Advice needed! Room canceled accidentally

[OrangeCountyCommuter]

I think we can safely rule out the owner being recently killed in a car crash since David's email to the first victim to report clearly said the owner spent all day trying to 'correct DVC's mistake,' which presumably means we have a still living owner.

Assuming we believe any of this line that David's gave the renter....

As I indicated, I actually have had Disney apply a payment to the wrong contract. (I used to have two use years so two totally different contracts) When I got the "dunning" notice I panicked and called Disney. They fixed it and NONE of my reservations were ever in any danger. I also once forgot to tell Disney that I took my money away from BOA (Actually I did tell them but the timing was off and they didn't get it processed quickly so they couldn't pull the dues payment that month) Once again a notice was sent, I called and fixed the problem.

It takes more then one month and one notice for them to start cancelling according to my experience so....I don't believe the story and don't think David's should either..

 

[gonzalj1]

Actually, I used to work in corporate communications - I'm far from naive about this - these sorts of decisions, to manage bad press, are ROI based. I don't know the details of David's business (and I'm guessing you don't either), but as someone who has done this calculation - sometimes you eat the bad press because its cheaper than setting a long term precedent.

I see your point. But only agree that it makes sense when there are big dollar amounts involved. According to the math previously posted in this thread the exposure to David's here is less than hundred dollars. Then take into account a conservative number of 1 person who decides to go somewhere else for their similar ressie and David's has now lost $400. No brainer in my book.

 

[DebbieB]

I see your point. But only agree that it makes sense when there are big dollar amounts involved. According to the math previously posted in this thread the exposure to David's here is less than hundred dollars. Then take into account a conservative number of 1 person who decides to go somewhere else for their similar ressie and David's has now lost $400. No brainer in my book.

I wouldn't consider a move from Boardwalk to SSR during Food & Wine to be comparable. Even if it is upgrading to a 1 bedroom. The cost for David's to get a Boardwalk room would be much higher.

 

[cydswipe]

I wouldn't consider a move from Boardwalk to SSR during Food & Wine to be comparable. Even if it is upgrading to a 1 bedroom. The cost for David's to get a Boardwalk room would be much higher.[/QUOTE

We are the 'other' reservation affected by this cancellation (not sure everyone is keeping up w/ who is who here) ^^ what you said...... In our eyes, we had a PRIME reservation.... F&W, Columbus Day week... it's hard to not speculate who got paid 'more' to get us out of our reservation. We can talk circles about who should have done what.... this discussion brings a lot of information to light. We are being taken care of (by a complete other company that stepped up to the plate trying to give us some magic). But there is NO comparasion between Riverside and BWV for Food and Wine. I appreciate the conversation here, everyone. Sincerely... thank you.

 

[Dean]

EVERY business needs good press. If the business doesn't believe that they are incredibly naive. Even if they happen to be naive EVERY business should want to avoid BAD press.

I'm sure we'd all agree in general terms but the "customer is always right" is simply not accurate or reasonable. Companies can't avoid a certain amount of bad press, esp in the days where competitors will seed companies reviews and ratings. In this situation to suggest that David's should eat a replacement cost on top of their other losses to avoid "bad press" would be unreasonable IMO. On top of that once you stop sticking with the rules in place you really don't have rules or contracts.

 

[cydswipe]

Hi, I recommended David's Vacation Club rental to a family member for our upcoming F&W trip. She was able to book a Studio thru them at the Boardwalk. We used our own points for a separate room for the Boardwalk for our immediate family and we are staying longer. Today she gets an email that the reservation was "accidentally" canceled since the member who secured the reservation has multiple accounts and that Disney accidentally posted their dues to the wrong account which left this account in arrears so Disney canceled the ressie. According to my aunt thru David's the member spent all day on the phone with member services to no avail. And of course there are no studios to be had at the Boardwalk at this point.

I checked and there aren't any studios available on property for our dates, even SSR and OKW are showing no availability. The best I can see is a 1 bedroom at SSR. My aunt did do a ressie at CBR now. But as we all know, it's not the same.

Overall, I've been happy with Davids as both a renter and rentee. I get that this isn't really their fault, but on the other hand I feel if you are going to profit as a middleman, you should compensate when the rare thing doesn't go well. Any other help, ideas, suggestions? Dates are 10/16-10/20.

Thanks!

By chance, are you the one star reviewer on David's Vacation Rental Page?

 

[cydswipe]

I'm sure we'd all agree in general terms but the "customer is always right" is simply not accurate or reasonable. Companies can't avoid a certain amount of bad press, esp in the days where competitors will seed companies reviews and ratings. In this situation to suggest that David's should eat a replacement cost on top of their other losses to avoid "bad press" would be unreasonable IMO. On top of that once you stop sticking with the rules in place you really don't have rules or contracts.

This is an intersting point.

I'm one of the people affected by this situation.

I don't mean to be snarky... legit question.... Wouldn't a business have insurance to cover for losses that could happen? Tax write offs?

 

[supersnoop]

I see your point. But only agree that it makes sense when there are big dollar amounts involved. According to the math previously posted in this thread the exposure to David's here is less than hundred dollars. Then take into account a conservative number of 1 person who decides to go somewhere else for their similar ressie and David's has now lost $400. No brainer in my book.

