Is Jim Lewis doing a good job at DVC?

[mnra]

Likely both DVC and the WDC.

when you say dvc do you mean the members.

 

[Chuck S]

when you say dvc do you mean the members.

Well, ultimately, yes, the members, in a very round about way. A percentage of our dues (I think 12%) goes to DVC Management fees, I think it is likely that the President of DVC draws some portion of his total salary from that, though I don't think there is any way to be sure.

Probably what really happens is the fee goes to Disney, or WDW, and his salary comes from that so there is no legal conflict of interest.

 

[Sammie]

Probably what really happens is the fee goes to Disney, or WDW, and his salary comes from that so there is no legal conflict of interest.

So that way he can be sure to answer to them and not the members. Makes sense now.

 

[RAD]

Every year my annual dues go up and every year something is taken away from what DVC was. Is it Jim's fault or not, don't know, just getting tired of it. I wonder how long it will be before they put coin meters on the washers/dryers in the units using the old have the members that use a service pay for it line? I just wish that they would survey the members as to what they would or wouldn't like to see removed for costs and if the members say keep it the dues go up to pay for it since we asked for it.

 

[disneynutz]

who pays his salary

Lewis is President Of Disney Vacation Development which is a corporation under Walt Disney Parks and Resorts.

Disney has a separate company that all of the division executives are employed by for financial and tax reasons. Something like Disney Management Services.

Bill

 

[McCrae]

Every year my annual dues go up and every year something is taken away from what DVC was. Is it Jim's fault or not, don't know, just getting tired of it. I wonder how long it will be before they put coin meters on the washers/dryers in the units using the old have the members that use a service pay for it line? I just wish that they would survey the members as to what they would or wouldn't like to see removed for costs and if the members say keep it the dues go up to pay for it since we asked for it.

I agree. It would be nice to be asked if you were willing to pay for these perks through your annual dues before they are removed.

 

[robertdangelo]

Jim Lewis must be a believer in "Bait & Switch" tactics. There's an old saying in business... if you don't take care of your customers, someone else will!

 

[Chuck S]

I agree. It would be nice to be asked if you were willing to pay for these perks through your annual dues before they are removed.

And how would the votes be designed, should a member with a 25 point contract receive the same vote as a member with 1000 points? Should it be one vote per point? Why should Disney/DVC spend $ on a poll when they don't need to do so? Polls aren't cheap, and are generally designed to give the result the poll taker wants to see. The exception seemed to be when they polled OKW owners about a pool slide. Members, according to DVC, voted no...but we have a pool slide, so Disney will do as Disney wishes.

I would suggest that if they polled the members on such things, it would do more harm than good. The people with a lot of points would likely vote against it, as they would be most affected financially by dues increases, and the people with smaller contracts would be in favor of perks, because it would be a justifiable or negligible cost to them.

Some things really shouldn't be run by committee, and it really isn't a precedent that Disney/DVC would want to set.

 

[McCrae]

And how would the votes be designed, should a member with a 25 point contract receive the same vote as a member with 1000 points? Should it be one vote per point? Why should Disney/DVC spend $ on a poll when they don't need to do so? Polls aren't cheap, and are generally designed to give the result the poll taker wants to see. The exception seemed to be when they polled OKW owners about a pool slide. Members, according to DVC, voted no...but we have a pool slide, so Disney will do as Disney wishes.

I would suggest that if they polled the members on such things, it would do more harm than good. The people with a lot of points would likely vote against it, as they would be most affected financially by dues increases, and the people with smaller contracts would be in favor of perks, because it would be a justifiable or negligible cost to them.

Some things really shouldn't be run by committee, and it really isn't a precedent that Disney/DVC would want to set.

No need to be that complicated... agree DVC shouldn't be run by a committee, however that does not mean you should ignore your members and not seek input when you are removing for many what is a valuable perk.

How would you feel if they suddenly announced you could only stay at your home resort, removed banking and borrowing of points? All this is possible under the current system and they are not obligated to consult with anyone.

