What is my RECOURSE?

[Kathy C]

I made reservation for a studio on Jun 18, '01 for May 11-17, 2002. Called Feb 5 to change to a one bedroom. Was able to get the one bed for Sat, May 11, 13, 14, 15 and kept the studio for May 12 and 16 and wait listed a one bedroom for those two nights. I am on the phone now with member services to see if a the one bedroom was available for those nights. Come to find out the person completely cancelled my first reservation and we don't have a room for May 12 and 16. She admitted to me that they made a mistake. I have hung up and am now waiting for a supervisor to call me back?

There are cash ressies available - can I demand that they pay for a studio for us?

Thanks
Kathy

[Horace Horsecollar]

Originally posted by Kathy C
She admitted to me that they made a mistake. I have hung up and am now waiting for a supervisor to call me back?
Under these circumstances, the supervisor should put you at the very top of the waiting list -- at least to replace your original reservation, and ideally for the 1BR as well. If you're at the top of the list, the probability of clearing should be extremely high.

Originally posted by Kathy C
There are cash ressies available - can I demand that they pay for a studio for us?
I doubt that "they" will pay for a cash room for you out of the DVC membership operating account. However, I would hope there might be a way for DVC to arrange a swap between cash inventory and equivalent member inventory (available on a different night) so that member inventory is available to you when you need it. You might want to ask the supervisor about this.

Please let us know what happens.

[Kathy C]

I just got off the phone with Jim from MS. He said there really isn't anything he can do. There is a studio available at OKW for May 12 & 16 so we really don't have a choice but to take that, and we are VIP wait listed for BWV for the other two nights. What a nightmare. I'm really ready to cancel the trip. I think this an omen. Last night Continental called to change my flight only. Left the rest of my family on the early flight. I made those reservations back in July. I'm not sure this trip was meant to be.

Thanks for listening!

Kathy

[Dads Dream]

Hey Kathy,

Sorry to hear about the mishap. Just wondering if you considered checking OKW for 1BR for lenght of stay? They are quite lovely. And wait list the other for lenght of stay. That way a you know that you won't be taking any chances.

Good luck!

[dianeschlicht]

I was just going to suggest you try for OKW the whole trip too. It might be your best chance. Why would the airline want to change one person in the party?

[Kathy C]

There isn't anything available. BWV is complete sold out including cash ressies for May 12. I had them check WLV and OKW. I could only get a studio at OKW. I've had a night to sleep on it, and I think I'm going to get the studio at OKW for Sat and Sun so we don't have to move as often and hope the waitlist comes through for Thursday night.

The airlines - who knows why they did what they did. I made those reserv in July - reward miles. The original flight was still there, but the flight number changed. Why they didn't just call and change the flight number who knows. Anyway, I was able to change that back to the original flight time.

I'll just keep my fingers crossed and hope for the best!

[dbond]

Kathy C, I'm so sorry to hear about the confusion with DVC. Member Services is usually better about repeating back to you what they have booked, but as always, human error is always a possibility. However, I'm not surprised about the Continental thing. We have discovered in all of our travels lately, that things are not the way they used to be in terms of reliability. The airlines are all having to make unexplainable changes that of course have negative effects on passengers. My guess is they are still in a survival mode and trying to recover from their losses from last fall. The customer service from the airline industry is at an all time low in our opinion. The changes, the restrictions, the wait times on the phone, all in the name of security and minimizing cost I'm sure, but so difficult for the customer to understand when it appears to be so different from what we have become accustomed to over the years. I think we must all accept the fact that things will probably never be the same again, and with time, we will become accustomed to this new way of doing things that is certainly not hassle free. I hope you are able to make your trip and that you don't encounter any more conflict. I second the suggestion about just trying to get an OKW 1 br for the entire stay. We find OKW to be so relaxing and convenient. It sounds like you need relaxing and convenient right now :)

[Johnnie Fedora]

This is one thing I don't understand about DVC. I think they SHOULD send a change/cancelation notice when you alter a reservation. Since, MS *CAN* make a mistake, you would at least catch it sooner than your arrivial date. Every time I call MS I worry that they may have accidentally hit the delete key or something, and will have no proof that a mistake was made.

