On phone over 3 hours with tech support!

[ItsOnlyMoney]

I have found the Disney customer service hold-times to be abominable. I have never in my life encountered a worthy business that makes people stay on hold an hour, let alone more than 2 hours. It doesn't seem to matter what day or time you call... they phone-routing system makes you hold for 2 hours.

At this point, I'm convinced it's Disney's "Standard Operating Procedure", a way to make most people hang up rather than having to talk to the customer. Fri Feb.18 I waited on hold for 2 hours, then hung up. The next day I used 2 phones and tried several options, trying different Disney #s, staying on hold, leaving a callback #.... after a total of 2.5 hours, I was able to get our ticket change resolved.
Yesterday I again called Disney to add Genie+, since the website didn't give that option (even though my ticket is multi-day). After 10 min on hold, I was offered the chance to get a callback. They called me back an hour later and played music for 15 minutes after I answered... finally a human said hello. After discussions and multiple holds for the next 15 minutes, the Disney employee determined that the inability to add Genie+ to my tix was on THEIR END, and she'd have to transfer me to ANOTHER number whose hold-time was about 2 hours.

I waited another 15, but then had to go to my afternoon job so had to hang up. I'll try again mid-week.

Basically, if you need to contact Disney help, plan on 3 hours of hold. It's really shameful. Yet, customers seem to accept that.

I've tried calling several times about my Memory Maker and it won't even let me stay on hold. "All circuits are busy" Circuits????? THey don't answer e-mails, and chat is non-existent.

 

[CaptainAmerica]

STOP defending disney's poor customer service! They are making billions. Get some people to work and pay them more if they need to!

There's a pandemic on, you may have heard about it. It's in all the papers.

 

[lockets]

Pandemic notwithstanding, answering the phones in a timely manner is a basic tenant of any company's customer service. Disney used to be known for their customer service - they even had a training company that taught companies about customer service. Other companies are answering their phones without that extreme hold of a wait time.

An exception for Disney's customer service hold times could be made in 2020. Maybe for the first half of 2021. But enough already. No excuses.

And the more we excuse this, the more it will go on. They will never stop penny crunching.

Also just because airlines do this too doesn't mean "two wrongs make a right"

Let's all do and expect better.

Does Disney excuse me if I show up to the gate without the full amount of money in my pocket for a ticket because the pandemic has been reallyyy hard on me?

Um. No. They don't let me in.

 

[Belle5]

I have a brilliant beyond brilliant idea for Disney! If they don't have the needed IT folks to handle all the calls then maybe, just maybe they shouldn't be doing ANYTHING that requires tech! Go back to paper fast passes until you have your department staffed and ready to handle the inevitable problems that tech brings! I know that means no magic bands, etc., but so what! Vacationers would much rather not deal with this mess! My husband is on the phone with them after starting the process at 6 this morning.

 

[Jennasis]

There's a pandemic on, you may have heard about it. It's in all the papers.

Oh no. That's long over. Haven't you heard? That's why they're packed like it's Christmas Day every single day, filling in ALL the available spaces, and tossing aside mask mandates.

Disney can't keep using the pandemic as an excuse to deliver lousy customer service but insist it's over in their parks.

 

[Donaldsfans]

I have found the Disney customer service hold-times to be abominable. I have never in my life encountered a worthy business that makes people stay on hold an hour, let alone more than 2 hours. It doesn't seem to matter what day or time you call... they phone-routing system makes you hold for 2 hours.

At this point, I'm convinced it's Disney's "Standard Operating Procedure", a way to make most people hang up rather than having to talk to the customer. Fri Feb.18 I waited on hold for 2 hours, then hung up. The next day I used 2 phones and tried several options, trying different Disney #s, staying on hold, leaving a callback #.... after a total of 2.5 hours, I was able to get our ticket change resolved.
Yesterday I again called Disney to add Genie+, since the website didn't give that option (even though my ticket is multi-day). After 10 min on hold, I was offered the chance to get a callback. They called me back an hour later and played music for 15 minutes after I answered... finally a human said hello. After discussions and multiple holds for the next 15 minutes, the Disney employee determined that the inability to add Genie+ to my tix was on THEIR END, and she'd have to transfer me to ANOTHER number whose hold-time was about 2 hours.

I waited another 15, but then had to go to my afternoon job so had to hang up. I'll try again mid-week.

Basically, if you need to contact Disney help, plan on 3 hours of hold. It's really shameful. Yet, customers seem to accept that.

I've never gotten an opportunity for a call back. The whole thing is ridiculous .

 

[Donaldsfans]

The part that is so frustrating is that disney is charging everyone thousands of dollars for a vacation. Why can Universal get people for technical support but not disney? Maybe they aren't paying them enough? Not sure of the reason but it's unacceptable with the prices disney is charging!

well for one thing, they've created a monster with their linking reservations and dining reservations, genie plus, mobile ordering, friends and family, park hopper etc. It's all linked up on line and I believe the whole thing is crashing. What company actually outs an internet support number on their consumer page? Wdw does.

