The Mouse Will Get Your Money Either Way..

[crisi]

I stop by the DVC Kiosks all the time and I never had a problem with them, I
would tell them I am a happy member and if they continue with a sales pitch
I tell them they are very good at their job and wish them luck. But I would never contradict each of their sales pitches with a negative reply. I always tell people to treat people the same you want to be treated.

I do not agree with the salesperson's final reply especially if it was not done in good humor.

But, to the OP you need to have thicker skin. You can not let something like this bother you for over a month.

People give out too much information when dealing with others, whether its a DVC kiosk rep or your mother in law, and then wonder why they end up in arguments. A sales rep isn't entitled to more information than "Sorry, not interested." When you start giving reasons for not being interested, you open yourself up to arguments about those reasons.

 

[mjc2003]

Yes, that was exactly my point.

Yikes, my bad. I guess I didn't get enough sleep last night, your sarcasm went right over my head....!

 

[davedmaine]

I distinctly remember one person who posted a few years ago. They were staying at POP, took the DVC tour with really no intention to buy. The Guide more or less said to them: "Well, people who stay at the Values really can't afford this." There were pages and pages of sympathetic posters on here on DISboards along the lines of Well I Never and Cast Members Should Not and You Must Get a New Guide etc. etc.

You know what happened? The young couple showed their Guide who was boss a few weeks later by calling him and buying.

As an aside: OP, there's really nothing wrong with a generic "No, we wouldn't be interested" rather than the equivalent of "I'm actively subverting the sales process."

Yeah, they really showed him..

 

[jodifla]

So last month I was walking through Downtown Disney, and I stopped at a DVC stand because an Aulani picture caught my eye. So I decided to stop and check out the pics. A DVC sales rep comes up to me and begins doing his thing. I explained to him that I normally rent from other DVC owners (Thanks Disboards!) and I have no reason to actually buy my own DVC membership. As he proceeded to try to find good reasons for me to buy one, I kept coming back with good reasons for me to NOT buy one.

At this point his frustration is building, and its becoming very obvious. So he throws in the final attempt and invites me to a session the next morning, to which I replied "No thank you, I have breakfast reservations". As I walked away he nastily retorts, "That's fine. The mouse will get your money either way..." and walks away.

Are you serious??? lol I was stunned! Anybody else have any similar experiences??

I think you brought this on yourself.

Renting IS NOT superior to owning.

While it's fine to say, "DVC isn't for us now," I think you are only goading salespeople by trying to argue renting is as good as buying.

 

[jodifla]

My thought was "how refreshingly honest."

Its so easy for so many of us to forget that Disney is a corporation out to make money.

Too many stories like this - not the salesperson being rude, but the base story of "I couldn't get him in because he rents points" getting back to DVD are, IMHO, likely to create additional restrictions to renting. For instance "only members can get a dining plan - you must be a member or traveling with a member." Or "only members can use ME." Or "only members can make room requests - if you aren't a member (or traveling with a member) you get whatever rooms are left." Because, as a corporation, they want "the mouse to get your money one way or another" and they'd prefer that way be the one with the biggest margins to Disney.

Yes, this.

Disney eventually closes loopholes to be able to protect their own sales, and make the higher cost per point direct worth it.

 

[tazhughes]

I think you brought this on yourself.

Renting IS NOT superior to owning.

While it's fine to say, "DVC isn't for us now," I think you are only goading salespeople by trying to argue renting is as good as buying.

I have to agree with this. Arguing with a guide that renting is better than owning is just goading them.

 

[disneynutz]

Disney ASA's and Guides are trained for their jobs, but people are people and some show emotion even when they shouldn't.

Disney CM's are on stage when around the public, how they really feel sometimes comes out.

Disney is known for low pay and the DVD people are paid a minimal salary. The real money is when they sell but many can't even afford the vacations that they are selling. Talking to food servers at Disney, most can't afford to eat at work even with their discount.

Bill

 

[Dean]

I would propose that he showed them who's boss by enticing them to buy with an effective approach. After all, they shelled out thousands of dollars and he got a commission.

If they had financial issues later that make him 2 for 2.

