Becoming Fed Up With DVC - Any Suggestions

[winski]

I am so frustrated right now screaming into a pillow hasn't helped! We had problems the past 2 years during a trip to WDW using our DVC points at BCV. We love BCV so that isn't the problem, it is the way we are being treated by DVC itself!
I always call in EXACTLY 11 months out from our check out date as this is what we have been told to do by DVC. Once again I did this as I have always done and we needed a 2 bedroom with 2 queen beds in the second room. I was told I would have this when I called, when I checked the reservation a couple of months later I found out we were booked for a 2 bedroom with 1 queen and 1 sofa bed. When I called immediately they told there there were no rooms with 2 queen beds available. So I was put on a waitlist. I have been calling fairly regularly since then to check to see if anything opened up. Today I ended up speaking to a Supervisor who was very helpful but I also emailed and got a not so nice response back. The response told me most DVC members call DAILY to reserve an entire weeks stay and link the stays together. WHAT AN INCONVIENCE! I **LOVE** going to and staying at Disney but DVC is becoming a HUGE Disappointment. I have been doing everything exactly as we were told to by a DVC representative and then get told I am in the wrong. I am beginning to think Disney isn't caring at all about the guests who come back time year after year or more often who belong to DVC. This is just one more way I have been blamed for doing what I was told. I don't feel like sending comments through the Disney website is even helpful. ARGH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I **HATE** feeling like this because I usually love the Disney Magic.....but this isn't so magical!!!!! Suggestions Please!!!!

 

[tjkraz]

The response told me most DVC members call DAILY to reserve an entire weeks stay and link the stays together. WHAT AN INCONVIENCE!

I agree, but unfortunately many of your fellow members don't mind the inconvenience.

DVC created a system that is equitable to everyone. We all play by the same rules. Aside from that, there isn't much they can do.

I'm sure you are doing things exactly as you were told. But it's a first-come, first-served system and people are beating you to the punch.

The good news is that the market for BCV points is as healthy as ever. Chances are you could sell now and earn back more than you originally paid. Perhaps your satisfaction level will increase if you stick to cash rooms at the BC.

Probably not what you wanted to hear, but I don't see how DVC can help you when it comes to reserving rooms. When the rooms are gone...they're gone.

 

[Anewman]

... but I also emailed and got a not so nice response back. The response told me most DVC members call DAILY to reserve an entire weeks stay and link the stays together. WHAT AN INCONVIENCE! I **LOVE** going to and staying at Disney but DVC is becoming a HUGE Disappointment. I have been doing everything exactly as we were told to by a DVC representative and then get told I am in the wrong. I am beginning to think Disney isn't caring at all about the guests who come back time year after year or more often who belong to DVC. This is just one more way I have been blamed for doing what I was told...

Dont think anyone is blaming you, just giving you advice that could help you with booking in the future. You are not under any obligation to follow that advice, feel free to continue booking the way you always have with the understanding that those using this advice may beat you to the punch.

I do understand that your original reservation is not being honored as promised and that would be my arguing point.

I also dont consider this as proof that Disney does not "care" about guests that return year after year, I imagine those other DVC members that filled up the rooms you requested are exactly that.

 

[DebbieB]

I always do day by day for my BWV early December trip (bw view) and it's never been a big inconvenience. If you want a room that is in low supply, that's the best way to get it. Otherwise, you take the chance that the room will already be gone by those who booked before you.

They should have told you it wasn't available when you called originally, you could have got on the waitlist then. That would be my complaint. I would ask to be moved up on the list. What was on your confirmation?

 

[Sammie]

I am confused if when you initially called, you were told you had booked the two queens, why did they tell you need to book day by day, that makes no sense.

Either you are confused as to what you booked, or they messed up at the intial booking.

Did you check your reservation at booking to make sure you got the 2 queens?

There would be no reason to book day by day to get the two queens if you were told you had them.

We have even been able to book them at 7 months without doing day by day.

Sounds like they are simply passing the buck. As to what you can do, not sure. DVC does not seem to like to admit they make mistakes when they book a room.

What did the supervisor offer. As to the email you got, if there is a name attached I would be talking to that person and saying Look I booked the room I wanted at 11 months, there was NO reason to call day by day, because the person I booked said it was all available or they would have wait listed me then.

The only suggestion I can make to completely avoid this type of situation, is sell your BCV and buy somewhere they did not mess up the dedicated with 2 queens. The way DVC handled that situation there is just another reason why I think BCV was one of the most mishandled DVC resorts ever built.

 

[Dean]

I'm the first to jump on the sales staff when appropriate but in this case I don't think you can blame them. To use DVC well you need to learn the system far better than they could have taught you. And early on they expected there would be 74 rooms like you want instead of the 25 but there were design flaws and contractor issues. Their fix was to put a queen pull out in 2/3 of them so they would say all dedicated 2 BR had 2 queens.

