Bad Guide Experience

[geargrinder]

Just wanting to vent some disappointment.

Just spent last week at Disneyland celebrating a friends birthday with her adult daughter. We were staying off site and our friends are not DVC members. Our arrival day was a non-park day so we wandered around Downtown Disney.

We got down to the end and I asked my friends if they would like to see the VDH villas since I knew they have a 2br lockoff just for tours. We went to the VDH DVC podium and met a guide to take us up to the villa.

We looked around while the gave the normal spiel. Then she asked if I was interested in hearing the latest incentives for VDH. I told her I was interested so we all went into the office next door.

This is where the hard sell started. They wanted to know how we travelled so they could determine how many more points we needed. Then they went into asking how much down we could do. I politely pushed back. Then they asked about my hesitation and what would make me decide today. I was caught off guard by the hard sale tactics. I was embarrassed in front of my friends after I'd told her how low pressure DVC was.

 

[muppets3d]

At least your simplified description here doesn’t seem too high pressure. You can’t blame them for asking for the sale after you told them you were interested in hearing about the incentives. If you weren’t interested and you just wanted to tour the villa, then you should have said so.

 

[geargrinder]

Yes, I kept it vague on purpose. I don't want to blow up someone's favorite guide.

Any other time I've asked about incentives from a guide they took my info and emailed them to me and offered their card if I had any other questions. Polite and no sales pressure.

This had the typical car sales feel. The only thing missing was "what would it take to get you to buy today?"

Even during the exchange my non-member friend told the guide that she would never big money purchase this quickly.

 

[muppets3d]

Yes, I kept it vague on purpose. I don't want to blow up someone's favorite guide.

Any other time I've asked about incentives from a guide they took my info and emailed them to me and offered their card if I had any other questions. Polite and no sales pressure.

This had the typical car sales feel. The only thing missing was "what would it take to get you to buy today?"

Even during the exchange my non-member friend told the guide that she would never big money purchase this quickly.

I feel like you saying you wanted to hear about incentives was their cue to sell to you. If you didn’t want to be sold to, then just say you only wanted a tour.

 

[geargrinder]

I feel like you saying you wanted to hear about incentives was their cue to sell to you. If you didn’t want to be sold to, then just say you only wanted a tour.

You can feel what you want, but this was an aggressive anomaly compared to any other guide interaction that I've ever had.

 

[CarolynFH]

You can feel what you want, but this was an aggressive anomaly compared to any other guide interaction that I've ever had.

I agree. I don't think that saying you're interested in hearing about incentives means you're ready to buy that minute, and I don't think that guide should have pushed as hard as you felt she did. I wouldn't be surprised to find out that the guide had experience selling with other timeshare companies.

As an owner, I'd probably send an email to DVC via the member website, telling them about my experience and naming names. I'm sure they'll want to hear that the particular guide turned your friend off from considering a purchase. The guide needs some guidance - or if DVC hears the same from enough other potential buyers, they might decide she's not a good fit for DVC sales.

 

[VGCgroupie]

Did you get to see the 2 bed villa? I was told that I could only see a studio. I can say the guides at VDH are no where near up to par with the guides at Aulani.

 

[Judique]

I agree. I don't think that saying you're interested in hearing about incentives means you're ready to buy that minute, and I don't think that guide should have pushed as hard as you felt she did. I wouldn't be surprised to find out that the guide had experience selling with other timeshare companies.

As an owner, I'd probably send an email to DVC via the member website, telling them about my experience and naming names. I'm sure they'll want to hear that the particular guide turned your friend off from considering a purchase. The guide needs some guidance - or if DVC hears the same from enough other potential buyers, they might decide she's not a good fit for DVC sales.

He named his post 'bad guide experience' at VDH. Disney is already on it.

 

[CarolynFH]

He named his post 'bad guide experience' at VDH. Disney is already on it.

Well, they didn't name the guide in their post. I think DVC would want to have an email via the member website so that they could call the member and get more details - and be able to verify which guide it was as well as the details. Would you discipline an employee based on a post on an anonymous social media forum?

 

[muppets3d]

You can feel what you want, but this was an aggressive anomaly compared to any other guide interaction that I've ever had.

Fair enough.

 

[Genie+]

I don’t fault you for being surprised by the tactic because that was one of the things DVC was better known for… patience without the ‘hard’ sell. That helped build trust to engage with them.

We had the opposite - zero engagement. We stopped in the VDH office to look at the models and updated Poly info at the time. 2 guides there. I was friendly going in, mentioned it was our first DL trip and staying at DLH. They both barely said a word back, kept their noses buried in their laptops, and made it feel like we were unwelcome. I was a bit surprised. Night and day from every interaction weve had with guides at WDW.

 

[Judique]

Well, they didn't name the guide in their post. I think DVC would want to have an email via the member website so that they could call the member and get more details - and be able to verify which guide it was as well as the details. Would you discipline an employee based on a post on an anonymous social media forum?

Discipline? I wouldn't see need for discipline.

Although it doesn't sound like the soft sell we got 20-30 years ago, it could be the direction that sales at Disneyland follow.

DVC is changing. And Disney has certainly gotten aggressive with pricing, LL's and whatever.

The OP opened the door for a sales approach by asking for a tour, responding to the offer of hearing about incentives and going into a separate office to hear this information. The guide probably thought they had a hot sale. And OP wasn't interested in buying. They just wanted to show off DVC to a friend. (I get that!) The guide was doing their job, probably better then @Genie+ 's interaction where he/she was ignored.

