Disney Cracking Down on Refillable Mugs?

[WDWHound]

I have never been one to participate in the refillable mug threads that appear from time to time on various DIS boards, but this Mouse Planet article caught my attention...

http://www.mouseplanet.com/mike/refillable_mugs_policy_changes.htm

In short, it states that your mug will have a bar code on it that you will need to have scanned before you get a free refill. Your mug will only work at the resort you are staying at and only for the length of your stay. No more bringing the mug back vacation after vacation.

Given the emotion I have seen on previous refillable mug threads, this change is bound to cheese off a lot of people.

 

[All Aboard]

There's a huge thread on the Resorts board about this. I didn't want to post in the middle of that, but I'll say my bit here.

We can be classified as "offenders" of the policy. We purchase new mugs each time the design changes, but re-use them on future trips. We NEVER use mugs from a different resort and NEVER us anything other than the refillable mugs at the drink stations.

We make so many 2 or 3 day trips that buying new mugs each time would be a bad $ decision. We get maybe 3 refills per trip (we just don't trek to the food court too often.)

I don't think that many folks are abusing the system. Recently, the All Stars switched to new mugs. I saw very few of the old style being used on my last trip.

It seems like the cost of the system and the elimination of the efficiency may drive guests to decide against purchasing. If, as some reports describe, a guest would have to go back through the checkout line before refilling, that would really stink. If, as other reports suggest, the barcode reader would be built into the drink station - isn't that costly and prone to malfunctions?

This one isn't that big of a deal to me. We bring lots of water and soda on each trip - and as I said, I tap the drink station very little.

Seems to me that Disney is trying to crackdown on a few of us miscreants but might impact the overall guest experience for the vast majority of others. It may be a case of forest and trees.

Another corrolary issue is the fact that many CMs have been telling guests over the years to bring back the mugs in the future. I know that the official policy states "for the length of your stay" but nowhere does it say "not in the future." My guess would be that if it WERE such a big deal, resort management would make it clear to the CMs NOT to pass along such information.

I really don't get this one.

 

[Bstanley]

You know it's funny how things that have such a minimal impact on the bottom line, but are 'in your face' will end up having such significance.

For the average visitors staying at a Disney resort once every 3 years this change is literally not even on their or Disney's monetary radar. The odds of those folks staying at the same resort, saving the mugs, remembering to bring them, etc. are just too small to contemplate.

Conversely the twice a year visitors, staying at their favorite Disney resort - the handful of people who Disney will actually save any money on - are the very people most likely to get 'cheesed' enough to do something about it!

It's almost enough to make you change cars! NYAH!

This is a decision by some mid-level corporate drone trying to impress somebody and when the numbers don't work out the various resort managers will make sure that it goes away.

 

[JAP]

YEAH! Maybe it will put an end to all the debating. We never visited the food court enough to get our moneys worth out of the whole refillable mug.

 

[mattjs]

This is a decision by some mid-level corporate drone trying to impress somebody and when the numbers don't work out the various resort managers will make sure that it goes away.

Well said. Couldn't agree more. And clearly that's the manner in which resort managers have already chosen to "implement" the "length of stay" policy. They've been making this one go away since day one.

Personally, we buy new mugs every trip cause we like to. But then, we're only down there about once a year so we're still stocking the collection.

 

[MikePezz]

This is just an operations nightmare. There is NO WAY that the cost of implementing such a system is less than the money saved. Did they even ask for any input from the cast members in the food courts? I am sure they know how much (or how little actually) of this "illegal refilling" actually occurs. Give me a freaking break. Someone once said, "It is the little things." I agree. Farewell Car #1.

Mike

 

[All Aboard]

From limited memory, The Straw that Broke the Car #1 Back:

YoHo - rumor of eliminated Seven Seas Lagoon Water Shuttles
gcurling - EE
MikePezz - Refills


__________

OK, I've done some more thought on this. Another potential problem is with coffee and hot chocolate. How will a bar code system work on these? And, the drink stations are pretty big (about 10 or 12 dispensers on each.) What prevents somebody from piggybacking off of anothers validated coke run? What about the paper cups sold for single use? Will they need bar codes?

