Do you get excited/concerned about the latest DVC rumor?

[WolfpackFan]

I don't really pay a whole lot of attention to these rumors. I'll see a thread started about how such and such might happen but unless it's something I feel stongly about I really don't care. Online booking is something I'm very interested in, but other than that I just pass by any other rumors.

 

[3 Hobbits 2 Disney]

Put me in the fatalistic category...what will be will be. I may check out the "latest" rumors but it's like a car accident...I try not to be to much of a lookie-loo and impede traffic.

 

[OurDogCisco]

Nope, I don't care. I care more about the quality of food at WDW. How sick is that??? I could careless about tiered benefits. The same things happens on the Marriott board as multiple week owners can book earlier (and I'm a multiple week owner) but to do so, you have book the concurrent or consective which doesn't work for me. I can't tell you how many times I've heard it is impossible to book a Hawaii week because of it. Never been a problem for me. So, I don't know I get confused. So, I stopped listening/reading because people panic way too much.

 

[Anthony1971]

It would seem that all of the end of DVC rumors that became reality had no lasting effect in the end.
The rumors are fun to read and in the end DVC will do what is best for profit not for the owners as owners will always be there. After all DVC is still a cheaper way to stay at a nice Disney hotel.
I bought my DVC to use for a hotel stay and that is it… anything else is just that.
For me if I was unhappy with DVC I would sell it even at a big loss…. which is unlikely at this point as I have owned long enough for a so called breakeven on the purchase.

 

[TisBit]

I don't get overly upset about rumors and have fun speculating, knowing that what I come up with is likely far from what DVC would actually put into practice. I find it funny when people begin threatening to sell their contracts, just based on people speculating on rumors, etc.

Face it, even when rumors become reality, they are still subject to change. Even the speculation and feedback about rumors on these types of discussion boards can influence decisions (DVC knows what would be considered sacred to their members, etc), but it certainly won't change the inevitable, especially if the changes are necessary (point reallocation anyone?).

 

[BWV Dreamin]

I do pay attention to them but only up to a point. In large part it depends on the source and how much corroboration there is. In general I tend to enjoy discussing such scenarios even if I think they are unlikely. Often rumors are a predecessor to changes with DVC and though the end result may be quite different from the rumor, the fact it's been discussed from different angles give me information and forethought to make decisions to protect myself and puts me in the best position possible to make any changes if necessarily once a given change is actually announced. It also leads to a lot of entertainment as people naively and erroneously try to suggest that X, Y or Z could never happen with Disney because Disney is too worried about their image or what others (including DVC members) might say or do. My favorite entertainment include those that then later state they are going to call and complain once a given change has been made like a single complaint is going to make any difference. Then the further entertainment comes when they post how well DVC listened, were told they'll pass it on the suggestions, etc. There's really an art to patronizing someone without them knowing it or is it just sheep being led to slaughter?

Hmmm.... sounds like we are easily entertained!

 

[Dean]

Hmmm.... sounds like we are easily entertained!

Maybe, kind of like people watching in the parks, you see all kinds.

 

[PoohNFriends]

I do pay attention to them but only up to a point. In large part it depends on the source and how much corroboration there is. In general I tend to enjoy discussing such scenarios even if I think they are unlikely. Often rumors are a predecessor to changes with DVC and though the end result may be quite different from the rumor, the fact it's been discussed from different angles give me information and forethought to make decisions to protect myself and puts me in the best position possible to make any changes if necessarily once a given change is actually announced. It also leads to a lot of entertainment as people naively and erroneously try to suggest that X, Y or Z could never happen with Disney because Disney is too worried about their image or what others (including DVC members) might say or do. My favorite entertainment include those that then later state they are going to call and complain once a given change has been made like a single complaint is going to make any difference. Then the further entertainment comes when they post how well DVC listened, were told they'll pass it on the suggestions, etc. There's really an art to patronizing someone without them knowing it or is it just sheep being led to slaughter?

I like how Dean said it. Rumors can be interesting to read and maybe throw some what-if's out there. They don't cause me to be excited nor concerned; I might think "I would like that" or "not really like that" as a passing thought, but that's about it.

 

[Sammie]

I pay attention to them, because I know DVC reads them too.

Then after I get clarification, I don't get excited or concerned.

 

[Granny]

Oh....I would really find it interesting if DVC used the DisBoards as a guage of the membership reaction. Because honestly I really think they don't and there would be a really good reason to NOT pay too close to attention to it.

The people who participate and lurk here on the Dis are, in my opinion, a wonderful and passionate community that obviously love Disney. But let's not kid ourselves. We are a very, very, very, very small % of the people that own DVC. Incredibly small. There are millions of points in DVC, and what was the figure thrown around at the annual meeting? 200,000 members? The percentage that come around here is gotta be in the single digits. We may be pretty vocal, but we're a very small subset.

Just as a point of reference, consumer product companies use focus groups all the time to bounce new products, marketing, etc off of a very small set of consumers. A new ad might be viewed by 100 consumers and decisions made based on their feedback.

And all those political polls that are so often quoted use a very small percentage of the voters as a sample. That is because you really don't need a large sample to project the whole as long as the selection process is valid.

I doubt that Disney worries much about what is said on these and other internet sites, but they would be crazy to ignore a free source of customer feedback. How many companies see their products discussed so candidly by thousands of their consumers?

 

[Sammie]

They use all the Internet forums as a gauge. They also leak ideas out and then wait for the response.

Much less expensive than a survey.

 

[Sammie]

My favorite entertainment include those that then later state they are going to call and complain once a given change has been made like a single complaint is going to make any difference. Then the further entertainment comes when they post how well DVC listened, were told they'll pass it on the suggestions, etc. There's really an art to patronizing someone without them knowing it or is it just sheep being led to slaughter?

