DVC satisfaction poll

[dianeschlicht]

How satisfied are you with your DVC purchase? This is to address if it has met your expectations or not.

 

[WDWLVR]

Very satisfied. I think we got what we paid for - a pre-paid vacation plan until 2042 in wonder accomodations. I love the flexability that the points offer. We've stayed in a studio, one bedroom and two bedroom as needed. I love the choices we have in places to stay. We haven't stayed outside of Disney yet but nice to know the option is there. We've cruised on points and while I know it isn't the most economical use of points it worked for us.

Add to that the Member events that have been planned (we did the first Member Cruise, Member Homecoming, and we are booked on the 2nd Member Cruise). To me these are just gravy to the already great deal we have in our accomodations.

Other things like the Merry Member Mixer and Member Block Party just add to the fun.

 

[ZerasPride]

We love our DVC and are very satisfied owners! We have taken many family members and friends with us and we have only been members for 4 years. Everyone that goes with us raves about the villas and the resorts. We view the extra perks offered to members from time to time as icing on the cake! My only regret is that we didn't buy more points initially.

 

[dianeschlicht]

Okay, so those who responded to both the poll and the thread are satisfied, but I want to hear WHY some of you have some satisfaction issues with DVC.

 

[Duckfan-in-Chicago]

I love the 1 bed rooms at the DVC. Its like a small apartment. We always pack light and do laundry in the morning. I love going to the bakery at the Boardwalk in the morning, and just watching the Friendship boats pulling in and out. Or if I'm at the WL the theme just blows me away. But we're going for 16 days in Oct./Nov. and it does feel like 'Welcome Home'. I wouldn't be able to stay in a regular WDW hotel room for 16 days without changing resorts.

 

[spiceycat]

Diane I think the ex-dvc members don't post here any more. they do post on the dis just not here.

go mention on the resort and orlando boards that you want feedback here.

 

[bwvBound]

... but I want to hear WHY some of you have some satisfaction issues with DVC.

I find the "banking/borrowing" rules restrictive and cumbersome.

This is purely my own opinion based on experiences owning and using a variety of timeshare/vacation club products.

 

[bobbiwoz]

I think spiceycat is right! There really are people who don't like DVC, but most of them aren't "here."

Bobbi

PS. I also answered the poll based on my (our) experiences. If I were to take every thread here into account, I would have answered differently.

 

[CarolA]

I have been very satisfied with DVC. However, I think I had realistic expectations. I sometimes think folks have "unrealistic" expections. (For example, I will never get a "handicapped room" I will always have a great view, everything will be perfect in the room)

If having a certain room etc... is important then this might not be the right timeshare for you.

 

[JimMIA]

We've been very satisfied, but I'm also one of those folks who believes there is unlimited potential to improve anything. There are two areas I'd like to see them work on.

The first is consistent policies. As Doc often says, I can work with whatever their policies are, but it would be helpful if they would tell us what they are and then stick to them.

A classic example is the manner in which rooms are assigned. It doesn't matter what system they use -- but let us know. If checking in after 8 PM, for example, is going to give someone a less-desireable room, let us know. We can stay at a value the first night (although I would stay off-site if they were putting me in a situation where I didn't want to go to DVC because of the room I was likely to get). There is no reason to keep people in the dark over that, especially considering the number of members who fly in, often from overseas, and frequently arrive late at night.

This particular issue is not a problem for us (we just drive up from Miami), but it is a good example of how their policies fluctuate depending on the resort, date, and cast member you talk to. There are many others: smoking in the theme parks, "saving" pool lounges, etc, etc.

If you have policies but don't enforce them, you have recognized the problem but have decided not to do anything about it. What that really says is, "We've looked at this, and have decided that the visitor's _____________ (inconvenience, safety, whatever) is not worth the aggravation we will have to face if we enforce our own policies."

The other area I think could be improved is online access. It's pretty amazing that a company which is so creative and imaginative is so backward with computer systems. Forget DVC, their main web page has to be one of the ten worst I've ever seen! It's terribly clunky and virtually impossible to locate info -- and when you do, it tells you nothing. Thank goodness for sites like DIS and Allears!

In 2005, there is no excuse for not having our member accounting info available online. Also, I don't see why we can't make reservations available online. It would save them a ton of money in reduced calls to MS. The MS folks are great, but we shouldn't have to call them for every little thing -- it's a waste of their time and our dues to require that.

 

[OneMoreTry]

I checked "met my expectations." I'm sure some of the complaints on this forum have affected my outlook. Maybe that's why I didn't check "very."

MS has exceeded my expectations. So has the wait list.

CM at the resorts have been disappointing at times. So has room selection and varying policy regarding requests.

The two seem to balance.

The DVC resorts themselves are great.

I'm disappointed that point cost for non-DVC resorts at WDW and for cruises are so high. And trading out seems so complicated.

Again, these balance out.

Perks are more than expected.

I'm looking forward to seeing some new DVC resorts -- maybe? But not counting on it.

I love my little piece of Disney.

 

[Credit Man]

We have had wonderful DVC experiences. We love the flexibility of the program and the quality of the product.

 

[Duckfan-in-Chicago]

The first is consistent policies. As Doc often says, I can work with whatever their policies are, but it would be helpful if they would tell us what they are and then stick to them.


