Terrible DVC Experience!

[smjj]

This is what I just sent to DVC via the DVC members link:

I am writing this after another post on one of the many websites I am a member of about Disney and DVC in particular. The theme I am beginning to see more and more often is the lack of maintenance at the DVC resorts compared to the way it was. More and more DVC members seem to talking about broken this's and worn thats and how long it takes to get things fixed or cleaned. We ourselfs had this occur on our last trip when we stayed at OKW in a 3 bedroom villa near HH. We had the freezer not working and it took two trips and a whole day to resolve and then in our bedroom there was a drawer that was broken and the repair person said they had no matching replacement and we had to go the entire trip with it broken. Please send this email along to someone who has the ability to make sure that the thousands we have spent on the initial purchase and the many other thousands we spend each year is being spent on keeping our home in the state of repair we expect it to be kept in and do your cost cutting somewhere else. We are staying this June in a 2 bedroom villa at BC and I hope we do not have any issues but if we do I will make sure to see the onsite manager to discuss these. Thanks in advance....

 

[disneynutz]

This seems to be a more common complaint and I am seeing this type of thread appear in all the sites I go to on DVC more often. I have not gone to any of the onsite DVC meetings, just have not had any when we are there. Does anyone ever get up at these meeting and state this to the DVC people? I have used the Member's email link on the DVC site to complain about stuff before but I bet that does not go very far. Maybe if someone was to stand up at one of these meeting and put them on the spot it might have more of an impact...smjj

The association meeting is just another dog and pony show IMO. They control the content and if they allow a open mic session, they only answer questions that they like.
Visible security guards I am sure would help you leave the meeting if you get out of hand.

After the meeting they have a meet and greet where you can ask questions and discuss issues and I have never had any manager follow up later as promised.

Bill

 

[BLLB]

OP, I'm so sorry that happened to you. I hope that you report it as suggested by others. I will say I had "not so great" checkin at BWV and was able to switch rooms. I felt it was handled appropriately. (the problem wasn't the condition of the room but the location).

 

[disneynutz]

This is what I just sent to DVC via the DVC members link:

I am writing this after another post on one of the many websites I am a member of about Disney and DVC in particular. The theme I am beginning to see more and more often is the lack of maintenance at the DVC resorts compared to the way it was. More and more DVC members seem to talking about broken this's and worn thats and how long it takes to get things fixed or cleaned. We ourselfs had this occur on our last trip when we stayed at OKW in a 3 bedroom villa near HH. We had the freezer not working and it took two trips and a whole day to resolve and then in our bedroom there was a drawer that was broken and the repair person said they had no matching replacement and we had to go the entire trip with it broken. Please send this email along to someone who has the ability to make sure that the thousands we have spent on the initial purchase and the many other thousands we spend each year is being spent on keeping our home in the state of repair we expect it to be kept in and do your cost cutting somewhere else. We are staying this June in a 2 bedroom villa at BC and I hope we do not have any issues but if we do I will make sure to see the onsite manager to discuss these. Thanks in advance....

Sending this to MS may not get it to anyone who will forward it to the resort, you should send it to member satisfaction.
dvcmembersatisfactionteam@disneyvacationclub.com

Don't assume that DVC doesn't know about the issues, they do. Problem is that a dirty, broken DVC room will still get booked so why should they care? Apparently it's less expensive to give back some points or some other feel good item then to fix the problems, that's if the guest pushes the issue to the right person. Most don't bother unless it's really something major and many will clean the room, the kitchen, the counters, the floor themselves.

Bill

 

[tup1830]

Unfortunately, they already got your money and you can't do anything about it (unless you sell it).

Its hard to get someone to care once they've already gotten the profit and know that even if they don't fix anything, they got your money for the next 49 years in the bank.

 

[smjj]

Sending this to MS may not get it to anyone who will forward it to the resort, you should send it to member satisfaction.
dvcmembersatisfactionteam@disneyvacationclub.com

Don't assume that DVC doesn't know about the issues, they do. Problem is that a dirty, broken DVC room will still get booked so why should they care? Apparently it's less expensive to give back some points or some other feel good item then to fix the problems, that's if the guest pushes the issue to the right person. Most don't bother unless it's really something major and many will clean the room, the kitchen, the counters, the floor themselves.