If you want this type of room you will likely have to call day by day and be even more specific about the room type to be sure. I personally wish DVC would change the system so you could book the entire trip in one call 11 months out for stays up to say 14 days. I do see the complaints others would have but feel this change would be better for the membership as a whole. No more getting only part of the days you need and someone else getting the other portion with both waitlisting. Of course to make this fair they'd need to make it so you cancel all or none and can't just drop days.

 

[Sammie]

I'm sure you are doing things exactly as you were told. But it's a first-come, first-served system and people are beating you to the punch.

She was told at 11 months what she wanted was available, only later did she find out they did not give it to her, so how was someone else beating her to the punch.

MS messed up at the initial booking.

 

[Sammie]

OK, am I the only one reading that the OP was told when she booked the rooms were available only later to find out they did not book them.

Wouldn't MS have suggested the wait list if the 2 queen rooms had not be avilable for her dates at the time of booking.

Why is everyone saying she needs to book day by day, if what she wanted was available without doing that.

That makes no sense to me.

Unless everyone is reading something I am not reading booking day by day had nothing to do with this and more with MS messing up the initial reservation and using the day by day comment to try and cover up their mistake.

 

[jakenjess]

That was how I read the OP's post, too, Sammie. Sounds like when she booked they told her she would have the two queens, and when she checked her reservation later it reflected the one queen and pullout. Sounds like a MS mistake to me, so I'm not sure why booking day-by-day would have made a difference.

I like Dean's idea of being able to book the entire stay at 11 months. I would think that would also be much easier on MS than having lots of people calling every day to get their desired reservation.

 

[Mrs Potato Head]

Or maybe, (just IMHO) we should all be more careful to check our confirmations as soon as we get them...just because we asked for something, and were verbally assured we had it, it doesn't make it so.

I've been caught in this too many times (not with DVC, but other stuff) - and it's hard to argue that you asked for something if it isn't in writing. And the OP said she/he checked the confirmation a couple of months later .

We have to expect that folks make mistakes, or misunderstandings happen with communication. The best way to assure you have what you want, and can argue the point better, is to have a written confirmation of what you asked for, in my opinion.

 

[tomandrobin]

OK, am I the only one reading that the OP was told when she booked the rooms were available only later to find out they did not book them.

Wouldn't MS have suggested the wait list if the 2 queen rooms had not be avilable for her dates at the time of booking.

Why is everyone saying she needs to book day by day, if what she wanted was available without doing that.

That makes no sense to me.

Unless everyone is reading something I am not reading booking day by day had nothing to do with this and more with MS messing up the initial reservation and using the day by day comment to try and cover up their mistake.

When we book a dedicated two bedroom, we are very specific and ask for that configuration. We verify that our reservation specifiaclly states a dedicated two bedroom. We have not had a problem with our requests for getting a dedicated two bedroom.

 

[wdwstar]

I always call in EXACTLY 11 months out from our check out date as this is what we have been told to do by DVC. Once again I did this as I have always done and we needed a 2 bedroom with 2 queen beds in the second room. I was told I would have this when I called,

(I am not Flaming you, just trying to understand)

When you called did you ask for a 2 bedroom with 2 queen beds and what did MS say, was it available at the time of booking ? or when you booked the 2 bedoom at 11 mons. out you thought you would just get a 2 bedroom w/ 2 queen beds automatically without mentioning you need a 2bedroom w/ 2 queens.

When you received your ressie in the mail 10 days later or sooner did you look then at the ressie to make sure you have the right dates,resort, non smoking/smoking, type of room ?

I believe with more and more dvc memberships being sold, its going to be harder to get into the smaller dvc resorts unless you stay ahead of the game or better yet what DEAN said

To use DVC well you need to learn the system far better than they could have taught you.

sending you pixie dust

 

[wdwstar]

It doesnt say the OP asked for the 2 bedroom w/ 2 queens, OP said

I was told I would have this when I called,

did her guide tell OP to call at the 11 mons and she wouldnt have a problem getting the 2 bedroom w/ 2 queens, and OP thought maybe MS just books the 2bdr/w2Q
first until they are all gone, without OP mentioning she wanted a 2bdr/2Q.

OP said

We had problems the past 2 years during a trip to WDW using our DVC points at BCV.

Does this mean OP has had this problem in the past 2 years, not getting a 2bdr/2Q, i wonder what other problems OP has had with using her points at BCV?

 

[Starr W.]

Or maybe, (just IMHO) we should all be more careful to check our confirmations as soon as we get them...just because we asked for something, and were verbally assured we had it, it doesn't make it so.

I've been caught in this too many times (not with DVC, but other stuff) - and it's hard to argue that you asked for something if it isn't in writing. And the OP said she/he checked the confirmation a couple of months later .

We have to expect that folks make mistakes, or misunderstandings happen with communication. The best way to assure you have what you want, and can argue the point better, is to have a written confirmation of what you asked for, in my opinion.