 

[Lumpy1106]

I think the "hard sell" tactics that OP is talking about are the norm. I know when we did the tour at SSR, the guide sat us down and "ran through the numbers" to show us that owning DVC was going to work better for us than just staying on-site at another resort. Over time, that's true, but I wanted time to think about it and go through his numbers. That was a no-go; he wouldn't give us the notes he had scratched together during the meeting. That did it for me. We thanked him for his time, grabbed the kids, had some ice cream, collected the incentives (FPs and $150 for each of us - at the time) and went about our day.

Then we went home, thought it over...and bought resale.

I really don't understand the "relationship" some direct owners seem to think they have with their guides. They are not your friends - sorry if that smarts a bit, but it's true.

 

[CarolynFH]

it could be the direction that sales at Disneyland follow.

It could be, but I hope not, and I hope DVC would want to know how they lost a sale.

There’s a difference between giving the information and pushing as aggressively as it sounds to me was done.

And we have no relationship with our guide other than receiving automated sales information emails.

 

[cruisehopeful]

I often wonder if these types of guides were from traditional timeshare sales. I'd be surprised if DVC started training guides to be pushy like that. My experience was so laid back, but I connected with my guide before VDH was for sale. It was under construction and I stopped by the DVC sales office to ask if they knew when it would be for sale. The guide in there asked if I had a guide - I did not and she asked if I wanted to give my information so she could keep me in the loop. I gave her my contact info and she kept in touch every month or so just to check in. Once VDH was for sale, I emailed a couple questions and told her I was thinking about how many points I wanted. Zero pressure at all. Maybe because I already said I wanted to buy? After a few days, I emailed that I wanted to buy 150 and pay on several credit cards ( I had zero percent financing set up) and it was still a couple days before she contacted me to close the deal. Just a completely different vibe than what you experienced.

 

[Genie+]

I really don't understand the "relationship" some direct owners seem to think they have with their guides. They are not your friends - sorry if that smarts a bit, but it's true.

I do like my guide and do feel like we ‘have a relationship’. I know he has a job to do but he has been nothing but prompt, chill and knowledgable. He came down to meet us when we weren’t even buying. We were resale owners and DVC booth at GF Cafe asked us if we’d like to have a guide. He came right down and introduced himself. Very pleasant. We reached out when WE were ready and he handled everything like an absolute pro. He’s called a few times to check in, just asking how things are and talking Disney stuff, wishing us a good New Year, etc. I know if we had a question or anything, he can be counted on. No hard sell ever from him but for sure he earned our loyalty. That is a relationship because I trust his capabilities and integrity for our DVC. It’ a business realtionship.

 

[supercarrie]

My guide is DL based and is one of the old school, low pressure types. He has always emailed me the incentives right away, never played the typical mind games, and calls to checks in. For example, we are going to Aulani soon-ish, so he left a voicemail yesterday offering to suggest restaurants. Obviously, I know his long game is to have me buy more points, but that never comes up in conversation unless I bring it up.

I have experienced some of the more high pressure, newer sales people at both DL and WDW. One guide at WDW tried to get me to purchase even when I mentioned I was less than 24 hours out from surgery and still under the influence of anesthesia. (Yes, I'm crazy for touring 18 hours after surgery, but that's another story. It was when it worked for our schedule, and we were upfront about that.) He told me he'd show up at 6am the next morning as we checked out of SSR once the anesthesia wore off to have me sign - just nuts. That pressure totally soured me on buying direct from him. I ended up buying resale first and then adding on with the DL based guide.

I would definitely report it to DVC. They do seem to have hired newer sales people with more traditional timeshare experience and should know what is going on.

With regards to touring at VDH - so odd @VGCgroupie that they wouldn't let you tour the lock-off! As of a couple months ago, they had a lock-off on one of the higher floors as well as a separate studio downstairs. Perhaps the lock-off was out of commission that day. Just odd.

 

[geargrinder]

Did you get to see the 2 bed villa? I was told that I could only see a studio. I can say the guides at VDH are no where near up to par with the guides at Aulani.

Yes, we did. That's weird that you couldn't since it's a lockoff.

I was at Aulani last month and all the guides we met were fantastic. I've also met with other guides at Grand Cal and VDH that were great. My assigned guide is California based as well. That's why this experience struck me as such an anomaly.

 

[VGCgroupie]

With regards to touring at VDH - so odd @VGCgroupie that they wouldn't let you tour the lock-off! As of a couple months ago, they had a lock-off on one of the higher floors as well as a separate studio downstairs. Perhaps the lock-off was out of commission that day. Just odd.

Yes, we did. That's weird that you couldn't since it's a lockoff.

So strange. She said all the 2 bedrooms we have are always rented out so we cant ever show them, but Im sure there is a studio if you want to see that. I left thinking no wonder this place isnt selling well. Most are not wowed by a studio. At Aulani it felt like they were ready to wine and dine me if I wanted but at VDH it was very Im just here because I have to be here to answer questions.

 

[geargrinder]

So strange. She said all the 2 bedrooms we have are always rented out so we cant ever show them, but Im sure there is a studio if you want to see that. I left thinking no wonder this place isnt selling well. Most are not wowed by a studio. At Aulani it felt like they were ready to wine and dine me if I wanted but at VDH it was very Im just here because I have to be here to answer questions.

I wonder why the dedicated DVC 2BR lockoff wasn't available for you to look at? It isn't part of rentable inventory. Pretty obvious since it has frosted glass entry doors.