Lost opportunity to join

[cjacobs]

I am disappointed with DVC sales tactics. I guess I thougt Disney would be different and not resort to pressure sales. I was wrong.

On our last visit to Disney, we stopped at a DVC kiosk in Magic Kingdom. The boy behind the counter told us about DVC and about the tour. He assured us that there was no pressure and it would take only an hour of our time. We were leaving to go home the next day, so he got us a tour within the next hour and we headed directly over to the Boardwalk Villas. My husband and I took the tour and were very impressed. We are crazy about Disney but everything was happening too fast. We had tickets to Cirque that night so we couldn't stay long which added even more pressure for a quick decision. Susan pretended that her manager graciously offered us a 72 hour period to make our decision. I've come to learn that it is standard procedure.

Since our return 3 weeks ago, I have researched DVC. This Web site and all of your comments have been a great help. We are interested in making the leap, but of course now the offer no longer stands because it is passed the 72 hours. Susan now tells us that if only one of us had taken the tour or if we hadn't taken the tour at all, she could honor the $79 per point offer. I wish she would have told us that before we took the tour!!!

I guess we could look into a resale but the whole process has left a bad taste in my mouth and I'm having second thoughts about even joining DVC if this is how they get customers.

Sorry this message is so long . . . just need your input.

Disappointed in DVC sales

 

[Richyams]

This is something they have done since day one. It used to be a special interest rate. I think its taken several eminations, but they have always had something and we have never heard of someone being able to get them to make an exception.

Sorry about the bad taste, I understand it fully, I am surprised that they weren't more clear about the time limit of that offer.

Resales are a great way to get in, you may even find an SSR resale before they open. Resale is also the only way to get into OKW. Many consider OKW to be the only 'true' DVC resort.

 

[disneyberry]

i'm sorry that this happened to you.
and i'm disappointed to hear about the 72hr thing again and again.
it seems strange to me, and i don't really understand the reasoning behind it.

when you and your husband went on the tour, did the 2 of you have to sign anything?
does DVC have both of your names on some kind of agreement which allows them to say that after 72hrs you are now NOT qualified for their promotion, no matter what?
if not, couldn't you just contact DVC again, this time ask for a new guide or something?

also, i might post this question in a new thread, but now i'm wondering if the same thing happens to people who try to purchase by telephone.
if you call in for information, get sent the video and info, etc.
do you also have only 72hrs to take advantage of a promotion in that case?

it just doesn't make sense, and i would definitely classify this as pressure.
no one should have to decide within 72hrs for such a big purchase. *sigh*

 

[Dean]

They're still in the business of selling timeshares. Just realize that when DVC says something is limited, they mean it. This is one of the things I like about DVC. I would think them nuts for telling you up front, they want to get you in to buy. Still, they may have done you a favor, go for a resale.

 

[Canadian Tom]

Hello: I'm sure if you call your rep and tell them you are ready to buy at the $79 per point, they will let you do it. I remember when we were looking at the BCV they said the same thing, a month later, I called and our rep said she could get the same thing as the 72 hour deal. Secondly, I think the $79 deal is for anyone anytime right now. It is a developer discount of $10 per point at SSR to encourage you to buy before the resort opens.

 

[Simba's Mom]

What a sad story! I can attest to the fact that you do get offered the discount even if one of you takes the tour (if anyone else is interested in that). In our case, I took the tour on a solo trip, got all the information, and was told to "discuss it when you get home, and if your husband wants to buy, this is the offer-"
And the rest, as they say, is history. Of course, now DH tells everyone what a great decision HE made!

 

[gracelrm]

We joined in 2001. We took the tour and I couldn't commit on site, in fact, it took me nearly a month to decide. But we just called our guide and she sent it all in the mail and poof, we were in. I think we were offered $5 member buyback, but had to do that on site that day, but we weren't interested in the discount - we wanted points for that year. I hate to hear that they are using pressure tactics - we had NO pressure at all, but maybe that's because there wasn't any big offer that we were interested in. As other posters have said - try calling again and maybe even ask to speak to a supervisor. You never know until you try.

