So if we still pay the same dues and more why are there less people working at member services?

[we"reofftoneverland]

And what’s this new triage system where the first person with whom I speak cannot help me at all and doesn’t seem very “Disney”?

when I call member services nowadays the waits are atrocious. A year ago, it was totally different. And the first person I speak with barely seems to understand dvc and puts me on hold so she/he can get an “advisor” to fix my problem. I never get to talk to this wizard of oz advisor whom I suspect a year ago was a regular CM. It is awful. And since our dues have only gone up, the service should be the same.
The other day I actually spoke to someone who told me that I couldn’t borrow any points from a contract because I had already borrowed 50%. I had not borrowed any. I had booked a trip for next use year with some of the points. He could not understand for the life of him. I finally just cancelled the trip and said, now none of the points on the contract are used. Then he said I could borrow. Of course he couldn’t do it, an “advisor“ had to do it. Literally 45 minute wait for this advisor. And no have a magical day either.

 

[Ssplashhmtn]

Thanks for asking this. I wondered the same thing when people said Disney furloughed a bunch of DVC staff. Did Covid19 cause a shortage in DVC annual dues collection?

 

[zavandor]

That's a good question.
Maybe they have to deal with greater number of enquiries for cancellations and rebooking and this causes the delays?

 

[bobbiwoz]

For the first time ever, I have had two less than stellar experiences. The day before yesterday, I thought the problem was taken care of, as the CM said OK, you now have 0 points in the 2020 UY. (I have March UY, and there were 8 pesky BLT banked points that would not get used when I tried to use them for a trip the last week in February.) The computer used borrowed points first. The CM said she reallocated the points, so the 8 points were used, and the others were put back into 2021.

So, I gave her all 5 ratings in the evaluation. Imagine my surprise when I logged in yesterday and there were the 8 banked BLT points. My reservations for the last week in February are for rooms that were still available. So, yesterday I called and this CM told me those points had to stay in the 2020 UY.

Well, after those 2 calls with wait times of 40 minutes each and with an outcome that I knew was incorrect, I used the 8 points. I changed the BWV room from standard view to Boardwalk view for the two night stay. Now I have 0 points left. It was not ideal, as I could always use the 8 points in the 2021 UY, but I feel stressed enough in these times. I hope we feel safe enough to actually go to FL next month!

I have never had these sort of experiences with MS before, and we have been members since 2003.

 

[BadPinkTink]

sounds to me like outsourcing to a call centre company or freelance call centre people working from home. Most companies don't actaully employee people directly for high volume call centres, so no you most likely are not talking to a Disney employee who has been trained to Disney standards and has alot of knowledge about DVC. You are most likely talking to a lower paid agency call centre person who is working from a prepared script.

This very likely due to Covid and Disney furloughing and eventually firing huge amounts of cm's from all departments of the Walt Disney Company.

 

[_auroraborealis_]

Disney outsource call center to one of the big outsource companies that use WFH 1099 staff and pay for talk time (not wait time; any time they are not active on a call is unpaid). The particular firm they use is the most abusive, iMO - beyond the 1099 and talk time, people have to pay to work for this company.

I hate to say this, but you need to let go of the idea of "trained to Disney standards." This is Disney standards and the company has chosen this approach.

This is a good article about the call center company Disney uses. You can find stories that are warm and friendly about this same company as well, but I am not on that side of the fence around this kind of 1099 stuff: https://www.propublica.org/article/...ney-and-airbnb-who-have-to-pay-to-talk-to-you

As far as dues go, keep in mind that for all the Disney staff still working, they are getting raises to create fairer compensation. Many are union represented. So your dues are going up less quickly than if they kept all of these MS jobs in house. In house staffing is more expensive and also carries all the cost of w2 employment (benefits, employer side taxes, etc.).

 

[CarolMN]

And what’s this new triage system where the first person with whom I speak cannot help me at all and doesn’t seem very “Disney”?

when I call member services nowadays the waits are atrocious. A year ago, it was totally different. And the first person I speak with barely seems to understand dvc and puts me on hold so she/he can get an “advisor” to fix my problem. I never get to talk to this wizard of oz advisor whom I suspect a year ago was a regular CM. It is awful. And since our dues have only gone up, the service should be the same.
The other day I actually spoke to someone who told me that I couldn’t borrow any points from a contract because I had already borrowed 50%. I had not borrowed any. I had booked a trip for next use year with some of the points. He could not understand for the life of him. I finally just cancelled the trip and said, now none of the points on the contract are used. Then he said I could borrow. Of course he couldn’t do it, an “advisor“ had to do it. Literally 45 minute wait for this advisor. And no have a magical day either.

For the first time ever, I have had two less than stellar experiences. The day before yesterday, I thought the problem was taken care of, as the CM said OK, you now have 0 points in the 2020 UY. (I have March UY, and there were 8 pesky BLT banked points that would not get used when I tried to use them for a trip the last week in February.) The computer used borrowed points first. The CM said she reallocated the points, so the 8 points were used, and the others were put back into 2021.

