Walker Mobility - Beware of Owner

[RumpleMom]

When I made a reservation with Walker Mobility, I was asked how I heard of them, and I said on the Dis. That should indicate to the company that if their service is not good that also will be reported on the Dis. Thus, let them know you will be reporting back to the Dis.

 

[shellybaxter]

When I made a reservation with Walker Mobility, I was asked how I heard of them, and I said on the Dis. That should indicate to the company that if their service is not good that also will be reported on the Dis. Thus, let them know you will be reporting back to the Dis.

Funny you should mention this. Apparently someone from Walkers did read this thread. They called me and asked me to give them another chance. I have already pre-paid to Randy's so I declined but I thought it was an upright thing to do and I will likely give them another chance in the future

 

[mom3sonstt]

I have used Walkers for 4 trips now and plan to use them again in June.

That said, I was disappointed on my last trip. I was staying at Animal Kingdom Lodge - on the Kidani Village side. I booked my ECV online - it asks what resort. I typed in Animal Kingdom Lodge. I have never stayed there before, to me Jambo House and Kidani Village are two parts of the same resort. When we checked in my ECV was not there. It had been delivered to Jambo House. That was irritating but not a major problem. I had to wait about an hour for the AKL CMs to bring it over.

The day we checked out I left my scooter with bell services at Kidani Village. The next day Walkers went to pick it up and couldn't find it (they went to Jambo House) and called and left me a message on my cell phone (I was on a plane at the time) asking where it was and if we needed it longer. I called back to tell them where I left it and was told that "Animal Kingdom Lodge and Kidani Village were two different locations"......uh, no there is Jambo House and Kidani Village - both of which are part of Animal Kingdom Lodge. If they wanted me to be specific they should have called my when I submitted my reservation and asked which part I was staying at - or when they delivered it, confirmed that I was at that part of the resort.

When I got home I sent an email commenting on how I felt like a simple misunderstanding was making me feel like I was being blamed for doing something wrong. I got a follow-up phone call. When I first heard it was Walker on the phone, I thought they would apologize for the misunderstanding. Nope the person on the line (I did not get his name) did not apologize, or even comment on the situation - he evidently was told to make a follow-up call and he assumed dialing the phone was enough. I explained what had happened, how I felt when I got the call asking me what I had done with the scooter, and that I gave them correct information - if it wasn't enough information they should have requested more. All he said was basically "ok, I just wanted to follow-up".

As far as the ECV's go I have never had a problem - one of the ones I got I had a slight problem in reverse, I called and left a message after hours, received a new scooter the following morning.

I will use them again in on our June trip - I will just be extremely explicit about where we are staying and what I want (I prefer the scooters with just a plug in, not the whole battery charger thing).

I do like that they will leave the ECVs with bell services - that I don't have to be there to meet them when they deliver it. That is why we went with them in the first place over some of the others.

 

[Mickey_guy]

I rented from Walker for the first time this past November. I arrived the day after Thanksgiving and the scooter was waiting for me. There was an issue with the scooter battery keeping the charge for the full day. Called Walker's and a replacement at the hotel within 2 hours.

I has happy with the service.

 

[kaytieeldr]

I will use them again in on our June trip - I will just be extremely explicit about where we are staying and what I want (I prefer the scooters with just a plug in, not the whole battery charger thing).

I do like that they will leave the ECVs with bell services - that I don't have to be there to meet them when they deliver it. That is why we went with them in the first place over some of the others.

Can't see how Walker is at fault. They can't be expected to know that the customer doesn't know enough about their chosen hotel to know it's in two (very) distinct) sections about a half-mile apart. You typed "Animal Kingdom Lodge" which is the original name of the original resort. The designation Jambo House was added when the DVC construction was planned, to differentiate between the two.

Now, granted, Walker didn't deliver to the part of the resort where you were staying - but you didn't ask them to. Then, they naturally expected to pick up from the same location where they left it, since even if you told them you were in the DVC section, you didn't tell them you would be leaving the ECV in a location other than where they delivered it.