Bill

That is depressing but I feel your probably right.....smjj

 

[evenrude]

That is depressing but I feel your probably right.....smjj

I'm going to start slamming them socially for messups, I think if folks started dinging them on social sites (e.g. Facebook, Twitter, TripAdvisor, etc...) everytime there is an issue with maintenance/housekeeping eventually it would have to impact their sales/reputation or something that could get their attention from a fiscal perspective. I would be fair in the post and mention the appeasements, but I would also add that the problem is not getting any better and is occurring more frequently. I have also personally switched from recommending memberships to folks to now saying stay away. First of all because it's ridiculously expensive now and lately, in my opinion, there is a greater than 50% chance you're going to have a maintenance or housekeeping issue with each stay unless you are lucky enough to score a new resort like VGF or POLY. FYI I would support their high costs if you could actually get what you paid for, consistently, over the long run, not just the first couple of years after building the resort...Which isn't asking much when you collect millions of dollars for maintenance and housekeeping dues/fees. If they would just clean/inspect the rooms to a higher standard and fix or replace the stuff that is obviously worn, broken or missing, i'd be a happy camper.

 

[disneynutz]

I'm going to start slamming them socially for messups, I think if folks started dinging them on social sites (e.g. Facebook, Twitter, TripAdvisor, etc...) everytime there is an issue with maintenance/housekeeping eventually it would have to impact their sales/reputation or something that could get their attention from a fiscal perspective. I would be fair in the post and mention the appeasements, but I would also add that the problem is not getting any better and is occurring more frequently. I have also personally switched from recommending memberships to folks to now saying stay away. First of all because it's ridiculously expensive now and lately, in my opinion, there is a greater than 50% chance you're going to have a maintenance or housekeeping issue with each stay unless you are lucky enough to score a new resort like VGF or POLY. FYI I would support their high costs if you could actually get what you paid for, consistently, over the long run, not just the first couple of years after building the resort...Which isn't asking much when you collect millions of dollars for maintenance and housekeeping dues/fees. If they would just clean/inspect the rooms to a higher standard and fix or replace the stuff that is obviously worn, broken or missing, i'd be a happy camper.

Years ago we would refer several families per year to DVC and we enjoyed taking family and friends with us to share our DVC and Disney.

We stopped referring two years ago and no longer take people with us due to some embarrassing rooms and issues that we had to deal with.

Bill

 

[deedisneydream97]

I am very sorry to hear about the OP's experience. We've been members nearly 20 years and have stayed at a variety of DVC resorts, at least twice a year. The worst thing that ever happened was that the housekeeper apparently used the same rag used to wipe down the bathroom to also wipe out the fridge. Needless to say, was totally grossed out, called housekeeping directly and they were there in a matter of minutes. of course I have observed wear and tear over the years, but I don't expect spanking brand new furnishings every time I check in. A lot of the room issues are not the fault of housekeeping, but the fault of the people occupying the room.....wine stains, rings on the table tops caused by glasses, an iron not being in the room, missing frying pans and potholders. I always check things first, and call immediately when I discover missing items; and they are at my door in less than 20 minutes.

I agree that, in the past, more attention was given to the little things.....like housekeeping making sure that each villa has the things it is supposed to have, checking every drawer after someone checks out, things like that. I am not sure if Disney outsources their cleaning services....as they seem to outsource a lot of other things (like landscaping). There does not seem to be much pride in a job well done......and I don't see this just in Disney....it seems to be a nationwide problem. Rudeness abounds....

In the future, if I check in to a room that is a disaster, I'll immediately take pictures on my i-pad and then go down to the front desk, ask for a manager and display the photos. Upon returning home, I would make prints of the photos and write and mail letters (with photos) to.....what's his name, Ken? Along with copies to my DVC guide and a couple of higher ups....their information should be on the Disney corporate website somewhere. This would have to get someone's attention you would think.

And about "room requests". I very rarely get the room I request or the location I request. DVC is very clear about a request being just that.....and they do not guarantee that your wish will be granted. I realize I am not always going to get the "best" BW view room or the hard-to-get standard one bedroom that is huge. Perhaps the CM checking the OP in got her back up because you were the 50th person that was not happy because their request was not met.....but that is still no reason to be rude. I've been hearing so many people complaining about their "requests" not being granted, and I would not be surprised if they start to limit the type of requests.

I have to say that I don't agree with Disney not caring. They have to care. There are many untold stories out there, but it seems people are more apt to complain about a bad experience than a good one. They still need to sell their product. They need to keep the stockholders happy. There are SO MANY timeshares all around WDW that are much cheaper to buy and/or rent. I will agree that they need to have better supervision and training of their employees and sub-contractors. But again, good help is hard to find.