 

[Dean]

Sometimes I stop by or ease through the kiosk areas. I generally don't say much if they're working with someone, if they're not it's usually just that we are already owners and a little chit chat. Occasionally an ASA will try to rope us in to their discussion thinking we'll put them over the top for making a tour commitment. They're usually wishing they hadn't when we answer their questions honestly but we don't expand much unless asked. There's no reason to pee in their cereal uninvited, they're just trying to do their job and make a living and most are very nice from my experience.

 

[Sammie]

I think you brought this on yourself.

Renting IS NOT superior to owning.

While it's fine to say, "DVC isn't for us now," I think you are only goading salespeople by trying to argue renting is as good as buying.

This was my point, you said it better. I would think if you go to a salesperson and basically say, this, you are asking for an argument from them.

As I said, there is no excuse for being rude, and honestly since I was not there and did not hear the tone of both participants, not sure it was even rude; but I definitely understand the frustration.

 

[DisneyFansInLINY]

You know what happened? The young couple showed their Guide who was boss a few weeks later by calling him and buying.

."

They didn't show the guide who was boss if they purchased from him. All they did was give into his sales tactic of making them feel small in order to buy. They should have bought resale and then called him to tell him about it. Now that would have been the ultimate smack in the face.

But I find the OP's story hilarious and if it were me, I would have answered with the mouse can I have my money, but you can't

 

[Breyean]

We stop by the kiosks once in a while if there's no other guests there. Sometimes we just feel sorry for the CM just standing there alone; sometimes we're killing time waiting for friends to finish a ride. We've always just had a nice chat about how long we've been members (long time) which impresses some of them who have barely been alive that long!

Once we took the DVC tour at DLR because they were showing Aulani rooms and we had just bought there while on a cruise. The Guide asked if another family could join us, and since we weren't going to buy and didn't want to waste his time, we said sure. They turned out to be a nice younger couple with a couple of kids and they seemed really interested in DVC.

My wife and I got to talking to them and they started asking US more questions about DVC than the Guide, which I guess makes some sense since they wanted to hear from people who were already members.

We told them the truth about how much we've loved it and how much it meant to our family growing up. What we DID NOT DO was mention resale or renting points since we didn't think it was the right setting or time and they didn't ask.

The Guide pulled us aside after we split from the other family after the tour and thanked us for the recommendations and good reviews for DVC. We sort of felt like shills that con men use in the movies, but we also felt we had been honest about our experiences with DVC.

To top things off, a few months later we got a call out of the blue from some DVC marketing department wanting to know if we w/b interested in appearing in one of their promotional videos. You know, the ones they show non stop on the tvs at the resorts. The had ABD trips and BLT stays planned for the video, but we couldn't do it because of the timing.

I wonder if that call was related to our experience as temporary "guides" on that DLR visit to the DVC sales center.

 

[darby888]

People give out too much information when dealing with others, whether its a DVC kiosk rep or your mother in law, and then wonder why they end up in arguments. A sales rep isn't entitled to more information than "Sorry, not interested." When you start giving reasons for not being interested, you open yourself up to arguments about those reasons.

So true.... Be respectful.... If you know that sales rep can't get anywhere with you, you should have been more careful with any discussion.

You have the upper hand.... Remember he can't walk away, he's working and his directive to promote the product and get the sale.

 

[DizBub]

My wife and I got to talking to them and they started asking US more questions about DVC than the Guide, which I guess makes some sense since they wanted to hear from people who were already members.

We told them the truth about how much we've loved it and how much it meant to our family growing up. What we DID NOT DO was mention resale or renting points since we didn't think it was the right setting or time and they didn't ask.

The Guide pulled us aside after we split from the other family after the tour and thanked us for the recommendations and good reviews for DVC. We sort of felt like shills that con men use in the movies, but we also felt we had been honest about our experiences with DVC.

I think this is a great idea and isn't this what the member's mingle at AKV is all about? Members mingling with prospective buyers? You know that salesmen are really just trying to sell you something but when you meet a accountant or nurse or a teacher from Dayton OH who really enjoy and understand their membership, wouldn't that help potential buyers feel better about considering a purchase? I know if we had had an experience like that we probably would have bought sooner. But maybe that's just us.

 

[LOVEARS]

Wow, Did they really turn down the opprotunity to get free "Ultimate Fast Passes" for watching a presentation?

