Jim Lewis Fired from WDWCo

[DaveH]

We joined in 2001, we have been happy with DVC. We have noticed what to us are some things done in a manner that we find sad. Other things some good. In recent years we saw more bad than good. There has been a decline in communication from DVC in recent years. Perks are just stuff offered to us from other parts of the Disney Companies. I see the loss of valet parking as a result from outsourcing. DVC and Disney are outsourcing some of the guest services stuff to save money. They are finding out it is not always the best thing overall. I remember the perks from the parks were very low in 2001 & 2002. They later found out from all the surveys that DVC showed up when others were not. We got some more perks from the Parks side. Many we did not use, because they did not fit our needs. Welcome Home use to be DVC only. Now it is done at all resorts and to us has lost its magic. I have found recently housekeepers are very shell shocked from complaints from gusts. They try to avoid allot of us because they hear almost always complaints. I have called and said things are fine, because we want to, and they seemed shocked. Back to topic of this thread, I am at a wait and see mode. It seems Jim Lewis gave his bosses plenty of rope to dismiss him. I suspect the legal issue in Hawaii is more than likely the major reason, but not likely the only one.

 

[been2marceline]

maybe they'll actually start cleaning the Villas' again!!

 

[M4travels]

.....
Oh, and what exactly do you mean by 'the "ladies" making sells'.....that doesn't even make any sense....

IIRC, this poster was sure that there were, for the lack of a better word, hookers up at TOWL every night he was up there. Quite shocking, huh?

It may take some hard reading (IMO most of the posts are quite difficult to follow) of previous posts, but it's in there.....

 

[dianeschlicht]

IIRC, this poster was sure that there were, for the lack of a better word, hookers up at TOWL every night he was up there. Quite shocking, huh?

It may take some hard reading (IMO most of the posts are quite difficult to follow) of previous posts, but it's in there.....

Okay, so not sure how THEY would gain access unless they were members. I totally agree about "those posts" being difficult to follow. In fact, almost impossible to read or follow.

 

[M4travels]

Okay, so not sure how THEY would gain access unless they were members. I totally agree about "those posts" being difficult to follow. In fact, almost impossible to read or follow.

And before I get charged with getting off topic....

I hear Jim Lewis was fired on Friday.....

 

[dianeschlicht]

And before I get charged with getting off topic....

I hear Jim Lewis was fired on Friday.....

LOL! Yes, and I keep wondering if we will hear more of the "real" dirt about this tomorrow morning. I'm sure there are many more than just DVC members who are waiting for the next shoe to drop on this matter.

 

[CWO4DVC]

More impressed with DCL last 5 years than DVC. Owners for quite some time at OKW/HH/SS/BLT and soon to be GFV Happy JL is gone. I also was shocked when I read in one of his letters that we should donate to some timeshare group....I had to read it twice to make sure I was understanding correctly. Agree that a public firing out of the ordinary.......We will know soon enough...as we wait, I am hoping the DCL attitude of customer satisfaction carries over to DVC.

 

[Mickey'sApprentice]

I know that! I'm talking about something specific for only DVC members that would keep track of their purchases while on their stays. That's it! Nothing else! That is something to make us members feel special and reward our loyalty!

Some people can't qualify for a Chase card! Chase's qualification standards are quite high and anyone with good credit can get the card!

You missed the whole point!

or choose not to take on another credit card. My husband and I spent years paying off credit card debt. Never again!

I would quit going to WDW before I signed up for a new credit card!!

 

[Steamboat WillyNilly]

or choose not to take on another credit card. My husband and I spent years paying off credit card debt. Never again!

I would quit going to WDW before I signed up for a new credit card!!

Thank you!!! Amen!!!
I just want something that is tied to our room keys that keep track of our purchases while at the world. No credit card. Just a rewards card!
To bring it back on topic. Since DVC has been going downhill the last few years, JL's fault or not. This would be a way to show a renewed spirit for the members and say we care about you AFTER the purchase too!

