So I made my dining reservations today, and I am still trying to shake the pretty unmagical customer service I felt I received. The good news is that I have had little to no unmagical moments in my life of going to DLR, and my last (first) trip to WDW. But I had to vent a little...

I hadn't heard from my vacation planner in the last 48 hours since I sent him my ADR requests (a separate mild frustration), and we were eager to get things squared away. We were in our 180+10 window, and since a couple of our reservations are popular ones and it was over Labor Day weekend, we thought we better take some action. I called Disney Dining to see if they had any reservations in our name, and they didn't, so I went ahead and made them. I am glad I did, as Alfredo's only had two seatings left on the night we could go (the last night they will be open before closing their doors forever), according the the man I spoke to...

Unfortunately, the interaction with the customer service rep on the phone was less than stellar. The man I spoke to clearly wasn't fully listening to me at all. He made several mistakes where we had to back up and redo portions of the reservations. I had to tell him the dates we were booking three times, because he kept getting it wrong. And worst of all, he sounded entirely bored and was like a machine just reading these scripted schpeels about each place--even if we had already established that I knew that I had to have park tickets for the restaurant or that it was all non-smoking, he told me with every one anyway--sometimes accidentally reading it twice for the same reservation, which made the entire call more lengthy than it needed to be. He even asked where I was staying, to which I told him the Polynesian. Yet when we got to the Polynesian resort restaurant reservations (my second and third reservations, so not far into the call, or far from his asking me where I was staying) he was schpeeling away about how I could get directions to the Polynesian from where I was staying. *eye roll* He also tried to put the sell on me for La Nouba, completely apropos of nothing. Like:
Me: "Okay, so for the next date, we want to get a reservation for 'Ohana."
Him: "I can make reservations for Cirque du Soleil, too."
"I'm sorry...Excuse me?"
"I can make reservations for La Nouba, the Cirque du Soleil Show, for you."
"Oookaaay...thanks. Good to know. If we decide we want to do that, we'll remember that and call to make those reservations with you guys. For now, we want reservations for 'Ohana, please."

He also asked me if I was on the dining plan. I said I believe I was booked that way, but didn't have any confirmation numbers from my travel planner yet (we definitely have the DDP booked with our package, which our agent arranged for us). To which he said, "Well then you're not on the dining plan." I asked him why that would be and he said, "If you are booking through someone else, you can't get the dining plan. You can only get it if you book yourself directly with Disney." I know that to be completely incorrect, and it only served to make the overall experience all the more displeasing. But the good news is that we got all the reservation days and times we wanted.

Oh and to top it off, after all this complete boredom and mechanical delivery, he closed with this line, delivered with an obvious attempt at sounding more casual, but failing miserably: "I do thank you very much for booking your dining reservations with us. You have a magical day, and we really look forward to seeing you."

*shaking off the icky feeling*
It was really not a good experience. It's not like it was so bad that I should have taken his name and reported him. It just wasn't...Disney! I wish I had heard back from my vacation planner so he could have handled it all for me like last time. *sigh* But I have it all in place now!

Really sorry that you had a bad experience with that. If that would have happened to me, I would have gotten the ADR conformation number for my first ressie and then ended the call. I would have called back and continued with a hopefully better CM. (With the first order of business being to double check that first ADR.)

In any case, I would call back and confirm all your ADR's just to be sure that the CM got things right. Just have your conformation numbers handy.

At the same time, I would have gotten his name and then called back to talk to a supervisor. Bad service needs to be dealt with, not just talked about. Of course, exceptional service also deserves some recognition as well.

Agreed the pitch for Cirque was surely a little odd and not really the place to do it. Maybe after all your ADR's were done, but not then. If this was a part of the script, then he/she was taking the idea of following the script a little too far.

