New charge for Bell Service Delivery

[MarkinNM]

$6 is NOTHING...............................

Come on folks just imagine how many do this and the logistics of storage, deliveries and managing it ALL......wow if it is that important to have whatever you needed to order in advance then $6 is a gift.................

 

[goofy4tink]

Here's my issue....I'm staying DVC. Even a studio allows me to make some basic meals in my room. So, my options are 1. have groceries delivered, 2. rent a car and get my own groceries, or 3. use DVCs grocery order form. I may have dietary needs that preclude using the DVC order form..it is somewhat limited to what the resort shop offers. If I rent a car, that adds another $30-40 due to rental costs, if I rent for just one day. And having groceries delivered will cost me that $6. Fine, $6 isn't a ton of money. But....what is that $6 for? Bell Services is getting $1, Disney gets the other $5. It's the same as that parking fee. What did Disney do to improve the parking or to justify the cost for it's guests? Nothing. They just decided it would be a nice charge, easy money in their pockets.
I've seen very few huge grocery orders being delivered at non-DVC resorts. Sure, water and snacks. But not anything you could make a meal out of. So, for those staying in a villa, with complete cooking facilities, you now get charged a delivery charge for groceries that are delivered to you. And many of these DVC resorts mean a very convoluted hike to Bell Services to get your groceries if you decide to forgo the charge and get them yourself. Can you imagine staying at OKW, or SSR, and having to get to Bell Services to get your delivered bags of groceries?

I can well afford the addtl $6 charge, as well as the addtl parking fee if it's a non-DVC stay. But for me, it's the principal. I'm now paying for something that I had as complimentary for years. It seems to me that those that don't order groceries, or drive their cars, may have a change of heart if/when Disney decides to start charging a daily resort fee. Almost every other resort/hotel in the area does this..including the S/D. I don't think it's far fetched that Disney might do this. I'm pretty sure people will feel differently about these extra charges then.

 

[DonnaL]

I have no problem paying a $6 fee for having groceries delivered to the room. The other alternative, especially when staying at OKW or SSR, would be the dilemma of getting those groceries from the lobby area to whatever building we are in? Not a good dilemma, especially when one of the items is usually a case of water! We have always had our groceries delivered by Bell Services, but, always schedule our grocery delivery so that we can meet and accept the delivery ourselves at the port cochere and then, we ask Bell Services to deliver it to our room. Sometimes, it's only a case of water and maybe three plastic bags (if it's only DH and I). Other times (when our adult kids and grandkids are with us) it could be two or more cases of water and 10 to 12 bags of groceries. Only on a rare occasion (since 2001) would we have Bell Services actually accept the delivery and store it. I will say over the years I have noticed grocery deliveries increasing substantially and would imagine they do take up a good portion of Bell Services job duties and requires more personnel to be on shift at any given time....and as anything in the service industry....the cost will be passed on to the consumer/guest.

 

[kaytieeldr]

Here's my issue....I'm staying DVC. Even a studio allows me to make some basic meals in my room. So, my options are 1. have groceries delivered, 2. rent a car and get my own groceries, or 3. use DVCs grocery order form. I may have dietary needs that preclude using the DVC order form..it is somewhat limited to what the resort shop offers. If I rent a car, that adds another $30-40 due to rental costs, if I rent for just one day. And having groceries delivered will cost me that $6.

If you have Bell Services then deliver the delivered purchases to your room, then yes.

 

[Disnerdette]

I order, at minimum, a case of bottled water via Amazon Prime Now. Usually a few other things, but always a case of water. It costs me $4-$6 for 24 bottles of water. I do this because I can't stand paying for bottles of water in the park for about the same price that a CASE of water will cost me.

A $6 delivery fee is two bottles of water for one park day, so I see it as just another cost savings.

(And yes, I know that you can go up to a QS and ask for water and its free but I like being able to close my bottle of water and shove it in my backpack or purse.)

 

[MarkinNM]

Here's my issue....having groceries delivered will cost me that $6. Fine, $6 isn't a ton of money. But....what is that $6 for? Bell Services is getting $1, Disney gets the other $5. It's the same as that parking fee. What did Disney do to improve the parking or to justify the cost for it's guests? Nothing. They just decided it would be a nice charge, easy money in their pockets.

I honestly believe it is NOT a cash grab as some might think, this sounds like a full time job and I bet Disney had to hire some full time employees to just do this job alone, thus the cost, which I agree in those using the service should indeed pay for it, just my 2 cents for what it is worth......

 

[dansdad]

I order, at minimum, a case of bottled water via Amazon Prime Now. Usually a few other things, but always a case of water. It costs me $4-$6 for 24 bottles of water. I do this because I can't stand paying for bottles of water in the park for about the same price that a CASE of water will cost me.

A $6 delivery fee is two bottles of water for one park day, so I see it as just another cost savings.

