disney vacation (club) leaves me feeling a little dirty

[grizbuzz]

This post really should have been left on the Resorts board away from such overprotective owners who would not have experienced what the OP did.

I tend to agree here. Many/most on this board would willingly go to a DVC presentation, if they thought they might get a good incentive or some DVC gear out of it. I know I did on the Disney Wonder and then willingly advertised for DVC wearing the red baseball cap they gave me to wear.

I think underhanded sales tactics should be avoided and certainly aren't appropriate for Disney. After all, Disney has a captive audience to advertise to with billboards, infomercials, flyers etc at their parks and resorts and cruises... I'm ok with offering people money, gifts, whatever to learn more about DVC. But be upfront what you're selling. Isn't going to do anything but leave a bad taste in customer's mouth if you use tricks or misrepresent what Disney is selling.

 

[shovan]

I think its sneaky and tacky too and not what one would expect from Disney, in the parks or at the bus stops. So maybe she didnt miss the DVC gear? These people were not dressed in DVC gear.

As for the OP, if I was attacked and called a troll, I would not come back either. This post really should have been left on the Resorts board away from such overprotective owners who would not have experienced what the OP did.

Disney has never had to be sneaky about getting our money so this is of definite concern to me.

They absolutely were not dressed in DVC or any type of CM clothes!! They were dressed as avid Disney Fans. Everything Disney, hats, shirts, clothes, bags, loud but not anything I haven't seen in the parks!

We knew they were not guests, because not long after in the same area. We saw another couple dressed very simarly to the first but wilder & louder! And the conversation was started exactly the same way, we stopped to listen & then realized it was a sales spiel!
(They were circulating the lines waiting for wine seminars & the book store areas.)

Not only that, but the 2 DVC CM's at the booth, knew what we were talking about! In fact, one agreed with us (under her breath) that it was tacky!

 

[shovan]

double posts, oops

 

[shovan]

There is truly no way to know if the "other guests" that a previous poster encountered were or were not truly guests, is there? I know we have struck up conversations about DVC with people. And some folks do dress differently on vacation, have you looked around at the resorts lately? Unless we are also to believe that DVC employs "fake guests" to lounge around at the resorts.

As far as the situation with the OP, again, as you say, we don't know what the CM may or may not have been wearing, or how the conversation regarding the fast passes were presented. There are two sides to every story, and most of us didn't witness the interactions.

They were indeed an attempt to look like "fake guests"! These were two couples not together, both dressed with every type of Disney gear you could imagine. We were approached by the first couple, who when they learned we were DVC, directed their attention to the other couple that was chatting. The first ones were more low-keyed & not obvious. As we were walking from one area to another we saw the 2nd couple, who were dressed in very similar garb but they were over-the -top loud, in their dress & speech! It was obvious then that they were an "act".

And I have to repeat, that DVC CM's that we spoke with, knew exactly what we were talking about.

 

[Dean]

Looks like I'm a minority on this one but I think the CM should have said DVC presentation rather than "show". Especially with YMD going on, at first glance I thought you were going to say how you were selected for a Disney show and a fast pass. IMO very misleading and I would even more PO'd then the OP. It is suprising though since I have never seen a DVC CM aproach anyone except at the kiosk and even then they are very polite and will only make an appointment for you and answer a few basic questions. Glad you had a good time on your trip. If you have seen any of my previous posts you'll knowI am a big DVC supporter and visit WDW several times a year, I love my DVC, but this was IMO out of line.

Of course they should have but they didn't. On a deception scale of 1 to 10, this is a minus 5. To play the devil's advocate, the fact that DVC has been so passive in the sales area over the years has cost us members a number of off site DVC resorts including NY city, CO and Newport Coast, CA plus likely HI 8-10 years ago and who knows what else if the system had gotten going good off property. IF DVC doesn't get in the game in HI, they will find that competing with Marriott, Wyndham and Hilton is not a level playing field. DL may be small enough to sell out to just members but the HI resort will need a lot of new blood and DVC will have to go head to head with the Marriott resort there to sell it. And thus lies the future of off property DVC resorts, IMO. Tactics other systems use aggressively include "owners updates", exchange company developer deposits, more of a hard sell (can do this honestly and reasonably), incentives to tour and the like.

 

[PADisFam2]

In Nov. 07 we joined AKV and all though we didn't get offered free fast passes to listen to the pitch, I was involved with a sales person who was trying to close the deal in a manor which I did not appreciate. She was pushy, aggressive and was not listening me. I was at the point that I wanted to purchase, but not from her. Just so happens that I was sent to Orlando for work and was able to arrange an on site visit with another cast member. We closed the deal with him and moved on.
Our original sales person now received half commission instead of full.
It made me feel better, but changed nothing.
The fact of the matter is, these types of tactics are how you sell this type of product.
I am sure DVC's competitors employ tactics much worse than the ones we have shared on this thread and even though I had a bad experience I am still OK with the way they sell.

