My most shockingly, un-Disney moment - Courtesy of the DVC

[CarolAnnC]

The real problem is not the salesperson but the selling company. While the behavior of the salesperson was wrong, what drove them to be so highly frustrated? Imagine what it would be like to wait for a long period of time for your next potential sales only to find out that that you lead had no interest whatsoever in making a purchase but only wants to take a tour. Now they have to get in the end of the line again and wait for the next lead. I am not saying they were right as they were wrong. But I am saying that the selling company needs to be more responsible in how they treat their employees. When people act out there is a source of frustration.

Another problem is when you focus on growth to much you often neglect quality.

I am not defending the bad behavior by the Guide in this situation at all. However, this statement is very true. Having worked sales for many years, it is an "Up" system where your name is literally on a board and you are assigned your customer when your turn comes. You go back to the bottom of the board after that one leaves.

I think the problem here is that the OP should never have been treated like a prospect from the start of his visit to SSR. He should have been escorted by an employee (not a Guide) and given the chance to view the models per his request. Then he would not have been subjected to the heavy handed attempt by the Guide to dissuade him from his resale purchase.

Hopefully if the OP makes the situation known to DVC, they will then be able to address it with the individual. Something like this never should happen to anyone...

 

[SabresFan]

Um, maybe I'm mistaken, but isn't Disney still selling Tree House Villas direct? And aren't Tree House Villas part of Saratoga Springs Resort? In fact, I don't believe you can buy points at the "Tree House Villas Resort", although if you buy points at Saratoga Springs and want to book a THV, then SSR is the home resort that allows you to book at 11 months for a THV?

When we were there in July this year, we saw three models - THV, AKV and BLT. I believe these are the only WDW properties Disney is currently selling direct (excluding add-ons).

So if SSR stinks, isn't it therefor true that THV stink too, since THV is part of SSR?

Not only ws the sales rep boorish, but incomprehensibly stupid as well.

 

[walkdmc]

That's just terrible. First, what a bad impression of DVC and second, to ruin some of your precious vacation time with such bull manure.

I bought 2 BLT contracts on the resale market and one 50 pt. contract from DVC directly. I had wonderful experiences and prices throughout the resale process. I would never hesitate to save upwards of $1000 by purchasing resale. And, I've booked two trips since closing on my resales and DVC member services were nice and non-judgmental both times. Believe me, that's the last time anyone will treat you differently because you bought a resale contract.

I also know that you can't believe anything that comes out of a DVC sales rep's mouth once they know you're considering resale.

And, many people who bought SSR have had many WDW trips and never stayed at SSR. And those who have stayed at SSR have enjoyed the resort very much.

Gosh, I almost forgot, "Welcome Home!".

 

[parlay]

That is just horrible! I'm sorry that your experience was so poor! It really makes me sad to think that some of the guides are that way! But kudos to your wife for writing the letter and to the both of you for not letting it ruin they way you feel about Disney overall!

 

[mom3sonstt]

When we first toured (fall of 1996) we were assigned a guide who left the company before we purchased. Our new guide handled our paperwork for our initial purchase and our first add-on. We had never met him. We added on again almost 10 years later while visiting the Woodfield Mall near Chicago. I called our guide to see if he would receive any credit for this purchase. A year later we stayed at the Treehouses (so this would have been Aug 2009) and decided to go meet him for the first time (after a nearly 12 year membership). He was very friendly and outgoing, took us around and showed us the model rooms, commented on my husband's name (he has a famous name) and mentioned other "celebrity" names that he has dealt with - none of which were the ones that made the name famous. We had a pleasant time with him and after 30 - 40 minutes (including the model room tour) he made a comment about us just buying points recently and that we probably weren't in the market for any more right now, and my husband corrected him and said that depending on what kind of offers were available we were considering adding on again. He told us the prices for everything available, the incentives that were being offered. He wasn't pushy - in fact we had to basically ask him if we could buy more when it became obvious he wasn't trying to sell us anything. We wound up buying more (and they were Saratoga points) from that visit. (We waited until we got home to actually do it). And since then bought 2 more 50 point contracts. Whenever I've called him I've never been pressured to change my mind and buy whatever the newest property is. He does offer it, but doesn't "push" any property over another. This summer we stopped by to see him again (actually when we bought one of our 50pt contracts he told us he would get us some fastpasses on our next visit since there weren't any incentives available - that's what we were stopping by for) While we were in a sitting area waiting for him we observed another guide interacting with some new guests. He seemed nice enough, and I didn't notice any lies - but he seemed to be more over-the-top than our guide. I wouldn't have felt comfortable having him as my guide - he was implying that he sold a membership to a famous football player, whose name he couldn't mention, but them went on to give enough clues that even I could figure out who he was talking about. He seemed like a bragger - like owning at DVC is the only smart move to make, that he used to have a rental home somewhere else, but you had to pay all the upkeep on it, and you could only go to that place, and if you rented it out to someone else you didn't know what kind of damage they would do - all of which, I guess, is technically true, but if I were someone new it would have turned me off - that he was trying too hard to impress me.