 

[house O' Disney]

My wife and I took our tour on October 8th. Our tour guide, Nick, was very helpful and absolutely no pressure. When I told him I was researching online and also looking at resales he was very understanding. He told us about the $10 per point SSR discount but only told us the promotion would end at the end of October. We could go home, take some time and call him at his toll free number. Well, we took the leap yesterday and called Nick and bought our vacation points at $79 just as he said. It was a great experience all around.

 

[jaysue]

I thought the $79 for SSR was good until end of this month and had nothing to do with exact time from visit etc....

 

[michaeln]

When we took the tour on Sep 13 we where told that the deal was scheduled to end at the end of Sep. but that it may be extended to Oct.

After saying that he gave us a comparison sheet called the "Saratoga Savings Credit" sheet. The sheet compares the different interest rates offered to us and the $10 per point credit back to us. At the bottom of the sheet it says, "This chart reflects our Special Financing Option for purchases made within 30 days of your sales presentation." He also told us that if they extended the offer into Oct. we would still be able to get the deal through the end of Oct. as well.

I am sure they would have given that sheet ot you. Find it and see if it says that at the bottom. If so you should be home free as that sheet gives you 30 days not 72 hours.

Good luck.

 

[kweaver]

cjacobs -

I totally understand your disappointment. I felt exactly the same way as you, yet was not about to be pressured into a sale on our last day of a business trip that just happened to be on Disney property. We were told the October 31st deadline at the kiosk (wish I still had a copy of the flyer), but nothing else. We also were not told about the 3 day window until well over an hour into our "presentation"...which peeved me even more. Mike, our guide, knew I was irritated...though I didn't say it aloud. When our presentation was over and all of our questions had been answered, I made the decision to be the "bad guy" and tell DH (who was ready to sign on the dotted line) Mike understood and we left.

About five days later, my feelings about financing (using our home equity line) changed and I talked to DH about it. Once I posted here about it and thought about it for a while, I figured I shouldn't take the 3 day window too seriously. It was kind of silly to think that if I called and gave them $$ two grand over the phone before October 31st that they wouldn't sell it to me at $79.

So DH left a voice mail for old Mikey, and explained that we'd had time to discuss it further and we were interested in purchasing if the $79 rate was still valid. Needless to say, he called us back the next day...made a big deal about checking with his manager due to the fact that we were past the three days (took all of 30 seconds) and sold us our points. He did bring up the fact that he sensed my irritation about the three day window. I explained that I wasn't irritated that the three day window exists (I understand their strategy)...but that people are *not* informed *before* they take the tour. People should be able to see what they are purchasing without giving up some kind of promotion or discount. I told him it made Disney start to look like other sleazy, high pressure time share operations and that I left there with a bad taste in my mouth. I think he took offense to this a little, but proceeded to tell me that they use the three day window to give a little "push" to people who are on the fence about purchasing. Fine...just do the right thing and make sure they understand what they are giving up BEFORE taking the tour. I doubt my little speech will make a difference, but I tried.

Anyway (boy, that got long), if you really want to purchase now and get the $79 rate...I suggest you give them a call, have Susan talk to her manager (or talk to him/her yourself)...let them know you are ready *now* contingent on the price, and see what happens. Good luck and be sure to let us know what happens!

 

[DrTomorrow]

Originally posted by disneyberry
also, i might post this question in a new thread, but now i'm wondering if the same thing happens to people who try to purchase by telephone.
if you call in for information, get sent the video and info, etc.
do you also have only 72hrs to take advantage of a promotion in that case?

No; at least not for us in September. DW said "Look into it" and I did all my research here and on mouseplanet.com - even got Guide recommendations here. When I called, I mentioned the $10 discount before he did; he then sent us the info packet. It was at least 6 or 7 days before we got it, reviewed it and called him to say "sign us up" and we still got the $10 off.