If DVC cared about members and showed it we would not have the concerns expressed in this and other recent threads.

 

[Chuck S]

No need to be that complicated... agree DVC shouldn't be run by a committee, however that does not mean you should ignore your members and not seek input when you are removing for many what is a valuable perk.

How would you feel if they suddenly announced you could only stay at your home resort, removed banking and borrowing of points? All this is possible under the current system and they are not obligated to consult with anyone.

If DVC cared about members and showed it we would not have the concerns expressed in this and other recent threads.

Well, when I bought in, there was only one DVC resort, so I always knew being restricted to it was a possiblity, and the banking borrowing suspension has always been a possiblity...and I would expect them to implement that restriction as the contracts near their end dates.

And seeking input, if it really comes down to affecting a decision on members dues, really should be that complicated. If you are basing a financial decision on input from members, and that financial decision affects the dues of a given resort, then you should make every effort to contact and solicit a vote from every member, no? That would cost a bundle, at our expense. That is why the board is appointed to make those decisions on our behalf.

 

[McCrae]

I dont think it needs to be that expensive. Its very different doing a survey monkey and finding out how members feel about something than doing a full scale ballot.

Although a survey monkey is not perfect it is better than nothing.

It also makes a lot of sense for Disney... getting a better idea of what is really important to members will allow them to sharpen up their sales pitch.

 

[tjkraz]

I agree...it would be a costly process.

Voting also has a way of pitting owners against one-another in a manner that doesn't occur when you have a third-party making decisions. If you put something out to a vote and it passes by a relatively narrow margin, that still means that a large number of owners did NOT want the measure to pass. If people begin to feel that other members are taking the program in a direction not to their liking, I think that will make them far more inclined to sell than when a (somewhat) neutral party is calling the shots.

There are also logistical issues with a vote. Do you make decisions global or resort-by-resort? If they are global, you still have hundreds-of-thousands of non-BWV owners deciding how BWV dues will be spent. If you make decisions resort-by-resort, you risk the confusion of having (for example) free valet parking at BWV but pay-for-play at BCV and AKV.

Also, don't discount the overall stingy nature of members when push comes to shove. There's a somewhat legendary story about DVC's efforts to add a slide to the pool at OKW.

The main pool was initially constructed without any sort of slide. Years later they reportedly polled members on whether to add a slide or not and members rejected the move. Eventually DVC made the unilateral decision to pay for construction costs themselves and just build the slide.

The final impact to member dues was something like $.03-04 per point, per year for lifeguard salaries and annual slide maintenance. Many members were still very upset with the decision.

And finally, remember that Disney has its own interests to protect. DVC isn't going to allow AKV dues to grow to $8 per point in 2010 just because owners vote to subsidize services left-and-right. DVC still has to worry about selling millions of points at the resort--now and for years to come via ROFR--so they have a vested interest in controlling costs, too.

 

[Sammie]

And how would the votes be designed, should a member with a 25 point contract receive the same vote as a member with 1000 points? Should it be one vote per point? Why should Disney/DVC spend $ on a poll when they don't need to do so? Polls aren't cheap, and are generally designed to give the result the poll taker wants to see. The exception seemed to be when they polled OKW owners about a pool slide. Members, according to DVC, voted no...but we have a pool slide, so Disney will do as Disney wishes.

I would suggest that if they polled the members on such things, it would do more harm than good. The people with a lot of points would likely vote against it, as they would be most affected financially by dues increases, and the people with smaller contracts would be in favor of perks, because it would be a justifiable or negligible cost to them.

Some things really shouldn't be run by committee, and it really isn't a precedent that Disney/DVC would want to set.

Chuck I do agree with this and I know it would be impossible to please everyone. Many times the changes have been things that bothered me, but I understood the reason behind the change.

I think all of this would be easier for most everyone to accept if DVC would simply communicate better and give some sort of explanation.

I think the lack of communication is their weakest link.