 

[disneynutz]

I am very sorry to hear about the OP's experience. We've been members nearly 20 years and have stayed at a variety of DVC resorts, at least twice a year. The worst thing that ever happened was that the housekeeper apparently used the same rag used to wipe down the bathroom to also wipe out the fridge. Needless to say, was totally grossed out, called housekeeping directly and they were there in a matter of minutes. of course I have observed wear and tear over the years, but I don't expect spanking brand new furnishings every time I check in. A lot of the room issues are not the fault of housekeeping, but the fault of the people occupying the room.....wine stains, rings on the table tops caused by glasses, an iron not being in the room, missing frying pans and potholders. I always check things first, and call immediately when I discover missing items; and they are at my door in less than 20 minutes.

I agree that, in the past, more attention was given to the little things.....like housekeeping making sure that each villa has the things it is supposed to have, checking every drawer after someone checks out, things like that. I am not sure if Disney outsources their cleaning services....as they seem to outsource a lot of other things (like landscaping). There does not seem to be much pride in a job well done......and I don't see this just in Disney....it seems to be a nationwide problem. Rudeness abounds....

In the future, if I check in to a room that is a disaster, I'll immediately take pictures on my i-pad and then go down to the front desk, ask for a manager and display the photos. Upon returning home, I would make prints of the photos and write and mail letters (with photos) to.....what's his name, Ken? Along with copies to my DVC guide and a couple of higher ups....their information should be on the Disney corporate website somewhere. This would have to get someone's attention you would think.

And about "room requests". I very rarely get the room I request or the location I request. DVC is very clear about a request being just that.....and they do not guarantee that your wish will be granted. I realize I am not always going to get the "best" BW view room or the hard-to-get standard one bedroom that is huge. Perhaps the CM checking the OP in got her back up because you were the 50th person that was not happy because their request was not met.....but that is still no reason to be rude. I've been hearing so many people complaining about their "requests" not being granted, and I would not be surprised if they start to limit the type of requests.

I have to say that I don't agree with Disney not caring. They have to care. There are many untold stories out there, but it seems people are more apt to complain about a bad experience than a good one. They still need to sell their product. They need to keep the stockholders happy. There are SO MANY timeshares all around WDW that are much cheaper to buy and/or rent. I will agree that they need to have better supervision and training of their employees and sub-contractors. But again, good help is hard to find.

They seem to care about some things but not as much as they used to. If they cared about the DVC and our experience, they wouldn't make us wait 40 minutes on the phone, would fix the website, would make sure that the rooms are clean and maintained, and not make resale buyers wait up to 3 months to make their first reservation.

How many times, how many years, do they need to be told that there is a cleaning issue with the resorts before something is done. I have to think that they don't care. Meanwhile the housekeepers are allowed to leave work early with pay if they finish their section.

Bill

 

[smjj]

Its not just this but other things as well. A few weeks ago there was a active here about the refrub going on at BCV. I was involved because this is where we are staying in June. It seems that the new refrub is taking the room decor to a more generic, plain away from the theme look and this had many people upset, I mean if the resort is called Beach Club then the furniture should continue this theme. We have taken a few Member's cruises also and will not anymore, why because they have turned in to nothing more than a sales pitch at every turn. When we first started going the in room freebee's were very nice(champagne classes to very nice wood photo albums and nice themed gym bags. on our last trip the freebee's were cheap and look no different than stuff they hand out free at sales pitches. Then the themed restaurants, we enjoyed the special items served only at them. Ours was the chicken fried steak at OKW, the gravy was a favorite of mine. Now they all serve the same plain Jane stuff just mixed up a little. I was told that was due to DDP and Disney wanting to be able to prepare most dinner meals in a large factory like kitchen near DTD. All this together I am sure makes them a lot of money(our money and at our expense)....smjj

 

[Fastpassminus]

I rented points at OKW for 2 studios last trip. BUGS crawling up the walls ( teeny baby roaches Mama had to be nearby). Killed one, put it in a tissue and walked to the front desk. We were upgraded to a sparkling 2 bedroom moments later. This response led me to buy DVC ( and got me hooked on the 2bedroom)

The manager was SO skeeved out by the dead bug. He shrieked like a girl. It was kinda comical

 

[gdrj]

Now that we have all piled on the dog.

I will say that I have had some outstanding service from cast members during our DVC stays. From Valet and Bell Hops, to cast members at check-in, housekeeping, concierge, and other staff members. While there are posters that love to say how bad DVC is or Disney, or both...I will say from my experiences I do not see the sky is falling and CM's not caring. There are always going to be some issues with 30,000 guest rooms on property (using all accommodations not just DVC obviously) and 60,000 employees.

