The mysterious phone call on check out day

[Dennis the WDW Menace]

On our last trip last week we did get another phone call, this one at 9:45, with no one saying anything when I answered. This really bothered me this time, it has happened everytime for the last 2 years of our trips. I said "Hello" several times and then asked them why they were not saying anything because I knew that it was housekeeping. Shortly after that I heard the phone hang up. I called the front desk and told them that I did not apperciate housekeeping doing this and that I wanted it stopped. I do plan on telling them on our next trip that we will not be leaving until 11:00 am on check out day and that I do not want to get the housekeeping phone call.
I also adked the housekeeper about this when we were leaving and she did not answer, I could not tell if she was just ignoring us or if she could not speak English.

 

[Candace]

I have gotten these calls also, and I never check out before 11. I like your idea of telling the front desk at check in that you do not want that call on your last morning. It is really irritating to have this happen when you have been up late your last night!

 

[Figaro30]

After hearing about these calls...it is my intention upon arrival to tell the front desk that I do not want to get this call on check-out day! I plan on telling them that if in fact I do get this call, housekeeping will NOT be getting a tip from me for this entire stay. So they should relay this message to housekeeping.

Hopefully that will be enough that it won't happen. I guess we'll see soon enough.

 

[Dennis the WDW Menace]

Figaro30, I like your idea to tell them that if you do get the mysterious call that they will not get a tip. Please let me know how it goes for you. We will be returning in Jan. and I would like to do the same thing. I am to get a call from DVC about this problem. They sent me a e-mail today to let me know that someone will give me a call. I guess my complaint to them struck a nerve?
I will let you know if they do call me.

 

[GAIL HAYDEN]

I have stayed a number of times and have only had ONE from housekeeping call in all that time and one knock on the door.
I wonder if it is not another guest being funny.
Rather than call the front desk with your ultimatium, why not just call housekeeping and tell them?
I also put the do not disturb sign on my door the night before check out and also, do not use express checkout, that is the one time I got the call. Perhaps a coincidence, but, since I stopped using it ( I like to puruse the bill first) no calls.

 

[Paul in CT]

We have been about seven times since we joined in 1995 and have not yet received "the phone call" at the WDW DVC's even though we used express checkout each time. We did get a knock on the door on our last day at VB in August, but it was near 11:00 AM and the housekeeper was there to ask us when we were leaving.

A CM at the VB desk did tell us on our check-in day that they had many that stayed passed the 11:00 AM checkout despite the threat of being charged for another day. This was the explanation for why we were not able to get into our room until 4:15. I was a bit upset initially, but when I found that we got a view that I requested I felt much better.

 

[Cinderelli]

I know this thread is referring to calls at BW, however, the past two times we have been at OKW we haven't received a telephone call - we've received an actual knock on the door by housekeeping. This last time it was at 8:45 AM. We have young children and are always up by this time anyway. However, I did find it odd that they would knock this early.

We told them we wouldn't be checking out for a couple of hours. They knocked again at 10:30. I guess they just want to get ahead of the game but it was kinda annoying. I think I'd rather get the phone call.

 

[Dennis the WDW Menace]

We were staying at OKW when this happened last week. I have had this happen many times and did nothing about it at that time because I thought that it was just a guest that had the wrong number. after reading about this on this board I realized that it only happens on our check out day.

 

[JaneDE]

We also got the knock on the door at OKW on check out day on our last trip in August. They started at around 8 AM. I explained to housekeeping that we would not be leaving until 11 AM but this did not stop them from knocking at least two more times on our door before we finally left. They were pests and I was very annoyed by the time we left at 11 AM.

 

[Firefighter Mickey]

Last time we checked out at OKW, housekeeping was great. I opened the door to take out the last trash, and the housekeeping people were sitting outside enjoying the view - no knocks, no nothing. I told them that we would be out in about 1/2 hour, and they were fine with that. Of course there was a lot of activity in and out of the room, since it was a GV and 3 families were getting ready to leave, so they obviously didn't have to knock to see what was going on.

I recall that Doc did some research into this sometime back, and the housekeeping supervisor said it is absolutely not their policy to make hang-up phone calls. Of course it may be hard for a supervisor to know everything their staff is doing, when you have a large staff like this.