I guess all this rambling is to say that the different guides all have a different selling style, we were fortunate to have the guide we do who is low-key and not pushy. But having a guide who badmouths a portion of the product that he is selling is just bizarre. And while it is a good idea that the OP is bringing this to the attention of his superiors, if it was done in the earshot of all the other guests, I would assume that there were other guides and/or other employees who could hear him also - so either this is this is typical behavior for this guide (and they are used to it), or somebody has already said "Hey, what was that all about?". If the OP had said that the tirade was in the guide's office, or while they were alone on the tour with him, where he would have had some idea that he might not be overheard, I would totally expect a letter to be written. But if he did it out where anybody could hear him, I would doubt that a letter would make much difference because they probably already know that he is like that.

 

[a742246]

I just want to say that, Saratoga Springs is one of my favorite resorts.
You will love it. Good Luck with everything......

 

[klofan]

Believe it or not, this doesn't shock me. I used to be a member, but sold my contract. When I went to DVC kiosk in DTD when I first bought, the CM was like, wow your young, how the heck are you going to afford this. I was in shock. I realized later he gave me the wrong time for my tour. It was a horrible first impression, yet I bought.

Last week, I e-mailed DVC interested into buying again. I already looked at the resale market and already made my mind by purchasing resale. But I wanted to see what DVC themselves had to offer and let them know upfront of my decision.

They gave me a call back, but it was a new guide. They told me my ex guide was unavailable. This new woman told me about the ROFR and said DVC is taking back 99% of the resale contracts and its almost impossible to buy resale right now. Then contradicted herself and told me that if I bought resale (she said since DVC had so much better deals than resale right now) she would slap me upside the head! But said it in a rude, condescending way. The call was so sleazy and umcomfortable. I was so turned off, that I didn't even want to be a member anymore and it took me like 2-3 days to get over it. I've had an interesting DVC process, but they are a timeshare and IMO are no different from any other timeshare out there.

Pete

 

[Sammie]

Absolutely name them, the staff at SSR would be furious, embarrassed and down right angry for this type of behavior.

Contact Member Service, please.

As to what or rather who is putting the pressure on sales for them to become maniacs well I am sure we can all guess.

J. Lewis is the very reason BLT is having to go back and redo mistakes that a first year design student would have known better than to do.

Kitchen sinks and bathroom sinks do not belong in the same room.

Just to show how stupid this agent was, even if the OP had just purchased a resale, he pretty much eliminated them from wanting to make an addon purchase from DVC in the future.

 

[gkrykewy]

As to what or rather who is putting the pressure on sales for them to become maniacs well I am sure we can all guess.

J. Lewis

some of us can certainly guess, since some of us blame jim lewis for everything from clogged toilets to cloudy days.

But we shouldn't say his name! He sees all, knows all - his spies are everywhere.

 

[Dean]

I am not defending the bad behavior by the Guide in this situation at all. However, this statement is very true. Having worked sales for many years, it is an "Up" system where your name is literally on a board and you are assigned your customer when your turn comes. You go back to the bottom of the board after that one leaves.

I think the problem here is that the OP should never have been treated like a prospect from the start of his visit to SSR. He should have been escorted by an employee (not a Guide) and given the chance to view the models per his request. Then he would not have been subjected to the heavy handed attempt by the Guide to dissuade him from his resale purchase.

Hopefully if the OP makes the situation known to DVC, they will then be able to address it with the individual. Something like this never should happen to anyone...

