DEBATE: Send em back

[KNWVIKING]

Okay, show of hands.... Due to the end of Free Coke for Life, how many of us have canceled our next visit,will stay off-property,not buy AP's or LOS's, not eat or drink on property,not buy plush,sell your DVC, unload your DISney stock, only go to Universal,Busch and Seaworld,etc,etc..... We're goin' show Disney that without Free Coke for Life we're not going to spend a dime !

I personnally was told lifetime at three resorts.Am I happy about the new changes-or enforcement of what always was, no. Is it going to change my vacation or spending habits at WDW-absolutely not. So I guess people like me are mostly to blame when WDW does little things like this because we keep going and spending.

 

[Tannerman]

Originally posted by TiggerFreak
Remember "It's A Wonderful Life?"

Picture thousands of old (dirty!) refillable mugs cascading out of mail bags....

That was "Miracle on 34th Street".

Also, if you want to save some money on drinks, just camp at Ft. Wilderness and bring your own beverages

 

[DisneyKidds]

Car #1 says - 'It's only a freaking mug!'

Car #3 says - 'It's an ominous symptom of the underlying disease that threatens the very fabric of Disney!'

Discuss..............................



Was away for a few days and all I can see fit to do on this one is stir the muck .

 

[Bstanley]

As a point of interest, the Orlando Sentinel article was describing the bar-coded mugs/apparatus that had been installed at Typhoon Lagoon - and then speculated that it might be installed at the resorts because "some Disney World employees" say so.

Oh, kinda like all the new monorails that are being built based on the say so from virtually every WDW bus driver I've ever spoken with?

It was my understanding that each of the Resorts was a 'profit center', in other words they manage their own bottom line without gross interference from the corporate food chain. My experiences at Disney resorts have demonstrated that these guys still 'get' The Magic. They are in continuous contact with their Guests and understand the impact of such seemingly insignificant decisions made by corporate drones who aren't at the pointy end of the stick. I cannot imagine a resort manager going along with this program, it just doesn't make 'cents'.

Perhaps it makes 'cents' at the Water Parks where locals visit 32 times a summer, but not at the resorts.

 

[April76]

I don't have anything enlightening or witty to say about any of this.

BUT -- I would like to say that I feel offended when someone makes a statement that refers to people who bring back their mugs to the correct resort (after being told in no uncertain terms that they could) and use it on subsequent visits as "cheating" or "stealing".

I have asked a CM who was selling mugs at the register about the policy (several CM's at the same resort on several trips)... (by the way, I consider this person a company representative, placed in a position to give guests information on mug policy) -- I was NEVER told "length of stay", always "forever".

Should I have pursued this and asked for their manager, and then the resort manager, and then someone higher? Should I have asked for it in writing? I made an effort to follow the rules.

I realize that you can get "misinformation" from some CM's, but when a guest has tried several times to make sure they're doing the right thing, I don't think they should be made to feel like a criminal.

Okay -- now I feel better..... let the debate continue!

 

[DisOrBust]

I also have been told SEVERAL times by resort CMs that the mugs are good for repeat visits. OThers have reported that CMs have made positive comments to them when they "see" an old mug design with a repeat visitor. I haven't checked but I would think this new policy would be a big deal amoung DVCers.

I also am tired of people accusing others of cheating WDW. How does this accusation reflect on WDW meeting and exceeding customer expectations when the acusation is made by a WDW CM on THIS board!

Once again this is a reflection of a bad management/bean counter decision. I can't believe they will save enough moneyfor the amount of disatisfaction it can cause some as seen here on this board.

Maybe because we have never brought back mugs that I say this but...I believe this horse is a NO CODE, l

 

[TiggerFreak]

Thanks Tannerman.
No wonder nobody thought it was a joke.
I'm getting so old I can't keep my movie memories straight.

