So, do the CMs who book vacations get commission?

[Brynne]

I'm just curious if the CMs who make reservations when you call Disney get commissions for every package booked?
After the last CM I spoke to, it made me wonder. She reminded me of the stereotype of a used car salesman. Very persistent. Book now before the entire place sells out.

 

[JusbKoz]

I think so but not 100% on this but I use to live in Florida and remember reading something in the paper about how the people who work resevations get a commision/or they get a commision if they hit their quota.....If they don't hit their quota they will get a warning and so on.....and after a while they could get fired. The newspaper article was talking about how stressful it was to work there in reservations which I think is base in Tampa. Like I said this was a article in the Tampa paper about 4 yrs ago...it maybe different now.....but with that being said sometimes I get those "aggresive resevationist" and I have not booked with that person for that reason and just called back at a later time to book with a different person.

 

[curemyreed]

 

[CanadianGuy]

The way it was explained to me was, it's not so much as 'direct commission' as targets and quotas they are expected to meet within designated timeframes.

Most call center environments have pretty stringent criteria for this kind of stuff and I can't imagine Disney doesn't have it down to a well-researched science.

 

[rileyreese]

I wonered the same thing, I called for quotes and ended up booked at Poly for a week, after thinking about it I changed my mind, that is not what I had wanted anyway but the person was ver presistant! I ended up canceling it so that I could book with the TA I had been talking to and the CM told me that I was not very magical! I considered not even going to Disney after that comment!

 

[huskies90]

I got that feeling too the last time I called. I had to cancel my 40% PIN code room only for April and instead of canceling, I just moved it to a AAA room only for August pending other PIN's or general public discounts. I usually do everything online myself but had to call do the above. I definitely felt the CM was trying to "upsell" tickets and dining for me even though I made it pretty clear what I was doing. It seemed pretty innocent but the tone of his voice was more "used car salesman" than Disney CM. Anyway, reading the subject line of this post made me think of the call, open the thread and reply.

 

[my2minnies]

Wow! That is so funny because I had the same experience. I called last week for a quote on a last minute vacation. The CM I spoke to was trying to pressure me into booking it. I was just originally looking for a quote but would have booked it if the price was right. The quote appeared to be a bit higher than I thought so I asked him to break everything down. Said he couldnt.

I wanted to think about it and he was obviously angry and said he would wait on hold until I was ready to book it. He also tried to upsell. I did not book with him and was really annoyed.

I have never had a CM treat me this way before. Maybe it is a new tactic. I was on the fence about going and this guy pushed me into reconsidering the entire thing.

 

[kandemom]

I called last week sometime to see if i had a pin attached to my name. This was my first time doing this so I didnt know what to expect. So I ask him whats the pin for, he tells me that he only knows the pin code but doesnt know what its for. So he tells me that he needs to price out a packakge for me, I tell him what im looking for and the price he told me was crazy high. I ask if thats with the pin and he just goes on and on that he already gave me the pin, and asked if I was ready to book. I was like uh no cause that price doesnt sound right. Well he just hung up on me. No have a great day, no nothing.

So I call back and get a wonderful CM who was able to tell me without pricing out a package what the pin was for and for what dates. This call was about a minute as opposed to the 20 minute call from before.

 

[Brynne]

I sure hope you didn't post that thinking I asked a question to get others riled up. However, I'm thinking you just like to eat popcorn and wanted to share that with me, but I prefer funnel cakes (no funnel cake smilie available). I get one every time before I sit on the curb waiting for Spectromagic to start.

FYI, I booked my package today. Room, tix and dining. The CM who helped me was very nice, although he did want to check on flights even though I told him I already had the flight purchased. Same flight. My price with fees was $210 pp rt. His quote with fees was $425 pp rt

Another reason I asked about commission was because I felt guilty for taking up the time of the CM when I call to check to see if any pin was under my name. I've only called 4 times looking, but it made me feel bad if they are depending on commission to help pay their bills. KWIM?

Pixie dust that I get some sort of discount (ANY discount) before we go in November. I am so excited to only have to wait 276 days to go!!

 

[pigletto]

The way it was explained to me was, it's not so much as 'direct commission' as targets and quotas they are expected to meet within designated timeframes.

Most call center environments have pretty stringent criteria for this kind of stuff and I can't imagine Disney doesn't have it down to a well-researched science.

I agree. I used to work in a call center and when you call to book you can "hear" the things they are required to work into conversation like the trip insurance e.t.c.
I also imagine there are very strict things they can and can't say. Most if not all call centers montior the call for "quality assurance" which really means the agent on the phone could be scored and graded on that call without knowing. So they are obviously careful to stick to script. I doubt it is as much commission or incentive based ,as it is based on not having corrective action or losing their jobs.

 

[fla4fun]

I guess I haven't had this problem because I've been either booking through Dreams Unlimited, booking online, or booking a bounceback (where they know you're buying, so there's no pressure). The bouncebacks are the only thing I've booked by phone for probably 2-3 years, and I would guess it's taken less than 10 minutes from start to finish to book them. I really prefer booking online - I wish you could modify or cancel reservations on line as well like you can with other hotels.

 

[Mickey'sApprentice]

Time quotas are very common. However, this strikes me as kind of odd.

CMs tend to be very pleasant and conversational when I call. I often ask about their day or the weather, etc. Gee whiz...I didn't realize that I was probably stressing them out. They seem so pleasant...and are probably thinking...lady get off the #### phone! I should know...I just didn't think about it.

 

[CanadianGuy]

I believe there are incentives for certain things.. but again - as it was explained to me - it's not a direct commission.

 

[kaffinito]

Jeez - I must have major 'cause every time I call CRO (which has been every few days recently) I get really nice helpful CM's!

One gal I've had a few times now, and she has has to be the most friendly happy person I have ever spoken with. If the CM's there have to meet a certain quota, I bet she never has trouble making hers!

I'm sorry the pp's have gotten lemons when they've called - an unpleasant CM would be enough to put someone off a trip to WDW entirely - I hope you all are doing the survey at the end of the call.

 

[djblu883]

I guess I'm lucky too! I've never had an unpleasant CM. Some calls might not have been great but for the most part they have been very good if not excellent!

 

[huskies90]

Jeez - I must have major 'cause every time I call CRO (which has been every few days recently) I get really nice helpful CM's!

Oh, don't get me wrong...In my case, the CM was very nice and pleasant. Like I said, he was being "helpful" but I caught a sense in his tone that him "helping" with tickets and dining was driven by something more than just trying to make sure I had everything I needed to have a great vacation. We chatted, carried on a conversation, very pleasant and innocent. In my case at least, I was listening between the lines and I got a sense that he was pushing the tickets and dining...