DVC Kiosk Sales Misinformation!!

[Sammie]

I have to share this. This past week, I was waiting for a friend at a location on Disney property and happened to be standing near enough to a Disney DVC sales desk to over hear the conversation from someone asking questions and the agent on duty.

Many times lately some of our members here have questioned why in the world would anyone think that things with DVC will never change, point allocation comes to mind and at times seem to think that some members just don't have any idea what DVC is truly about.

Maybe many have gotten sales agents like this one.

He told the person he was talking to that, you can book any where and any time without any problems as close as 2 weeks before you arrive.

The person was interested in staying at the Grand Floridian on points, reply from agent: no problem and it will cost you nothing to do this.

Did they remove the $95 fee last week while I was away???

He told him that the number of points he would need to stay in a 2 bedroom unit at AKL for a specific week will never change.

So you can see why people who bought a certain number of points to vacation a specific time period for Sun-Thursday were upset when what their agent sold them was not true.

He told him that if he wanted a specific view such as MK view at Bay Lake, NO problem, just call and reserve it, it's as easy as booking a MK view at Grand Floridian with Disney Reservations and you will not have any problems doing this whenever you want.

I waited until the man left and approached the agent and ask about the $95 fee for booking the Grand Floridian and immediately he bristled up and said, "Obviously you are already a member and if you have quesitons, call your own agent" and turned his back to me and walked away.

Welcome to the new DVC and some wonder why we want it back the way it was.

 

[CarolA]

I have to share this. This past week, I was waiting for a friend at a location on Disney property and happened to be standing near enough to a Disney DVC sales desk to over hear the conversation from someone asking questions and the agent on duty.

Many times lately some of our members here have questioned why in the world would anyone think that things with DVC will never change, point allocation comes to mind and at times seem to think that some members just don't have any idea what DVC is truly about.

Maybe many have gotten sales agents like this one.

He told the person he was talking to that, you can book any where and any time without any problems as close as 2 weeks before you arrive.

The person was interested in staying at the Grand Floridian on points, reply from agent: no problem and it will cost you nothing to do this.

Did they remove the $95 fee last week while I was away???

He told him that the number of points he would need to stay in a 2 bedroom unit at AKL for a specific week will never change.

So you can see why people who bought a certain number of points to vacation a specific time period for Sun-Thursday were upset when what their agent sold them was not true.

He told him that if he wanted a specific view such as MK view at Bay Lake, NO problem, just call and reserve it, it's as easy as booking a MK view at Grand Floridian with Disney Reservations and you will not have any problems doing this whenever you want.

I waited until the man left and approached the agent and ask about the $95 fee for booking the Grand Floridian and immediately he bristled up and said, "Obviously you are already a member and if you have quesitons, call your own agent" and turned his back to me and walked away.

Welcome to the new DVC and some wonder why we want it back the way it was.

Those aren't really the sales people, those are the "drafters" Seriously you seem way to worked up about this.... If the "guide" had said all of this I would be more worked up, but... these folks are just kind of trained to be nice and corral guests to come visit! They are NOT trained on all the ins and outs of the program.



This is NOT the sales pitch and you can't buy from these folks! If you or anyone else buys without READING the stuff Disney gives you at the sales pitch then... I have no pity! I read it. I then went and bought resale, but I knew a lot of exchanges etc. from reading!
And I remember the one who got me to the tour told me some strange things, but the guide quickly corrected them. So how long ago did the"old" DVC exist. Must have been at least 15 years ago when all they had was OKW! (My first CM told me that you couldn't buy resale at all, Disney bought them all back LOL! Of course in his defense would you EXPECT Disney to train on "how to sell the competetion" LOL!)

I think that perhaps the way to handle this instead of trying to prove the guy wrong might have been to contact DVC and mention it. It's not really our place to train (especially since I see some highly questionalble info on here every now and then!)

 

[oakmanner]

My experiance was that the cast members (not guides) that work at the DVC kiosks through out propertys sole purpose is to book guests to take the official tour at the Sales Center. When we bought we originally visited the mock up on the BoardWalk.

The cast member answered very basic questions but reccommended asking our more specific questions to one of the guides at the Sales Center.

