DVC Sales is Losing the Magic with me

[DadisGoofy]

The sales department at DVC has driven me to cancelling my purchase!

We were in Orlando earlier this month. On 3/9 we took the SSR tour and were very impressed. Our guide was thorough enough and answered the questions we had. I was more impressed by the paperwork they let us take with us to study (sample contract, financing options, etc.), it made us more comfortable.

I was so excited about the place that I called our rep from the airport(got the voicemail)! I had a couple of bank/borrow questions and we were done.

After a week of unreturned calls I was able to place my order and give a deposit. I was told the FedEx would arrive today(it didn't). I called Quality Assurance to see what happened and they said it sould have been delivered. They just called me back to say they found it and would send it tonight.

Out of frustration (and a little buyers remorse) I told them to keep the contract and return my deposit.

As this process has moved on it's been less "magical" and more Timeshare. I have practically begged to buy a piece of the magic.

Is the lack of customer service I have encountered typical for this division of Disney? To me, it is totally out of "character!"

 

[Plus4206]

IMO you are letting a little temporary frustration ruin a great original plan. You are giving up to easily. The "Magic" of Disney is not in the salesmanship experience, it's in the great vacation memories you'll have for the next 50 yrs.

Of course, if you're truely having buyers remorse & are looking for a reason to justify not purchasing, then it's better you don't buy now.

 

[athenna]

I am fairly new also, only 3 months. I'm sorry to hear that this did not go smoothly for you. I would think this would be the exception, not the norm,maybe some veterans can correct me. I bought over the phone. My guide spent 2 and 1/2 hours on the phone with me answering every single question I had. In the weeks that followed, I kept thinking of more questions. I called her, got voice mail, she called me back and we talked for an hour ( I had already given my deposit). About 2 weeks after that, I called her again, got her voice mail, but I figured she'd gone home, it was about 5:30 pm EST. She called me back at 8pm to answer my questions! I couldn't believe it.
I got the paperwork when she said I would and everthing went just fine. Frankly, I can't understand why a guide wouldn't call you back. Isn't their job to SELL! Why would they want to risk losing you as a customer?? Am I missing something? This certainly seems out of character.

 

[dtheboys]

I purchased my first contract back in 1995, and I personally think DVC customer service is slipping.....

I have a harder time getting a returned call....I'll wait days for my guide to call me back, etc.

That is just my opinion...........I just feel the " magic" is not the same when I originally purchased at Disney....

I have done 5 add-ons, and the last two has been w/ a resale company.

I love DVC, and would never give it up!!! I have had my favorite vacations since joining DVC!!

 

[CharlesTD]

Wow we never recieved anything like that. Our docs arrived early as a matter of fact we were told a week for delivery and they were to us in 3 days. Our guide has returned every call we ever made to her and she has even called us with upcoming incentives and promos. Sorry to hear of the dissapointment you are having don't let it get you down it does get better especially after you make that first trip home.

 

[DadisGoofy]

Thanks for your input. I obviously am frustrated. Being in sales myself, I really expected to be "Wowed." I was trained to (politely) ask for the sale, return all calls promptly and say "thank you" when the order is made. I got none of this. Taking the sale for granted is a big turn-off for me.

As a matter a of fact when I asked the QA rep not to send the contract and return my deposit, all I got was an "ok."

I think we will try to save some $$ and go through the resale market and risk FROR. I can't see being treated with less attention in that process.

Sincerely,
Big Guy with a bruised ego!

 

[Maistre Gracey]

I'm not sure how to put this in a gentle way, but I'll do my best...

In my opinion, you are over reacting a bit. You were impressed with everything except the lack of returned phone calls. Granted, they should have been returned, but I hardly see that as a good reason to give DVC the heave-ho.
As per your admission, you had buyers remorse. Perhaps this is the excuse your sub-conscious is looking for.
I certainly do not mean that in a negative way toward you. DVC is not for everyone, and if you are having second thoughts perhaps you should take some time and think about it.

Good luck....

