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

[tjkraz]

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.

Totally agree. I don't think that DVC does a very good job of advertising those preview times.

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!

It's both--the approach is a turn-off to some but it also works with many others. It's just one of many reasons why developers like Wyndham continue to sell timeshare ownership at developer prices when you can pick up resales essentially for nothing.

 

[mzozzietj]

I'm so sorry you had such a terrible experience. I will say that while our experience with DVC was not as pushy as other timeshare sales pitches, they were definitely in there for the sell. We had a decent experience with our purchase but I did learn later we were told mis-information on more than one occasion. When we are able to add-on, I will definitely be looking at re-sale first.

 

[gkrykewy]

I'm so sorry you had such a terrible experience. I will say that while our experience with DVC was not as pushy as other timeshare sales pitches, they were definitely in there for the sell.

We had a bit of a hard sell too. When we bought in 2007, we were told we had to decide to buy within 48 hours (I think) of returning home, or we would lose the current incentives.

 

[Derf]

Wow, thank you all for the many supportive responses and "Welcome Homes"! You all have re-ignited our excitement for our DVC membership! I'm glad to hear that it seems like we won't be treated any differently once we are officially members and it's great to hear so many positive comments about SSR.

As a point of clarification, DW and I really don't believe the guide that went into the tirade had any intention of trying to turn us to buy retail (as some have speculated in the posts) as it began after we were very clear to him that the contract was closing, money out the door, etc. and we were just there to see if we could tour the models. Also, the tone in which the un-truths/half-truths were delivered was in a be-littleling (is that a word?! ) manner. The manager was clearly trying to see if there was any way we could be sold to, but we really don't feel as though that was the guide's intention.

Also, THANKFULLY, I don't believe this is the guide we are assigned to as we had been assigned to a different one when we called in and began our investigation into DVC 2-3 months ago. I can assure you that we will request a change if this is not the case!

We will let you know what we hear (if anything) from the letter. I'm thinking it will be addressed to DVC Member Satisfaction and we will CC Jim Lewis, Tom Staggs, and Bob Iger with the hope that maybe one of the three in the Ivory Towers might actually get the Readers Digest version of what happened and know what is going on down in the trenches.

Thanks again for all of your supportive and positive responses!

 

[Corwin]

...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.

I had a similar experience, as I recounted in this thread (starting in Post #14, and continuing in Post #28).

When we called to cancel our direct purchase at BLT (because we were fed a bunch of half-truths), we were told by our guide that we would never be able to buy a resale, because DVC was buying back most of the resale contracts, and besides, they would ensure that any resale contract purchase with our name on it would be bought by them using their ROFR.

We were actually told that were being penalized for having attended a DVC presentation and having cancelled a direct contract purchase. Our guide told us that they had "invested a lot of time in us," and that our name was supposedly now "in their computers."

All this grief, even though the legally-mandated cancellation clause in the DVC purchase agreement specifically states that we "may cancel this contract without any penalty or obligation within 10 calendar days after the date" the agreement is signed.

We ended up writing a letter of complaint to DVC member services about the whole experience with our "guide."

Also, our resale went through ROFR without a hitch.

 

[LIFERBABE]

OP sorry you had a poor experience.
This is why I refuse to go on another DVC Member cruise. I was treated like a "prospect" by a cruise guide who actually tried to steal me from my current guide after he saw my add on file. All my purchases are direct. After I refused this once pleasant individual was not so pleasant the rest of the cruise. I just didn't lie the way members were being treated.

For those Recommending the Member Preview, that is no longer offered and has not been since last year. Everyone that walks in the door is a prospect
and has to meet with a guide now in order to tour the models. My guide was promoted to telework
and many of the old school guides as well. What
you find staffing the the center is the industry
standard salespeople. Good luck with that!

There was a definite quality shift in the caliber of employee after "him" took over. Guides were fleeing and many on principal. I think he let his marketing team design BLT.

 

[Cee]

I'm very sorry for your experience and take offense to the guides insults regarding SSR. That resort is my home, my heart and my ultimate joy.

 

[twinklebug]

Welcome Home Derf! I'm sure you'll love SSR - the rooms and grounds are beautiful and the tree houses, although I have yet to try them, look amazing! To book one of them you either have to be an SSR owner or luck out big time (I've tried )! My next add on might just be SSR.

Enjoy!

 

[Brian Noble]

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!

