I apologize in advance, but I need to vent about our most shockingly, un-Disney moment ever
Short background: DW and I are long-time Disney fans with 2 to 3 trips a year and we even both met while we were both cast members at WDW on the College Program years ago. 2-3 months ago we decided to take a serious look at DVC retail & resale from home and went with a 150-point SSR resale that is currently in the closing process.
We visited WDW for Labor Day weekend and had another wonderful trip until we decided we would stop by Saratoga Springs before we headed back home on Monday. We wanted check out the resort and also stop by the preview center to see if we could look at the room models as we purchased our resale sight-unseen from home. This is where things turned shockingly ugly.
We went up to the lady at the podium and were very upfront and honest with her. We told her that we were in the process of closing on a resale contract (closing this week and should be in the Disney system as DVC members next week) and just wondered if we could take a peek at the room models as we had never seen them before. The lady was very nice and explained that the only way to see the models was to go on the tour which we understood and were ready to go on our way, but she INSISTED that we go on the tour anyways. She said that the guide could tell us a little more about DVC, show us the models, would keep it short, and it would be no problem and we agreed.
Everything seemed ok when we went inside and were told to wait in the reception area of the preview center. It took over 15 minutes, but a guide came out to see us who had already been told about what we wanted to do. I wont mention his or her name out of respect for the board rules, but this individual absolutely shocked us. The guide asked us a few questions about us and our resale and then went on a tirade about our purchase decision and Saratoga Springs within earshot of everyone else waiting!
The guide told us that we made a bad investment that we would be disappointed with and proceeded with many un-truths and half-truths. Specifically:
The reason we were able to get such a good price on SSR resale is that no one wants the resort and that it is the worst resort is the DVC system! The guide even mentioned that its so bad that even Disney wont buy them back and thats why we were able to get it resale
We should have purchased something like Bay Lake Tower from them as BLT will appreciate in value 20% or so in the next few years and Ill be lucky to get 50% of what I paid for SSR in the same time frame!
We also made a mistake because we didnt take into account the cheaper dues at a resort like BLT
We should have taken into account that SSR is old and we would get many more years of use out of BLT
We couldnt believe this. Obviously, there are many half-truths and un-truths in his statements and some other comments the guide made, but we could only muster responses of ok as we were so totally shocked! We were just completely in aw that this was happening at Disney by someone employed by Disney! This came out of nowhere too as we hadnt asked the guide for their input or opinion on our decision. I guess the guide had just decided he or she was angry about us buying resale and wanted to try to make us feel bad about out decision? After the tirade was over, we managed to explain that we arrived at the decision as SSR resale was the best way DVC would work for us (vacation style and budget) and told the guide we just were interested in seeing the models (as we had already explained). The guide told us ok, and would find someone to take us through.
I guess out of spite, they made us wait another 20 minutes. I wanted to leave but DW said that we shouldnt give them the satisfaction due to the way they treated us and that made sense to me. Im not sure if the person they relegated the task to was even a guide, but thankfully he was very nice. He took us through all the models and was courteous to us. We expressed out thanks for taking the time to show us around and were ready to leave, but he said that his manager wanted to talk to us to apologize for our wait (which we found odd as we hadnt mention or complained about our wait to anyone).
We should have known better as all the manager wanted to do was make sure he couldnt sell us direct. The manager arrived with an attitude and didnt apologize for the wait or even introduce himself and just said I heard you wanted to cut your tour short because you were purchasing resale, but I couldnt find you in the DVC system. We explained that from the beginning we had just asked to see the models and mentioned that the contract was in the middle of closing. The manager just said ok, just wanted to make sure you had the contract you thought you had - you can go then and showed us the door.
Obviously, we were very upset with the guide and the manager's behavior. DW is especially upset and is writing a letter to Disney about the experiences. But I guess I would pass along these observations and advice:
I know these two individuals dont represent all of DVC, but, unfortunately, I would be extremely cautious of asking a guide for anything if they know there is no chance it will result in a sale
Be cautious of the guides in general much as you would a car salesman or a timeshare salesman at another company. Despite Disney claims, my personal experience has taught me that they are really no different than those of any other company.
Lastly, interestingly enough, the guide never threw in anything about resale members being treated differently than retail members now or in the future as was mentioned in another thread. I would think that would have been included in his tirade if those rumored changes were true.
For those of you that actually read all of this, thank you for letting me vent!!! It was obviously a very disappointing Disney experience, but we wont let it ruin Disney for us or the excitement we have surrounding our recently purchased resale.
