Westgate Villas-read it and weep.....

[beatnik]

I would have to agree that Badger Brent has every reason to be uspet with Westgate Villas and to let others know about the problems encountered. Although Westgate Villas waived the requirement that the family do the timeshare tour, this seems to have only been because they were sent back to their room to deal with the room's problems. And as for their refunding one night's stay: again, I am not impressed with Westgate's handling of the matter-- Didn't BadgerBrent have to spend more valuable time calling to complain once the trip was over? Now if Westgate had immediately and promptly attempted to correct every problem without their patrons having to spend valuable vacation time waiting around for the room to be repaired... If Westgate had expressed dismay at the hassle they gave BadgerBrent: "Oh my, we are SO sorry you were troubled so much about you room. We are horrified, as we really pride ourselves on making your vacation stay enjoyable and we'd like to convince you that problems like this are the exception. Please, if you are interested in the timeshare tour, go ahead and take it, but don't feel obligated. And we'd like to take one night's stay off of your bill. Please accept our most sincere apologies." Do you suppose we'd be hearing a negative from Badger Brent if that was the response to the complaints? The same outcome for Westgate as regards their bottom line, but a big difference as to what we would all be hearing from Badger Brent, I would speculate! (BadgerBrent, feel free to chime in as to what your response would have been to such a scenario...)

I for one am very glad to hear of BadgerBrent's problem. It will help me in my decision making process when I am looking for lodging. It is NOT too much to expect that a company in the hospitality industry will treat people respectfully and well.

Beatnik

 

[WDWisTheBest]

An ideal scenario that you conjured would be nice. In the real world of today, that type of response is not very common.
Again, the facts are that the family did not have to attend the timeshare presentation and had one night refunded.

I know you read the report and realize that BadgerBrent tried unsuccessfully to cancel the reservation before going to the Vacation Villas. This could have negatively affected their perception of the stay before even coming on property. A "hang up" at the start was that 15 to 20 minutes to get an escort at check in was too long. With many people checking in around 4pm, that length of time does not seem out of line at all to me. When we checked in at another timeshare, it took about 45 minutes for us to be escorted to our villa. There, I understood that we would be taken in order of our check in. There were other guests ahead of us that needed to be shown to their villas. On another stay at a timeshare resort, we were escorted to our villas in 5 minutes, but we were first in line at check in. And, BadgerBrent thought that the parking was too tight at Vacation Villas. My perception is that the parking space alloted was no more and no less than I have encountered at other resorts. And, we were always able to park right in front of our villa. At another timeshare resort, many times we could not park in front due to heavy usage by other guests.

Now, to the timeshare presentation, this was said by BadgerBrent, "We arrive and the salesperson tells us to go ahead and eat the complimentary breakfast and we declined and wanted to get all of this over with. She asked what was wrong and we told her the story. She got Monica, she then got Rob, who told us to go to our room and this would be dealt with within 15 minutes. We go back to our room and after an hour, nobody had come to see us. I head back to see Rob. He said he sent somebody and would investigate. He said, go to the parks and he would personally leave a message on our phone to what was going on and why things went so wrong. Get back from the parks and no message!!".

First, sales staff is different from maintenance staff. A maintenance isssue is handled by maintenance. At Westgate Vacation Villas, you dial 12345 and discuss the issue with their customer service staff. That is the procedure outlined in the guest handbook. We had a minor clogged toilet in the second bathroom. I don't know what caused the problem, but I dialed 12345 and talked with the customer service person. She cordially handled the call and told me she would contactmaintenance. We went to the theme parks and when we returned the toilet was functioning. We didn't miss a beat in our vacation plans and the maintenance issue was smoothly handled.

I would not expect the timeshare sales staff to fix a maintenance problem or to even contact maintenance. Sales staff are on commission and make their money by selling timeshares. If I had been at breakfast and a "Rob", associated with sales, had told me that the maintenance issue would be handled in 15 minutes, I would have been very doubtful of his statement. Why? Because "Rob" would have to contact the customer service staff, who would contact maintenance staff. And, I know that I could have accomplished that myself, without involving a "Rob".

If I had gone to the timeshare presentation, as required to receive a reduced cost of stay, I would have eaten the breakfast. Then, I would have handled the sales presentation separate and apart from a maintenance issue. I may have used the maintenance issue as part of my rebuttal to the sales presentation. But, if I wanted to get a maintenance issue resolved, I would have addressed that directly with the customer service staff who contact maintenance staff and direct them to a particular villa where the problem is. Maintenance staff and timeshare sales staff do not normally interact. Maintenance and customer service staff DO interact. Do you disagree?