MG

 

[ColoradoBelle1]

I can understand your frustration.
It seems unreasonable to be paying a lot of money and yet have people treat you as if they are doing you the favor.

But, don't let your bruised ego cancel out saving money IF you check resales and find out that you can get more for less with Disney. I think you might save money with resale...especially if you wait to get a contract loaded with points (and then you can use Disney's 120 pt add on and get those 100 bonus points too)on the resale market. But if you can't find that...then at least call back and ask for a new guide that will 'be more responsive to your needs'.

When you do a resale, you must deal with ROFR which is a pain in the butt, but if you are smart with writing the contract, you will probably be able to get a good deal AND escape ROFR. Finally, don't forget to include the closing costs in your per point costs, plus match any 'bonuses' Disney offers so that you compare apples with apples.

I'm closing on my resale tomorrow and I'm very happy with the deal I got and the services of my resale broker.

Good luck!

 

[Deep-Thots]

Thanks for your input. I obviously am frustrated. Being in sales myself, I really expected to be "Wowed." I was trained to (politely) ask for the sale, return all calls promptly and say "thank you" when the order is made. I got none of this. Taking the sale for granted is a big turn-off for me.

As a matter a of fact when I asked the QA rep not to send the contract and return my deposit, all I got was an "ok."

I think we will try to save some $$ and go through the resale market and risk FROR. I can't see being treated with less attention in that process.

Sincerely,
Big Guy with a bruised ego!

It depends on the amount of time, energy, and risk you are willing to put into the resale process. It also depends on how important things like quickness of sale, financing, location, length of contract, etc., are to you.

I agree with whoever-it-was-that-said you are allowing an unusually icky customer service situation to potentially get in the way of what you want. If you weren't happy with your original guide, just call back, ask to speak to a manager, explain the situation, and ask for a new guide. Simple.

 

[kathleena]

When I did an add on once, they were so busy at the time it took a while for the papers - I think it was at least two weeks.

I think you are being hasty/impatient. But if this is you and how you react to things - then maybe this isn't for you. You may find yourself frustrated with other things like resort check-in, the wait for maintenance to fix and item in the villa. Stuff like that.

Hey, it is a timeshare. And timeshare stuff does happen.

Sorry to burst the bubble.

 

[Yardbird]

We purchased at SSR this past October, and if we had the same type of experience that you did, I'm not sure that we would have followed through either. We had a very good guide, and a positive buying experience. I certainly understand your feelings; first impressions are important. Maybe resale is the way to go.

 

[goldilocks_63]

I'm sure people here could recommend someone that is more to your liking.....

Goldi

 

[SpoonfulofSugar]

I recently decided, after going on the tour in Nov at SSR, to try and get points at BCV through Disney instead of resale, and are on a waiting list. I have called my guide with little nonsense questions about many things, and while I always get voice mail, my call is returned by the end of the day, usually within an hour or two. IMHO I think you are having a bad experience with one guide, and I do not think the whole DVC division is run like that.
God Luck!!!

 

[tjkraz]

As a matter a of fact when I asked the QA rep not to send the contract and return my deposit, all I got was an "ok."

Many would view that as a positive. Would you rather they had argued with you on the phone? Do try to remember that timeshares are a pretty heavily-regulated industry. Disney is obligated to allow potential customers to change their minds, and I suspect the QA rep you spoke with was totally prohibited from trying to change your mind.

Packages get mishandled. It happens. Not sure why you couldn't get a call back for a week.

I'm not going to try and convince you to go either way. Resale can save you money and you MIGHT get better service going that route. But it could easily take 60 days to complete the process and, with all of the different parties you will then be exposed to (seller, broker, closing company, finance company, etc.), I think it's a foregone conclusion someone else will rub you the wrong way.

If you like SSR and want to get the deal done quickly, then accept the fact that Murphy's Law might have intervened, swallow that pride, and call your Guide in the morning.

If you don't mind waiting a couple months and truly feel that you were wronged by DVC, then go the resale route. Just don't expect wine and roses (or a DVC backpack and lithograph.)