 

[Dolf]

I think this is a great idea and isn't this what the member's mingle at AKV is all about? Members mingling with prospective buyers? You know that salesmen a really just trying to sell you something but when you meet a accountant or nurse or a teacher from Dayton OH who really enjoy and understand their membership, wouldn't that help potential buyers feel better about considering a purchase? I know if we had had a experience like that we probably would have bought sooner. But maybe that's just us.

You know maybe DVC should create this kind of program for current members to mingle about their experiences directly with the prospective buyers. Every referral should get the DVC Member their referral fee. I would be hanging out at DVC to pay back some of my annual dues.

 

[disneynutz]

I think this is a great idea and isn't this what the member's mingle at AKV is all about? Members mingling with prospective buyers? You know that salesmen are really just trying to sell you something but when you meet a accountant or nurse or a teacher from Dayton OH who really enjoy and understand their membership, wouldn't that help potential buyers feel better about considering a purchase? I know if we had had an experience like that we probably would have bought sooner. But maybe that's just us.

The mingle is for existing owners not new prospective buyers. Disney knows better than to take a chance mixing new prospects with an existing owner who may talk negatively and possibly kill a sale.

The few times that I have been in a mixed company group setting, the Guides hold their breath each time an existing owner speaks.

Bill

 

[DizBub]

The mingle is for existing owners not new prospective buyers. Disney knows better than to take a chance mixing new prospects with an existing owner who may talk negatively and possibly kill a sale.

The few times that I have been in a mixed company group setting, the Guides hold their breath each time an existing owner speaks.

Bill

Odd....I would think that active owners would be some of their best salespeople. The single biggest turn off for us before we actually bought was that NOBODY would give us hard numbers and practical information about using the membership. It was all vague pie-in-the-sky (Cruises! Europe!) and in general blowing pixie dust up the wahzoo. Made us feel like they were hiding something. When it was finally all laid out is when we felt could do this.

Maybe I'm weird but I would like to hear some of the negatives if just for a balanced perspective. Nothing is all good or all bad.

BTW, I had heard that the events at AKV was to mingle existing and prospective buyers earlier when it first started.

 

[crisi]

Odd....I would think that active owners would be some of their best salespeople. The single biggest turn off for us before we actually bought was that NOBODY would give us hard numbers and practical information about using the membership. It was all vague pie-in-the-sky (Cruises! Europe!) and in general blowing pixie dust up the wahzoo. Made us feel like they were hiding something. When it was finally all laid out is when we felt could do this.

Maybe I'm weird but I would like to hear some of the negatives if just for a balanced perspective. Nothing is all good or all bad.

BTW, I had heard that the events at AKV was to mingle existing and prospective buyers earlier when it first started.

No. Ask a member if the rooms are clean and 5 out of 10 members are likely to give an answer other than "of course, they sparkle." Probably 9 out of ten are less enthusiastic on the topic than DVC would want you to be.

Ask a member what trade outs are like - and half of them will say RCI trades aren't a good value - but they are a huge value to DVC sales.

At that point, they hold their breath and hope the member doesn't mention resales at half price.

Lets hope no one brings up buying a cheap resale at SSR and then booking a BWV standard room for food and wine. The member may point out that while the cheap resale is a great deal, their chances of getting that standard view room are pretty darn slim. 'Cause that might bring up other unrealistic expectations new members have about availability - GCV, BLT, BCV, short notice reservations.

 

[DizBub]

Ask a member what trade outs are like - and half of them will say RCI trades aren't a good value - but they are a huge value to DVC sales.

At that point, they hold their breath and hope the member doesn't mention resales at half price.

Lets hope no one brings up buying a cheap resale at SSR and then booking a BWV standard room for food and wine. The member may point out that while the cheap resale is a great deal, their chances of getting that standard view room are pretty darn slim. 'Cause that might bring up other unrealistic expectations new members have about availability - GCV, BLT, BCV, short notice reservations.

I guess my mind just doesn't work that way. I would always expect rooms to be clean. We haven't had the occasion to trade RCI and don't want to. Honestly, I would not mention resale in front of a DVC guide but if I had the opportunity to let them know about it privately I would.

I would mention unrealistic expectations in regards to availability and short notice reservations......I would stress planning and booking as early as possible so they aren't disappointed. Assuming that most members travel once or twice a year because of work and school schedules they should be able to plan accordingly. On the other hand, I look at some of those last minute trips as learning experiences and have been very pleasantly surprised. But that's just me.