Now, the reason for addressing this is only to be fair to the Westgate Vacation Villas resort. There are no doubt issues that every family has from time to time with service personnel during vacations. That is normal. I just didn't have the same experience with the stay at the Westgate Vacation Villas that BadgerBrent did. Our family had a very enjoyable experience at WDW and we stayed at the Vacation Villas.

I do suggest to anyone who stays at any of the timeshare resorts that you separate sales issues from maintenance issues. If you have a maintenance issue, resolve it with the appropriate customer service and maintenance staff.

And, Beatnik, I hope that your hearing of BadgerBrent's problem helps you with your decision making process in getting lodging. I agree with you that it is not too much to expect that a company in the hospitality industry treats people with respect. Regarding a stay at Westgate Vacation Villas, my experience staying there was positive. BadgerBrent's was not positive. Many times there are two sides to every issue.

Overall, I hope that visiting WDW is positive for everyone but I know that this is too much to expect. And, if you read the DIS boards, you will see threads where people have maintenance issues at the WDW resorts as well. Staying onsite does not insure one against maintenance problems. I hope that nobody does have any problems with their hotel or motel, but that is just not realistic. It is how they are addressed that makes problems go away quickly.

 

[spiceycat]

WDWistheBest

Hey I own at Westgate and I have problems with the maintence staff - we had a leak in the ceiling in the bathroom - reported immediately (I followed their rules) it took them 2 1/2 days to fix it this problem....I am sorry but it should have been fixed that day....

yes WDW has problems - I own also at OKW - but when I call them they are there in around 10 minutes and they fix it to MY satifaction - they don't leave half way through the job - Westgate has.....

What makes me mad is the annual fee that Westgate has members pay and then the maintence is lousy......I cannot believe that Westgate is spending my money on maintence instead they seem to spending it on the salespeople....

Westgate for the same week is just a couple of hundred less than my OKW - for that couple of hundred I get the WDW transportation system - plus knowing that when I call OKW they will come if not immediately then shortly and will FIX the problem.

Also the sale meeting are not being called sales meeting - they are being called MAINTENCE meeting - when the sales force is using maintence meeting to get guest to attend their sale meeting - they are asking for problems with MAINTENCE..... they should be prepared to handle the problems - they should be getting the place fixed - it would definitely help with the sales - but do you really think that Westgate once they have your money cares.....

that has been my experience with Westgate and as I say I am an owner - I am trying to sell it now - but Westgate has to change the owner - I have called them - they refused to talkl to me - instead I had to write to these people - well they refused to help me - told me I need to call their lawyers - get the picture!!!!

don't buy Westgate and if you have - by Florida law you get 10 days to cancel your contract - other thing that Westgate salepeople don't mention and that is breaking the law!

 

[WDWisTheBest]

I just want to make sure that I understand the comparison you are making between OKW and Westgate Vacation Villas.

If I understood your post correctly, you had a leak in your bathroom ceiling at the Vacation Villas and it took 2 1/2 days to fix. You expected it to be fixed within that same day. To make an a true "apples to apples" comparison, I assume that you also had a leak in your bathroom ceiling at OKW and that OKW maintenance responded within 10 minutes and they fixed the leak in your bathroom ceiling at OKW within the same day. Is that correct?

If that is what happened, then there is no doubt that OKW maintenance was much more efficient in handling the leak in the bathroom ceiling at OKW than the Vacation Villas maintenance staff was in fixing the leak in the bathroom ceiling at the Villas.

I assume that the longer time to fix the leak in the bathroom ceiling is what makes you state that, "What makes me mad is the annual fee that Westgate has members pay and then the maintence is lousy......I cannot believe that Westgate is spending my money on maintence instead they seem to spending it on the salespeople...."

Also, I am confused about the timeshare presentation meetings. When you say, "Also the sale meeting are not being called sales meeting - they are being called MAINTENCE meeting - when the sales force is using maintence meeting to get guest to attend their sale meeting " I did not attend the timeshare presentation meeting. Also, we were not contacted one time to go to a maintenance meeting. I thought the timeshare presentations were called just that timeshare presentations. I didn't know that the timeshare presentations were being called maintenance meetings. Would you please explain this further? Again, we rented the villa through a wholesaler and didn't have to go to the timeshare presentation. And, we were never contacted for either a sales presentation or a maintenance meeting by the timeshare presentation staff.