 

[RAD]

And how would the votes be designed, should a member with a 25 point contract receive the same vote as a member with 1000 points? Should it be one vote per point? Why should Disney/DVC spend $ on a poll when they don't need to do so? Polls aren't cheap, and are generally designed to give the result the poll taker wants to see. The exception seemed to be when they polled OKW owners about a pool slide. Members, according to DVC, voted no...but we have a pool slide, so Disney will do as Disney wishes.

I would suggest that if they polled the members on such things, it would do more harm than good. The people with a lot of points would likely vote against it, as they would be most affected financially by dues increases, and the people with smaller contracts would be in favor of perks, because it would be a justifiable or negligible cost to them.

Some things really shouldn't be run by committee, and it really isn't a precedent that Disney/DVC would want to set.

You're saying two different things poll and vote. First, the vote, members have no voting rights, DVC board controls it all we have no say so yes DVC can do as the wish and if we don't like it we can sell.

Now on the poll, how expensive can it be to put up a web site and send out an e-mail to members asking them to provide their input? A poll is non binding but would give DVC an idea on what members do or don't want and would help them guage the backlash of any changes they make.

 

[tjkraz]

Now on the poll, how expensive can it be to put up a web site and send out an e-mail to members asking them to provide their input? A poll is non binding but would give DVC an idea on what members do or don't want and would help them guage the backlash of any changes they make.

DVC has sent out polls in the past. Off the top of my head, within the last 12-18 months they ask for member feedback on future DVC destinations and on the so-called "elite club." There were also some members here talking about receiving a poll from DVC within the last week or two. (Didn't receive it myself so I don't know exactly what was on it.)

But don't expect DVC to poll us on every change--particularly when decisions need to be made quickly and when DVC isn't prepared to live with either outcome.

 

[whitfamily]

You could run a simple e-mail poll of the entire DVC membership for under $50,000.

 

[Chuck S]

You could run a simple e-mail poll of the entire DVC membership for under $50,000.

I doubt all DVC members have an email address on file with DVC, and if they were to truly use a poll to set policies and dues costs, I should think it would legally require something more than a simple internet poll.

Now, imagine the backlash if Disney did a non-binding poll, and the results were different than Disney wanted, and Disney went ahead with their original plans. Wouldn't the poll have really been a waste of money? It has happened before, and is likely why they don't currently use polling.

And then comes the problem of how they select members to participate in the poll, or if open to all members, how would they communicate to all members that a poll is being taken?

 

[whitfamily]

I doubt all DVC members have an email address on file with DVC, and if they were to truly use a poll to set policies and dues costs, I should think it would legally require something more than a simple internet poll.

Now, imagine the backlash if Disney did a non-binding poll, and the results were different than Disney wanted, and Disney went ahead with their original plans. Wouldn't the poll have really been a waste of money? It has happened before, and is likely why they don't currently use polling.

And then comes the problem of how the select members to participate in the poll, or if open to all members, how wold the communicate to all members that a poll is being taken?

You could do a random sampling of people with e-mails (I'd base on factors of points, age, family demographic, travel habits, frequency of travel, home region), produce a secure website and launch a poll for under $50k.

Remember the most expensive part of any polling service is either the individual calling on the phone or the cost of postage to customer and responding back to poll sponsor.

 

[Chuck S]

You could do a random sampling of people with e-mails (I'd base on factors of points, age, family demographic, travel habits, frequency of travel, home region), produce a secure website and launch a poll for under $50k.

Remember the most expensive part of any polling service is either the individual calling on the phone or the cost of postage to customer and responding back to poll sponsor.

But back to the question of the results of a non-binding poll going contrary to Disey's plans...do you think the poll should take precedence over the DVC board...and if so, wouldn't it then be more than a simple non-binding poll? Why should the membership be asked to pay for a poll if the results are non-binding?

 

[TinkerBelle920]

This thread is making me re-think buying into DVC!

Sounds like a lot of unhappy DVC members out there.