Just had a crazy DVC conversation!

[dianeschlicht]

I think the lack of research happens more than you would ever imagine. In fact, Disney probably banks on the fact that the majority of people buy DVC as an impulse while on vacation without doing any research. I know that when we bought, we were eating ice cream with another couple who also bought in, and I asked them where they had bought and they said "Bay View...or something." That really gave me pause because I would think that if someone just dropped $15,000+++, they should at least know the name of what they bought. However, the term "Bay View" is now a standing joke between DH and I, and hopefully the new owners in question are happy with their purchase.

I think you are right on with that! Our guide told us many stories of folks who don't utilize their membership, so I KNOW DVC is aware of the problem, and they aren't very upfront with having any kind of tutorial for them. It's kind of like buying an I-Phone or I-Touch. If you aren't going to do the unline tutorial, what is the point of buying it??

 

[HGLightlyj]

I hate to pop your bubble but most folks don't use the DIS. In fact most who buy an interest in the DVC only know what they are told by a Guide or what they see at the presentation or DVD.

We talk to other owners on every trip and most have very little knowledge about what they own.

Last month we met a couple who haven't used their points in three years. We talked about banking and he told me that they don't know anything about it and that it sounded like too much trouble.

If the member meeting last month is any indication or owner demographics, the average age of DVC owners is around 60 years of age. A group that maybe doesn't take the time to DIS.

Bill

f.y.i. I'm over 60 and bought DVC because of DIS. I was impressed by the enthusiasm of DVC owners to keep adding on more points. I tend to be frugal with my money and like to have all the facts before I spend it. Perhaps these folks don't have to worry about "counting their pennies" or maybe not.

 

[Joan S.]

So true! My DH doesn't have a clue.....

DITTO!! And I SURE hold it over his head!! Not happy with me WELL be careful because he does not keep track of dates we are going,what time the plane leaves our home airport,where dinner is each night or get this (after 24 years of WDW) which rides are in which park and where are they located!! It REALLY is PRETTY funny but he has a GREAT time when we go and looks forward to each trip like a little kid!! But he is CLUELESS as to how our DVC works!! I have already told my DD(25) if anything happens to me just TAKE OVER the DVC points. Joan

 

[BEASLYBOO]

Maybe his wife will be the one who will coordinate and keep up with the points they bought, I hope. Banking/Borrowing etc. can seem a little daunting at first, and I am sure there are many people who have timeshares, not only DVC who don't use them year to year never realizing what options they may have.

I used a friends membership 3 or 4 times before buying in, so I had a good idea of what I was purchasing. They had purchased 4 full weeks in a 2br at OKW when it opened and as their children grew and moved away, at least 2 of those weeks just expired every year, till I happened along that is! i think this happens to a great many people, who knew the importance of banking those last little 8 points would have since the 2010 point chart reorganization.

I took the tour in 1996, they were in sell mode and my guide was not the best, he promised me the moon!

If he truly made a purchase, he'll get a real education when he gets all of his paperwork and yearly book.

 

[BEASLYBOO]

I think you are right on with that! Our guide told us many stories of folks who don't utilize their membership, so I KNOW DVC is aware of the problem, and they aren't very upfront with having any kind of tutorial for them. It's kind of like buying an I-Phone or I-Touch. If you aren't going to do the unline tutorial, what is the point of buying it??

Unfortunately a great many people (men, in general, flame away!) don't/won't follow directions/instructions. I wonder in DVC households who really manages the points, the men or woman.

 

[christa112]

I think another sad part of that conversation is the Guide should have realized that these people had no idea what he or she was even talking about. Maybe stop the sales pitch and go into much needed details, as obviously your co-worker doesn't have a clue.

It is sad how the Guides just gloss over parts of their pitch and you need to come on a message board to find out the real details of the DVC.

I guess people will do anything to make a buck.

 

[disneynutz]

I think another sad part of that conversation is the Guide should have realized that these people had no idea what he or she was even talking about. Maybe stop the sales pitch and go into much needed details, as obviously your co-worker doesn't have a clue.

