Write a complaint to Walt Disney World, but don't expect a letter back.
"We only call now," said Joni Newkirk, senior vice president of forecasting and customer feedback for the megaresort in Lake Buena Vista.
It's not just that a phone call is more personal and more likely to exceed a customer's expectations in these days of voice mail; Disney found that calling is cheaper.
Writing back requires clerical and research time. Disney also decided its trained customer service people can defuse customer problems better by pinpointing exactly what the complaint is about.
"There's nothing worse than writing a response only to learn you missed the point of their complaint," Newkirk said. "People who write their complaints tend to list a whole series of incidents."
Disney uses customer complaints as part of a process to measure the park's performance and identify problems that need to be fixed. Disney took the unusual step of making the complaint department an arm of its extensive research unit, which randomly seeks out customer feedback in monthly surveys.
Disney employees go to some lengths to find telephone numbers for those who write. They even send postcards asking for them if necessary.
"We get pretty obsessive about getting dissatisfied guests on the phone," Newkirk said. "We'll call them five times before giving up."