(And yes, I know that you can go up to a QS and ask for water and its free but I like being able to close my bottle of water and shove it in my backpack or purse.)

Another option is getting a case of water at your resort. They are $6.99 for a case.

 

[snappy]

We have purchased a gallon of distilled water for a CPAP machine at the Screen Door resort store at BW, so its available too. I think it’s close to $3 now.

 

[jo-jo]

Another option is getting a case of water at your resort. They are $6.99 for a case.

Do they have the full case again? The grocery list from BLT only has the 8 pk of 12 oz. bottle for $4. The list is from a year ago.

 

[MainMom]

Another option is getting a case of water at your resort. They are $6.99 for a case.

Last year at AKL all they had were a 6 or 8 pack of the small bottles. No cases. We asked.

 

[mickeyluv'r]

You could very well be right.

However Disney could have been smarter about this. Most people already feel like they are paying $400/night for a hotel room that's worth $200 everywhere else. So they feel like all these services should be included in the premium they are paying to stay at Disney. Honestly they raise the room prices every year, they should have just included this $6 in a room hike. Yes the $6 is fair for that service, but include it with the room. Just raise the room price $6 and avoid the complaining.

Oh, I'd say, by my estimate- they did both.

I'm still reeling a bit from the changes in ticket prices and policies. It is just stupid that tickets are no longer valid for a 14 day window.

This new SW rides better be real blockbusters!

We're frogs in a pot, I'm afraid, and WDW keeps tacking on $20 here, an extra $50 there. WDW used to tout itself as the kind of place where customers paid a premium up front for a number of services that were included.

Maybe WDW hired some folks from the airline industry?

 

[Traveling on cc points]

I honestly believe it is NOT a cash grab as some might think, this sounds like a full time job and I bet Disney had to hire some full time employees to just do this job alone, thus the cost, which I agree in those using the service should indeed pay for it, just my 2 cents for what it is worth......[/QUOTE]

Bell services isn't a true paid position, they are paid below minimum wage like a waiter/waitress because they are expected to get tips to bring them above minimum wage. The $6 per order will pay thier entire hourly pay.
People have already stated that they won't tip with the new policy or will tip less.
Customers lose out because we have to pay more
The poor cm's delivering the groceries will loose out because they will make less in Tips.
Disney is the only winner here. They have managed to make guests pay the entire salary of thier bell service people with a seperate charge.
At the very least disney should be splitting the $6 with the cm to make up for the lost tips.

 

[Mkhrun]

Here's my issue....I'm staying DVC. Even a studio allows me to make some basic meals in my room. So, my options are 1. have groceries delivered, 2. rent a car and get my own groceries, or 3. use DVCs grocery order form. I may have dietary needs that preclude using the DVC order form..it is somewhat limited to what the resort shop offers. If I rent a car, that adds another $30-40 due to rental costs, if I rent for just one day. And having groceries delivered will cost me that $6. Fine, $6 isn't a ton of money. But....what is that $6 for? Bell Services is getting $1, Disney gets the other $5. It's the same as that parking fee. What did Disney do to improve the parking or to justify the cost for it's guests? Nothing. They just decided it would be a nice charge, easy money in their pockets.
I've seen very few huge grocery orders being delivered at non-DVC resorts. Sure, water and snacks. But not anything you could make a meal out of. So, for those staying in a villa, with complete cooking facilities, you now get charged a delivery charge for groceries that are delivered to you. And many of these DVC resorts mean a very convoluted hike to Bell Services to get your groceries if you decide to forgo the charge and get them yourself. Can you imagine staying at OKW, or SSR, and having to get to Bell Services to get your delivered bags of groceries?

I can well afford the addtl $6 charge, as well as the addtl parking fee if it's a non-DVC stay. But for me, it's the principal. I'm now paying for something that I had as complimentary for years. It seems to me that those that don't order groceries, or drive their cars, may have a change of heart if/when Disney decides to start charging a daily resort fee. Almost every other resort/hotel in the area does this..including the S/D. I don't think it's far fetched that Disney might do this. I'm pretty sure people will feel differently about these extra charges then.

I don't understand this thinking about a lot of things. Just because they didn't charge you before, why must they "improve" something to validate the charge? With parking I'm guessing they saw more and more people driving and was creating a congestion/parking problem at the resorts. A way to discourage this is to charge a fee. Less people driving. Less people parking. There is your "improvement." I'm guessing they saw more and more people ordering food as it's much simpler to order things from multiple platforms online. That means bell service is going back and forth between rooms more often, meaning they aren't available for other tasks. To curb this, they charge a small fee to either pay for more workers to handle t he larger load of work or to discourage people from using the service and allowing those employees to manage other tasks.

 

[3threebabies]

I honestly believe it is NOT a cash grab as some might think, this sounds like a full time job and I bet Disney had to hire some full time employees to just do this job alone, thus the cost, which I agree in those using the service should indeed pay for it, just my 2 cents for what it is worth......