Short background: DW and I are long-time Disney fans with 2 to 3 trips a year and we even both met while we were both cast members at WDW on the College Program years ago. 2-3 months ago we decided to take a serious look at DVC retail & resale from home and went with a 150-point SSR resale that is currently in the closing process.
We visited WDW for Labor Day weekend and had another wonderful trip until we decided we would stop by Saratoga Springs before we headed back home on Monday. We wanted check out the resort and also stop by the preview center to see if we could look at the room models as we purchased our resale sight-unseen from home. This is where things turned shockingly ugly.
We went up to the lady at the podium and were very upfront and honest with her. We told her that we were in the process of closing on a resale contract (closing this week and should be in the Disney system as DVC members next week) and just wondered if we could take a peek at the room models as we had never seen them before. The lady was very nice and explained that the only way to see the models was to go on the tour which we understood and were ready to go on our way, but she INSISTED that we go on the tour anyways. She said that the guide could tell us a little more about DVC, show us the models, would keep it short, and it would be no problem and we agreed.
Everything seemed ok when we went inside and were told to wait in the reception area of the preview center. It took over 15 minutes, but a guide came out to see us who had already been told about what we wanted to do. I wont mention his or her name out of respect for the board rules, but this individual absolutely shocked us. The guide asked us a few questions about us and our resale and then went on a tirade about our purchase decision and Saratoga Springs within earshot of everyone else waiting!
The guide told us that we made a bad investment that we would be disappointed with and proceeded with many un-truths and half-truths. Specifically:
The reason we were able to get such a good price on SSR resale is that no one wants the resort and that it is the worst resort is the DVC system! The guide even mentioned that its so bad that even Disney wont buy them back and thats why we were able to get it resale
We should have purchased something like Bay Lake Tower from them as BLT will appreciate in value 20% or so in the next few years and Ill be lucky to get 50% of what I paid for SSR in the same time frame!
We also made a mistake because we didnt take into account the cheaper dues at a resort like BLT
We should have taken into account that SSR is old and we would get many more years of use out of BLT
We couldnt believe this. Obviously, there are many half-truths and un-truths in his statements and some other comments the guide made, but we could only muster responses of ok as we were so totally shocked! We were just completely in aw that this was happening at Disney by someone employed by Disney! This came out of nowhere too as we hadnt asked the guide for their input or opinion on our decision. I guess the guide had just decided he or she was angry about us buying resale and wanted to try to make us feel bad about out decision? After the tirade was over, we managed to explain that we arrived at the decision as SSR resale was the best way DVC would work for us (vacation style and budget) and told the guide we just were interested in seeing the models (as we had already explained). The guide told us ok, and would find someone to take us through.
I guess out of spite, they made us wait another 20 minutes. I wanted to leave but DW said that we shouldnt give them the satisfaction due to the way they treated us and that made sense to me. Im not sure if the person they relegated the task to was even a guide, but thankfully he was very nice. He took us through all the models and was courteous to us. We expressed out thanks for taking the time to show us around and were ready to leave, but he said that his manager wanted to talk to us to apologize for our wait (which we found odd as we hadnt mention or complained about our wait to anyone).
We should have known better as all the manager wanted to do was make sure he couldnt sell us direct. The manager arrived with an attitude and didnt apologize for the wait or even introduce himself and just said I heard you wanted to cut your tour short because you were purchasing resale, but I couldnt find you in the DVC system. We explained that from the beginning we had just asked to see the models and mentioned that the contract was in the middle of closing. The manager just said ok, just wanted to make sure you had the contract you thought you had - you can go then and showed us the door.
Obviously, we were very upset with the guide and the manager's behavior. DW is especially upset and is writing a letter to Disney about the experiences. But I guess I would pass along these observations and advice:
I know these two individuals dont represent all of DVC, but, unfortunately, I would be extremely cautious of asking a guide for anything if they know there is no chance it will result in a sale
Be cautious of the guides in general much as you would a car salesman or a timeshare salesman at another company. Despite Disney claims, my personal experience has taught me that they are really no different than those of any other company.
Lastly, interestingly enough, the guide never threw in anything about resale members being treated differently than retail members now or in the future as was mentioned in another thread. I would think that would have been included in his tirade if those rumored changes were true.
For those of you that actually read all of this, thank you for letting me vent!!! It was obviously a very disappointing Disney experience, but we wont let it ruin Disney for us or the excitement we have surrounding our recently purchased resale.
Sorry for your experience. I'm glad you are not going to let one bad experience ruin your appreciation for "The Mouse".
WOW.
WELCOME HOME
) be a cut above the rest.