We should also receive a semi-annual points statement. DVC hopes you make a mistake on your points, that way they get to keep them. Why else would they have that whole banking deadline thing? Also, DVC could have disgruntaled or incompetent employee that could really make a mess of your vacation plans.

I know there are those that will worry about "who" will pay for this?? DVC could make this service an optional one. I know I would be willing to pay $25-35/year for this type of administrative service. I think CRO sends cancellation notices.

[Kathy C]

This is our first time using DVC. When I changed the reservation, the guy told me the "old" reservation number would be good for the two nights of the original reservation at the studio and gave me a "new" reservation number for the nights in the one bedroom. I didn't know any better this time, but I will next time. I'm just glad I called. I called beause people on the boards said that maybe with the 30-day cancellation policy, we might get lucky and get the room from the wait list. I was just calling to see if that may have happened. Anyway, I'm sure all will be okay. I was seeing red yesterday, better today and probably even better tomorrow!

Thanks for the support!

[dbond]

I too would pay a fee to have a quarterly or semi-annual point balance statement. I keep pretty good notes. But we do juggle a lot, borrow for trips way ahead of time and then decide to do a last minute trip and borrow again and when you have 2 or 3 trips in a holding pattern, it does get confusing. I have also called MS before to ask about a point balance and the balance they gave me was for only 1 of our 3 contracts, they didn't add all the contracts together. That really put a kink in the ointment until we got that straightened out. I would like to have official paper records on a regular basis and would gladly pay an administrative fee that was attached to my dues.

[dianeschlicht]

Let me understand...They did NOT send you a reservation sheet with the changes? Everytime I have made any kind of change...even preference...they have sent me a new reservation sheet.

[Kathy C]

They did send me a confirmation for the change - the four nights at the one bedroom. The guy I made these changes with said my "old" reservation number was for the original two nights (May 12 and 16) at the studio and I wouldn't receive anything for those. This was my first time doing this and I didn't question what he told me. I still they should be held accountable. I started calling the day of the 11 month window. I called each day until the whole reservation was made. They admitted to me yesterday that, "it's like we made a mistake." I know it's human to make a mistake, but I was hoping for a better fix than I got.

[Johnnie Fedora]

We have made changes (preferences, dates etc.) in existing reservations, and MS said it wasn't necessary to send a new confirmation, since the reservation still had the same confirmation number. They said, "we have it noted in our computer". Famous last words. We own at three resorts and have several ressies open at once, I just like to have the paper back-up. We also have made cash resservations and linked them to point reservations, I like the see those types of requests in writing.

:confused:

[JonHM]

We haven't been doing this for that long, but since last summer, we have called to make changes on our ressies about 4 or 5 times (for two separate trips, and mostly little changes like the order of preferences and the like) - and *every* single time, no matter how small the change, they have mailed us a new confirmation in the mail. I don't know if they didn't used to and do now, or if it depends on who you speak with, but we've *definitely* had them mail us new confirmations with any changes that we made on the phone.

[Beth]

DVC hopes you make a mistake on your points, that way they get to keep them. Why else would they have that whole banking deadline thing?

Johnnie - just playing devil's advocate, here, but don't you think the banking deadlines are there to ensure there wouldn't be occupancy issues, otherwise? (Or were you just being sarcastic - and I'm a little too gullible this morning?!?)

Also - just to keep in line with the post... We ALWAYS get a new confirmation with any change made - even view preferences, but we have NEVER gotten confirmation of cancellations...

[Johnnie Fedora]

Originally posted by Beth


Johnnie - just playing devil's advocate, here, but don't you think the banking deadlines are there to ensure there wouldn't be occupancy issues, otherwise? (Or were you just being sarcastic - and I'm a little too gullible this morning?!?)