I just hpoe they don't start putting fare boxes on the DTS buses.
Can you imagine the tumult that would cause

Tell you what, when we go in October, we will take all 7 of our mugs and if they give us any guff I'll climb a table in Roaring Forks and go on a soft drink strike until management changes the policy

Like I and many others have said, unenforcable policies die in out in the trenches.

 

[DisOrBust]

Scoop, I haven't "heard" of anyone yet who was told face to face that they CAN NOT use their mugs at any of the resorts. So I don't believe anyone has been "cheating" by your definition....yet. As far as I am aware at this point this policy is speculation/rumor (then again I am usually the last to know).

I believe the mugs at Typhoon Lagoon were always useable on day of purchase only and have always had a bar code on them.

The AP issue you bring up is a legitmate example of people trying to beat the system. Disney could easily eliminate this by asking for proof of AP on check in. In the 4 Xs I have used an AP rate I have never been asked for it. I also assume they know I have one from their computer database which should also eliminate anyone trying to beat the system.

In my heart, which yes rides in car #3, I bellieve if this change is legit it is a direct reflection on some poor soul who had to come up with a way of meeting an already tight bottom line. It goes along the lines of the CMS responsible for opening locked carsbeing eliminated. Then again what do I know.

 

[April76]

Thedscoop --- thanks... I wasn't pointing to anyone specific on this thread; but I have seen numerous posts along this subject that definitely indicated that anyone who brought back their mugs was either cheating, stealing, or just plain cheap.

I like to think of it as a good investment!


I do wish that the company did a better job of setting policy guidelines and then being CLEAR about what they were (and enforce them - ie. the AP discounts, etc.)

There will always be folks who try to beat the system to save a few dollars... I think the company would do better to pursue other areas before worrying about mugs.

It also seems that as they eliminate some of the small relatively inexpensive perks, it makes people more determined to "take" things they aren't entitled to.

 

[aalan]

when i first heard about the new policy, i sent off an email to disney guest relations urging them to think this decision through. after thinking about the whole deal the past couple of weeks, i do still believe that its something they shouldnt change, but if they do, its not that big a deal. i think of the mugs as a small, but very real perk for staying on disney grounds (this is someone who drinks lots of diet coke). i'd like to think that the real reason the mugs were introduced in the lst place was convenience, more so than $$$$, but i kinda doubt it. and i bet the reason diz is thinking about changing the rules has more to do with $$$$ than convenience or guest relations. sigh. i will still vacation at wdw, but if they keep chipping away at things like mugs and early entry, who knows how many people will still vacation there?

 

[Kay1]

I just want to vouch for the people who were told they can reuse the mugs and are now called cheaters. Several year ago at DxL, my son asked for a mug because of the Brer characters. I told the CM we were on our way home but would be returning in a few weeks and asked if we could bring it back. She said, sure.

Another time, we were on a patched-together trip and were considering a PO mug. I asked the CM if we could use it at the other resorts. She told me they had just had a meeting about this subject and she wanted to ask her manager. The manger said , yes, we could use the mug at any resort that had a food court.

Some people say, well, did you really think you could pay $9 and get free soda at Disney for life? Well, personally, I wasn't sure, and that's why I asked. I am following the company policy as it was explained to me by the only company representatives available to me. That makes me a cheater how?

 

[DisneyKidds]

Cough, cough (all those ruffled feathers in the air caught in my throat you know) .

I don't think anyone is saying that if a person bought a mug, was told they could use it on subsequent trips or at other resorts, and did so that they were cheating. You inquire, you are told something, and you follow it - not a problem. I see the same thing happen with other WDW situations (parking and transportation for example) where someone might do what a CM tells them they can do, even though someone else feels it is against the rules. Are they cheating? I don't think so. People need to be able to rely on what CM's tell them. As has been pointed out, they are the company reps.

However, I think there are some very grey areas. I think that I have seen a sign or two associated with these mugs that says they are good for your 'length of stay'. In such a case, perhaps it is stretching the rules a little to reuse the mug. However, most guests expect the mug policy to be the same throughout WDW, and that policy is very vague - if it exists at all. The fact that the resorts actually operate independently makes the issue fuzzier as there may not be a central policy.