I don't doubt what you overheard this cast member say but as PP said he/she was probably new and not very well trained.

 

[M-I-C-K-E-Y]

I don't think that it matters whether they are "drafters" or not. This gent, and possibly others, are misrepresenting DVC. They should be trained to such a level that they are not out there ignorant of the program (or simply lying to folks). It's not "rocket science" - they should be able to accurately answer questions and get people over to SSR for "the talk."

It's a thin excuse to simply state that they are only "drafters."

 

[kristenrice]

I asked a "kiosk attendant" a question about the exchanges. When he tried to set up a tour for me, I politely declined. I told him that we are only planning on doing big vacations every 2 years and we could not afford the 160 point minimum through Disney anyways. I told him that 100 points was our limit and we were contemplating a resale. He said, "Well, it does not matter who you buy it from, you still have to buy at least 160 points to get in the system." I knew better, so I thanked him for his time and left.

We are now proud owners of a 100 point resale at AKV!

 

[disneymotherof3]

I don't think that it matters whether they are "drafters" or not. This gent, and possibly others, are misrepresenting DVC. They should be trained to such a level that they are not out there ignorant of the program (or simply lying to folks). It's not "rocket science" - they should be able to accurately answer questions and get people over to SSR for "the talk."

It's a thin excuse to simply state that they are only "drafters."

I totally agree. If people are getting wrong information, and then buy in just to find out that what they were originally told was NOT true, then that will give them a "bad taste" about DVC.

 

[Deb & Bill]

I agree with you, Sammie. How often do we see posts here from either new members or people who are considering purchasing DVC and they have totally incorrect information. It would be much better for the "drafters" to give vague information rather than totally false information. I heard a salesperson at a model tell a guest that the sleeper sofa in the studio would be a queen sized bed.

What's so bad about giving true information?

 

[KAT4DISNEY]

Those aren't really the sales people, those are the "drafters" Seriously you seem way to worked up about this.... If the "guide" had said all of this I would be more worked up, but... these folks are just kind of trained to be nice and corral guests to come visit! They are NOT trained on all the ins and outs of the program.



This is NOT the sales pitch and you can't buy from these folks! If you or anyone else buys without READING the stuff Disney gives you at the sales pitch then... I have no pity! I read it. I then went and bought resale, but I knew a lot of exchanges etc. from reading!
And I remember the one who got me to the tour told me some strange things, but the guide quickly corrected them. So how long ago did the"old" DVC exist. Must have been at least 15 years ago when all they had was OKW! (My first CM told me that you couldn't buy resale at all, Disney bought them all back LOL! Of course in his defense would you EXPECT Disney to train on "how to sell the competetion" LOL!)

I think that perhaps the way to handle this instead of trying to prove the guy wrong might have been to contact DVC and mention it. It's not really our place to train (especially since I see some highly questionalble info on here every now and then!)

Whether they are drafters or sales people (ie, guides) makes no difference from the fact that they are representing DVC and are working to get people to buy. The information should be correct or it is misleading - and in this case it was completely false.

And of course people should read the offering before signing and not just take someones word, but that should not be the point that they have to learn that everything they were told in the sales experience was incorrect.

 

[Entropy]

Those aren't really the sales people, those are the "drafters" Seriously you seem way to worked up about this.... If the "guide" had said all of this I would be more worked up, but... these folks are just kind of trained to be nice and corral guests to come visit! They are NOT trained on all the ins and outs of the program.



This is NOT the sales pitch and you can't buy from these folks! If you or anyone else buys without READING the stuff Disney gives you at the sales pitch then... I have no pity! I read it. I then went and bought resale, but I knew a lot of exchanges etc. from reading!
And I remember the one who got me to the tour told me some strange things, but the guide quickly corrected them. So how long ago did the"old" DVC exist. Must have been at least 15 years ago when all they had was OKW! (My first CM told me that you couldn't buy resale at all, Disney bought them all back LOL! Of course in his defense would you EXPECT Disney to train on "how to sell the competetion" LOL!)

I think that perhaps the way to handle this instead of trying to prove the guy wrong might have been to contact DVC and mention it. It's not really our place to train (especially since I see some highly questionalble info on here every now and then!)