Do I correctly understand that your only maintenance problem with the Westgate resort is the leak in your bathroom ceiling that took 2 1/2 days to fix? And, the leak in the ceiling of the bathroom at OKW took a day to fix? If so, OKW maintenance is certainly at least twice as fast to fix leaks in bathroom ceilings as Westgate maintenance is.

If that is the case, then you don't want to pay an annual fee at Westgate, do you? I can understand that since nobody wants to pay annual fees. However, at the timeshares for which I am familiar, all of them charge annual fees. Do the Disney DVC properties charge annual fees? If so, are they broken down to show how much is for maintenance and how much is for sales staff? Perhaps the DVC properties do not charge owners for sales staff support as part of any annual fees that might be charged.

I am certainly glad for you that you are so happy with the DVC. It seems to be great. And, it is quite interesting to learn that the OKW maintenance staff is twice as fast as the Westgate maintenance staff is in fixing bathroom ceiling leaks. Thanks for your input and information.

 

[spiceycat]

now this was the last time - I have had several problems the first time -that were not fixed while we were there at all - and yes they were reported.

the second bathroom was dirty - the shower in the second bathroom the hot water won't come on - the sliding door to the patio did not work properly - there was slide loose in the kitchen -

none of these problems were fixed while we were there.

Westgate has for years called their timeshare meeting
"maintence meeting" - I had already brought - I would certain not have gone to a timeshare sales meeting if I told up front that was what it was - I also was told that I MUST attend it to check out - now I know I was lied too in both cases - Westgate does this type of stuff regularly - they are known for it. I wish I had know before I brought Westgate. they were not interested in the maintence - after calling their meeting a maintence meeting - OH I was mad.....I tried to walk out and would you believe that they had the doors locked - I was so mad then that they knew I was going to buy anymore timeshares from them and let me out.....I was so mad......

their resorts are lovely if they kept up the maintence in the villa then I would have no complaints - I have yet to stay in any villa at Westgate where there were no major problems.

Disney does maintence - I don't think they would allow a member to see a leak in the ceiling - but I did once have a problem with the door to the balcony - the maintence man worked every hard to fix it - he had to take the door down and to the shop before he return with it working properly - this was OKW. at BCV their was problem with the air-conditioning - the maintence person could not fix it - he called his supervisor - and the supervisor called the company - they got it fixed while we were gone to the parks....

Westgate does not take service/maintence issue seriously - until they do - I will either sell mind - I got told to go through a close out company and they would deal with Westgate - or trade it - it trades into some nice places - Marriott's

 

[beatnik]

WDWis,

Just a quick post and then I will drop out of this discussion:

You and I seem to have different expecations as regards service-- to each his own. Your attitude will likely serve you well in this world, as you will be less perturbed by these types of annoyances than will I and you will proabably outlive me by several years!

I suppose the main point that I am making is that it would not cost anything more for WestGate to provide good service with a good attitude. If I had numerous problems at a resort and the staff and management did not seem to care very much, it would not placate me that they threw a few dollars my way-- I would not want to return. You may feel differently, but it many posters on this thread do not agree with you. For those of us in disagreement, the OP is very helpful, as it can help us to avoid similar problems. Since these types of things would not bother you, you can happily continue to vacation at West Gate-- no harm done.

I personally think it a sad commentary that so many folks seem to feel it would take a "perfect world" for a customer to be treated respectfully and for problems to be corrected promptly. If we all grow to expect poor service, then I expect that is exactly what we will get.

So WDWis, I leave West Gate Villas to you... I will seek accomodation elsewhere. Good news for you to not have folks like me there hassling the managment!

Regards,
Beatnik

 

[WDWisTheBest]

I too am going to drop out of this discussion.
I do not condone poor service either. I just had an entirely different response from Westgate service and maintenance personnel when I was there.

I totally agree with what you said when you said, "I suppose the main point that I am making is that it would not cost anything more for WestGate to provide good service with a good attitude. If I had numerous problems at a resort and the staff and management did not seem to care very much, it would not placate me that they threw a few dollars my way-- I would not want to return." You and I agree with that.

I am not sure if you were a guest of Westgate Vacation Villas and had poor service. I WAS a guest of that resort and I didn't have any problems that were not resolved by them quickly and efficiently. If you were not a guest of the resort, can you say that you would not enjoy it there without even going there?

BadgerBrent had a bad experience. We had a good experience. We had a couple of minor maintenance problems, but, after I called their service staff, they were handled effectively. We were treated with respect and the problems were fixed promptly. That is all that I was trying to convey. I was just trying to show a fair and balanced approach to how we were treated by resort personnel.