Another issue could exist where someone was told that the mugs were reuseable when they purchased them, but were subsequently told that doing so was a no-no. Very bad customer relations situation, I agree. However, if that person then attempts to reuse the mug they could be considered cheating. Not sure how often this may have happened.

Amazing the flap that can be created over a mug. Seeing as I have yet to see an official new policy that is applicable resort wide, I'll keep from getting tied up in my undies and refrain from mailing back my mugs for a bit longer.

How's that research coming Scoop?

p.s. I think the idea of mailing the mugs back is a hoot and I'd do it. Not that I care all that much, but it would be funny and send a message.

 

[Planogirl]

I don't see how they'll enforce this change (?), bar code or not. The drink fountains are currently in the middle of the food courts and I don't recall anyone watching them. Unless they plan to move them inside the food areas? I don't remember there always being adequate room.

OK, it's a small thing in the scope of things but blech anyway.

 

[DisneyKidds]

I think the idea is that the machine will not dispense the drink unless the barcode is read. If that were the case the fountains could remain where they are. That may have just been speculation though.

 

[d-r]

Originally posted by Kay1
Some people say, well, did you really think you could pay $9 and get free soda at Disney for life? Well, personally, I wasn't sure, and that's why I asked. I am following the company policy as it was explained to me by the only company representatives available to me. That makes me a cheater how?

Some people are told they are length of stay, others are told that they can bring them back - I'd like to point out again that resorts are "profit centers" (thanks for the term) and are responsible for living within their own budgets. What is the "policy" about these mugs at one resort may not be the policy at another - I honestly do not think there is a "Company Policy" - you were told the policy for dixie landings / port orleans which is a single profit center.

I think of it like this. The management at a given resort realizes that although the majority of their guests will visit only once or maybe twice, that there are some guests who visit once or twice or more a year. Although that second group is probably a small percentage of the guests, they are also the best customers, in terms of being repeat guests. So the management at this given resort says "Sure" when the idea of bringing these mugs back is brought up - they figure that not many people will do it anyway, and the cost will be small compared to the perk for a repeat guest. Now at another resort, maybe people spend less time in the fast food place - maybe this resort doesn't have a large food court, just a fast food grill sort of place. Maybe the management there hasn't really thought about this being a perk for repeat visitors because their guests have never seemed to mind - but they want to let people know the mugs are there and a value, so they prepare a sign that says "Buy a mug! Good for free refills during your entire stay!" - Then this becomes the policy of this resort, because it was written there. It was just written that way because the idea of using it forever never came up to this management, and they were just trying to let the guests know about these mugs.

So then those two resorts have different "Policies." Then say guest #1 is a frequent visitor to the port orleans resorts, where they have food courts and have been used to telling repeat visitors that they can use the mugs on future trips. Guest #2 goes to the wilderness lodge, and reads a sign that says that they are good for their stay - and the cm's tell them that too, because they are used to this policy being there. Then these two guests get on the internet and disagree about what the COMPANY policy is - when really there isn't one.

I sort of doubt that there will be one, too, for that matter, unless somebody higher up starts getting fidgety about guests hearing things on the internet and writing in letters, so they feel like they have to go ahead and set a policy to "fix it." Why would they tell the different resorts how they can sell coke? And why would anyone assume that the process that they are trying in a water park would work at every hotel? Although I've never bought one tof these mugs, I have been to the food courts at dixie landings, port orleans, coronado springs, and all stars music, and I've been to the fast food "grills" at the polly, cont., grand floridian, wilderness lodge, AK lodge - I've been to tubbies in the dolphin, and I've stayed at the Board walk twice but I have no idea where people get and use mugs - my point is, those places ALL work differently, the process at each one is different (I assume the three all stars are the same, only been to one). I really don't understand why one would think that they have had the same policies in the past or why they would go to having the same in the future -

DR

 

[phillybeth]

My last visit to the World was in Feb 01. We stayed at the Contemporary with my in-laws, who had mugs from a previous visit. That first morning the CM as the register said "Welcome back, I see you were here in '99 from the design on your mug!". Obviously they didn't have a problem with it then.
BTW, did you know that any food stand in the parks will fill your mug with ice for free? Then just fill in up with water at a water fountain. Oops, or is that... cheating? I'd be depriving Ei$ner his $3.48 profit on a $3.50 bottle of water.