The other area I think could be improved is online access. It's pretty amazing that a company which is so creative and imaginative is so backward with computer systems. Forget DVC, their main web page has to be one of the ten worst I've ever seen! It's terribly clunky and virtually impossible to locate info -- and when you do, it tells you nothing. Thank goodness for sites like DIS and Allears!

In 2005, there is no excuse for not having our member accounting info available online. Also, I don't see why we can't make reservations available online. It would save them a ton of money in reduced calls to MS. The MS folks are great, but we shouldn't have to call them for every little thing -- it's a waste of their time and our dues to require that.

Great post! These are both problems (like you pointed out with the main web page) that aren't just DVC related. They're company wide. I don't know if you could get 10 CM's to agree on the weather or if they're supposed to even tell the guests the weather. Its not their fault. This is obviously a management issue.

 

[Johnnie Fedora]

Issues:

1) Skyrocketing costs for direct point exchanges.
2) Banking borrowing rules seem to be designed to encourage point loss.
3) Lack of online account look-up.
4) Costly member events. Especially the member funded SSR sales event.
5) Dues increases.
6) No weekend or evening MS hours.

Issues put to rest (for now):
1) Decent DVC member pass discount. Hope Disney increases the discount as time goes on. Passes increase about 5%/yr.
2) Decision to sanction a family of 5 in 1 BR unit.

 

[jarestel]

Had I responded to this poll 5 years ago, I would definitely have answered "very satisifed". However today, I find myself having to give a "somewhat satisfied, room for improvement" rating.

Unfortunately, we find more and more maintenance and housekeeping issues with each trip. Also, DVC management seems incapable of solving any of the guest satisfaction issues that we discuss here all of the time. ( basic room category guarantee - N/S, N/HA, smoking in N/S rooms, allowing damage to rooms without any penalty, pool-hopping and pool chair-hogging issues, late checkouts, etc... )

So, definitely room for improvement.

 

[JimC]

...The first is consistent policies. As Doc often says, I can work with whatever their policies are, but it would be helpful if they would tell us what they are and then stick to them......
The other area I think could be improved is online access. It's pretty amazing that a company which is so creative and imaginative is so backward with computer systems.....

Agree with JimMIA's post. Also very satisfied and looking for DVC to continue to enhance the experience.

 

[RAD]

Had I responded to this poll 5 years ago, I would definitely have answered "very satisifed". However today, I find myself having to give a "somewhat satisfied, room for improvement" rating.

Unfortunately, we find more and more maintenance and housekeeping issues with each trip. Also, DVC management seems incapable of solving any of the guest satisfaction issues that we discuss here all of the time. ( basic room category guarantee - N/S, N/HA, smoking in N/S rooms, allowing damage to rooms without any penalty, pool-hopping and pool chair-hogging issues, late checkouts, etc... )

So, definitely room for improvement.

I'm in the same boat as jarestel. We've only been members since 1999 but even then we've seen a number of cuts in the up keep of the rooms. Remember when we used to have salt/pepper supplies in the room? We also used to have coasters to help protect the tables, now those are gone and I see more and more damage to the table tops. My biggest grip is why can't thet keep most of the light bulbs on the BOARDWALK sign working, IMHO when a good number of the lights are out it really makes the place look cheap.

Durning my May trip to BCV the DVD/VCR played in the living room was missing and there was a hole punched in the wall in the master bedroom. The bottom sheets on the MBR bed didn't even cover the entire length of the bed. We had T&T two times while we were there and both times they left only two wash cloths for a 2 BR unit. We called house keeping and they brought others up but on both occasions they said they were short of wash clothes. I might expect things like this from a Holiday Inn but not from a Disney resort.

 

[kathleena]

I selected met my expectations - it has. But I am finding that my expectations are changing from what they first were so the lines are muddied. So exceeds my initial expectations, but losing ground on current ones?

I'm getting tired of the inconsistent policies.

I think the online services are slow in coming and lacking in effort.

I'm getting tired of the "we're on a different computer system" excuse. At first it was a hurdle - now it is just an excuse. It's gone on far too long to be believable or understandable anymore. Technology projects should be able to over come the differences. A big case in point is the Meal Vouchers. Their argument is the different system. I wonder why? Aren't meal vouchers tied to room keys? And do we not use the same type of room keys? They tied the park tickets easy enough to the DVC room keys, why not the meal vouchers? Granted, it has been discussed that it's not that important to some DVC members - but I would sure love to have the vouchers for a week's stay in a studio!

And I am not looking into II exchanges because they are so expensive and restrictive. I'm not happy with the decrease in flexibility there.

The point cost of hotel rooms at WDW has increased too much.

Member events too expensive, not geared to AP holders (the WDW one), cruising during school and not given enough notice when announced (s/b at leat 12 months in advance....)

On the other hand

Love the new resorts and resort options with DVC
They are trying to increase the perks
The member events are fun and I appreciate the effort.

I think there will always be things to talk about in this topic!

 

[sgtpet]

Gotta like those numbers so far. I would guess dissatisfied people would be in the business of selling and not posting to this thread.

 

[allforpooh]

I selected very satisfied, but I also agree that there is always room for improvement. We purchased in 2002 and have always had a wonderful time, our expectations are fairly realistic since I travel often and we don't feel where our room is will break our vacation.

My only complaint would be the urge to continue to buy more points - we have added on 3 times since our initial purchase hopefully the urge will go away soon ....