Being a little sarcastic ;) , but I don't see the relationship between occupancy and the banking deadline issue :confused: Most members do remember to bank. I understand the need to use points by a certain date for occupancy issues, but the point system could be set to automatically bank points at the end of your use year, instead of all those banking deadlines. Max points in your account would still be 3 years worth.

I assume DVC uses unbanked points for cash resservations.

[Beth]

Gotcha, Johnnie... I never considered the possibility of "automating" the banking process - that makes sense to me, too.

[TrudyZ]

How about if MS doesn't trust us to make our own reservations on line, at least having on-line access to a "read only" file so that we can automatically see our balance? It could even be programmed to send out email banking reminders, and you could get emailed confirmations.

I realize that not every one has access to a computer, but I think many do.

It would at least save MS a lot of postage, and probably plenty of phone calls.

Trudy

[cherylp3]

Kathy,

Although you seem to have mostly everything resolved, I think you should write a letter to your guide and whom ever is in charge of DVC.

Cheryl

[3princesses&aprince]

We are members of DVC and Hilton Grand Vacation Club...Hilton does have limited online access to point history. You can see reservations (and more importantly, reservation status such as cancelled) as well as your point schedule for the next 3 years (one being current year). This allows you to track banking and borrowing without a phone call. They also have on line payments for maintenance fees. We can't book reservations online, but having this access sure helps. I agree with Trudy--read only would be a great start.

[Kathy C]

Cheryl

We probably will write a letter if for no other reason than to vent our frustration. I was able to resolve everything. We will be staying at OKW Sat and Sun in a studio, Mon-Wed in a 1 bdrm at BWV and back to OKW on Thurs for a studio again. Someone got lucky yesterday because we gave up the 1 bdrm at BWV for Sat night so we wouldn't have to move as much. If the wait list comes through for us at BWV for Thurs, I'll be happy camper. I've been told by Jim, a supervisor at MS, that we were number 1 on the VIP wait list (didn't such a thing existed - maybe it doesn't). Also, I called yesterday to make the change from the 1 bdrm at BWV to the studio at OKW and the girl told me that because it was within the 30 day period, the 26 pts would go into a holding account and we would loose them if we didn't use them by Oct 1, 2002. I asked that Jim call me back to make the change and he said because it was their mistake my points wouldn't go into the "holding" account. I asked for something in writing, and he told me he'd send out a statement. We've never stayed at either resort so I'm actually kind of excited now!

Thanks for letting me vent here!

Kathy

[TwirlerGirl]

We all learn from our mistakes (more like inexperience). This is what I've learn to do:
1) Have paper /pen handy when ever changing or making reservations.
2) Outline what your transaction needs are before making that call. Enter your proposed changes into DVCManager software and print. Use printout during call or your outline.
3) Jot down the CM's name when you start the transaction - and use it during your conversations. Also the date and time. You establish a friendlier relationship and you aren't just a blank face & voice on the line.
4) Check off each item as your transaction is completed.
5) Make sure the CM quotes the # of points (+ or -) involved in each transaction. Mark
information down on your note paper.
6) Make sure the CM quotes the # of points remaining/banked or borrowed in current year, next years account at the completion of your transactions. Mark information
down on your note paper.
7) Alway ask for new confirmation letter or account transaction register. If you don't receive it in 10 days, call and ask again. This has happened to me - important to do.
8) When phone call is complete (or when time permits) enter info into DVCManager software. This will help you catch any mistakes. Make sure you enter the infomation by the resort entery screen, by date and allow the software to recalculate.
9) If you notice a mistake, call and verify information.

Sounds like a lot of work, it isn't. 10 minutes in prep time, 5 minutes after call.

I had a very complicate reservation to make (large family vacation) involving 6 different transactions, 4 resorts, 2 cancellations. This system works.