I've struggled through the logic of this. It benefits Disney two ways. 1) reduced cost of "unauthorized" refills and 2) increased revenue from the sale of mugs to the former "unauthorized users". The combination of these two must drive profit in excess of the cost of implementation in order to generate a return.

So, consider me (the offender) I will likely not buy new mugs because my trips are short in length. So, no new revenue from me and very little reduced cost. I'm sure there are some offenders that will buy new mugs, but how many $'s are we talking about. The other consideration is the lost revenue from the short stayers who may have previously been sold on the prospect of using the mugs in the future. And, the lost revenue from guest who view the whole bar code thing (how ever it is implemented) as an inefficient process.

I would guess that WDW profited on 99.99% of the mugs they sold. The worst offenders would be the only ones on which they lost money. On many (short trippers) they cleaned up. Those short-trippers may now choose not to buy. This seemed like a policy best just left alone.

 

[YoHo]

Just to Clarify, I don't see how implementing the Bar code would be particularly expensive or hard to implement. The local Supermarket out here (Fred Meyer) lets you scan you're food and checkout without checker intervention. the implementation at WDW would actually be easier.

 

[mattjs]

I agree, the policy is what the policy is and people ought to abide by it. But, when it comes to enforcement (probly too strong a word in reference to a refil policy ) the managers have spoken clearly on this one.

Based on the number of folks on the boards that reuse mugs on repeat trips, in general, resort managers have decided not to get involved in the policing of mug use. No sense causing a scene in the middle of a food court over a couple people improperly reusing mugs. That just makes everybody uncomfortable. The CM who has to stop the person, the person being stopped, the people standing/sitting around watching a potential "scene" unfold. They all walk away with an uncomfortable feeling...so no... no way is it worth it to make a few more bucks.

If there's a simple way to just add this barcode to the mugs then sure. But it needs to be an automated system requiring no policing cause I don't ever see it being enforced at the staff level. I mean who wants to play the heavy over a soda refill?

 

[All Aboard]

Chad, follow some logic with me.

Fact: This is a "big deal", Disney is implementing a new policy.

Fact: Food Court CMs have consistenly told guests that they could bring the mugs back in the future.

Inference: If it were a "big deal" why wouldn't resort management make a point to explain how big a "no-no" it is to tell guests such a thing?

Fact: When emailing for clarification of the policy, never do the replies specifically state that future refills are against the policy. They simply state and policy (even when a guest has specifically asked - "can I use them in the future.")

I still don't get why this policy change is so necessary.

 

[AKemel]

So let me get it right, if there are no signs that say, "No cuing in the lines" and if CM does not prevent a visitor from cutting in, it is OK?

Just want to know because I would hate for Disney to lose me as a guest just because they do not let me cut the line once in a while.

 

[hopemax]

Based on my experience with refillable mugs at WL, I was very clearly told that they were good for this visit only. No ambiguity there.

You wanna hear my WL experience? The year was 1997. We (my parents, my fiance & me) were at the hotel just checking things out and grabbed lunch at Roaring Forks.

CM: "Are you interested in our refillable mug?"

Me: "We're not staying here, so no."

CM: "Are you planning to stay at WL in the future?"

Me: "Actually yes, my honeymoon next December."

CM: "The mugs are good for life, so you could buy one now and bring it back with you on your honeymoon."

Me: "I can! Great! I'll take one."

 

[MikePezz]

I just want to clarify something. I am not upset that Disney is enforcing this rule (if length of stay was the rule to begin with--which I debate--I was always told "the mug is good forever"). I am upset at the thinking behind the decision. Is stopping repeat refill offenders really the best place to be focusing on right now? Is the money saved going to be worth the time, effort, and frankly the ticked off guests? Let's get priorities straight dang it!

 

[DVC-Landbaron]

From limited memory, The Straw that Broke the Car #1 Back:

YoHo - rumor of eliminated Seven Seas Lagoon Water Shuttles
gcurling - EE
MikePezz – Refills

LandBaron – shortened hours (1998)

 

[airlarry!]

The correct timeline, Sir Scoop, is:

Mugs came out. Refillable forever (unstated in some cases, for sure). Big price of $7-10 PER MUG, and they hold LESS THAN 12 oz!! Don't believe me? Try it yourselves!