The job of the ASA is to get people in for the tour and the job of the guide is to sell retail. These are pretty typical timeshare sales approaches even if they have thus far been atypical for DVC. I predict we'll see more of the usual timeshare sales aggravations going forward. It does make me wonder in context with the recent rumor about a differentiation between resale and retail purchases.

 

[Dean]

Just to show how stupid this agent was, even if the OP had just purchased a resale, he pretty much eliminated them from wanting to make an addon purchase from DVC in the future.

I doubt that's true but it's very possible they could have convinced them to buy retail and cancel their retail contract, likely the main goal of the tyrade.

 

[keishashadow]

The real problem is not the salesperson but the selling company. While the behavior of the salesperson was wrong, what drove them to be so highly frustrated? Imagine what it would be like to wait for a long period of time for your next potential sales only to find out that that you lead had no interest whatsoever in making a purchase but only wants to take a tour. Now they have to get in the end of the line again and wait for the next lead. I am not saying they were right as they were wrong. But I am saying that the selling company needs to be more responsible in how they treat their employees. When people act out there is a source of frustration.

Another problem is when you focus on growth to much you often neglect quality.

i don't sell timeshares but ask any realtor & they'll tell you lookie-loos are part & parcelof any sort of real estate 'open house'. General idea is to get bodies in the door & even if they're not interested in that particular property (in this case SSR) you put your best foot forward & try to sell them something else or hope for a referral for future business.

I am not defending the bad behavior by the Guide in this situation at all. However, this statement is very true. Having worked sales for many years, it is an "Up" system where your name is literally on a board and you are assigned your customer when your turn comes. You go back to the bottom of the board after that one leaves.

I think the problem here is that the OP should never have been treated like a prospect from the start of his visit to SSR. He should have been escorted by an employee (not a Guide) and given the chance to view the models per his request. Then he would not have been subjected to the heavy handed attempt by the Guide to dissuade him from his resale purchase.

Hopefully if the OP makes the situation known to DVC, they will then be able to address it with the individual. Something like this never should happen to anyone...

it was explained to me that specific time periods are reserved for current owners (which i'd think would apply to anybody in process of acquiring a resale contract) to visit the models so as not to waste anybody's time. jmho, it's basically in place to shield potential buyers from disgruntled owners' possible unfavorable comments, real or imagined. Word of mouth is everything in sales.

The job of the ASA is to get people in for the tour and the job of the guide is to sell retail. These are pretty typical timeshare sales approaches even if they have thus far been atypical for DVC. I predict we'll see more of the usual timeshare sales aggravations going forward. It does make me wonder in context with the recent rumor about a differentiation between resale and retail purchases.

appears ive missed something, anybody care to give cliff notes or linky

 

[TisBit]

Given what the OP posted, I would entirely disagree with this - and I'm usually one of the first to "stick up" for Disney/DVC in many cases.

Please understand what I said, I doubt he "intentionally" was trying to bash SSR, but I didn't say he didn't end up doing that. His first statement is the worst and the most alarming, the others are merely facts.....as I said, he was trying to put doubt in their heads. I also stated that it was very unprofessional and could have been done in a better, more productive way.

 

[dianeschlicht]

Part of the problem here was the person at the front desk of the preview center. They should have informed them about the owner's open house times, and been done with it. The OP should never have been sent to the sales rep in the first place. They were, in essence, already owners (baring closing), and should have been treated as such....not as prospects.

Given the treatment they endured though, I'd sure tell the member satisfaction team that NO WAY would I ever be buying anything direct given that the agents don't seem to like the properties.

 

[gkrykewy]

Please understand what I said, I doubt he "intentionally" was trying to bash SSR, but I didn't say he didn't end up doing that. His first statement is the worst and the most alarming, the others are merely facts.....as I said, he was trying to put doubt in their heads. I also stated that it was very unprofessional and could have been done in a better, more productive way.

I don't see any facts here except for the length of contract (and currently the dues):

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 it’s so bad that “even Disney won’t buy them back and that’s 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 I’ll be lucky to get 50% of what I paid for SSR in the same time frame!
• We also made a mistake because we didn’t 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

 

[dianeschlicht]

• We also made a mistake because we didn’t 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

Well, perhaps he should have also mentioned that those cheaper dues at BLT will rise pretty fast once it's sold out. They might also mention how SSR furniture seems to be holding up a LOT better than the "new" BLT stuff!