 

[saturnsuzy]

Sorry it took so long for me to get back.

Thanks for all the answers. I had a small family emergency and then I couldn't find the thread because it has been moved and then I forgot my original password.

I do think it belongs on the regular resort board not the DVC one as the incident took place at the Caribbean beach not a DVC resort. IMHO it's unlikely that they would try to use this tactic at a DVC resort as the guests are much more knowledgeable about DVC and they wouldn't catch many people out ( plus maybe the members would be upset at not being able to get the VIP fast passes).

I'll try to answer some of the questions.
This took place either Sunday March 16th or Monday the 17th , I can't remember if it was our first full day or our second. The lady concerned wore a light blue shirt with a Disney logo on it and khaki shorts/pants. Not a polo shirt more like a tommy bahama. She did have a name tag on, I can't remember her name. I didn't "miss" any of her spiel. She approached the bus queue and asked who was going to MK. When 4 or 5 families indicated they were she said (roughly) " we have a new show going on, we only take about 20 families a day so you have to pre register and we give you some VIP fastpasses for taking a look at the show" . The theatre is called Exposition Hall ( I found one of the pieces of information we received) , It is a pink brochure with goofey on it. Someone wrote a phone number in it to book a tour , so for those that think I'm a troll call it and ask 407 827 1893 if there is such a thing as a group presentation at the Magic Kingdom.

I understand that as this was moved to the DVC boards many of you are very loyal to your membership and don't want to hear anything that isn't happy news. It wasn't my intention to question what you bought, just to warn unsuspecting people like me what they might be signing up for.

Perhaps I am naive and too trusting but I have one question

If I ( or anyone else) can't trust Disney or what they offer at the Magic Kingdom of all places , then who can I trust?
I'm slightly saddened because if no where else in this world I believe I should be able to suspend reality in that one place and take refuge from the harsh realities of life. I think that's what Walt intended.

 

[pbharris4]

Edited....never mind.

 

[grizbuzz]

The idea of a timeshare pitch makes me want to run

If DVC had been presented to me in the typical slimy timeshare manner, I would never have considered it. I really started getting interested while we were on a cruise and it was because it was presented in a non pushy way where other members talked to me, not sales people. And when I finally contacted a guide, he didn't do a hard sell either. I told him I was reading DISboards and he basically said "let me know if you have any questions or how I can help." This sales approach was different than other timeshares and made me trust that this was perhaps truly of value.

I think it's not appropriate for Disney to trick paying Disney park and resort customers into going to DVC presentations. And I think it hurts the Disney brand, the DVC brand and if I had been approached in that manner, I wouldn't have bought into DVC. Disney should go ahead and offer people an incentive to learn more, but be upfront about what is being sold.

 

[1andrea]

I am a DVC member and I too LOVE my membership.

I do think that if this type of tactic has been used to trick someone into going to a timeshare presentation it is wrong.

Thats not what Disney is all about. Guests trust Disney and if Disney starts to trick guests then the trust is lost and so is the magical experience.

When we bought on our second trip we went into a DVC booth in Magic Kingdom and were offered a DVC presentation at SSR later in the day. EVERYTHING we were told was true there were no underhand or devious tactics, we were not pressured and felt we could walk away at anytime. This was a reason we signed that day.

We trusted that Disney were telling us the truth and we were not disappointed.

If I was tricked into going to see a 'show' and it turned out to be a timeshare presentation there would be NO WAY I would sign up that day because I would not trust a word they said and their sale would be gone.

 

[LIFERBABE]

...... I know I did on the Disney Wonder and then willingly advertised for DVC wearing the red baseball cap they gave me to wear.

I think underhanded sales tactics should be avoided and certainly aren't appropriate for Disney. After all, Disney has a captive audience to advertise to with billboards, infomercials, flyers etc at their parks and resorts and cruises... I'm ok with offering people money, gifts, whatever to learn more about DVC. But be upfront what you're selling. Isn't going to do anything but leave a bad taste in customer's mouth if you use tricks or misrepresent what Disney is selling.

I went on the cruise in 2006 and went to the DVC presentation willingly, because we were thinking of adding on.

I thought the request to wear the caps and talk to everyone about DVC on the cruise was tacky too. It's one thing if you have on DVC gear and someone asks you about it, but for DVC to pass out caps and encourage its membership to "talk up" DVC to unsuspecting cruisers is tacky. I love my DVC, but it did feel "dirty". I dont seek out DVC gear anymore, because i feel like Im adding to the marketing glut at WDW instead of showing my pride of membership.

In the past I have refrained from using the word "pimped" because I felt it was too harsh, but lately that is what DVC is doing to its membership. Those "actors" they have talking up DVC in the parks are their caricatures of its membership and how we act in the parks.

That won't be me, and I stopped talking about DVC to strangers.