It works about 15% of the time, or once every seven tours. That's the average "close" rate for Wyndham timeshare tours. (15% is actually pretty good, industry wide. I wonder what DVC's close rate is?)

 

[tjkraz]

We had a bit of a hard sell too. When we bought in 2007, we were told we had to decide to buy within 48 hours (I think) of returning home, or we would lose the current incentives.

That was a pretty standard practice until about 2-3 years ago. In fact there were many instances of buyers being completely unable to have incentives reinstated after the timeframe had elapsed.

So for what it's worth, that is one area where DVC has arguably improved their tactics in recent years. Offering time-sensitive buying windows always seemed counter to their otherwise laid-back sales approach.

...they would ensure that any resale contract purchase with our name on it would be bought by them using their ROFR.

Over the years there have been many posts from buyers who were convinced that they had been targeted in this manner. Not necessarily after canceling but they were getting hit by ROFR simply for being in DVC's records as a prospect. And in these cases, typically DVC would buy-back their contract while allowing others to pass at similar or even lower prices.

Not really an issue today with ROFR rarely coming into play.

 

[wbl2745]

Sounds like our guy. Are his initials JM? Our guy waited from Sept '07 to March '09 (wow that felt much longer than it actually was!) for us to buy. And for his patience, he sold us BLT instead of SSR and got probably a bigger commission b/c of the higher price!

Yes, our guide's initials are JM. He's at the Disneyland Resort. Don't know what he's selling now that VGC is (almost?) sold out.

 

[klofan]

I had a similar experience, as I recounted in this thread (starting in Post #14, and continuing in Post #28).

When we called to cancel our direct purchase at BLT (because we were fed a bunch of half-truths), we were told that by our guide that we would never be able to buy a resale, because DVC was buying back most of the resale contracts, and besides, they would ensure that any resale contract purchase with our name on it would be bought by them using their ROFR.

We were actually told that were being penalized for having attended a DVC presentation and having cancelled a direct contract purchase. Our guide told us that they had "invested a lot of time in us," and that our name was supposedly now "in their computers."

All this grief, even though the legally-mandated cancellation clause in the DVC purchase agreement specifically states that we "may cancel this contract without any penalty or obligation within 10 calendar days after the date" the agreement is signed.

We ended up writing a letter of complaint to DVC member services about the whole experience with our "guide."

Also, our resale went through ROFR without a hitch.

Wow! I'm sorry to hear that. But your story doesn't surprise me. I'm also really tired with the half lies. They told me it doesn't matter where I buy, I'll have no problem staying anywhere. When I first bought, I, of course, believed them. Stupid me I guess. Now, ESPECIALLY after my recent call, I will always buy resale.

But I'm glad your resale contract went through w/o a hitch!

Pete

 

[BEASLYBOO]

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 won’t let it ruin Disney for us or the excitement we have surrounding our recently purchased resale.

You've been through the worse of it, enjoy your resale, I know that I enjoy mine each and every stay and that's been since 2000. IMO, there ins't a bad DVC resort, and I happen to enjoy SSR among others.

Even Disney is victim to the high pressure sales tactics, but all you really have to worry about now is "I'd like to make a reservation please!" and "Welcome Home"

 

[JimMIA]

It works about 15% of the time, or once every seven tours. That's the average "close" rate for Wyndham timeshare tours. (15% is actually pretty good, industry wide. I wonder what DVC's close rate is?)

I don't have any stats, but my guess is that DVC's close rate is higher than most timeshares if you look at the whole picture. If you look at the first encounter there's probably not much difference, but that's not the way DVC operates. DVC operates more low-key (despite recent bad behavior) and longer term.

I also think that psychologically DVC tour prospects have made more of a conscious investment in attending a tour. We're not already there (unless we're staying at SSR) -- we have to break away from our vacation, and GO there. The tour is going to take the standard 1 1/2 hours, but when I planned my tour I scheduled a half-day because of travel time back and forth, not wanting to be rushed, etc.

And I went there trusting Disney and to gather info toward a possible buying decision -- although I was not going to buy that day. I ended up researching when I got back home, discovered the DIS and TUG, and eventually purchased resale. We did, however, go back and do an add-on direct...so in the long run, they got some of our money.

But I went to the tour with the idea that DVC probably was something that would be good for us. I wasn't just going to meet the minimum requirements of some promotional stay at a resort, to get a cash payment, or anything like that -- I went expecting to buy at some point.

