Chat may soon be able to check availability and book rooms

[huskerfanatic7]

i was just using the chat function on the DVC website and this was a resposne

Please note I am able to verify availability and book for you as I am participating in a test program for Chat. Keep in mind if you Chat with us at a different time, we may not be able to do this.

 

[dragonflymom]

But would it increase wait times or make the Chat button pop up less frequently for more straightforward questions or requests? I imagine the availabilty check and reservation process is by nature quite time-consuming, especially if members are asking tons of what about this date or this resort or this type of room kind of questions.

 

[JETSDAD]

I mean if you're logged into your account why wouldn't you just check availabilty on your own instead of asking Chat to check?

 

[dragonflymom]

I mean if you're logged into your account why wouldn't you just check availabilty on your own instead of asking Chat to check?

My thoughts exactly! Unless they are holding back inventory for some reason, but that would not be fair to other members who are searching online.

 

[CarolynFH]

Maybe that was a poor choice of words - maybe they mean confirm availability and book for you. That could be helpful. I wonder if a CM on Chat can have several different Chat sessions going on with different people? That would enable one CM to take care of several members at a time instead of just one.

 

[HappyDisneyWife]

I mean if you're logged into your account why wouldn't you just check availabilty on your own instead of asking Chat to check?

Check availability? Yes.
Book that room with transferred or borrowed points? Not so much anymore… (grrr)… using chat vs a phone call would be a huge win in my book!!

Please note I am able to verify availability and book for you as I am participating in a test program for Chat.

I hope this becomes a permanent feature! (Plus, of course, the abiliby myself!! )

 

[Narcoossee11]

i was just using the chat function on the DVC website and this was a resposne

Please note I am able to verify availability and book for you as I am participating in a test program for Chat. Keep in mind if you Chat with us at a different time, we may not be able to do this.

THIS IS MY opinion
This is just stupid. . Your on the web site, just book it your self. You would know what you want quicker

 

[RanDIZ]

How about doing something as simple as merging reservations together since grabbing single days at a time seems to be the norm anymore. There’s no reason we shouldn’t be able to do this on our own. One less thing MS has to worry about. But wait, that’d be common sense. Something DVC doesn’t have.

 

[huskerfanatic7]

THIS IS MY opinion
This is just stupid. . Your on the web site, just book it your self. You would know what you want quicker

you're

 

[huskerfanatic7]

Check availability? Yes.
Book that room with transferred or borrowed points? Not so much anymore… (grrr)… using chat vs a phone call would be a huge win in my book!!

I hope this becomes a permanent feature! (Plus, of course, the abiliby myself!! )

This!! Also making a reservation/waitlist that spans two use years. Can't do it online

 

[CarolynFH]

THIS IS MY opinion
This is just stupid. . Your on the web site, just book it your self. You would know what you want quicker

I could see Chat being useful for a complicated booking, for instance one that crossed UY, when you'd have to call anyway. Or canceling two reservations and using all the points together to book one new one. Being able to Chat instead of call is appealing to me. I can type my specific request into the box and be sure it's right instead of having the CM misunderstand on the phone.

 

[Sandisw]

It sounds like maybe this will become a nice option for those things we can’t do ourselves and this way, we have an option other than a call.

I think there are still a lot of people who call to book and just don’t feel comfortable with actually doing it online. This might help!

 

[HappyDisneyWife]

I can type my specific request into the box and be sure it's right instead of having the CM misunderstand on the phone.

YES!! The times I’ve been forced to call in a reservation (since I couldn’t do it online myself), at least one name has been misspelled. When it’s the lead guest- I have to chat to fix it anyway!!

 

[Madame]

The Chat CM I "spoke" with this morning offered this new service. I was asking him to check if either of my WL for Dec 20th had hit - one had!!!) - I responded "you can look but there's literally nothing over that week - I know, I've been at this for almost 2 weeks for hours/day"

 

[ScubaCat]

It sounds like maybe this will become a nice option for those things we can’t do ourselves and this way, we have an option other than a call.