I believe David's exposure is already in the $1,500 - $2,000 range just on the money already paid to the member. Add the extra cost of accommodations, which might not even be acceptable, and you're in the $3,000-$4,000 range. This isn't "less than hundred dollars" territory.

 

[SuzanneSLO]

This is an intersting point.

I'm one of the people affected by this situation.

I don't mean to be snarky... legit question.... Wouldn't a business have insurance to cover for losses that could happen? Tax write offs?

I would suspect that David has some insurance, such as liability insurance to cover if an injury occurred to his client while staying at a rented DVC unit.

But businesses face all kinds of losses that cannot be insured against at any kind of reasonable cost. For example, a business places an order for goods and is required to put a deposit of 50% down, but the goods never arrive.

Businesses can generally take a tax write off for any legitimate expense, which reduces their taxable income. It rarely fully compensate them for a loss that did not produce any corresponding income.

-- Suzanne

 

[SuzanneSLO]

I would suspect that David has some insurance, such as liability insurance to cover if an injury occurred to his client while staying at a rented DVC unit.

But businesses face all kinds of losses that cannot be insured against at any kind of reasonable cost. For example, a business places an order for goods and is required to put a deposit of 50% down, but the goods never arrive.

Businesses can generally take a tax write off for any legitimate expense, which reduces their taxable income. The reduction in taxes due rarely fully compensate them for a loss that did not produce any corresponding income.

-- Suzanne

 

[cydswipe]

I would suspect that David has some insurance, such as liability insurance to cover if an injury occurred to his client while staying at a rented DVC unit.

But businesses face all kinds of losses that cannot be insured against at any kind of reasonable cost. For example, a business places an order for goods and is required to put a deposit of 50% down, but the goods never arrive.

Businesses can generally take a tax write off for any legitimate expense, which reduces their taxable income. It rarely fully compensate them for a loss that did not produce any corresponding income.

-- Suzanne

I appreciate your reply. Taking a bit of time to process this all and learn from it.

 

[robinb]

I believe David's exposure is already in the $1,500 - $2,000 range just on the money already paid to the member. Add the extra cost of accommodations, which might not even be acceptable, and you're in the $3,000-$4,000 range. This isn't "less than hundred dollars" territory.

I would think his exposure is in the same range by just giving the refund. He's still out whatever he paid to the member. It would have been only a few hundred more to provide a new cobbled together reservation.

 

[Dean]

don't mean to be snarky... legit question.... Wouldn't a business have insurance to cover for losses that could happen? Tax write offs?

I doubt one could get such insurance or if they could, the price would be unreasonable. They've already limited their exposure but the wording that's come into play here.

I would think his exposure is in the same range by just giving the refund. He's still out whatever he paid to the member. It would have been only a few hundred more to provide a new cobbled together reservation.

Unlikely, to provide a comparable or even semi comparable option would put his cost at about 3-4 times each of the original reservation costs or more.

 

[cydswipe]

I doubt one could get such insurance or if they could, the price would be unreasonable. They've already limited their exposure but the wording that's come into play here.

Unlikely, to provide a comparable or even semi comparable option would put his cost at about 3-4 times each of the original reservation costs or more.

very interesting insights!!!!

 

[sasmmb]

As the original poster with time to think and read your insights, I've come to the conclusion that if David's had said "Sorry, here's what happened..blah, blah, blah" (which they did), followed by "per our contract here is your money back" (which they did), and "we've looked at other options and you can get this 1 BR at SSR for this larger amount of money" (which they did), "again we apologize for this rare event, and to show our goodwill we are sending you a $50 Disney Gift Card and hope you will still consider us in the future. " (which they did not).

That would be an amount that even David's could afford, it shows that they really do care about you as a potential future customer, sprinkles a little extra pixie dust that is beyond what they "have" to do, and would leave a slightly less sour taste in the customers mouth. Still mad? Yes. Lose a potential future customer? Changes from definite yes, to maybe.

 

[Dean]

very interesting insights!!!!

Insight might be a little strong, LOL. More semieducated guess.

 

[Dean]

As the original poster with time to think and read your insights, I've come to the conclusion that if David's had said "Sorry, here's what happened..blah, blah, blah" (which they did), followed by "per our contract here is your money back" (which they did), and "we've looked at other options and you can get this 1 BR at SSR for this larger amount of money" (which they did), "again we apologize for this rare event, and to show our goodwill we are sending you a $50 Disney Gift Card and hope you will still consider us in the future. " (which they did not).

That would be an amount that even David's could afford, it shows that they really do care about you as a potential future customer, sprinkles a little extra pixie dust that is beyond what they "have" to do, and would leave a slightly less sour taste in the customers mouth. Still mad? Yes. Lose a potential future customer? Changes from definite yes, to maybe.

It wouldn't change the principles any and I doubt it would have made any difference for most people. More likely, had they gone this route, would have been a discount on a future reservation.

 

[cydswipe]

Insight might be a little strong, LOL. More semieducated guess.

 

[sasmmb]

It wouldn't change the principles any and I doubt it would have made any difference for most people. More likely, had they gone this route, would have been a discount on a future reservation.

Which would have been better than the squat that they did offer.

 

[Dean]

Which would have been better than the squat that they did offer.

If I understand correctly you're suggesting they owe more than they contractually agreed to. While I understand the frustration, I don't agree they owe additional and I doubt anyone who was truly upset would have seen a $50 bribe as having much meaning and I suspect most would have seen it as insulting.