Are you kidding us?
You're defending the sleazy tactic of having the "drafters" say whatever they want in order to get the mark...er...future member to buy a DVC contract?

If the drafter can answer the question, by all means answer it, if not tell them but lying to the guest to get them interested is just reprehensible.

Do you tolerate this where you work?

 

[M-I-C-K-E-Y]

Are you kidding us?
You're defending the sleazy tactic of having the "drafters" say whatever they want in order to get the mark...er...future member to buy a DVC contract?

If the drafter can answer the question, by all means answer it, if not tell them but lying to the guest to get them interested is just reprehensible.

Do you tolerate this where you work?

 

[Dean]

LOL, they are essentially OPC's (Off Premises Contacts). They are 3-4 notches below a timeshare salesperson in the sales process. Their job, which Disney encourages them to do poorly, is to schedule timeshare tours. They are not trained very much on the product itself, only the basics. Anyone would be a fool to buy based on what they say or even put any credence to it. To put any emphasis on what they say, even if wrong, is hilarious. In NO way does this excuse one's personal assumptions or lack of understanding of the product one bought, even if the guide said it, much less an OPC. One thing I think DVC members in general don't do well is separate out the sales process and usage product, they really are two separate issues.

 

[Muushka]

Unless these OPC's state up front that they have not been properly trained and that the customer would be a fool to buy the TS based on what they say, then what they are doing is just plain wrong.

 

[M-I-C-K-E-Y]

Anyone would be a fool to buy based on what they say or even put any credence to it.

Soooooo, what you're saying is that not only should we doubt what they tell us, but that we should also not believe a word they are saying?

 

[puntagordabob]

call your own agent" and turned his back to me and walked away.

LOL the person was lucky you didnt call your agent and make a complaint about the kiosk person... something tells me that they frown on this extreme form of misinformation

 

[anna08]

I think this is a horrible practice, and I would think the guides would also want the accurate info relayed, as they would look bad having to contradict what the kiosk people say. Dishonesty and/or misinformation may be sales tactics for some, but I venture to say that I would fire an employee for it. I guess I'm just old-fashioned.

 

[Simba's Mom]

LOL the person was lucky you didnt call your agent and make a complaint about the kiosk person... something tells me that they frown on this extreme form of misinformation

Yes,his attitude suggests that he knew he'd been caught lying. And it doesn't look good for any company when their salesmen knowingly lie. And perhaps it's true that the kiosk people aren't expected to be as knowledgeable as the guides,but then they should admit they don't know rather than lie!

 

[disneynutz]

The Advance Sales Associates are a dime a dozen and they are paid based upon their tour referrals. They are not licensed real estate agents so legally their information is not binding.

The Guides are licensed agents so they have to be more careful about what they say and do.

 

[Tara]

I'm pretty much with CarolA on this - I think it's a bit like trusting your bus driver if she or he tells you that sure, no problem getting into Cinderella's Royal Table as a walk-up. For all we know, the guy thought he was telling the truth - they don't get significant training on how DVC works. (AFAIK - does anyone have information to the contrary?) He's probably gleaned just enough information to make him "dangerous." I suspect he clammed up and referred the OP to his guide not because he'd been caught lying, but because his ego was bruised when he realized his cobbled-together "knowledge" was being questioned and he was no longer in the position of playing the expert.

 

[CarolAnnC]

I'm pretty much with CarolA on this - I think it's a bit like trusting your bus driver if she or he tells you that sure, no problem getting into Cinderella's Royal Table as a walk-up. For all we know, the guy thought he was telling the truth - they don't get significant training on how DVC works. (AFAIK - does anyone have information to the contrary?) He's probably gleaned just enough information to make him "dangerous." I suspect he clammed up and referred the OP to his guide not because he'd been caught lying, but because his ego was bruised when he realized his cobbled-together "knowledge" was being questioned and he was no longer in the position of playing the expert.

Or the boat captains who insisted that the monorail would be running right through the Swan and Dolphin!

I see a cast member who was embellishing and perhaps going overboard to book his appointments and make quota. Is it right? No.. Should he be tarred and feathered? Nope, not here anyway, LOL!

 

[Tara]

Or the boat captains who insisted that the monorail would be running right through the Swan and Dolphin!

I almost used that example, too!