 

[sissy_ib]

Thank you!!! Amen!!!
I just want something that is tied to our room keys that keep track of our purchases while at the world. No credit card. Just a rewards card!
To bring it back on topic. Since DVC has been going downhill the last few years, JL's fault or not. This would be a way to show a renewed spirit for the members and say we care about you AFTER the purchase too!

Not to mention ANYONE can get a CC. Even people who only go to WDW/DL once or every 10 years. I would be happy with a rewards program that is Disney Parks/Resort specific. DCL has one. I don't want free stays or anything like that. But something tied to how much I spend, and lets face it we all spend a lot on Disney vacations. Disney is to focused on the once-in-a-lifetime guest and not on repeat visitors.

 

[drysdaleo]

Have owned at BCV for 10 years now, and slowly things have changed and don't feel as "Disney" as when I first purchased. Don't know if JL had anything to do with it or not.

The rooms are dirtier, period. There is always some kind of trash under the bed, dust on the TV, hair in the bathroom, dirty balcony, etc. It didn't used to be this way. The villas were spotless for years and I wish it was still that way. Now I have to make sure to at least take cleaning wipes to do a once-over when we get there.

I miss the old quarterly magazine. I used to get excited when I saw it in the mail; now I could care less. I had stopped even reading JL's first page antics a few issues ago, and after I got a load of DeeVee Cee I didn't even care if I ever cracked the cover again. The whole thing has turned into a nose-thumbing at members.

I haven't been called by a guide/rep in many years. Mine quit about 5 or 6 years ago. She used to call us the first day of every trip when we checked in just to say hello. I had actually considered doing an add-on earlier this year and didn't even know who to call. I asked my sister (owns SSR) who her rep was and she said her rep quit but she had gotten sales literature from a guy named Michael but she had never talked to him. Years ago, I would just have walked up to the DVC kiosk at the resort, but I don't know if I can trust them or not. So, eventually I will just do resale I guess.

I would also like to know who the people are that are damaging the villas. It can't be new owners, right? I mean these are the people that are paying $120+ a point. I paid $70-something a point and would never think of damaging or stealing anything (I do always bring home the little paper Disney coasters to use on the patio, if that counts). I have always had such a sense of ownership and respect for the villas. Why would others not feel that way?

I haven't been able to log on to the member website since my email address changed 2 years ago. I called twice and spent over an hour with them trying to get my password reset, and after they couldn't get it to work they said they would figure it out and call me back. Never got called back. Don't really care because for one I know how many points I have, and for two hell will freeze over before we ever have an on-line reservations system.

Sorry to ramble. Don't get me wrong, I love DVC so much. Maybe I was just in the honeymoon stage for the first few years and JL had nothing to do with it. It just felt more like a "Club" to me back then and that I was a valued member. I think the only thing that is valued now is my dues check every January.

 

[Sammie]

I understand that but it still had a negative effect on many DVC member.

Not me either. Free dining has no effect on DVC in my opinion.

 

[Sammie]

I wonder about this, too. We stayed at GC resort room in 2010. Beautiful! Perfect!

It seems unlikely that we, the people who ultimately pay for it, are the ones destroying our DVC rooms & stealing the kitchen utensils & towels. It would be interesting to know if the points-based reservations are responsible or the cash-based.

This I do know, it truly is the members as much or more than the cash based. For one thing at any given time there are more point reservations than cash.

Some members just seem to have the thought process of they paid for it with their dues so what if they don't take care it.

 

[DVCPAT]

While I had no idea this was coming down the pipe, the fact that Al Weiss suddenly without any warning up and retired and then Karl Holz was made JL's boss, I had a feeling somethinig was not right in DVCland.

It will be very interesting to watch.

I agree, that’s probably when the decision was made. The July 5th article in the Orlando Sentinel outlined the personnel changes. It’s interesting Disney released Karl Holz first task ……….


