guide called me the most negative person he's met

[dmank]

Ok, well I might have deserved it. Each point for DVC I came back with a counterpoint. A nice friendly debate, right? Aren't they used to that? [And not once did I ever mention resale].

Anyway - after he said that I totally was put off. DH would have bought direct that day, but no way was I going to buy from that guide.

We would have bought BLT with two 110 point contracts.

Instead, we just bought 330 SSR resale for a lower overall price. Maybe I should be glad he insulted me?

 

[Buckeye Fan]

Nice! Gotta love that one. I find it ironic that years ago, salesmen and companies worried about the factor of ten. I make you mad, you tell 10 people and hurt my sales/business. Now it's a factor of 100-1,000. With the web, Facebook, Twitter, etc., we're telling even more people faster. Some sales people just don't know when to keep their mouths shut and just walk away.

Glad you were able to pick up the points and get a much better contract for less! I love SSR! One of my favorite resorts!

Welcome home!!!

 

[Tigger1]

What was his name?

 

[robertdangelo]

That guide needs to learn how to "eat a little crow"!
The Customer is always right.

 

[marx]

Back when DVC was new I tooks a tour of OKW with a guide whose name I cannot remember. We were very interested, but at that time could not justify the cost since we mostly stayed at moderates or deluxe during the off season (when you could get a great AP rate). I must have called her 2-3 times with questions.

Forward to when BW was selling. Again took the tour and this time filled out the paperwork and put a deposit of $1000. We got a nice leather backback too.

Again I went home and tried to justify. And again I came to the conclusion that DVC wasn't for us. Heck, we had taken two one week trips to deluxe resorts in the past year for $99/night using an AP discount.

So I called and told my guide that we were backing out. She flipped out. She said "so this means you won't be going on another tour" and that she would be sending us a box to return the backpack. Well, I never did recieve the box, but I did send the backpack back to her attention.

And in 2007, I finally did justify the purchase (maybe because I no longer travelled only in the off season) and purchased on the Magic, thankfully with another guide.

 

[DizDays]

dmank, so sorry to hear that. That should never have happened. I had a similar experience. I believe in being informed and asking enough questions until I feel comfortable. This was really ticking off the guide assigned to my DH and I. You could hear it in his tone and see it in his body language. Eventually, I looked him right in the eye and said, "I will not buy until I completely understand what I'm getting myself into. If you would like to send another guide over, great. If not, there are two choices... patiently answer my questions, or tell us we should leave." He excused himself, got some water, and answered our questions in a much nicer tone.

 

[fall08CP]

I can understand how this can be frustrating on both sides.

The sales guides take tour after tour after tour, all day long. When they get a tour, 99% of the time they know absolutely nothing about the family they're getting. A good number of families are there out of true interest, but there's a surprising chunk that are there only for fastpasses/gift cards/other incentives. When a sale guide's entire income is based off commission, they're trying to read a person's level of interest quickly so they know how much effort to put into the tour, and sometimes they read wrong. It's not an easy job to have, and I can only imagine how frustrating it would be to spend hours on a tour when a guest has no interest whatsoever. There are also other timeshare companies that send their employees in to take tours and grill the guides, so maybe they interpreted you as a challenger? Who knows.

That said, it is inexcusable for a guide to insult any guest, whether they're interested in buying or not. I hope that they were just having a bad day (or month, as sales jobs go) but it's impossible to know. Trust me, I'd never want that job, but props to those who do it well and with integrity!!
You may automatically matched with this guide since they toured you, but if you feel strongly that you'd want someone else, call MS and get it changed

 

[disneynutz]

Some Guides take it personally when you don't buy. They are all under increasing pressure to increase sales. Several have been let go and have been replaced with timeshare sales people from other timeshare companies. Disney has also started hiring some Guides as independent contractors who are easy to get rid of if they don't perform.

I haven't heard back from our Guide after our last debate. They know that things at Disney are changing and there is nothing that they can do about it, they don't make the policies, rules, or prices, they are just paid to sell.

Bill

 

[a742246]

I can understand how this can be frustrating on both sides.