So, I gave her all 5 ratings in the evaluation. Imagine my surprise when I logged in yesterday and there were the 8 banked BLT points. My reservations for the last week in February are for rooms that were still available. So, yesterday I called and this CM told me those points had to stay in the 2020 UY.

Well, after those 2 calls with wait times of 40 minutes each and with an outcome that I knew was incorrect, I used the 8 points. I changed the BWV room from standard view to Boardwalk view for the two night stay. Now I have 0 points left. It was not ideal, as I could always use the 8 points in the 2021 UY, but I feel stressed enough in these times. I hope we feel safe enough to actually go to FL next month!

I have never had these sort of experiences with MS before, and we have been members since 2003.

FWIW, I hope you both sent emails to Member Satisfaction describing these interactions. The more complaints with specific criticisms, the better, IMO!! Sorry for your less than satisfactory experiences.

 

[OKW Lover]

Having been a member since 1995 I find the whole premise of this thread amusing. The number of people in MS doesn't have a major impact on fees. Its the cost of running the resorts that is the big factor.

As to having fewer people in MS, that varies over time. As you might imagine, back when OKW was DVC (the only resort) they didn't need as many MS people. As DVC expanded to more and more resorts it necessitated more people in MS. Then, the on-line systems came into being and members were able to do more and more without the actual need for a MS person to be involved. So, perhaps we have fewer people in MS right now (I don't actually know) but we need to pay for more IT support?

 

[mac_tlc]

After reading this thread, I am second-guessing whether I should call to straighten out an issue with what points were taken to fulfill a waitlist. Maybe I'll just live with it and move on. Tired of extended wait times on phone calls, its been happening everywhere the past year.

mac_tlc

 

[Cabius]

I could understand cutting staff in Member Administration (which I think is paid for by Disney as part of their sales arm?) but not Member Services (paid by dues). Any cost savings they get from cutting MS expense would just have to be passed on anyway.

But it could also be an increase in demand forcing them to hire more, very quickly. Or even a retention problem as EVERY company is hiring more call center agents in 2020, and perhaps siphoning off some experienced reps.

 

[we"reofftoneverland]

Disney outsource call center to one of the big outsource companies that use WFH 1099 staff and pay for talk time (not wait time; any time they are not active on a call is unpaid). The particular firm they use is the most abusive, iMO - beyond the 1099 and talk time, people have to pay to work for this company.

I hate to say this, but you need to let go of the idea of "trained to Disney standards." This is Disney standards and the company has chosen this approach.

This is a good article about the call center company Disney uses. You can find stories that are warm and friendly about this same company as well, but I am not on that side of the fence around this kind of 1099 stuff: https://www.propublica.org/article/...ney-and-airbnb-who-have-to-pay-to-talk-to-you

As far as dues go, keep in mind that for all the Disney staff still working, they are getting raises to create fairer compensation. Many are union represented. So your dues are going up less quickly than if they kept all of these MS jobs in house. In house staffing is more expensive and also carries all the cost of w2 employment (benefits, employer side taxes, etc.).

Thanks for this link. I did not know about this company. This is horrendous.

 

[CarolMN]

Having been a member since 1995 I find the whole premise of this thread amusing. The number of people in MS doesn't have a major impact on fees. Its the cost of running the resorts that is the big factor.

As to having fewer people in MS, that varies over time. As you might imagine, back when OKW was DVC (the only resort) they didn't need as many MS people. As DVC expanded to more and more resorts it necessitated more people in MS. Then, the on-line systems came into being and members were able to do more and more without the actual need for a MS person to be involved. So, perhaps we have fewer people in MS right now (I don't actually know) but we need to pay for more IT support?

Agree with you - at least partially

DVCMC is paid a flat percentage of the resort's budget (not including ad valorem taxes & reserves). DVCMC pays for MS out of that percentage. The reason we have online booking is that the number of CMs required to handle MS operations was increasing beyond the ability of DVCMC to pay for them.

Those who are having poor experiences with MS need to send their complaints to Member Satisfaction.

 

[Evita_W]

And what’s this new triage system where the first person with whom I speak cannot help me at all and doesn’t seem very “Disney”?

when I call member services nowadays the waits are atrocious. A year ago, it was totally different. And the first person I speak with barely seems to understand dvc and puts me on hold so she/he can get an “advisor” to fix my problem. I never get to talk to this wizard of oz advisor whom I suspect a year ago was a regular CM. It is awful. And since our dues have only gone up, the service should be the same.
The other day I actually spoke to someone who told me that I couldn’t borrow any points from a contract because I had already borrowed 50%. I had not borrowed any. I had booked a trip for next use year with some of the points. He could not understand for the life of him. I finally just cancelled the trip and said, now none of the points on the contract are used. Then he said I could borrow. Of course he couldn’t do it, an “advisor“ had to do it. Literally 45 minute wait for this advisor. And no have a magical day either.