So you don't vote your one vote in political elections? Because one vote would not change anything, but many, one votes, would.

I agree that one member complaining about something is not going to result in change. But one member complaining, and many others complaining about the same thing I think does cause them to listen.

I also do know they pass on suggestions and complaints because I have received feedback that would prove they did listen.

 

[Dean]

So you don't vote your one vote in political elections? Because one vote would not change anything, but many, one votes, would.

I agree that one member complaining about something is not going to result in change. But one member complaining, and many others complaining about the same thing I think does cause them to listen.

I also do know they pass on suggestions and complaints because I have received feedback that would prove they did listen.

I vote but comparing to elections would be like voting in Dec after the real vote occurred earlier. To be clear, I do feel people should voice their opinion and that if there is ENOUGH opposition in certain situations, it MAY make a difference. It's not the action, but the attitude that if a given person complains that DVD/DVC will sit up and take notice like that ONE complaint will make a difference. Then you later see they talked to member satisfaction and they listened and they're going to pass it on like like they think it will change based on the one conversation, that I find interesting.

I have no doubt that they do compile the info and pass it on and I have no doubt that it gets looked at higher up. However, for the major changes where they would have anticipated such complaints, one shouldn't kid themselves. The only small victory we can point to is the glasses/mugs in the studios, and I think that was a fairly predictable outcome and a low ticket item. Plus, member satisfaction isn't really the level to get things done for such situations unless you do just want to be one vote. Those couple that I'm aware of the contacted upper management on the valet parking issue were satisfied that it was the right choice once they heard more details. In your political example it's be like the difference in the affect of voting vs contacting your legislator directly on a given subject.

 

[dmoore22]

I know this is a discussion board on the Internet and we have all sorts of discussions about DVC - including the latest DVC "rumor" about a supposed upcoming change to the DVC system.

While it's certainly interesting and fun to speculate and commont on the latest rumor, it seems to me that a few folks actually get upset and appear to start believing that the rumor is true.

Me, I take all rumors with a very large grain of salt.

Like any organization (even my own), DVC has brainstorming sessions where people bring up and discuss new ways to improve sales/profits/market share. All organizations do this.

It's likely that many of these ideas get written off rather quickly, while others might be briefly considered. It takes a while for an idea to make it's way up the organizational chain of command and obtain the necessary reviews and approvals.

I bet less than 5% of these ideas actually get through the process, and then they actually succeed or fail to produce the desired results.

Thus, when someone leaks a concept or idea that is being tossed around by DVC, I don't get worried. Chances are, it won't see the light of day, or it may get changed radically so it's not the same as the original concept.

Unless the people posting these rumors on Internet discussion boards actually have access to Jim Lewis' corporate e-mail account, it's likely that they're just hearing things that are being discussed at a lower level in the organization. Thus, the idea or concept may come to fruition if it passes the necessary organization and legal hurdles, or it may not.

To me, it's what comes out of Jim Lewis' mouth at the annual meeting that I pay attention to, 'cause if he's mentioning something as a possibility or something they're looking into, then I know a concept or idea has worked it's way up the organizational food chain and is now a real possibility.

Either that, or he's just placating an angry member during the Q&A session.

If I don't like it I just make something up.

 

[BUDDYBEAR]

i agree with you

 

[Sammie]

I vote but comparing to elections would be like voting in Dec after the real vote occurred earlier. To be clear, I do feel people should voice their opinion and that if there is ENOUGH opposition in certain situations, it MAY make a difference. It's not the action, but the attitude that if a given person complains that DVD/DVC will sit up and take notice like that ONE complaint will make a difference. Then you later see they talked to member satisfaction and they listened and they're going to pass it on like like they think it will change based on the one conversation, that I find interesting.

I have no doubt that they do compile the info and pass it on and I have no doubt that it gets looked at higher up. However, for the major changes where they would have anticipated such complaints, one shouldn't kid themselves. The only small victory we can point to is the glasses/mugs in the studios, and I think that was a fairly predictable outcome and a low ticket item. Plus, member satisfaction isn't really the level to get things done for such situations unless you do just want to be one vote. Those couple that I'm aware of the contacted upper management on the valet parking issue were satisfied that it was the right choice once they heard more details. In your political example it's be like the difference in the affect of voting vs contacting your legislator directly on a given subject.

Ok that we agree on.

 

[bookwormde]

It is very clear that "items" are leaked or even formally mentioned without "details". We know that DVC watches these boards. If it is not done with the intent of guaging reaction it certainly at some level used that way by DVC (and DVD).

Disers, are certainly not your "average" members, but we are still are resonably good guage.

I find great value in the discussions and others ideas, especially since the majority of "items" end up occuring in some fashion.

I can assure you that whenever Disiney falls from the top of surveys, they notice

http://www.marketmetrix.com/mmhibrowser/?brandID=40

and seeing what is making members unhappy is part of how they stay where they are (although we all know that being "on site" give them a major advantage over general timeshares)

bookwormde

 

[nunzia]

It is very clear that "items" are leaked or even formally mentioned without "details". We know that DVC watches these boards. If it is not done with the intent of guaging reaction it certainly at some level used that way by DVC (and DVD).

Disers, are certainly not your "average" members, but we are still are resonably good guage.

I find great value in the discussions and others ideas, especially since the majority of "items" end up occuring in some fashion.

I can assure you that whenever Disiney falls from the top of surveys, they notice

http://www.marketmetrix.com/mmhibrowser/?brandID=40

and seeing what is making members unhappy is part of how they stay where they are (although we all know that being "on site" give them a major advantage over general timeshares)

bookwormde

What a very cool site and charts...