 

[Bstanley]

Exacta-mundo d-r.

The resorts will understand that this change doesn't make 'cents'.

 

[King Triton]

Did Disney change their policy that you can not bring back your lifetime refillable drink mug? Is this true?

That was the whole selling point of buying that extremely expensive mug.

If I would have known that, then I wouldn't have bought one.

If Disney changed that, I would be pissed too.


King Triton

 

[DisneyKidds]

Scoop - you have two different, yet interesting, questions in that doozy of a PS.

The first has to do with what was asked in the PM you got. I suppose it goes like this....

You go to the BW and you really are going to eat at Spoodles. You tell the guard that. You also say - 'hey, after dinner we want to run over and see Illuninations, can we leave the car here?', and he says 'No problem'. Everything is above board, no deceit or trickery, no intent to circumvent the rules. Parking at the resorts to go to the parks is against the rules. Many times, there is a big friggin' sigh right BEFORE you pull into the BW entrance that says so. However, the CM said you could do it. In this case, something the CM has told you appears contrary to the rules. (What I was getting at in my last post) I say do it - the CM is the authority and determines what is correct in that case. I choose to rely on what the CM tells me - and have done exactly that in exactly this situation. Down a slippery slope - I don't think so.

The second involves an intentional, one sided breaking of the 'rules'. They may be unwritten, but everyone kind of knows. CM involvement has nothing to do with this one. Should you do it - probably not. Have we - kind of. We hop around a lot. We will have b'fast at Cape May Cafe and then go to Epcot for a couple of hours. Sometimes we get a 3 hour parking pass and we might be parked for 4 hours, sometimes only 3. Other times we don't get a pass, but we still only park for 4 hours before we head back to our resort for a break. Repeat in the evening after we eat at 1900 Park Fare and go to MK for a couple of hours. Is it wrong? - I don't believe so, not if we get a parking pass and are within the time. I see it as part of getting a sense of what staying at one of the resorts is truely like. It has led us to stay at a resort me might not have otherwise. When we go over it is bad Disneykidds..... The slope seems to be getting a little more slippery here. Gets even more slippery when someone parks at a resort to go to a park all day, with no intention of frequenting any establishment in the resort itself (not something we have done). Such issues were addressed when gates went up at the resorts. I'm sure there were many abusers prior to that. Do you think that many people out and out lie to the CM's and still commit abuses?

 

[mrtoadslastride]

I really think that in the argument over the what the rule actually is this dicussion has missed a much bigger point.

Let's assume that the rule has always been length of stay only, but that the majority of people who have purchased the cups have been told by CM's (the company's representatives) that they were good for life. In fact then, the actual working policy was that the cups are good for life because that is what the paying customer was told when the cups were purchased. To the paying customer the CM is the Disney authority. If I don't believe the CM when he says the cup is good for life should I also not believe a CM when he tells me to put out a cigarette because smoking is not allowed in the parks. As a guest, I either follow what all of the CM's say or I don't. I can't pick and choose which ones to believe.

This is Disney's error, and like all good businesses they should acknowledge that it was their fault and not punish (by making them buy new mugs) the customers for a problem they created.

I bought a new vehicle a few years ago. The truck was listed in the paper $1000 cheaper than it should have been, but the dealership gave me the price even though they didn't make the error (the paper goofed up). Long story short I bought the truck and will return to that dealership in the future. Disney should act similarly in this instance if they want to live up to high standards of service the company previously established.