 

[TisBit]

I think the problem here is that the OP should never have been treated like a prospect from the start of his visit to SSR. He should have been escorted by an employee (not a Guide) and given the chance to view the models per his request. Then he would not have been subjected to the heavy handed attempt by the Guide to dissuade him from his resale purchase.

This is the idea and I am sure what happened was DVD saw that the purchase wasn't finalized, resulting in a last ditch effort to get them to switch. The most unfortunate part is that this tactic has most likely worked in the past. Salesmen will use a tactic that has worked in the past to try to convert the sale. While we may not like it and feel that the salesman was heavy handed and might have gone a little too far, there really wasn't anything that he said that was dishonest. SSR is frequently bashed (I am an SSR owner and lover) and DVC is not ROFR many SSR contracts, etc etc.

There is definitely a difference in a guide telling absolute lies (such as the one previously posted about that said resale points are limited in trade) and guides that we might feel are offensive or being vague. Guides work on commission, so I am sure many of the more aggressive guides are pushing BLT over SSR, if the sale is a higher dollar, their commission is more. So, I doubt he was worried about other people hearing what he said about SSR, because he probably discourages everyone from buying there, just to get a bigger sale. Is it morally right? Most people will say no, but he is playing the game that has been set up by the sales process.

 

[dianeschlicht]

This is the idea and I am sure what happened was DVD saw that the purchase wasn't finalized, resulting in a last ditch effort to get them to switch. The most unfortunate part is that this tactic has most likely worked in the past. Salesmen will use a tactic that has worked in the past to try to convert the sale. While we may not like it and feel that the salesman was heavy handed and might have gone a little too far, there really wasn't anything that he said that was dishonest. SSR is frequently bashed (I am an SSR owner and lover) and DVC is not ROFR many SSR contracts, etc etc.

There is definitely a difference in a guide telling absolute lies (such as the one previously posted about that said resale points are limited in trade) and guides that we might feel are offensive or being vague. Guides work on commission, so I am sure many of the more aggressive guides are pushing BLT over SSR, if the sale is a higher dollar, their commission is more. So, I doubt he was worried about other people hearing what he said about SSR, because he probably discourages everyone from buying there, just to get a bigger sale. Is it morally right? Most people will say no, but he is playing the game that has been set up by the sales process.

Sure, he's "playing the game", but I wonder how many guides realize how seldom that tactic works and how often it works in the reverse? It's a real turn off to most of us in mid America!

 

[TisBit]

I don't see any facts here except for the length of contract (and currently the dues):

And resale rates, currently SSR is the lowest priced resale, so if you are looking at selling in the future, you are more likely to get a higher rate for BLT because of its proximity to MK. So, that is three out of four....and if you see my above post, some people will say even the first one isn't necessarily wrong, just harsh.

Now, again, I don't like this guides behavior and I would have been ticked off at the situation too. But, I am just saying is the guide is saying things that we don't like, but are they crossing the line as far as a salesman goes? I think we often confuse Guides with Cast Members. A cast member is in the role of Disney customer service and a guide is in the role of a salesman. Yes, they should hold themselves to a higher standard then another timeshares salesman....which they generally do, but they are salesmen all the same. The cast member at the front desk I am sure doesn't care if you bought resale or not, they are paid either way to help you, the guide is in a different role.

 

[gkrykewy]

And resale rates, currently SSR is the lowest priced resale, so if you are looking at selling in the future, you are more likely to get a higher rate for BLT because of its proximity to MK. So, that is three out of four....

I don't see how you can say that. Let's go through these one by one, shall we?

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:

1. 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 it’s so bad that “even Disney won’t buy them back and that’s why we were able to get it resale”

The first sentence is plainly ridiculous and so I won't even bother responding to it. On the second sentence, Disney isn't buying anything back aside from BLT right now -- and even BLT is available resale, for 15%-20% less than direct -- so the last phrase is false as well.

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 I’ll be lucky to get 50% of what I paid for SSR in the same time frame!

This is conjecture, but both points are exceedingly unlikely. As I said above, BLT is already reselling for less than $100, so in order to appreciate by 20%+ it would have to first get back up to its retail price. Second, SSR is already selling for 50% of its retail price - a drop of another 50% would take it to the $30 range, at which point I'd be backing up the truck.

We also made a mistake because we didn’t 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

As I said, these are the least objectionable.