 

[PamOKW]

I agree that it is very poor form not to be on top of things when closing a sale and you have cause to feel slighted and a bit miffed.

My guess is that they are being overwhelmed with sales. My understanding is that many Europeans, especially the British, are coming back into the Orlando market in a big way purchasing vacation homes and, I'm sure, DVC as well. At the same time, DVC has a lot of people who are "just looking" and I'm sure they have a fair amount of people who sign at Disney and then return the documents after they get home. It's probably not uncommon and why the QA person didn't push when you said you were no longer interested.

If you are still interested, I would give another call to your guide and express the reason why you are dissatisfied. It might be the wake-up call they need to help get back on track.

 

[jimmytammy]

I have experienced the waits for phone calls returned from time to time, BUT, I have to say I am impressed to know my guide would call me even at 8 at night and explain that because of a very busy time, which, in their defense, they have a lot, they were returning my call and say they are sorry it took so long to get back with me.

We bought site unseen, never took the tour. It took a little time as VWL was close to selling out so DVC was very busy at that time. I am so glad we practiced patience with them. It was near Christmas and yes I was anxious. But it was worth the wait. We all mess up from time to time. As a wiser man than I told me one time "Jimmy, the man that aint makin no mistakes is the man that aint doin nothin". And how true those words are. Give yourself a little time and give them a little benefit of the doubt.

DVC is far and above any other timeshare out there, IMO.

90,000plus of us owners have got to be pretty satisfied.

I will close with this as food for thought.....when I 1st pitched the idea of buying DVC to my DW, she agreed we could get the materials, look them over and think about it. After we thought how much it would cost, that canceled it for us. A few months pass and I start reconsidering the purchase. DW says it would be nice but fianancially we just cant do it. But I am determined I can do side jobs and pay for it without hurting us.

So finally she agrees, we sign the papers, send in the deposit for 170 VWL pts and look forward to the 1st trip home. But she is still skeptical. Our guide calls a few months later to inform me that there are a handful of pts left in our use year for VWL, would we be interested in purchase knowing we really desired more pts than original purchase. Again, it was liking pulling teeth to get DW to sign. We bought 50 more, and still had not taken our 1st trip home.

Move forward a couple of years and 3 trips under our DVC belts. DW mentions how it would be nice to add on a few more pts to get big enough rooms for in laws to come with us.

Forward 2 months later, we make the call hoping for a 50 pt addon at VWL. We get lucky, 130 VWL available. I call DW from work, tell her what we can get, and without blinking an eye she says lets get ALL 130 pts, not just 50.

Forward to present, DW is constantly checking and letting me know whats available through resale, driving me wanting to buy more pts.

A total skeptic to totally sold on DVC. Thats my DW.

Sincerely hope all works out for you and yours.

 

[DrTomorrow]

[...] As a matter a of fact when I asked the QA rep not to send the contract and return my deposit, all I got was an "ok."

Well, it's official! DVC is now the first timeshare ever to get complaints about being too low pressure.

and risk FROR. [...]

Ooooh, that sounds painful!

 

[Beca]

Wow!!! If you are that frustrated with DVC, and the lack of "warm fuzzies" that you got....just WAIT 'till you get to the ROFR process....it's a virtual BLIZZARD compared to DVC guides!

You haven't experienced frustration until you've been through that mess!! I have been lucky (I am also a big chicken, and "bid high" on contracts)...but, I have seen others submit THREE contracts before they get one.

I am not trying to discourage you....just give you a little "heads up".

But, make sure you post on the ROFR thread when you get one....we will DEFINITELY support you over there!!!



Beca

 

[wills156]

What is RFOR? I understand it has something to do with a resale (we bought directly from Disney), but I do not know what it stands for. Thanks in advance for the answer!

 

[Beca]

What is RFOR? I understand it has something to do with a resale (we bought directly from Disney), but I do not know what it stands for. Thanks in advance for the answer!

Right of First Refusal. For anyone in the market for a resale...ROFR is definitely a four-letter word!!! But, for current owners....it keeps the resale value high.



Beca