problem w/friend getting referral fee?

[keenercam]

We are having such a problem getting our friends their referral fee for our purchase. It has been nearly 13 months and our guide has not gotten the issue resolved yet. It has been one excuse after another. We gave him our friends' names before we signed everything on the Disney Magic last June and have followed up about 6-10 times trying to get our friends their referral fee. First, we were told the problem was we scheduled the appt on the ship at the DVC desk without telling that person we were referred (why would we tell him? he didnt' ask and we were just seeking an appt.); then we were told it did not get noted on the purchase (that is not true -- our guide put it in his laptop right there at our consultation with him and even confirmed our friends' address from their databank); then the excuse was it was overlooked; then the excuse was that our friend was a CM (she hadn't been for more than 6 months by the time we met with the Guide); now we are told it is not our guide's problem, but someone else's.
Any suggestions? At this point, with 3 trips booked, another 2 planned, and a very significant add-on in our immediate future, I am thinking we need to change guides. The worst of it is -- we have never heard from our guide, since our purchase. I think he is afraid to check in with us because we will bring up the issue. When we did an add-on in November, the sales office put us right through to him, like we had no choice whether to go back to him or not. So he got the credit for a 100 pt add on having done absolutely no work and without even resolving our outstanding issue.
sorry so long. steamed.

 

[wdwstar]

one day dh was talking to a friend of ours and mentioned we were dcv members and dh spent alot of time explain it to his friend , dh friend asked for our guides name and ask dh to call our guide and hook him up with the guide. the friend was really interested in purchasing , he also said he had looked into it about 7 years ago and just never called back. well, when i called my guide, i was told my friend already had a guide, and they couldnt use us as a refferal , i said that was 7 years ago and he wasnt interested in it then. now that dh had him sold on it, he wanted to buy into dcv. my guide said that there was nothing he could do and we wouldnt get anything from the sale, and that was that.
hhmmm, i wonder if part of the reward program cuts into the guides commission.

 

[poohbear1029]

The man in charge of dispensing these rewards is Mike Tassi and he can be reached at 407-566-3318. He may not be able to resolve your issue, but it is worth a shot. When I called DVC regarding the issue decribed below, they told me that I had to speak with Mike.

We recently received our $200 Disney Bucks. i had to call him because first the letter came that said our $200 was enclosed, but there were no enclosures. It took him several days to get back to me but they did then resend the letter with the bucks via fed ex. I will say that it may have taken him days to get back to me because it was the weel of the 4th and a big vacation week.

 

[PamOKW]

we were told the problem was we scheduled the appt on the ship at the DVC desk without telling that person we were referred

That's the root of the problem. If you ever expressed any interest at all in DVC and they have your name, that's it for a referral. However, they do usually ask if you know anyone that is a member at the same time you make your first contact. I'd follow up with the name Poohbear so nicely gave you. A guide wouldn't have much power to resolve this problem. It sounds like they should allow your friends to get the credit since there appears to be a bit of a mix-up.

 

[Johnnie Fedora]

Originally posted by wdwstar
one day dh was talking to a friend of ours and mentioned we were dcv members and dh spent alot of time explain it to his friend , dh friend asked for our guides name and ask dh to call our guide and hook him up with the guide. the friend was really interested in purchasing , he also said he had looked into it about 7 years ago and just never called back. well, when i called my guide, i was told my friend already had a guide, and they couldnt use us as a refferal , i said that was 7 years ago and he wasnt interested in it then. now that dh had him sold on it, he wanted to buy into dcv. my guide said that there was nothing he could do and we wouldnt get anything from the sale, and that was that.
hhmmm, i wonder if part of the reward program cuts into the guides commission.

A similar this hapened to us. Anyone ever leaves their name at a kiosk, views a model, talks to a guide, is in the system. Even though years later you as a member end up "selling their product" because you love it, you will get nothing...not even a free fast pass.

As with most Disney perks, there is so much fine print it and disclaimers it is almost impossible to know ahead of time if you will collect or not (unless you know the secret passwords and Mickey handshake). You think they'd come up with some smaller $$ incentive for DVCers who play a role in in the sale (by explaining the program, allowing a friend or relative to "try" DVC, etc.) but don't fall into the rigid program parameters. How about $25-50 instead of the $200??

 

[Cruelladeville]

We, too, had a similar problem. DB stopped at the BWV podium and asked for a tour with our guide, said he was interested, and gave our name. Nada on the referral for us, even though we had explained the program in detail. The guide even commented on how much DB knew during the tour, and DB mentioned his sister, daughter, and niece were already members, and the guide sold those to us. We created all kinds of fuss, but he stopped at the podium, so there is no referral, apparently you need an appt. before you arrive

 

[Johnnie Fedora]

Also...you would think if a DVC purchaser leaves your name as a referal, DVD would send you a nice "thank you/but your not eligible because" letter. They do absolutely nothing (they got what the wanted from you the member...a sale w/little effort on their part). DVD then hopes you won't check into why you never received the referal bonus?