For me it still is an escape from "real" life and while far from inexpensive I don't hesitate to come back.

 

[Sammie]

What I don't understand if someone really thinks they DVC does not care and their visits are as bad as described, why keep going? Why not sell it and get out? I just don't understand holding on to something that obviously many of you feel is so very flawed.

 

[disneynutz]

What I don't understand if someone really thinks they DVC does not care and their visits are as bad as described, why keep going? Why not sell it and get out? I just don't understand holding on to something that obviously many of you feel is so very flawed.

For our family it's the love of Walt, denial, and the hopes that maybe things will improve. It has also taken years to realize and accept that it is what it is. When a CM tells you that they are sorry about the issue and that they will refer it to someone so it won't happen again, we believe them. Why do people stay in a bad relationship, good question?

We have sold several of our contracts and now we are in a "lets wait and see what happens" mode. There has also been a noticeable difference at the DVC between Lewis, Bilby, and Potrock, what will the next management team bring?

Bill

 

[smjj]

What I don't understand if someone really thinks they DVC does not care and their visits are as bad as described, why keep going? Why not sell it and get out? I just don't understand holding on to something that obviously many of you feel is so very flawed.

It can get better or back to the way they use to maintain the property if enough members let them know about it. Complaining or bringing to lite needed changes does not mean one needs to sell their interest in DVC it means to many we care enough when DVC starts taking short cuts to save a buck to say something about it. I still enjoy our annual trips but that does not mean I am willing to give DVC a free pass on important issues. Many seem to think it is wrong to criticize Disney on any issue simply because they are Disney. I have no complaints with cast members and have not stated so in any of my post. It is the management of DVC that needs to understand they are letting many members down who remember the way is was ran to the way it is ran now. I for one will continue to stay a member but if I see a need to bring to the attention a problem, I will do so and that is the way as a owner I would think all should feel...smjj

 

[Sammie]

It can get better or back to the way they use to maintain the property if enough members let them know about it. Complaining or bringing to lite needed changes does not mean one needs to sell their interest in DVC it means to many we care enough when DVC starts taking short cuts to save a buck to say something about it. I still enjoy our annual trips but that does not mean I am willing to give DVC a free pass on important issues. Many seem to think it is wrong to criticize Disney on any issue simply because they are Disney. I have no complaints with cast members and have not stated so in any of my post. It is the management of DVC that needs to understand they are letting many members down who remember the way is was ran to the way it is ran now. I for one will continue to stay a member but if I see a need to bring to the attention a problem, I will do so and that is the way as a owner I would think all should feel...smjj

I agree, but some seem to think that even if you share, they won't listen. I think if I ever get to the point where I think my concerns fall on deaf ears, I will sell. That was my point.

But then I don't have any major complaints with way things are.

 

[deedisneydream97]

I rented points at OKW for 2 studios last trip. BUGS crawling up the walls ( teeny baby roaches Mama had to be nearby). Killed one, put it in a tissue and walked to the front desk. We were upgraded to a sparkling 2 bedroom moments later. This response led me to buy DVC ( and got me hooked on the 2bedroom)

The manager was SO skeeved out by the dead bug. He shrieked like a girl. It was kinda comical

Hahaha. I've been told by Florida natives that they are NOT called roaches. They are palmetto beetles. They look they same to me, though. Either way, I don't want to have bugs in my room. I once made the mistake of leaving the deck door slightly ajar at VWL and upon returning to the room in the evening, the wall looked like something out of Its tough to be a Bug. Did not sleep well that night!

 

[annacejka]

We had someone's blood on the floor in the bathroom in front of the toilet at the Beach Club in 2010. The front desk seemed very annoyed that I requested a more thorough cleaning be done. It was freaking blood! I was pretty disgusted.

I haven't had too much experience with my membership in between 2010 and now because we had a job transfer put us 20 minutes away from wdw so I only used it once a year to have a room to hang out in on July 4th so my stay next month will be our first big stay in 5 years. I'm a little nervous but mostly SO excited because it wasn't the greatest living there. We got so burned out. I've got my fingers crossed that this will be an awesome stay since it is the week before my DD birthday.

 

[corpcomp]

Decmber 2013 we went for New Years for three days. During the entire time our magic bands would not work. Had three replacements, could not get into the room, parks or buy food with them. I wrote to Disney customer service asking for compensation. T hey agreed and gave me three free nights plus multipark passes for our next time down at any DVC except Grand Floridian. So tell them the circumstances and be specific in what you want re compensation. They will work with you if it is all documented as mine was in their system.