I think there are still a lot of people who call to book and just don’t feel comfortable with actually doing it online. This might help!

I think it's a great idea, myself. First of all, since the web site isn't always fully functional (I think that's a generous take on the matter), it is a good way to get around that issue without having to sit on hold when wait times are very long. At least it'll give you a fighting chance. Not everyone can be on the phone for 2 hours at work listening to static-ey disney music or can even be on the phone at all. Thus, waiting on a chat window can often be more feasible and is a great alternative.

But mainly, a lot of people simply don't fully understand how to manage their contracts. Suppose someone holds multiple contracts with banked points and the first one happens to contain enough current+banked points to cover a booking. If that person doesn't specifically select both contracts, it won't automatically use the banked points in the second which could then be lost down the line. If this person can't sit on the phone and doesn't understand enough to optimally book, modify, or cancel via the reservation system, chat provides another safe method in order to do so.

It's important to remember that those of us who post here are generally in the upper tiers of "understanding the system", but this forum (and others) is really a bubble in that respect; we are definitely not the majority. If you happen to talk to any other DVC owner the next time you're hanging out at your resort, 9 times out of 10 you'll quickly realize that you understand your ownership WAY better than they do. So, any additional option that DVC management can provide in order to make things easier on owners is a W in my book.

 

[ScubaCat]

The Chat CM I "spoke" with this morning offered this new service. I was asking him to check if either of my WL for Dec 20th had hit - one had!!!) - I responded "you can look but there's literally nothing over that week - I know, I've been at this for almost 2 weeks for hours/day"

I wouldn't automatically assume their inventory is the same as what you see on the web site. I've actually been told a room was NOT available while I was on the phone to complete a transfer. I actually logged back on while I was still on the call, was able to book the room with the transferred points, and the CM confirmed my reservation for me before I hung up. (I was not "holding" the room in the wizard, either, just to rule that out.) The CM was actually offered to confirm it out of surprise I was able to book something that didn't show up for her. So, the same could be said for them seeing inventory that doesn't show up on the web site.

With this being said, let's NOT abuse this and chat 50 times a day checking for a room to open up.

 

[Madame]

I wouldn't automatically assume their inventory is the same as what you see on the web site. I've actually been told a room was NOT available while I was on the phone to complete a transfer. I actually logged back on while I was still on the call, was able to book the room with the transferred points, and the CM confirmed my reservation for me before I hung up. (I was not "holding" the room in the wizard, either, just to rule that out.) The CM was actually offered to confirm it out of surprise I was able to book something that didn't show up for her. So, the same could be said for them seeing inventory that doesn't show up on the web site.

With this being said, let's NOT abuse this and chat 50 times a day checking for a room to open up.

Wouldn’t that violate our contractual agreement with DVC? Them holding inventory (whether by design or due to awful tech)?

 

[bumbershoot]

How about doing something as simple as merging reservations together since grabbing single days at a time seems to be the norm anymore. There’s no reason we shouldn’t be able to do this on our own. One less thing MS has to worry about. But wait, that’d be common sense. Something DVC doesn’t have.

FWIW I have almost always had separate reservations like this merged automatically. Might not be immediate, but it happens.

 

[bumbershoot]

I wouldn't automatically assume their inventory is the same as what you see on the web site. I've actually been told a room was NOT available while I was on the phone to complete a transfer. I actually logged back on while I was still on the call, was able to book the room with the transferred points, and the CM confirmed my reservation for me before I hung up. (I was not "holding" the room in the wizard, either, just to rule that out.) The CM was actually offered to confirm it out of surprise I was able to book something that didn't show up for her. So, the same could be said for them seeing inventory that doesn't show up on the web site.

With this being said, let's NOT abuse this and chat 50 times a day checking for a room to open up.

If you knew that the room was there, wouldn't that mean you had tied it up while looking for it before you called? If you tie it up, from what I recall, the CMs can't see it.

 

[RoseGold]

I'd rather they just fix the website, so I can just do a normal booking without harassing someone.