I have for our first 3 reservations have gone to the member site to confirm the correct dates, resort and room types. The new reservation shows up right away so if my room type or dates are wrong I can call back and correct it. No way would I wait for the hard copy in snail mail(always shows up 2 weeks later).

We're going to VB for spring break next year, I'll be booking day by day at 11 months because I would prefer a dedicated 2br and they only have 18 of those. Now I have all of the mods and members here to thank for those numbers(saved them off a thread about rooms & resorts). I got a DVC website survey and let them know that I had to find this info on a message board, not their site!

 

[castleri]

I think as several have mentioned the key is to check your written reservation as soon as you get it if you have certain specific criteria you want or need. If you make the reservation at 11 mo and get the wrong info on it you can call at 10 1/2 months and stand a better chance of getting it corrected than if you call at 8 or 9 months. I don't know if this info show up on the DVC website but if it does you can check it within minutes of making the reservation.

 

[Dean]

She was told at 11 months what she wanted was available, only later did she find out they did not give it to her, so how was someone else beating her to the punch.

MS messed up at the initial booking.

We were not privy to the conversation of course. My guess is the OP wasn't specific enough or maybe the CM didn't understand the specificity, either way the end result is the same.

Technically they did get a dedicated 2 BR with 2 queens, just that one is a pull out. If one wants one of those dedicated with 2 queens you should call day by day and be VERY specific as well as checking your confirmation. Even then there is a risk of not getting it when you think you did as in this case. I wonder if the online info show's enough so one could tell there if it were correct, I do know that I can tell BWV standard and BW view online. This would give one a chance to know almost immediately if it were correct.

Hopefully everyone knows that it's still possible to be assigned to a different unit type at check in even if all went perfectly with the reservation.

 

[dianeschlicht]

I agree with Dean. I think this is a semantics issue. What we mean and what we sometimes say can be construed by another person to mean something different. "Two queen beds" could be taken to mean either booking catagory, but specifying "two queen "real" beds, I don't want a pullout" would leave little to be misinterpreted by the MS CM. Technically, there are 2 queens in every BCV dedicated 2 bedroom. It's just that some have 2 real beds and most have a bed and a pullout.

 

[rwodonnell]

Sometimes these boards frustrate me. Someone posts a complaint, and a number of people jump on them implying they were either confused or placing blame in the wrong place. Where's the sympathy?

Anyway, I totally believe that MS screwed up the reservation. They have screwed up most of mine over the last few years. In 2005, I made, for the first time, an actual request that we get a first floor villa at OKW due to a member in our parties' inability to use stairs (she had an ECV). I was told it was not a problem and it would undoubtedly be granted. When we checked in, we get a 3rd floor. They were able to change it, gladly, but it took us an hour at the desk at checkin. My most recent trip, which we just returned from, had the people in the party messed up. They didn't have 2 of my children on the reservation for some strange reason. By the way, when I called MS with a question several months ago, the reservation was missing them that time as well, and they said they fixed it. Lo and behold, at checkin time, it was still wrong. What you would think would be a quick fix lasted about 45 minutes at the checkin desk. The cast member had to make all sorts of phone calls to get the reservation straightened out so that everyone in our party was on the reservation and had correct adult/child annotations, etc. In fact, I think the names on my BCV reservation in 2004 was also messed up when I got there. So I totally believe they messed up this reservation. They're only batting about .250 with me.

 

[Sammie]

Well hopefully the OP will come back and clarify what happened at the time of booking. I agree that checking the reservation is a very good idea.

Shouldn't have to be that way but following up is a standard today I guess.

Well I know for sure this is a category frought with problems. Even if you book, day by day or otherwise, the listing on your confirmation is vague and many times members have booked it, checked it, and then got there only to be told, No you don't have it.

Due to that situation we never stay BCV anymore. If the two queen beds in the second bedroom is truly a booked category and not a request, then it should be no different from booking a studio or one bedroom. I am sure everyone here that is questioning the OP would be highly upset if you knew you booked a one bedroom and later found out you got a studio whether it was day by day or not.

I just think until we receive more info from the OP, the verdict is out.

 

[tjkraz]

Sometimes these boards frustrate me. Someone posts a complaint, and a number of people jump on them implying they were either confused or placing blame in the wrong place.

Based upon the facts provided, there really isn't enough information to determine WHERE to place blame. As such, what I see are people left to draw their own conclusions while trying to help the OP avoid similar situations in the future.

Where's the sympathy?

Personally I think that "grrrr, rotten DVC is always screwing things up" has a lot less value than some of the other suggestions offeredhere.

Anyway, I totally believe that MS screwed up the reservation.

And that's indicitive of your personal bias. For whatever reason, it appears that DVC has screwed up a number of your reservations. But to imply that they make errors on 3 out of every 4 reservations is just not true.

Certainly mistakes are made, but whether that's the case here is still open to debate.