 

[RobDoc]

Originally posted by Johnnie Fedora
Also...you would think if a DVC purchaser leaves your name as a referal, DVD would send you a nice "thank you/but your not eligible because" letter. They do absolutely nothing (they got what the wanted from you the member...a sale w/little effort on their part). DVD then hopes you won't check into why you never received the referal bonus?

I have referred many to DVC over the years, but live in a state where the incentive bonus is not allowed.

I have always received a "thankyou" note for my referrals- sometimes from my guide, sometimes from other DVC CM's.

I think an acknowledgement of a member's efforts is certainly deserved, whether an award is due or not.

 

[GAIL HAYDEN]

Originally posted by WebmasterDoc
I have referred many to DVC over the years, but live in a state where the incentive bonus is not allowed.

I have always received a "thankyou" note for my referrals- sometimes from my guide, sometimes from other DVC CM's.

I think an acknowledgement of a member's efforts is certainly deserved, whether an award is due or not.

I also live in a state that does not allow a bonus. I also always receive a thank you note from my guide.
Actually, for me, that is all that is necessary.

 

[mrsdon]

We also live in a state where referl bonuses are not allowed.
So we get a thank you letter with more postcards. LOL

 

[keenercam]

for Mr. Tassi's phone number. I left him a voicemail and heard back from him within 10 minutes. That is the Disney service we all know and love. He tells me the issue was resolved and my guide's boss instructed him to send out the referral fee. He says the voucher or certificate was sent to our friends on 7/1 and if they haven't received it yet, to have them call him directly. That is wonderful and I am so thrilled for our friends who have recently adopted a little boy (my Godson) and two months later gave birth to a little girl (my DH's Goddaughter). They mean the world to us and we all vacationed at HH DVC last Christmas. We just wanted them to get what they were entitled to. Now I can't wait to talk to them when I get home and find out whether it has arrived yet. It had not as of last Friday. I'll let you all know.

 

[GAIL HAYDEN]

Originally posted by keenercam
for Mr. Tassi's phone number. I left him a voicemail and heard back from him within 10 minutes. That is the Disney service we all know and love. He tells me the issue was resolved and my guide's boss instructed him to send out the referral fee. He says the voucher or certificate was sent to our friends on 7/1 and if they haven't received it yet, to have them call him directly. That is wonderful and I am so thrilled for our friends who have recently adopted a little boy (my Godson) and two months later gave birth to a little girl (my DH's Goddaughter). They mean the world to us and we all vacationed at HH DVC last Christmas. We just wanted them to get what they were entitled to. Now I can't wait to talk to them when I get home and find out whether it has arrived yet. It had not as of last Friday. I'll let you all know.

That is GREAT news, glad it was resolved.

 

[poohbear1029]

Glad I could help!!!

 

[eva]

Boy, we've had the same problem. We actually took my sister and BIL on a tour last May (2002) of the DVC office. My husband and I were there just to check out the BCV rooms. While we were walking around we told them about DVC. They were extremely interested so we had the front desk call our guide. She meet us later that day in her office and went over all the ins and outs. I knew the process, so I made sure that my sister had us noted as a referral right then. We even sat in on the whole thing because we had decided to do an add-on. I wasn't sure if they were going to buy or not, but I knew if they did and it wasn't noted we would be out of luck. They bought a couple days later and now it has been 14 months since then and we still haven't received our referral letter. I called my guide numerous times and left messages with no reply. Well finally when we went to WDW in May of this year we stopped by the DVC office and talked to the people at the front desk. Our guide was on the cruise so we couldn't talk to her. Well the two people at the front desk looked up both accounts and saw the note of the referral on their account and our account. But there was no mention that a letter had been sent. They said that they would make note of it to our guide and another person who was in charge of the referral program. We were told that we would be getting something in the mail probably before we got home. It has been two months since then and we have received nothing. We are in the process of adding on again at BCV and we mentioned this problem with our guide. She said that she would look into it. I sure hope this gets resolved because I am getting a bit soured on our guide. I made at least a half a dozen phone calls to her with absolutely no response. But when I left a message that we were considering adding on we were called back right away. It's too bad because we have always had great service from her until this past year.

 

[goldilocks_63]

Have tried several times to get a referral.... Have called Tassi (Sp?) several times, and always got the standard, sorry, it's not our policy.... etc speech.

I think it must be either Tassi's, or DVCs, policy to not follow thru on these as it costs Disney $$$$.

In spite of that, my family and friends are glad we bought. I'm just kinda surprised because it does really seem like bait and switch..... and Disney is supposedly above such games.

To me, just another reason resales are attractive.