As for delivering to Bell Services vs. directly to the customer - MOST of the rental agencies drop at Bell Services. Only Randy's delivers in person - not a bad thing at all, since they can ascertain the customer's ability, get the rental agreement 'live-signed', demonstrate assembling/disassembling the ECV.

 

[mom3sonstt]

Can't see how Walker is at fault. They can't be expected to know that the customer doesn't know enough about their chosen hotel to know it's in two (very) distinct) sections about a half-mile apart. You typed "Animal Kingdom Lodge" which is the original name of the original resort. The designation Jambo House was added when the DVC construction was planned, to differentiate between the two.

Now, granted, Walker didn't deliver to the part of the resort where you were staying - but you didn't ask them to. Then, they naturally expected to pick up from the same location where they left it, since even if you told them you were in the DVC section, you didn't tell them you would be leaving the ECV in a location other than where they delivered it.
...

<biting tongue>.....<taking deep breaths>..... I am very much aware that the resort I was staying in was two different buildings. I am also aware that they are "both" Animal Kingdom Lodge. No, I did not specifically ask for them to deliver it to Kidani Village......nor did I ask them to deliver it to Jambo House..... Since they deliver to both on a regular basis I would think they could have followed up and asked for the specific location. Now I am aware I should have anticipated that, but since they are there on a daily basis and I am not so I put that responsibility to request a clarification on their shoulders. If I would have typed in "All Stars" not realizing there were 3 different "All Stars" I would expect them to call and ask which one. Since both Jambo and Kidani are part of Animal Kingdom Lodge and I did not specify either they could have made a call.

As far as the pick up - if they picked up at Jambo and it was not there, and knowing there was a problem at delivery (I called them when we discovered it was not there at check-in) how hard would it have been to drive around the bend and check there - or to have bell services in one location call the other. I am sure this was not the first time this specific thing has happened. When I was checking in the CM did not seem worried at all that my stuff (ECV or dialysis supplies) were not there because as he says "it happens all the time". And in regards to my dialysis supplies being delivered to the wrong location - I made several phone calls to find the actual delivery address for the Kidani front desk since my supplier needs an address that is recognizable by the computer system (the address on my reservation confirmation did not work) in order to place my order - they were also delivered to Jambo House in spite of having the Kidani address and "Animal Kingdom L Kidani" on the label. (Obviously not anything to do with Walkers - but obviously the two locations get stuff for each other by mistake regularly)

It will not be an issue in the future as we will probably not be staying at AKL (either Jambo or Kidani) again, it was a nice resort but the location and the theming wasn't "us".

 

[jbird327]

My only experience with renting from Walker was this past Jan 09. I got a standard wheelchair for my mom. The first one had a bad bearing or something on one wheel which was squeeking loudly and made pushing a bit difficult. I called and a replacement was out that evening. My only concern was why they would send out such a bad chair in the first place - but all was handled properly when I called.

 

[mousey]

We rented from Best Price Mobility the week after Christmas with no problems. This was our 3rd rental and you can't beat the price and they give you a 10% off for future visits.
Prior to these rentals I rented from Buena Vista Scooters. No problems with them, but this company was a lot cheaper. When I asked Buena vista to match the price, they refused.

 

[disneymom3]

I just want to point out that two negative experiences with Walker (one detailed, one mentioned) and one each with Randy's and Buena Vista - especially considering the volume each company handles - shouldn't turn people away from any of these companies. Heck, the first time I rented from one of the other companies listed in the FAQ, they were supposed to have the ECV at Pop about nine hours before I arrived. They apparently delivered it to the wrong hotel, and wouldn't be able to get it to me for several more hours! Pop CMs were fantastic - and that experience did NOT turn me off from that company. I have rented from them since.

