Upcoming member meeting

[dianeschlicht]

Recently we have heard of some very disturbing things happening with DVC. I've been to the membership annual meetings in the past, and I know they are mostly a cut and dried "for show only" production, but is it at all possible to bring these concerns up there and have them HEARD? Maybe it is better to write letters higher than that....I don't know, but the things we have been hearing on the boards recently about cancelled ressies, points put in holding without notification, taking points from other contracts than the original reservation was made on, and other such things like moving reservations made on points to regular hotel rooms just is NOT what DVC was or should be all about.

It is appalling to read that someone reserved a Boardwalk view, and had that reservation changed without notification, and then had the points put in holding and the points for the reservation changed to points from a different resort. I've always enjoyed my DVC and have always thought they protected that ownership, but the things I'm hearing recently make me very distrustful and a little uneasy to even think of a future with DVC.

They want me to pay now for an extra 15 years on my OKW contracts that I KNOW I wont be able to use. Then they take away my ability to determin which points I use when???? This is NOT the DVC I bought into and have enjoyed for the past 10 years.

My question at the beginning was if we could bring these things to the attention of all at the annual meeting, but after reviewing, I think maybe we should all be contacting Jim Lewis ourselves and expressing displeasure in what has gone on in the past year.

 

[OKW Lover]

There is typically a Q&A period after the meeting so you could ask your question there. But a better choice would be to write a letter to DVC with your concerns. Yes, they do read these letters and you will get a response.

 

[dianeschlicht]

I can't personally write the letter, because it hasn't happened to me yet, but I do want to voice my concerns. I know that it's difficult at best to get an answer that means anything at those meetings. I've tried, and I've listened to others try. The answers are always stock canned answers that are more political rehetoric than real answer.

 

[bobbiwoz]

What I have found in writing letters is that unless the problem has happened to me, I get the response from the responding person that "this doesn't happen" when from what's being said here, it certainly does happen.

I had to write 3 letters before my lost reservation was restored to some degree, and that happened exactly on the Friday before the vacation was to begin on a Sunday. It's not a very responsive MS organization these days, but it's not only them. The passholder site wasn't working, lots of people had problems, when I finally got my reply, it was after the problem was fixed, and the response was basically, "when you put the information in the correct spots, the passholder site will work, we tried it for you."

I don't know what would happen if the topic of changed reservation was brought up at the members meeting. Is that the only voice of representation the members have? I suppose I wish we had elected representatives or an official problem solver.

Bobbi

 

[dianeschlicht]

Bobbi, I think there is an owner's representative that sits on that panel, but I have no idea who determins who that person will be. I know it isn't us members! There is a serious breakdown of communication and implementation lately at DVC, and I think we are going to have to be pro active to get some answers.

 

[DVC Mike]

Does anyone know how long the Annual Meeting is? I'd like to go, and was thinking of dropping my wife off at the Spa at SSR. I don't want to strand here there, although I'm sure she'd take advantage of the time.

 

[OKW Lover]

Bobbi, I think there is an owner's representative that sits on that panel, but I have no idea who determins who that person will be. I know it isn't us members! There is a serious breakdown of communication and implementation lately at DVC, and I think we are going to have to be pro active to get some answers.

The owners representative is Disney Vacation Development (DVD). You authorized them to represent you when you bought into DVC.

 

[dianeschlicht]

The owners representative is Disney Vacation Development (DVD). You authorized them to represent you when you bought into DVC.

I know, but I was talking about the specific person who sits in that position at the meeting.

As for the length of the meeting, I think it was about an hour and a half with questions last time I went.

 

[disneynutz]

Does anyone know how long the Annual Meeting is? I'd like to go, and was thinking of dropping my wife off at the Spa at SSR. I don't want to strand here there, although I'm sure she'd take advantage of the time.

I heard that it was only about a hour long.

Mike... I like your taste

 

[RobDoc]

Does anyone know how long the Annual Meeting is?

The scripted "official" meetings will last about 5 minutes each. The member's question/answer meeting will last as long as there are questions from those in attendance.