For Wyndham or any other timeshare, those salesmen basically only have one shot at the customer. Chances are, that prospect will never visit that resort again. So their tactics are one-shot tactics, relying primarily on misleading and outsmarting, or brow-beating their customers. They probably yield that 15% or less success rate because most consumers are a little leery of timeshares to begin with, and are likely to be put off by that sales approach -- but without those tactics, I'd bet their success rate would be far lower. Typical timeshare sales people don't use those tactics because they are bad people -- they use them because they work better than other methods.

I think there is a lot of natural selection at work in those initial-visit sales.

 

[Mtnman44]

I never wander onto a car lot unless I'm pretty sure I want to try to buy from them. It is not worth the hassle. I can't imagine walking onto the lot and saying "I've already purchased this car from a private seller. However, can I take this one for a test drive, just to check it out?" -just saying.

 

[smjj]

There is another thread asking " when was the last time you heard from your sales rep" I put never, I know now why. They are too busy scratching,clawing, insulting and saying whatever it takes to make a sale. I guess I should be glad I have not heard from her.
We have stayed at SSR and even though it is not our cup of tea, it is a very nice resort and is our son and daughter-in-laws favorite resort...smjj

 

[TisBit]

There is another thread asking " when was the last time you heard from your sales rep" I put never, I know now why. They are too busy scratching,clawing, insulting and saying whatever it takes to make a sale. I guess I should be glad I have not heard from her.
We have stayed at SSR and even though it is not our cup of tea, it is a very nice resort and is our son and daughter-in-laws favorite resort...smjj

Don't dump all the guides in the same boat. We have an outstanding guide....he wasn't a hard sell person. He explained the system, answered all the questions truthfully and completely (now he didn't volunteer negatives, but I don't expect any salesperson to) and was very friendly.

If I had a hard sell guide, it probably would have turned me off and I would have walked out, even though I wanted to buy when I went. But, I am just like that

 

[smjj]

Don't dump all the guides in the same boat. We have an outstanding guide....he wasn't a hard sell person. He explained the system, answered all the questions truthfully and completely (now he didn't volunteer negatives, but I don't expect any salesperson to) and was very friendly.

If I had a hard sell guide, it probably would have turned me off and I would have walked out, even though I wanted to buy when I went. But, I am just like that

I know, we sometimes tend to do that and I am sure most of the guides are on the up and up. Having said that, I can't believe as popular as this site is, that this thread is not being read by several guides as I write this reply....smjj

 

[Dean]

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

Actually there is some element of truth in EVERY one of the statements. BLT tower does expire later, has much higher demand, sells for more retail and resale and one can get SSR for roughly 50% of what one can buy BLT. I doubt it will appreciate going forward but the gap between the 2 will likely widen over time. And while I doubt a resale package will drop another 50% short term, it is likely to only go down over time though it may hold steady for a while.

I think going forward members are going to have to separate the sales process from the usage portion in their own minds to cont to have a favorable opinion of DVC.

I doubt anyone knows DVC's close rate but I'm sure it's much higher than the industry average though likely not for the reasons most here think. First, they don't pressure people into touring (at least not so far) so those touring are a better prospect than say Wyndham or Bluegreen, they don't tour current members which would have a lower rate as well, they are generally touring people who have already made some investment in Disney and/or have some interest and they have the parks as a draw for future possible trips. IMO, DVC would have an even higher close rate than they do now if they employed more traditional sales pressures and that would far outweigh those turned off by such tactics who did not buy. Also remember there is no current difference in retail vs resale buyers, this may change at some point.

 

[gkrykewy]

Actually there is some element of truth in EVERY one of the statements. BLT tower does expire later, has much higher demand, sells for more retail and resale and one can get SSR for roughly 50% of what one can buy BLT. I doubt it will appreciate going forward but the gap between the 2 will likely widen over time. And while I doubt a resale package will drop another 50% short term, it is likely to only go down over time though it may hold steady for a while.

I agree with everything here except the bolded, but that's not the point. If your standard is "some element of truth in the statement," that's a pretty sad commentary. There's some element of truth in pretty much any statement.

Further, the suggestion that BLT prices are going to increase by 20% (so, say, to $120pp resale) and SSR prices decrease by a further 50% (so, say, to $30pp resale) -- over any time horizon -- is absurd under any scenario in which 7 month bookings remain possible.