The other thing to consider is that people in general, are much more likely to make comments/post about bad experiences than good. The last business stats I heard on that was that for every complaint you get, there are 1000 that didn't complain. For every compliment or praise, there are 10,000 who didn't say anything.

Not that you don't want to read what people have to say, but just to realize it is one person's experience. I am renting from Care next week because I didn't want to rent from Randy's and have to be there to do pick up and drop off.

 

[chaoslobster]

I've rented from Care two years in a row now and been pleasantly surprised by their customer service. BOTH times I had problems with delivery, but it wasn't Care's fault either one -- I stayed at the Pop Century and it seems their bell services employees don't bother to check too closely when somebody shows up asking to pick up a scooter. My scooter had been given to somebody else both times despite having a rather large tag on it with my surname and reservation number. The first time I panicked, thinking that there was no scooter there for me, and I called Care on the spot and spoke to the owner. I was shocked that it's the owner who answers the phone. He confirmed for me that my scooter had indeed been delivered to the Pop not two hours before, and that I was in the correct place to pick it up. He advised me to talk to the bell services guys again and let them know that my scooter WAS there, and that if they still couldn't come up with it, he would have another one delivered within an hour. Fortunately they did "find" my scooter after glancing at the signature sign-out sheet and realizing they'd given it to someone else.

The next year, they did the exact same thing again. Lather, rinse, repeat. I once again called Care and spoke to the exact same guy, the owner, and just asked him if he could confirm that the scooter had been delivered, so that I had some ammo when confronting Bell Services. He was happy to do so and let me know that this happens at the Pop frequently! Once again he was very friendly and told me that if by some chance they couldn't come up with the scooter that had been delivered to them just a few hours earlier WITH MY NAME ON IT, that he'd send another one and have it there within an hour.

I'm currently planning this year's trip and I intend to book with Care a third time. I admit, after reading this thread I'm tempted to go and see what the prices are at the other places, because I hadn't realized Care was more expensive... but honestly, if we're only talking about a difference of $50 or so, I'm willing to pay a bit more (just a bit; I'm not made of money!) for the kind of service Care has given me in the past.

Edit: I'm not sure I'm allowed to post prices here on the DIS... I checked the FAQ and some other places but could not find a ruling on that, so if it's not allowed, I'm so sorry! In any case, I just checked the websites for Care Medical, Walker Mobility, and Best Price Mobility. All three state an identical price of $30 per day for a standard 3-wheel scooter. Care drops the price to $25 per day after the first week, and Walker states "special rates for extended stays available" but doesn't give a number. Since the prices are the same across the board, I'll be going with Care for a third year.

Jenni

 

[kaytieeldr]

I stayed at the Pop Century and it seems their bell services employees don't bother to check too closely when somebody shows up asking to pick up a scooter. My scooter had been given to somebody else both times despite having a rather large tag on it with my surname and reservation number.

And this is just one of the reasons I do like Randy's so much. I know nobody's going to give my scooter to the wrong person, since they deliver it directly TO me.

 

[arminnie]

And this is just one of the reasons I do like Randy's so much. I know nobody's going to give my scooter to the wrong person, since they deliver it directly TO me.

Another Randy's fan here. I have chronic fatigue and often cannot predict ahead of time if I will need an ecv or not. Randy's has always come through even when I don't give them much notice.

I've had Randy personally bring an ecv to me. All of his service people have been great too.

 

[justtobeme2]

I used scootorlando last year and it was perfect and so was the service. It was waiting on me when I got there and fully charged. It was picked up when I left, I guess, haha because I had no further contact. It was in really good shape too. The only thing is they are a little more expensive so I am trying to go a little less so this trip....thinking of Randy's or trying Apple.

 

[Lou-Ann]

Just wanted to say that I have used Walker for years and once had to leave a couple of days early. I left my scooter at the hotel and was told the hotle would call Walker to come get it. They did not. Months later i called Walker to see why my bill was not adjusted. When I told them I flew home early they took the extra days off my bill no questions asked. That is service.....I will used them again.