The sales guides take tour after tour after tour, all day long. When they get a tour, 99% of the time they know absolutely nothing about the family they're getting. A good number of families are there out of true interest, but there's a surprising chunk that are there only for fastpasses/gift cards/other incentives. When a sale guide's entire income is based off commission, they're trying to read a person's level of interest quickly so they know how much effort to put into the tour, and sometimes they read wrong. It's not an easy job to have, and I can only imagine how frustrating it would be to spend hours on a tour when a guest has no interest whatsoever. There are also other timeshare companies that send their employees in to take tours and grill the guides, so maybe they interpreted you as a challenger? Who knows.

That said, it is inexcusable for a guide to insult any guest, whether they're interested in buying or not. I hope that they were just having a bad day (or month, as sales jobs go) but it's impossible to know. Trust me, I'd never want that job, but props to those who do it well and with integrity!!
You may automatically matched with this guide since they toured you, but if you feel strongly that you'd want someone else, call MS and get it changed

I totally agree with this statement.

Working with the general public is a real challenge. It is extremely difficult to hire someone who can be "on" 100 percent of the time.

The statement "Treat others the way you want to be treated" should apply to customers as well as the employee.

 

[Figment2]

Disney has also started hiring some Guides as independent contractors who are easy to get rid of if they don't perform.

This explains everything! A friend (also a DVC member) met a realtor at a local business expo who said she was a "DVC Guide" but worked for Caldwell Banker. She was trying to get my friend to switch guides.

Cyn

 

[TisBit]

Ok, well I might have deserved it. Each point for DVC I came back with a counterpoint. A nice friendly debate, right? Aren't they used to that? [And not once did I ever mention resale].

Anyway - after he said that I totally was put off. DH would have bought direct that day, but no way was I going to buy from that guide.

We would have bought BLT with two 110 point contracts.

Instead, we just bought 330 SSR resale for a lower overall price. Maybe I should be glad he insulted me?

OK, so my question is, if you were interested in buying, why were you in essence argueing every single point with the guide?! I am sure he would be just fine you finding a new guide, it would be more than a tad bit annoying to deal with someone that just wanted to argue everything.

Obviously, if he said something that was incorrect and you called him on it that is one thing, but if you were just trying to counter everything he said, I don't understand why you went. Personally, I doubt you would have bought either way....

As for people feeling the guide did something wrong, yeah, he shouldn't have said it, but he was most likely stating a fact....you are the most annoying person he has ever met...and you agree.

 

[Brian Noble]

I'm guessing that sometimes, the commission on the sale isn't worth it.

 

[dmank]

OK, so my question is, if you were interested in buying, why were you in essence argueing every single point with the guide?! I am sure he would be just fine you finding a new guide, it would be more than a tad bit annoying to deal with someone that just wanted to argue everything.

Obviously, if he said something that was incorrect and you called him on it that is one thing, but if you were just trying to counter everything he said, I don't understand why you went. Personally, I doubt you would have bought either way....
1

In response to this: The guide and I were debating whether or not it was better to own DVC or take advantage of the discounts (40%, free dining, etc). I feel like we hadn't spent much on our vacations vs how much we'd spend on MFs.
We were also discussing concierge, housekeeping and other amenities not available with DVC. And debating whether or not using points for cruises were a good idea. And if we would still want to go to Disney every year after the kids got older, or if we'd want to go other places/get tired of Disney. And how many points we would need.

I don't think any of these have a right or wrong answer. And it's something my husband and I needed to figure out if DVC was a fit for us.

After the guide said this, I did back off and stop providing him this internal dialogue going through my head - more smiling and nodding. I also explained that the day before I left for vacation, I found out my company was soon going to be doing layoffs so talking about spending that much money put me in a bit of a panic. And then we understood each other a little bit more. And he was quite helpful in offering information and even mentioned that we could write the whole thing up and we could cancel when we got home. I thought this wasn't a good way to do business though. If I write up a contract, I want to stick to it.

We really did consider buying direct - DH was ready to sign right then. I loved the idea of splitting the contracts into 2 and the extra points they were giving as an incentive. In the end, I couldn't commit to the number of points we needed b/c if I lost my job we'd be in big trouble. When I found out I was safe the following month the incentives weren't available and the price per point direct was going up, so I started checking the DVC disboards, where I learned the resale market and the 3/21 change. And we decided to buy even more points resale than we would have been able to direct.

 

[jodifla]

I'm guessing that sometimes, the commission on the sale isn't worth it.