 

[DisneynBison]

In what world is Disney customer service times acceptable? This is a total failure of management. Anybody can make a excuse it takes leadership to fix a problem and I believe Disney is lacking in it. If you don't value your customer and their time why should we value your product?

 

[busymomma123]

I called yesterday to check some pricing for reservation changes. Every 10 seconds I hear the same recording that they are experiencing some delays in answering questions. I have to keep hitting 2 in order stay on hold. SO AGGRAVATING!!! The person I talked to was incompetent and screwed up something on the reservation.

On hold now and hitting 2 every 10 seconds again. At this point don't know that I want to spend more money than I usually spend on a Disney trip for this kind of customer service!

 

[Jennasis]

Nobody should ever have to call the IT department to go on vacation.

OT should never ever be a customer facing department. Ever.

 

[Delirium]

That's because Disney Tech was on the other line with their tech support.

 

[lockets]

fyi
https://www.disboards.com/threads/ridiculous-hold-times-for-407-wdw-play.3873742/#post-63809155

 

[lowlight]

There's a pandemic on, you may have heard about it. It's in all the papers.

There are options though. I really like how Apple and Home Depot have the option to handle things entirely through iMessage at your own pace. It’s the evolution of the “chat” function, and is much easier to use. They could also contract out temporarily until staffing resumes. Or they could set up a voicemail or callback system.

 

[ItsOnlyMoney]

I just waited 2 hours and 44 min (called (407) 939-4357 the phone number on the link your MDE to memory maker page)
Finally got to talk to a person -- passed me over to Memory maker person -- she needed another person to link my account with the Memory Maker and "they are all in a meeting" - not sure if I believe that but she promised that she'd log my request and they'd take care of it when they get out of their meeting. We shall see. All in all my phone was in use for over 3 hours.
While I was at it I complained that I've sent 5 emails - the first on Feb 7 - over 3 weeks ago.

 

[kandb]

I just waited 2 hours and 44 min (called (407) 939-4357 the phone number on the link your MDE to memory maker page)
Finally got to talk to a person -- passed me over to Memory maker person -- she needed another person to link my account with the Memory Maker and "they are all in a meeting" - not sure if I believe that but she promised that she'd log my request and they'd take care of it when they get out of their meeting. We shall see. All in all my phone was in use for over 3 hours.
While I was at it I complained that I've sent 5 emails - the first on Feb 7 - over 3 weeks ago.

Sorry, but that is beyond unacceptable! WTH is going on with disney? Do they just not care that they are turning people off by their horrible customer service and all their price hikes? If people weren't so desperate to get away after the pandemic, they would not be as crowded as they are.

 

[Indio]

Have you tried calling an airline recently?

or the IRS, or the DMV, or a cruise line? I was on hold with Carnival Cruise lines last week for 4 hours to make a change. It's not just Disney - it's everywhere...

 

[MainMom]

There's a pandemic on, you may have heard about it. It's in all the papers.

It’s either over across the board or it’s still going. They don’t get to pick and choose when to use the pandemic to excuse poor service.

 

[CaptainAmerica]

It’s either over across the board or it’s still going.

What? There's absolutely no reason to believe that the impacts of the pandemic on the economy and the labor market must follow the exact same timeline as the pandemic's impact on public health.

 

[lowlight]

What? There's absolutely no reason to believe that the impacts of the pandemic on the economy and the labor market must follow the exact same timeline as the pandemic's impact on public health.

It's an example outside of the original discussion, but take "pandemic related socially distanced character meet and greets" vs "pre-pandemic meet and greets". Disney can cram people in parks, theaters, restaurants, queue's, gift shops, etc. without public health concerns, but socially distanced meet and greets are still here. I think people are upset because they see "if it costs Disney money to bring back, it's pandemic related. If it saves Disney money, it's a labor issue. If it makes Disney money, what pandemic are you talking about, that was so last year!". Certainly, some of it IS from each of those categories, but there is no rhyme or reason as to which.

 

[MainMom]

What? There's absolutely no reason to believe that the impacts of the pandemic on the economy and the labor market must follow the exact same timeline as the pandemic's impact on public health.

Maybe if Disney started admitting their issues people would be more understanding. Maybe if they gave a compensation for labor shortages that negatively affect guests. Maybe if they had decent customer service instead of shrugging their shoulders because they are making money.

My husband and I run a business. We had been trying to hire for a position for 9ish months. The position is licensed so specific qualifications were needed. We lost clients during this time because our other licensed professionals were solidly booked out months in advance. We were in communication with the clients who complained or made comments about not being able to get in. We refunded clients who paid in advance and wanted to go somewhere else. We let them know we were doing our best to hire. The majority were understanding even if they went somewhere else, but we didn’t say no refund or give an attitude about it while boasting about our profits. A business creates their own reputation. Response is everything.