 

[cjacobs]

I left a voicemail message for my guide, Susan, and she left a message on my answering machine that because it was past the 72 hours, the $79 per point offer was no longer available, but I could purchase at $89 per point. I then left another voicemail message (playing phone tag!) sharing with her some of the experiences that you shared with me in this thread. When we did finally get to talk to each other, she could not explain why some were allowed to purchase at $79 per point even after the 72 hour period. She did make us another offer though. If we add another name to the lease, we can have the $79 per point offer because they did not take the tour. I'm leaving home now to discuss with my husband.

What do you think, should I go for it????

 

[JimC]

I doubt if you will get a better deal from Disney, if they stick to their historical selling patterns. At $79 for the life of the contract it is much better than anything in the resale market (if you figure the cost of the points over their entire contract).

If you are going to join, then I would recommend you to go for it.

Good luck!

 

[Granny]

Originally posted by cjacobs
She did make us another offer though. If we add another name to the lease, we can have the $79 per point offer because they did not take the tour.

I'm assuming that you and your husband's names are on their list, so who do they think you would add to the lease?? Your dog?

This sales tactic is just plain silly. It makes me glad that I bought sight unseen. On the other hand, they weren't offering anything except Magical Beginnings discount, which had no appeal to us. So it wouldn't have mattered if we had made the tour or not as far as "expiring discounts" is concerned.

 

[DrTomorrow]

Originally posted by Granny
This sales tactic is just plain silly. It makes me glad that I bought sight unseen.

I agree 100%!
But it does make me wonder about something - is it possible that DVC really isn't set up to deal with people who call up and buy sight unseen? Obviously they can , but aren't most timeshare sales based on luring in prospective buyers, making the presentation, then using various levels of inducements and tactics to get a sale? And honestly, how many people - other than us lovable Disney wackos - call up out of the blue and buy a timeshare without even seeing it?

So while I still don't like the idea that you aren't told about the 72 hour deadline until after the tour, I don't blame DVC Marketing too much for not putting in the same restriction for unsolicited purchasers.

 

[michaeln]

I wouldn't put anyone elses name on the lease unless they was willing to pay for part of it, but then you would also need to buy more points etc. It could get to be a mess.

If I was you, unless paying an extra $20 per point is worth it to you for the extra years I would buy resale.

EDIT

It basically boils down to this:

I think most resales are going for $69 per point and have 38 years left on them.

The full price DVC wants you to pay for SSR is $89 per point for 50 years.

$89 / 50 (years) = $1.78 per point per year at SSR

$69 / 38 (years) = $1.81 per point per year at another DVC resort via resale.

If my figures are correct paying DVC the full price without the $10 per point credit is still the better deal unless you can talk the person you are buying resale from under $67 per point.

 

[CaptainMidnight]

Here's the thing, decide which home resort you really want for the $$ your willing to pay and your equation of value. This thread my help:
http://disboards.com/showthread.php?s=&threadid=428249&perpage=15&pagenumber=1
Then make your decision. Don't let this bump int the road sway you or deprive y9ou if you determine the value of DVC is there for you. Good luck.

(p.s. You may want to check out the Grand Floridian of the Crescent lake area, Beach Club Villas....)

 

[Simba's Mom]

I'm wondering if these more high pressure sales tactics (or at least certainly high pressure compared to what we encountered) are becoming more common in this economy. I kind of hope not. DVC had such a wonderful reputation for no pressure to sell-let the product sell itself. This would be an interesting poll-type question if I could figure out how to word it. So has anyone else recently encountered pressure to buy at the sales presentation?

 

[disneyberry]

Originally posted by cjacobs
If we add another name to the lease, we can have the $79 per point offer because they did not take the tour. I'm leaving home now to discuss with my husband.
What do you think, should I go for it????

just some things to keep in mind:
remember that this is real estate. i wouldn't just go adding anyone to the deed. carefully consider this before you go this route.
if you want to remove that person's name from the deed later, you will have to pay off the loan 100%. and then you have to go through a lot of paperwork, and new deed recording (possibly a few hundred $s in fees).

if you have your heart set on SSR because that is your favorite resort, and those extra 11 years really mean that much to you, then i suppose you could do the third person on the deed thing.

otherwise, i suggest looking into buying via resale.

good luck!