"Karl will be responsible for creating consistent and engaging guest experiences as they expand to new markets and destinations outside the berms of our theme parks," Staggs wrote in his memo. "These operations are an important driver of growth in our segment and a critical part of our efforts to build upon and broaden Disney's reputation for delivering magical experiences to our guests, both inside and outside the berm."

http://articles.orlandosentinel.com..._al-weiss-crofton-resorts-chairman-tom-staggs

 

[eliza61]

1) The guy was a bad manager
. . . would not listen to employees
. . . would not hear issues form members
. . . would not accept improvement ideas
. . . would not admit errors
2) Definitely nice to have him gone.
3) However, I remember the saying when getting replacements
. . . better to have the devil you know
. . . than the devil you do not know

Or you can take the Mae West advice:

"Whenever I'm caught between two evils, I take the one I've never tried"

 

[Longhairbear]

As members since 2003 at VWL we have not had any bad experiences on vacation. We have had unusual experiences when going to DVC special events.
Till now, we didn't think much of our trips to special DVC events in CA until recently. Now it all makes sense.
Way back when the VGC were announced, we attended a DVC event at Paradise Pier Hotel. At the time we were strongly pressured into buying SSR so we could be actual CA bought DVC owners, as opposed to CA resident DVC owners. As CA bought, and not CA resident DVC owners would give us first dibs at buying a contract at VGC, before the general public. At the time, everyone knew VGC would sell out in a few months time. Of course this was just before the economy took a huge fall.
We called our guide that we bought from initially for our VWL contract, and the later add ons. She told us she could not sell us the CA contract, and should go with the guide we would be assigned to in CA. for the SSR points.
That seemed very weird to us.
The economy took a huge dump, and VGC did not sell out in a few months time as predicted.
We never added points at VGC, and we wish we had, but the numbers were not right for our budget at the time. So, we are slaves to the 7 month window.
A fabulous Aulani DVC presentation at Disneyland was up next. It felt like a used car salesman convention.
We were surrounded on both sides by salespeople while we sipped our coffee after the presentation. They didn't want to hear how much we loved our Wilderness Lodge home resort, nor our Old Key West recent stay. We got tag teamed, and pressured to go "upstairs" for the closing. When it was obvious we were not buying, we were ushered out.

 

[nunzia]

Not to mention ANYONE can get a CC. Even people who only go to WDW/DL once or every 10 years. I would be happy with a rewards program that is Disney Parks/Resort specific. DCL has one. I don't want free stays or anything like that. But something tied to how much I spend, and lets face it we all spend a lot on Disney vacations. Disney is to focused on the once-in-a-lifetime guest and not on repeat visitors.

OT but heard that ABD was starting a loyalty thing soon.
With DVC I just want a clean, well maintained room that I can get into before 6:00 pm.

 

[dianeschlicht]

Perhaps now is the time for all good DVC owners to come to the aid of our timeshare! It might be a good time to make our opinions heard. Maybe if we now voice the concerns many of us had growing over the past few years, it will be taken into account when choosing a new leader. Unless, of course, that has already been done on the sly, and we have to just wait for news of the next "chief".

 

[Geezer]

This thread is very interesting. I can't say I'm unhappy about Jim Lewis being fired. We saw some significant changes since he took over at the helm. Most of those changes were negative from a customer standpoint.

When we purchased DVC nearly 15 years ago the sales pitch was very low key and factual. We appreciated that after having toured some sleazy ones in the past. A few years ago we went to another timeshare presentation, and when they heard we were DVC owners, they said flat out they couldn't compare. They said DVC was the gold standard for point based time shares. I wonder if that is still the case? When we did our add-on at AKV, it seemed like a much more high pressure sale and more like those traditional timeshare presentations than when we took our first tour back in 1994.

 

[OrangeCountyCommuter]

Since what I am reading is the "devil we don't know" is the Cruise Line guy.

BE VERY AFRAID.

If you think DVC has gone downhill, have you been on the new ship. I went if Febuary and was SO disappointed. Service was bad, design has some major flaws (the adult pool is now a walk through area for everyone going to the main pools? Gee that was nice!), food was really not that good etc...

I had done DCL several times and really thought it was worth the premium they charge, but.. now I don't think so and will cruise other lines.