I don't understand this thinking about a lot of things. Just because they didn't charge you before, why must they "improve" something to validate the charge? With parking I'm guessing they saw more and more people driving and was creating a congestion/parking problem at the resorts. A way to discourage this is to charge a fee. Less people driving. Less people parking. There is your "improvement." I'm guessing they saw more and more people ordering food as it's much simpler to order things from multiple platforms online. That means bell service is going back and forth between rooms more often, meaning they aren't available for other tasks. To curb this, they charge a small fee to either pay for more workers to handle t he larger load of work or to discourage people from using the service and allowing those employees to manage other tasks.

Both of the above observations are on point. The $6 is not to increase Disney’s market cap by billions. It is not punishment or disincentive for your personal business. It is basic economics.

Providers of goods and services raise prices for many reasons; bean counters have a purpose. When expenses go up, a business either chooses to cover the cost or have the consumer pay. Parking fees and resort fees are a good example of actually charging the customers who choose to use the service. While Disney chooses to have transportation costs divided among all resort guests (even those who do not use transportation), they instead chose to have only those parking and ordering online groceries to pay in this case. I am sure the reasons are multi-causal.

More cars mean more upkeep and parking lots/structures. Charging for parking helps recoup expenses and may discourage customers from driving. Fewer customers driving means those resources can be used elsewhere. Before this thread, I never considered the gargantuan task created by grocery orders. We do not choose to purchases groceries, so I never really thought about it at all. I am sure bean counters have analyzed the exact percentage of grocery orders by individual resort, time of year, etc. I am relatively sure those percentages were never going to decrease with previous policies. As with parking, now Disney can better handle grocery storage and delivery and charge directly those who use the service.

I can think of numerous vendors I have frequented in my life who charge for things that were once complimentary. My child is almost 14. Stuff costs way more now than when he was born. Some price increases were slowly annualized, but I have had multiple instances of sticker shock. I live in a state with very high gas taxes. Gas has increased by at least 20 cents this month. Easter isn’t even here yet, so I do not see a downward turn any time soon. Netflix is raising their prices. I can change my behavior or pay more—basic rules of economics.

 

[TheSouthernBelle]

WOW, just read the comments and statements and some people are down right cheap. No not frugal but just cheap. I get frugal, I myself am frugal. But stiffing people in positions that rely on tips is just WRONG. You are shelling out a good bit of cash for your trip, a lot already by the time your groceries are being delivered. I get it, so you're already trying to save money by having some food delivered to not eat out so much and cut your disney food costs while on vacay. But to not tip a bell hop who brings your groceries, WOW, that's just plain rude. I have been on these boards and have seen how grocery delivery has grown over the years just based on the number of grocery threads. I don't know to what extent the delivery of groceries has gone up but I would guess it's increased with a direct correlation of the grocers and amazon that will now deliver to your resorts. To now task your bell hop with grocery delivery (that really could be coming at all times of the day not just check in) on top of luggage, I just can't see why there wouldn't be a cost for that really. And as always, if you can't pay a tip for something or don't want to pay the fee for that service, then don't do it. You can drive or uber to the Publix and buy your own groceries if you don't like the fee. Disney doesn't need your money in case you haven't noticed.

 

[snappy]

I believe the point expressed by other posters is that they are and have been in the past fine with tipping bell services staff, it’s the fee Disney wants to add that’s the sticking point.

We pick up our groceries during an included grocery stop using a car service. I tip the bell services staff well for the service of bringing our luggage, groceries, and owners locker to our room in one trip. The tips are not the problem here, the new fee is. Having said that anyone who starts reducing or forgoing the tip due to the fee isn’t hurting Disney, they are hurting bell services staff.

 

[Hopefully]

I believe the point expressed by other posters is that they are and have been in the past fine with tipping because services staff, it’s the fee Disney wants to add that’s the sticking point.

We pick up our groceries during an included grocery stop using a car service. I tip the bell services staff well for the service of bringing our luggage, groceries, and owners locker to our room in one trip. The tips are not the problem here, the new fee is. Having said that anyone who starts reducing or forgoing the tip due to the fee isn’t hurting Disney, they are hurting bell services staff.

And it is the Bell Services staff I feel for.

 

[vacationer1954]

Another factor in this is that only some guests use the service. Any service that isn't broadly used should be covered by surcharge rather than included. While we don't see a decrease in room rates coming out of this, we probably are seeing a smaller increase than there would have been if all the things Disney charges extra for were included instead.

 

[snappy]

Using that theory, the people using ME should be charged for it (many drive, use Uber or a car service).

 

[kaytieeldr]

One other thing I haven't mentioned yet is no other hotel or resort that I've stayed at in Orlando charges a fee for grocery storage or delivery. Disney would be the only one.

At how many of the hotels you've stayed at, though, are there multiple, sometimes extensive, grocery orders delivered to Bell Services and then by Bell Services to the guest rooms?