I think DVC should re-instate the system that they had where they ask you to call a phone number when you are leaving the room for final check-out, and then they should really advertise it and tell people about it at check-in time so that it's used.

 

[GAIL HAYDEN]

Jane,
Next time use the do not disturb sign on the outside of the door, they don't knock when that is up.

 

[GAIL HAYDEN]

Dennis,
Hmmmmmm, wonder why it is only you? I still thinking it is another guest. Wish they had *69 there, then we could find out.

 

[Dennis the WDW Menace]

Gail, as it turns out I am not the only one that has had this happen. I started to notice this when I had read about it on this board, and as Firefighter Mickey noted that Doc had looked into this in the past. I thought in the past that it was someone that just dialed the wrong number and just hung up. But this happened on check out day ONLY this past Sept, Oct. 2000, and Jan. 2001. I think it is housekeeping checking to see if someone is still in the room. If it is housekeeping why don't they just say that they are calling to see when we are checking out, why do they just say nothing and hang up. With everything that has happened in the past few weeks my wife was a little on edge and thought that someone was trying to see if we were in the room and that they were going to rob us. But that is sometimes the reaction that is evocted with this type of phone call.
I had put the "Privacy" card on the door early that morning, so we did not get the usual knock on the door at 9 am. But the next time I will state at check-in that I will not be checking out until 11 am and to request that housekeeping not call that morning. Onec or twice it may be another guest making a call, be it a wring number or a prank, but this many times it is housekeeping. Even though their supervisors deny it is happening, I think it is common practice by the working staff.
We go to OKW 4 and sometimes 5 times a year and we check out at 11 am each time, so these calls are now noticable. All I'm asking is that they stop this practice and either identify themselves or not call at all!

 

[GAIL HAYDEN]

Dennis,
This is definitely odd. Hope there is a solution for this.

 

[Figaro30]

I've read a tremendous amount of posts on here about this happening to a lot of people just on check-out day at the DVC. I highly doubt it is just stranger doing this as a prank. It is most likely housekeeping. Why else would it only happen on check-out day. How would a complete stranger know what day you are checking out? Only housekeeping would know that. Somebody in-house is definitely doing this. Not strangers on vacation.

 

[Figaro30]

PS....I've heard reports of them still knocking while the Do Not Disturb sign is out too! So I know that won't help. Hence the idea of threatening NO TIP!!! And anybody that knows me knows that this is not an empty threat. I WILL NOT TIP if this happens to me.

 

[GAIL HAYDEN]

Figaro,
I am sure the threat of no tip will work. But, I would call housekeeping with this one, not the front desk, they could care less. Maybe it would work with the GM.

 

[DizMare]

When I wrote a letter of complaint about this very thing in August, I received a phone call from the Housekeeping Manager. She denied it was policy, and said she would speak to her housekeepers, and even other housekeeping managers. Sadly, it appears that the practice continues unabated.

The manager recommended that I call the hotel operator the night before and have my phone blocked to incoming calls. I don't like to do that (as I might want to receive other important calls). She then asked that I inform housekeeping the night before and they would put a tracer on the line to see where the phone calls were coming from.

Well, that sounds like a great bother to the guest and to what end? I'd still get the phone call, and I doubt that the phone calls would stop even if they caught someone "red handed." (I suspect the calls are being made from housephones - tracing them there will prove nothing.)

My plan is to take my phone off the hook until we awaken and to place a note on my door announcing my intended check out time and requesting no phone calls or knocks.


And Dennis, if you get a call from a Housekeeping manager who insists you are the first guest to make such a complaint, give her a raspberry for me.

 

[GAIL HAYDEN]

DizMare,
Help me here, you don't want the calls blocked because you dont want to miss a call that might be important. The blocking is for the ringing part, not the calls, they can leave a message. Well, if you take the phone off the hook don't you miss calls that might be important?
Yes, it is indeed a lot of trouble for guests/members to go through, but, if it stops this harrassment, is it not worth it for the other members and yourself for future visits? If I were in the same boat, I would do it for the other members and for myself.
Remember they cannot fix what they don't know is broken.

 

[sgtdisney]

We were there in early September and didn't leave the room until almost 11AM. We never got a phone call. I wonder if it depends on the specific housekeeper assigned to a unit?