The interesting thing is that when Mrs.GusMan called CRO to make a change to our travel itinerary, the CM offered to make our ADR's. Since he already had all the info about us in front of him, he did not ask a lot of questions. At the same time he kinda skipped a lot of the canned information as he also saw our trip history - so he knew we were WDW vets. Not sure if it always happens that way but the relaxed atmosphere of the call made it feel even more inviting - like they knew us and what we wanted to do.

I hope that was the one ceremonial "snag" in your trip plans and that the rest goes well for you and yours.

GusMan, I very nearly did just what you said (hung up and call back), but had this irrational fear that I would get him again. *eye roll* I know, silly, with all the staff there, but there ya go...

I will call tomorrow to confirm. We already have one we want to cancel anyway, so it works out.

Thanks! And as they say in theater: bad rehearsal, good performance. Anything bad in the planning will translate into stellar on the vacation I'm sure! LOL

If you draw a loser at Disney the BEST thing I've found is politely ring off and then call right back and get some one else. Never continue a call with a CM who knows less than you. The next person is always better. At least that's been my experience. Sorry about your troubles.

Oops - sorry just saw your replies! What he said!

...had this irrational fear that I would get him again.
Oh, I know what you mean. Got the same not-so-knowledgeable person twice in a row when trying to play CSR roulette one time and since then, I make sure I take down the names of the people I talk to.

Im just glad that in most cases, the CM's on the other line tend to be very knowledgeable, friendly, and very helpful.

Sorry to hear about your *less than magical experience*. I have usually had positive experiences when calling Disney with ?? except the last time...... I had a few ?? about the campfire program at Ft. Wilderness. I asked the CM what was playing for some dates in Sept. She said said she didnt have the info that far in advance. Fine. I said *Can you tell me what is playing this week?* (I wanted to get an idea if it was just childrens cartoons or if something might appeal to DH since we are going for his 40th- no kids). She said *no because you wont be here*!!!:( I said * What if Im coming tomorrow?* Then she HUNG UP ON ME!!!:eek: :eek: :mad: Unfortuneatly, even though she gave me hername at the beginning of the call I didnt catch it and I didnt think it was important to have her repeat it. I called back right away and the next CM was very nice and helpful and she apologized for the rude CM.

I just have to tell you this little story, because what you stated you encountered reminded of it. One day...after a VERY long day at work, a friend of mine stopped at the store to pick up some groceries. She felt the clerk just topped off a bad day by being short, handling her fragile groceries (avacodo's and bananas) roughly, and in general just being very rude. She accepted the offer for help out, and on the way to the car couldn't help mentioning how rude the lady had been. That's when the young man helping her with her groceries told her that the checker's daughter had been in car accident, but the boss wouldn't let her go to the hospital until her shift was over, as they were short on staff that day. This, of course, gave my friend both some compassion about the situation.
* let me step off my soapbox *
Maybe that person just found another job and is just "marking time", or is finishing up their schooling and their mind is preoccupied, or otherwise, like the example above, just had a bad day. Or a REALLY bad day. Or a hangover. My point? Sometimes we have to cut each other a little slack. After all, being pleasant and upbeat 100% of the time is hard even for the Katie Couric's out there :).

My point? Sometimes we have to cut each other a little slack. After all, being pleasant and upbeat 100% of the time is hard even for the Katie Couric's out there :).
I agree but then again I disagree.

I dont mind giving people slack if they seem like they are new, are trying to do their job while dealing with a cold, and whatnot. However, if there is a personal matter that is impacting their work then they need to step down for a little bit in order to come to terms with what is bothering them.

I have to admit, when I call Im not looking for "pleasant and upbeat 100% of the time." When I call, I at least expect knowledgeable, accurate, and courteous. In any sort of customer service, rudeness is not acceptable at any time especially if I am being polite and courteous at the same time.

