't know if it has changed but I am sure that was the case last year. (and yes, I am talking about the person who brings the bags to your room)
 
I can't go into detail but we had an incident with Bell Services last year and we were told (by numerous administrative people) that Bell Service staff is NOT Disney staff. They are contracted. I don't know if it has changed but I am sure that was the case last year. (and yes, I am talking about the person who brings the bags to your room)

Deluxe resorts are Disney employees, I think the value resorts are outsourced, don't know about the moderates.

:earsboy: Bill
 
That makes sense when we were staying at Kidani in February we called bell services to move our luggage to BLT. They asked me if that was a Disney resort. I did wonder why a Disney employee wouldn't know BLT
 
It's the same way at every Disney resort.

Sounds like "Valet Mgr." didn't explain the process correctly and OP was confused.

Someone loads your bags onto the cart and they place the cart into the holding room while you check in, park your car, etc. once you're done, you give your ticket to the bellman and they bring your luggage up. It's that simple. It's never been a problem.

OP, sounds like the person that talked to you was not informed himself or just a real curmudgeon. He should have explained how to do it easily. But it also sounds like you were hell bent on doing it "your" way instead of letting Disney do it the way they do. It works the same at every resort I've been to. DVC or not.

you said it so much better than I did. :)



The valet, who I now know doesn't work for Disney but some other outside concern, did not explain the process to the OP. (I didn't know that before because I never valet, nor do I use Bell Services at OKW) In fact, it sounds like they (valet) were a little curt to the OP.

They might not have explained it well, they might have been curt. They might not have, though.

My story of customer perception..... We were at Disneyland and we had APs. For whatever reason, my APs at DLR like to become halfway unusable. I can get into the parks, but then can't use them (sometimes) in the FP machines. I have grown accustomed to that, but this was the first time I had that experience. I was hot, annoyed, stressy. I went to find someone who could fix the issue (left DH and DS in a ride line I think). I came across the kiosk with wait times, to ask what I needed to do and where to accomplish it. He said something about needing a "fast pass ticket".

This phrase, fast pass ticket, made absolutely NO sense to me. He kept trying to explain it, and it wasn't getting through. To my mind, he was being rude, condescending, and idiotic. I was getting more worked up, trying to understand, but letting my annoyance with him get in the way. I was just about ready to explode (or go complain about him), but we kept on trying to explain ourselves to each other. Then I took a breath, and like a lightbulb going off, I got what he was trying to say. Go to city hall, get a special ticket to be used for FPs. A "fast pass ticket".

I'm SO GLAD that I spent that extra time with him, even though neither of us liked that extra time very much, because not only did I finally understand what he was saying, but we realized that we were just humans trying to communicate. We ended our meeting with smiles and thanks and your welcomes, and it was a GOOD ending. But it could easily have been a bad ending, with me telling him that it was stupid, and vowing to never go back to Disneyland.

He could have used words that maybe made more sense to a lay person, but I certainly was not in the state of mind to really HEAR him, either. It was that last second that allowed for clarity, which resulted in an official Kudos for him instead of a complaint.


BWV does not allow it either. :confused3

Exactly.

Boardwalk is where we first encountered this division in duties!!!! I'm not sure what luck the OP has had at the Boardwalk, but the BW people were really REALLY strict about it when we tried to have them just follow us up. (we had parked, checked in, got our room, brought the car up and wanted them to follow us....nope, no way, not happening...bags needed to go behind the scenes first and it would be two different people touching our stuff)

ETA: they wouldn't even let DH unload the car while up at their valet area...he had to move the car to unload it on his own. absolutely would not let him.

So best of luck at BW!:3dglasses
 
Let's just say my trip was less than magical at the VWL this past week for several reasons.

1. upon arrival we did not expect to have our 2 Villas ready since we were there early and typically they are not ready until early afternoon and it was 11AM. So we collect our box of stuff that we shipped down and get on a bus to Epcot(even though we had a car....Dont ask) We are not even off the WL property and get a text that our rooms are ready when we were specifically told they would not be ready until 3.

You are upset that your rooms were ready earlier than they told you? Really? :confused3
 
Bring your own luggage cart and you don't need to worry about Valet or Bell Services.
 
Deb & Bill said:
Bring your own luggage cart and you don't need to worry about Valet or Bell Services.

Definitely this :)
 
You are upset that your rooms were ready earlier than they told you? Really? :confused3

Lol! I was there last week, arrived at 10am- room wasn't ready so we went to Whispering Canyon, changed into our swimsuits and hung by the pool....before we knew it it was 4pm & we still hadn't gotten the room-is-ready text. Went to the front desk, whoops of course it was ready they forgot to text us. We had a great day by the pool, no complaints here:) Oh no we can't go indoors on this beautiful day and are being forced to hang out in a hot tub and swim in a gorgeous pool!?!?! Oh the humanity! ;)
 
I'm not sure this is always true. At least at BWV, the Bell Services person brought our stuff all the way to the car on departure, so no tip to Valet. (This would be different, of course, if we were storing luggage for a later departure.) It was only on arrival that 2 separate services dealt with luggage.
I don't see how that matters either. IF a portion of the time bell services goes all the way to the car, they're doing more work and getting proportionally more tip. The valet side on the other hand is doing proportionately less work and getting proportionally less tip. So it seems like it should work itself out in this situation. I'll leave it up to them to work out any variations, it's not my responsibility to do so and the fact they've chosen to complicate matters doesn't change the industry standards.

I don't know, this is my opinion, but I think the real point of this story is being lost. The valet, who I now know doesn't work for Disney but some other outside concern, did not explain the process to the OP. (I didn't know that before because I never valet, nor do I use Bell Services at OKW) In fact, it sounds like they (valet) were a little curt to the OP. (The CUSTOMER). If it's true that the Valet owns one part of luggage transfer and Bell Services owns the other, why not just explain that. For what any of us pay for that Magical Disney Experience, that's not very magical in my opinion. This process should be seamless for Disney's customers, and if it needs to be explained, do it with the famous Disney smile.

This kind of customer service snafu is why Disney is having a hard time competing with the upscale resorts like Four Seasons, etc. I wouldn't condemn VWL for this, it sounds like a customer service issue if the interchange between the customer and Disney wasn't handled in a satisfactory manner. Not good if someone smarmy is the first greeting a customer gets in a vaunted Disney Resort. Just my .02....
We were't there of course and in this situation it does matter what and how things were said. However, based on facts, IMO the OP is off base in their expectations. It seems they demanded a cart and refused valet service if it couldn't be immediately car to room but that it was offered to them in some capacity. IMO this is totally different than the recent report, I believe at OKW, where someone was struggling with bags and were watched by bell services but no one even offered the service. This seems, as presented, as a case of unreasonable expectations rather than an issue of any part of Disney or DVC including the contracted group.

It's the same way at every Disney resort.

Sounds like "Valet Mgr." didn't explain the process correctly and OP was confused.

Someone loads your bags onto the cart and they place the cart into the holding room while you check in, park your car, etc. once you're done, you give your ticket to the bellman and they bring your luggage up. It's that simple. It's never been a problem.

OP, sounds like the person that talked to you was not informed himself or just a real curmudgeon. He should have explained how to do it easily. But it also sounds like you were hell bent on doing it "your" way instead of letting Disney do it the way they do. It works the same at every resort I've been to. DVC or not.
Maybe but to me it's more likely that the OP gave them an attitude when they didn't get what they wanted initially. I'm guessing the first interaction was looking for a cart the OP could use themselves. Again, we weren't there but both sides are very possible.
 

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