*** I always ask for a account transaction register during the year. Thsi helps keep everyone straight. Mistakes happen on both sides of the phone.

Hoping your trip is as magical as Walt could personly wish for you.

Sandy B.

[Granny]

Sandy....nicely organized process. The only thing I'd add to #6 is to make sure you get the confirmation number for every transaction while you're on the phone. That makes it a lot easier if you find a problem while doing #8 (entering info into spreadsheet) and have to call back before you get your confirmation sheet.

Every transaction (ressie, bank, borrow) has a confirmation #. Like everything else, it's a lot easier to find things in a computer if you have that number.

Kathy....hope everything works out the way you'd like. :)

[Peter Johnson]

We go through a similar process to Sandy's. The only thing I do differently is to request a points usage statement every time we make a points transaction. Ask for just the current year, and you won't get pages and pages (ours is about 18 pages now!).

A quick check of the new statement against your last statement and the transaction(s) just made will show if there's a problem. Since each ressie is detailed, there is no question about what's reserved and what's cancelled or changed.

[crisi]

Originally posted by TrudyZ
How about if MS doesn't trust us to make our own reservations on line, at least having on-line access to a "read only" file so that we can automatically see our balance? It could even be programmed to send out email banking reminders, and you could get emailed confirmations.

I realize that not every one has access to a computer, but I think many do.

It would at least save MS a lot of postage, and probably plenty of phone calls.

Trudy

Trudy,

It would have to save ALOT of phone calls and postage. A end user web based reservations system would cost millions to program. Even just allowing web based access to our account information is probably an expensive project. Now email confirmations would be (IMO) pretty cheap to implement (as far as IT projects go).

I've been involved in similar projects for large companies. They are never cheap nor easy. I doubt it has anything to do with trusting us, and everything to do with the cost and available IT resources.

[jsinohio]

Interestingly enough, I've not really seen this mentioned. Granted, I've only actually "cancelled" a couple reservations since our membership began, but I received a "cancellation number" on the spot from the MS rep. on the phone. This should be (if it is not) standard protocol. They provide a confirmation number when the ressie is made (while your on the phone) why shouldn't they provide one when cancelling. This would elminate most potential for errors.

Jose

[PKK/MJK]

Recently, I received a confirmation letter from MS which did NOT list all the preferences I had asked for. I called MS and was told that all my preferences were in the computer even though they did not show up on the paper. I nicely requested a new paper which showed in writing what I had asked for--so there would be not problems at check in. The MS person really kept insisting it was "all in the compter" and I had to keep insisting I wanted it in writing. finally did get the new form. this is the only time I have run into this problem.

[jsinohio]

:confused: So, has anyone else ever received a "cancellation number" from MS, or are we the only lucky? ones ;)

[BethA]

I too would like to see some way of keeping track of your point total. We own at 2 resorts and I always worry the wrong points were used. To me the banking seems like a way of Disney gaining points--I'm sure people are busy, or have a crisis situation and end up losing points. They should just roll over at the end of the year. they should email quarterly or send some statement. I'm surprised there isn't a way to get an automated total over the phone.

[Donna]

I've rec'd a cancellation number when i flat out cancelled a reservation (without changing it over to another resort). It could be when you switch resorts within a reservation, you just keep the same number because you really just changed the reservation, not cancelled it. This very same thing happened to me last year. i wonder if it's the same person making the mistake. I was only switching resorts, added a night to OKW and took away from HH and the guy totally cancelled my HH! There was no way i was giving up my 4th of july week at HH! When he repeated it back (at my insistence) , he had it totally wrong. Luckily, my 2 BR was still there when he fixed it. I've heard about alot of reservation errors at MS (over on another board). It pays to really get everything in writing.

[Dean]

That's why I do almost everything email.

[ceejay13]

We, too, have always gotten confirmation of any changes made. Please let us know how you end up and if MS does anything for their error.