Lets face it - many people put Disney on a pedestal when it comes to guest services mainly because Disney raises their own standards for such. This may be the reason why many people see this kind of customer mis-service at Disney to be a significant issue. Besides, if I want "average" or "below average" customer service, I will just call up my satellite provider, or a credit card provider and talk to someone overseas who cant understand me, let alone me being able to understand them. (But that is a different vent thread all together.)

Having been in the service industry for a decade, and now being a dance teacher who holds classes four nights a week, I am well aware of how hard it can be when you have something personal going on which makes it hard for you to be your sunniest self. But it is also what makes me a little extra put-off when I get bad customer service, which this definitely was. Sure, I'm not perfect, and I have my less-than-stellar nights at class, but I never make anyone feel ignored or unimportant. Even when I am sick and can't get a sub, I make a point to smile, make jokes, and make sure that those I am "working for" are getting the best experience I can muster. In fact, sometimes my worst days end up being my best because I work so hard to offset how I am feeling with positive outward appearance, so that nobody else suffers as a result of my personal issues. At the worst, I will give the impression that I am trying hard to make it a good class, but am struggling to do so because of something going on that they don't know about.

Now I get it that you can't expect that of everyone every day. But I really got the sense that this guy was just bored and not even trying. :/

Bored and not even trying is one thig. But to rudely hang up on someone? How childish.

welp to say the least you got your ADRs, mind telling us where you are eating? im sure a few of us want to know!!!

welp to say the least you got your ADRs, mind telling us where you are eating? im sure a few of us want to know!!!

Happy to!

August 31st - Alfredo's (the last day they will be in business there)
September 1st - Spirit of Aloha (to get in the Polynesian spirit ;)
September 2nd - 'Ohana (late, to hopefully see the fireworks!)
September 3rd - Narcoossee (my birthday dinner!)
September 5th - Le Cellier (steak night!)
September 7th - Coral Reef

I get hungry every time I read my list!

We have some "if it works out, and we can walk in, we might do":
Teppenyaki (loved it last time, great steak/shrimp/sushi!)
Marrakesch (being a bellydancer myself, I like to catch the show)
Flying Fish (drooled over it on our last trip, but didn't wanna pay that mugh $$, when we have great seafood here in Seattle--DDP this time!)
Chefs de France (for a cheese plate)
50's Prime Time Cafe (for lunch, to get the experience)

Thanks for asking. :)

Not to burst your birthday bubble but I would replace Narcoossee with California Grill. Unless you really love a french cuisine with french sauces on your food i would pass. California Grill tends to be a more fun atmosphere with an awesome view. Some will agree and disagree.

Otherwise - great list - and if you keep Narcoossees on there im definately sure you will have a great meal. THe food is of high quality and its a gorgeous place

We ate at California Grill on our last trip, and frankly weren't that impressed. :( But then again, we are on the West Coast, and the menu was pretty standard for us, the portions were a little small...and we almost left when we didn't see anything that really made our mouth water. We decided to stay, and it was fine, but we just wouldn't make it our "big meal" again.

We plan to get LOBSTER! :) Surf n' Turf for me, I know that for sure--half the reason I chose there for my birthday. The other is to watch the fireworks from there. We have 8:30 reservations, and the fireworks are scheduled for 10pm. Perfecto.

Thanks for the info, though! I do appreciate people's reviews and feedback on such things!

AH being from the west coast it may not be that great totally understood

I'm not sure how Disney's reservations process works, but I'm in the travel industry and any reservations I make/change puts my sine into the history. It may be worth mentioning to whomever you talk too and they may be able to forward it to someone who can "train" him on the expectations of Disney travelers.

People tend to be braver with their attitudes over the phone, unfortunately.

It is true, we have higher expectations from Disney employees but mostly because they present themselves that way. The "magical" experience. I remember the only time we have had a run in with a rude CM and it still sticks in my mind. She was probably having a bad day, but boy, we didn't even do anything to her but be around.

Sigh, I'm still to far out to make my ADR's.....I should figure out the first available day so I have something tangible to look forward to.