It is sad how the Guides just gloss over parts of their pitch and you need to come on a message board to find out the real details of the DVC.

I guess people will do anything to make a buck.

That's the business that they are in. Disney has a "if not asked, don't tell" policy.

Bill

 

[ssawka]

Maybe his wife has all the facts & is the planner of the family. My wife prefers to have me handle our DVC planning. We discuss things together, but when it comes to banking/borrowing, etc. I work it all out.
Our 20 month old daughter loves looking at the DVC planning book. She knows the resorts when I ask her to point at them! My wife often jokes that when I pass on, our daughter will have to manage and plan DVC!

Bob

That was my thought exactly! Although in our house, I'm the Disney/DVC nut!!

Unfortunately a great many people (men, in general, flame away!) don't/won't follow directions/instructions. I wonder in DVC households who really manages the points, the men or woman.

I manage everything about Disney/DVC and I'm a man!

 

[ssawka]

I think the lack of research happens more than you would ever imagine. In fact, Disney probably banks on the fact that the majority of people buy DVC as an impulse while on vacation without doing any research. I know that when we bought, we were eating ice cream with another couple who also bought in, and I asked them where they had bought and they said "Bay View...or something." That really gave me pause because I would think that if someone just dropped $15,000+++, they should at least know the name of what they bought. However, the term "Bay View" is now a standing joke between DH and I, and hopefully the new owners in question are happy with their purchase.

That is exactly why we never took the tour before buying. I did not want to be swayed one way or another by a tour guide. In fact, I buy very little on impulse. I usually research the heck out of products I buy and once I decide to buy, I further research to find the best deal.

 

[tjkraz]

I think another sad part of that conversation is the Guide should have realized that these people had no idea what he or she was even talking about. Maybe stop the sales pitch and go into much needed details, as obviously your co-worker doesn't have a clue.

It is sad how the Guides just gloss over parts of their pitch and you need to come on a message board to find out the real details of the DVC.

I guess people will do anything to make a buck.

Does a car salesman TELL you that you need to get the oil changed every 3000 miles, that the tires need to be rotated and that you need to keep the tank full of gas?

Does the person taking your lunch order inform you that the double cheeseburger platter has 1500 calories?

Does a grocery store warn you that your produce purchases are going to spoil if not used in about a week?

The only real issue with the original post is the comment that the vacations are "free" after the mortgage is paid off. Even reading this we don't know if the individual was just speaking in generalities (meaning the mortgage is gone after 10 years), if the wife is the one who truly understands the program, or even if the individual was nodding his head along the entire time as the salesperson repeatedly went over the costs involved.

There's a point where some personal responsibility has to be assumed on the part of the buyer, rather than trying to find a scapegoat for ones mistakes.

 

[dgaston]

I turn 59 next month. DH wants me to write him a DVC tutorial in case something happens to me because he, too, is pretty much in the dark when it comes to managing the points. At least he has quit saying we own points at Coronado Springs.

 

[Cricket2]

I just had a conversation with a guy from NJ at the SSR pool a few weeks ago about his vacation and he was in his 3rd year of not banking his extra points he never used that use year. He had no clue you could bank/borrow. He told his wife with my assistance and she didn't believe me at first and then someone in the next chair agreed with me and I swear she was about to start crying.

She said it added up to about 150 points over 3 years!

 

[ssawka]

I think another sad part of that conversation is the Guide should have realized that these people had no idea what he or she was even talking about. Maybe stop the sales pitch and go into much needed details, as obviously your co-worker doesn't have a clue.

It is sad how the Guides just gloss over parts of their pitch and you need to come on a message board to find out the real details of the DVC.

I guess people will do anything to make a buck.

Sorry for so many posts, but this is such a great topic. Anyway, we had the exact opposite experience with our guide. He seemed so laid back. We called him several times and not once did he try to "make the sale". Maybe he could sense that we would eventually buy without the sales pitch. Don't get me wrong, he was great and knew his stuff about DVC, he just had more of a "soft sell" approach.

 

[bwvBound]

Does the person taking your lunch order inform you that the double cheeseburger platter has 1500 calories?

 

[DizGirl20]

Great topic!