Then some people allegedly abused the use of a $9 mug with .10 of refills of drink. Don't belive me? Ask anyone who owns a nationally recognized franchise how much is the profit margin on a cup of cola with ice. But they changed the policy (or begrudgingly, they articulated the policy) that it was for same visits only.

Now, the alleged abuse of a $9 mug with .10 refills on the .1% of guests who fill up their suitcase with the five mugs they had from the previous trip at the exact same hotel leads them to UPC barcode the drinks?

I'm scratching my head here. They can't do BK. They can't add transportation options. They can't fix the lagoon. They won't do Pooh/Aquatopia here. They can't even have Mickey head butter.

But they can't spend whatever it will cost to implement a system to recoup the molehills of profits they have lost on this issue? If I sound a bit peeved, it is because I too was one of the ones who got mugs from the all-stars in 1995 and were told it was lifetime. How else would you convince a guy on a four-day trip that purchasing eleven (11!!!) mugs at $8 a pop was a good deal? You can't.

 

[DVC-Landbaron]

can't even have Mickey head butter.

Don't ya just love it when Mickey head butter makes it into a thread!!!

 

[EUROPA]

I can help I worked my way though college at Chick-Fil-A as a manager in a couple of stores.

A large drink in most Fast Food places cost about 25 cents (cup, ice, ovehead, wages). Most of that is tied up in the cup and the overhead, the drink it's self cost very little. (Tea cost less). Drinks and Fries are the money makers for Fast Food places they make a killing on it and often is where the profit comes from. They make little money on the the big items like hamburgers, Nuggets and stuff like that.

Disney is almost 100% profft though, as they get the product almost for free( if not completly).

The numbers for attempting something like this really don't add up. They are just going to end up with a ton of customer complaints and may lose money due to more and more people just bringing their own.

If they do attempt this lets just hope the remeber to put the scanner so that you can scan your mug without having to turn it over. I can see it now you have to flip your mug over to scan it and all of the ice and drink that you did have in there is on the floor now. Which would also lead to more people dumping out what was left of their drink to just get more when all they wanted to do was top it off.

Another bad idea by Disney

 

[All Aboard]

I do think there is merit to the question: "What has been Disney's official policy?"

The policy is "during the length of your stay." Clearly that discourages future use.

BUT, I wouldn't be shocked if the REAL policy were for CMs to tell guests (when asked) that, yes, in fact you can use them in the future. ESPECIALLY when a purchase decision is at stake.

The one point that really makes me think so is that when anybody emails Disney and asks (quite specifically) "Can I use the mug in the future" I've never seen a response of "No."

In fact, I've never read where a CM, supervisor, manager or anyone has told a guest that they, in fact, cannot use the mug in the future.

Everyone always points to the "official policy". I really think there is a strategy there. Write a policy that discourages it (rather ENcourages future purchases of mugs) but, tell a slightly different story when pinned to the wall with the question.

If the policy were so strict, there's no doubt that CMs would be specifically coached to tell guests - no future refills. But that hasn't happened in the past and not even recently. Why not? Why do CMs routinely answer that you can use the mugs in the future. If this were the big problem that it now appears to be, I am CERTAIN that CMs would have been coached to properly answer the question.

I've even read where resort managers have said to guests that they love to see the old mugs, it means guests enjoyed the resort enough to return.

Again, I just don't get this sudden change of course paired with capital expenditure to enforce it. It doesn't add up.

 

[Badger Brent]

I will from now on bring my cooler stocked to the gills with bottled soda. This will mean less trips to the food court and less impulse purchases while I'm getting my refill. If I'm not mistaken, isn't Disney kind of built on impulse purchases? With my cooler in my room, I will probably also stock it with more snack items. I think this will be the way for more people going to Disney. Yes, I'm one of those who bought the mugs with the idea they were good for future visits. I purchased them for the following places, WL, DxL, CBR, All SP. Oh well, I can live with the new rules. But I bet this one is going to be tweaked in the months to come!!

 

[Zimbubba]

They should eliminate the mugs alltogether. Problem solved.