Really! ITA.

 

[dnoyes]

In response to this: The guide and I were debating whether or not it was better to own DVC or take advantage of the discounts (40%, free dining, etc). I feel like we hadn't spent much on our vacations vs how much we'd spend on MFs.
We were also discussing concierge, housekeeping and other amenities not available with DVC. And debating whether or not using points for cruises were a good idea. And if we would still want to go to Disney every year after the kids got older, or if we'd want to go other places/get tired of Disney. And how many points we would need.

I don't think any of these have a right or wrong answer. And it's something my husband and I needed to figure out if DVC was a fit for us.

After the guide said this, I did back off and stop providing him this internal dialogue going through my head - more smiling and nodding. I also explained that the day before I left for vacation, I found out my company was soon going to be doing layoffs so talking about spending that much money put me in a bit of a panic. And then we understood each other a little bit more. And he was quite helpful in offering information and even mentioned that we could write the whole thing up and we could cancel when we got home. I thought this wasn't a good way to do business though. If I write up a contract, I want to stick to it.

We really did consider buying direct - DH was ready to sign right then. I loved the idea of splitting the contracts into 2 and the extra points they were giving as an incentive. In the end, I couldn't commit to the number of points we needed b/c if I lost my job we'd be in big trouble. When I found out I was safe the following month the incentives weren't available and the price per point direct was going up, so I started checking the DVC disboards, where I learned the resale market and the 3/21 change. And we decided to buy even more points resale than we would have been able to direct.

I have owned a Boat & RV Dealership since 1984. Before that my father owned two Ford dealerships. What I'm getting at is I've been in sales my entire life. From your above post I would say you gave him every non-buying sign we could ever come up with for a training program ...lol. He had no reason to be rude and if he worked for me he would have been in hot water. But from the sales side of it I can also see why he would want to move on to the next customer. I'm glad it worked out for you in the end AND you got to keep your job.

 

[pkitty]

I took the tour 3 times and my guide was Larry Hope every single time....patient as the day is long Having said that I have been in sales for 18 years and sometimes it's just not worth the hassle (commission or not) to try and appeal to someone who is just not in the mind set. Sometimes it just needs to be said....and I have said it.....yup. It is interesting to see what happens when you lay it out on the table..... in this case it cleared the air and everyone was on better terms after that. If anything this guide has balls and was tired of having his busted......just saying DVC tours are usually enjoyable and positive because the people taking them are dreaming of Disney and are looking to extend that dream into ownership

 

[Sammie]

Basically as Disnenynutz stated, they don't want an internet, especially DISboard, educated customer. They can't lead them astray with half truths.

But also as he stated, DVC has put lots of pressure on them to sell at any cost. That is why so many have "retired" and been replaced with the new breed of timeshare, snake oil, sales people.

 

[Dean]

With limited exceptions for DVC, the number of people who buy retail after the tour but not at the tour is negligible. I think the number for Marriott is under 1/2 of 1%. While I see no reason to insult people purposefully, I think the cost to a timeshare salesperson for giving up on a specific prospect once they get to a certain point in the negotiation is so low as they see it worth it to fire off a few shots. Also, the insult and guilt angle is common enough that I must assume it is effective in some situations.

My SIL and Daughter did the Wyndham tour on Maui a few years ago. When they got around to the possibility of buying, my SIL stated he had no reason to buy when he could mooch off his FIL. My sister gave a similar response to Marriott a few years ago. There really is no comeback to that, free (or almost so) vs buy, easy choice.

 

[rutgers1]

I had a bad experience with my guide. He kept telling us that DVC was a service to Disney guests, not a money-making venture by Disney. He said that it was the owners who were ripping off Disney in this scenario. I kept thinking to myself "There is NO WAY that they'd have booths all over the place and signs plastered everywhere about the 'best kept secret' if they weren't making a ton of money off of it." I still bought, but I have no desire to deal with that guy again.

 

[randomiam79]

We've found it doesn't really matter who your guide is...ours is Joan because she did the first sales presentation we attended on the Magic. We bought with Tommy about a year later on the Wonder. The only other time we've had any interaction with 'our guide' is when they leave a "Welcome Home" message in our villa. In fact, the only time they really care to talk to you is when you want to add on points and you could do that through anyone whether you 'liked' them or not.