After about a year or so of research (mostly here on The Dis) we purchased 2 weeks ago at AKV. DVC so far has been fantastic with communications. We have received multiple phone calls asking if we have any questions or concerns. My guide has sent e-mails reiterating that he is always a phone call or e-mail away. Quite honestly they've been more helpful than I expected. I really haven't had alot to ask because of reading these boards - I feel like I could sell DVC myself!

 

[Reddog1134]

I guess I was lucky and got a really good guide. I'm the kind of person that usually thinks of questions after the fact but I left the DVC sales pitch knowing how the points worked, what DVC resorts there were, how banking worked, the money I was paying, the duration of the contract, etc.

 

[Dean]

"A fool and his money are soon parted."

That's what popped into my head, unfortunately it does sound like he bought but took the sales spiel hook, line and sinker. I feel for Sammy because he knows he could help this person so much to get the most out of their ownership and possibly to make better choices buying in if they're not locked in already but the guy doesn't want help and will likely either get mad or argue with him if he tries right now. What I've done in those situations is to simply say to them that I know a lot about it and I can help them get the more out of their membership, and leave an open invitation to lunch or similar. I see it all the time where people just don't want help. I've known people who I talked to before they went to a timeshare tour who I told them not to buy, that they could buy the EXACT same thing resale for pennies, and yet they bought retail and then didn't say anything until it was too late to cancel.

You do NOT have to be on the DIS to know how to use your DVC. I didn't find the DIS for the first 4 years of membership in DVC, and I learned how to use it just fine.

The problem is that DVC does not do a tutorial, and if folks aren't willing to read and learn on their own, then they WILL be a FOOL parted with their money AND points.

Our guide told us of someone who owned for 12 years and paid dues for 12 years and never once booked a trip! My guess is that one thought they were paying for "one trip" and never even realized they could travel every year.

Sorry, but folks who aren't smart enough to own DVC will learn the hard way what they can and can't do. My guess is your co-worker will be coming to you in a year or two to find out "what he did wrong". Either that, or he'll be complaining about how worthless it is to him!

DIS and the internet in general is a great resource but ultimately it comes down to the effort of the individual. I was one of the first, if not the first, resale buyer that DVC had and I feel I knew a lot when I joined DIS way back when, not much after it started. I was on the prodigy board before that but it was not a very helpful place overall. I toured, got the legal info and went through it and then made a decision. Even then I was given specific and incorrect information by DVC which they ended up offering to buy back my contract for full value including closing costs after it had closed due to that incorrect info. I suspect DVC hasn't made that offer to another resale member since or before. I talked to my wife and she wanted to give it a try so we did and we're glad.

 

[marynvince]

Unfortunately a great many people (men, in general, flame away!) don't/won't follow directions/instructions. I wonder in DVC households who really manages the points, the men or woman.

i, the man in our house(at least most of the time) handles all of the vacation planning and money management. My wife is happy that we get to vacation several times a year and like that i plan everything. She could, but there is no need for both of us to do this as we have kids and careers and no free time to duplicate effort.

 

[cel_disney]

Wow! I really think that the color brochure with all of the resort pictures/point charts, the simple clear paragraph about banking with the nice little calendar that shows the banking deadlines and the usage deadlines was really pretty clear!!!

I dont see how anyone wouldnt have a clue just from reading that - you dont have to read the detailed developer/condo docs to understand the basics!

Amazing what people will pay for without even understanding!!! Did you say he was a teacher???

 

[marynvince]

I think another sad part of that conversation is the Guide should have realized that these people had no idea what he or she was even talking about. Maybe stop the sales pitch and go into much needed details, as obviously your co-worker doesn't have a clue.

It is sad how the Guides just gloss over parts of their pitch and you need to come on a message board to find out the real details of the DVC.

I guess people will do anything to make a buck.

before we gang up on sales. I can tell two different people the same exact thing and they will have differing understanding of what they just heard based on education, perspective, intelligence and a host of other factors.
It is the salespersons job to present the information, not to insure the recipient of that information has complete understanding. As long as there are no misrepresentations, sales has done their job.