I have had no problems with the first person not being able to help with everything. Granted I had a unique issue where they had to ask their supervisor for advice; however, they did so without transferring me and then helped me a couple of other issues all at the same time.

 

[Sandisw]

I think the added wait has been in part due to the new ticket offer and the Aulani free night.

I know some CMs, even DVC, are still working from home and have heard that this plays a role in the call volume that can be handled? This could be impacting longer wait times, busy signals, and dropped calls.

I have not had to call since late 2020 but was fortunate to have had a good experience with frontline CM who answered being able to help.

 

[justadreamaway77]

I think the added wait has been in part due to the new ticket offer and the Aulani free night.

I know some CMs, even DVC, are still working from home and have heard that this plays a role in the call volume that can be handled? This could be impacting longer wait times, busy signals, and dropped calls.

I have not had to call since late 2020 but was fortunate to have had a good experience with frontline CM who answered being able to help.

If the park and resort CM's have to be in the line of fire, I believe all employees should be forced to work in the office. I am an educator and have worked F2F this whole school year. Mask up and move on. We have had zero in building transmissions because we mask up. There is no reason these employees cannot come into work now.

 

[_auroraborealis_]

I believe all employees should be forced to work in the office.

Most of the people picking up the phones for MS and even just Reservations lines are not employees. They are external 1099 contractors.

 

[BadPinkTink]

If the park and resort CM's have to be in the line of fire, I believe all employees should be forced to work in the office. I am an educator and have worked F2F this whole school year. Mask up and move on. We have had zero in building transmissions because we mask up. There is no reason these employees cannot come into work now.

not exactly true. not all employees have the luxury of owning a car and rely on public transport. Being in the work place is not the problem, its getting TO the work place that may be a problem.

 

[DVC_B]

Member services does not outsource. There is not a single person on 1099. The lines are busy because of four reasons: 1) The Aulani free night promo. 2) The ticket free days promo and 3) members with February and March use years who didn’t deposit their points into rci to save them and members being upset their points are going to expire. 4) it’s the 11 month booking window for thanksgiving/Christmas... cast are on mandatory overtime because of this and the fact that they are still short staffed. Be nice to your cast members and I always double check my points before getting off the phone (out of habit)

 

[we"reofftoneverland]

Member services does not outsource. There is not a single person on 1099. The lines are busy because of four reasons: 1) The Aulani free night promo. 2) The ticket free days promo and 3) members with February and March use years who didn’t deposit their points into rci to save them and members being upset their points are going to expire. 4) it’s the 11 month booking window for thanksgiving/Christmas... cast are on mandatory overtime because of this and the fact that they are still short staffed. Be nice to your cast members and I always double check my points before getting off the phone (out of habit)

No one is rude to employees. I am very patient and pleasant on these calls. The wait is really inexcusable. These are excessively long waits, but the wait is the least of it. The real problem is the new system where the cm (1099 employee as the case may or may not be) who answers the phone cannot help you without consulting an advisor (called by one) supervisor ( called by another. These “screeners” are nice enough, but tend to be clueless and a complete time waster. They take a long time to first “look at your reservation/account.” Then, they have to get someone else to do the work. The people who answer first can no longer do basic things like 1)merge reservations or 2) borrow from resale contract (since they won’t let me do that myself online anymore- thanks Disney!). These are basic functions that cms used to help me with all the time pre covid. This is not just a one time experience. I call a lot to do this because we have a lot of points and I tend to book our vacations by day and have MS consolidate them. If they are going to cheap out, they should at least create the ability for us to do this ourselves online.

 

[Cabius]

No one is rude to employees. I am very patient and pleasant on these calls. The wait is really inexcusable. These are excessively long waits, but the wait is the least of it. The real problem is the new system where the cm (1099 employee as the case may or may not be) who answers the phone cannot help you without consulting an advisor (called by one) supervisor ( called by another. These “screeners” are nice enough, but tend to be clueless and a complete time waster. They take a long time to first “look at your reservation/account.” Then, they have to get someone else to do the work. The people who answer first can no longer do basic things like 1)merge reservations or 2) borrow from resale contract (since they won’t let me do that myself online anymore- thanks Disney!). These are basic functions that cms used to help me with all the time pre covid. This is not just a one time experience. I call a lot to do this because we have a lot of points and I tend to book our vacations by day and have MS consolidate them. If they are going to cheap out, they should at least create the ability for us to do this ourselves online.

I wouldn't assume that the "screeners" are untrained, outsourced. They are probably new hires who are still learning the systems and can only handle the most basic functions themselves, thrown on the phones too soon in an effort to address the "inexcusable" wait times.

Of course, they could refuse to put those trainees on the phones until they are fully qualified, but then the wait times would be even longer. I imagine that managers are tracking wait times and abandon rates and doing everything they can to throw bodies on phones ASAP to try to get them back down.

Bottom line: when demand explodes faster than you can staff/train you're going to have long wait times and less qualified agents, and there's not really a good way around that other than overstaffing the rest of the time.