We have been to a number of annual meetings over the years and none have lasted more than an hour - however, since this is the first year for a combined meeting for all DVC resorts it may last a little longer since the GM at each resort will likely have a report and we now have 8 resorts.

 

[NJmouse]

do we get to go to both sets of meetings or just the one for members? I see they are at 2 different times.

 

[RobDoc]

Members may attend either or both sessions. In the past there was one meeting for each resort - consisting of the two Board meetings and followed immediately by the general member information meeting where questions were invited.

This is the first year when two separate meeting will be held so it will be interesting to see if the format is any different than years past.

 

[dianeschlicht]

Doc, I would hope there is MORE information than we have seen in the past. I found the question answer sessions to be less than fullfilling.

 

[CarolA]

Unless something happend to YOU or you have more details then you get here. (ie the member wants to give you all of their personal info, reservation info etc,) then I don't think you have a leg to stand on and Disney isn't going to pay attention. (I am sorry writing or asking "I read on the DIS that a member got thier room taken away" .... I had no damages to complain about, why should Disney care. you are giving them second or third hand info to follow up on)


As to the 15 years.... I think Disney is complying with Florida law. So call the FL legislature if you are unhappy. (And who FORCED you to pay? I seem to recall I was given an out)

The other thing to remember is these boards DO NOT RELFLECT REALITY. Most of us NEVER post when our room is fine, etc. People ONLY post when they want to complain. I always advise new owners who start reading on here and PANIC about how horrid this place that (A) take the "horror" stories and divide by half... things tend to get worse as the rumor mill passes them on. and (B) step away. I know a LOT of former posters who found this board just too negative for them. I have recently spent some time reading other boards out there. The DIS by far seems the most negative which is one reason I am here a LOT less. I also know that there are some folks on here who truly don't understand what they bought (The poster who wanted to break both my legs when I pointed out that getting a handicapped room was NOT the worst thing that ever happened to most folks comes to mind!) If you use these boards to judge the state of DVC, the rooms are falling apart, the CMS are all rude, the discounts are all useless etc. My expereince has been the exact opposite. My accomodations all seem fine, the CMs seem fine (unless they just dealt with the "I PAID $10,000 FOR DVC AND I OWN THIS PLACE" member) and the discounts are a nice bonus.

 

[GoofyasGoofy]

Maybe th easiest way to get our voices heard is to somehow get a DVC employee to check out the boards! Let's see if we might ask someone to look at these concerns as they are written!

 

[RLCarmichael]

Email Member Services...

DVCmembersatisfactionteam@disneyvacationclub.com

We've seen perks disappearing, charges added ($95 reservation fee for non-DVC WDW resorts - even for 1 nite when other "point" timeshare company charges $29 and they are 3rd party!)

Chances are they won't change because of a single email but there are something like 100,000 of us. We spend much more than a typical guest, and we visit much more often.

 

[GusMan]

Maybe th easiest way to get our voices heard is to somehow get a DVC employee to check out the boards! Let's see if we might ask someone to look at these concerns as they are written!

Just a wild guess but they they probably do lurk around here and other Disney related boards. But they would never be able to post anything on behalf of DVC. That would seriously cause a commotion if they did.

 

[disneynutz]

Just a wild guess but they they probably do lurk around here and other Disney related boards. But they would never be able to post anything on behalf of DVC. That would seriously cause a commotion if they did.

Not a guess, a fact. I have been told by multiple sources that both DVD and Disney have people who have the job of monitoring boards and internet sites.

 

[dianeschlicht]

Not a guess, a fact. I have been told by multiple sources that both DVD and Disney have people who have the job of monitoring boards and internet sites.

Well I hope we can keep this up at the top awhile so they get the drift!!!

 

[Sammie]

Unless something happend to YOU or you have more details then you get here. (ie the member wants to give you all of their personal info, reservation info etc,) then I don't think you have a leg to stand on and Disney isn't going to pay attention. (I am sorry writing or asking "I read on the DIS that a member got thier room taken away" .... I had no damages to complain about, why should Disney care. you are giving them second or third hand info to follow up on)

That is a definite. They are not going to discuss what they consider hearsay. Unless it has happened to you specifically, they are not going to address it.