At other timesharetype resorts we have had minor issues. but have had them resolved easily. I believe, and you probably disagree with me, that if one just addresses the proper group that can resolve an issue, the issue will get resolved. I worked with the service staff at Westgate because they are the ones who handle service and maintenance. They responded promptly and efficiently. I did not try to get a maintenance issue resolved by the timeshare sales staff because they don't resolve maintenance issues.

I think you were referring to me when you said, "I personally think it a sad commentary that so many folks seem to feel it would take a "perfect world" for a customer to be treated respectfully and for problems to be corrected promptly. If we all grow to expect poor service, then I expect that is exactly what we will get."

I expect to be treated respecfully and I expect that problems need to be resolved within a "reasonable" timeframe. Since I have managed many rental units and understand what it takes to correct problems, I understand what "reasonable" expectations are. I know what poor service is and I understand what unreasonable expectations are.

If you actually stayed at Westgate Vacation Villas and had poor service, I can understand your comments. If you didn't stay there, and were not part of the problems that BadgerBrent outlined, then I can not understand your believing that problems were not resolved in a reasonable timeframe. I stayed there and understand exactly how we were treated by their staff. That is all I am trying to tell you, i.e. that we were treated reasonably and respectfully during our stay.

Thanks again for your input.

 

[Badger Brent]

I guess I can't resist a couple more comments.

1. There was NOBODY waiting at registration upon our arrival. So if your waiting in a chair where they tell you to while your family is in the car, 20 minutes is ok?

2. My concern for parking was over the distance of trying to back in and out of the stalls. Not the amount of stalls. There was plenty of them. I guess I must be a crappy driver.

WDWisthe best, have fun at westgate, our family will stick with what we know. It seems your the one who has taken this whole discussion on a real personal basis. Until you have walked in OUR shoes, don't make it seem like I'm the one with the hangups on our stay. I still will steer people away from this resort. Good-bye to this thread hopefully.

 

[WDWisTheBest]

First, we HAD a good time at Westgate Vacation Villas. My only reason to say anything at all was to try to bring some balance to comments about this resort. Our recent stay there had none of the problems that were outlined by others. We had no trouble parking our SUV and we were escorted to our villa in a reasonable time. You had troubles with those items. It is too bad that you did and I don't doubt you for a moment that these were issues for you.

I don't take this on a personal basis at all, but do feel that when a discussion is one-sided and I have experience that does not validate what was said, I wanted to add my thoughts.

As you said, "I still will steer people away from this resort.". Our recent experience staying there was just the opposite from yours. I won't try to either steer people to or from the resort. I attempt to make my comments objective in hopes that our experience can be helpful to others on the DIS boards. On this trip our lodging was very satisfactory. But, we have also enjoyed other resorts, including the Vistana resorts. We have stayed onsite many times and enjoyed that as well but it did cost more than staying offsite.

But, you have the right to try to "steer people away from this resort" if you want to do that. And, if it gives you satisfaction to steer people away from the Vacation Villas, enjoy doing that.

Please remember that you didn't walk in our shoes either. Is it possible that others have enjoyed their stay there, or does everyone have the problems you had?

 

[dizney dreamin']

We just returned from our stay at Westgate and, we decided going in that we were going to be very critical of the service because of all the upset that I've been reading about. I have to say, we had one of the best stays ever. We had some problems in the villa including a broken fridge- it was replaced in an hour. The staff was eager and they even followed up with a phone call to make sure the problem was taken care of.
I have been an owner since 1995 and this was the best service we've ever had. I'm not sure if the customer service push is a new thing because of all the bad press but, the difference was noticeable.
However, when we met with our rep., we let him know about all the negative feedback we had been hearing on these boards. He said that customer satisfaction is priority #1 and that they are really pushing this upon the staff. I assumed from his statement that there have been staff problems and that he had dealt with many unhappy people.
Overall, we had a great trip and a very comfortable stay.
By the way, we stayed in the new villas that were just built, and the parking is SOOO tight. We had a minivan and it was so hard to park. We drive in Manhattan all the time and know how to park in tight spaces but, that was crazy.
Take care!!

 

[nancycels]

Ok, I've read everyones comments, and have to say, after reading these boards for about the last ten years or so, Westgate is perhaps the most unliked resort ever mentioned. As a timeshare owner in II myself, I have always avoided it, although we did go for a presentation once.

What I don't understand about Westgate is WHY it keeps on having problems. Its not just a one year thing, its not just this expansion, its a continuous problem. This says something to me about the way the place is managed.

I also think there is a difference between the units the owners are staying in the ones you get for a relative freebie for going to a presentation. I stayed in another hotel(since there was no room at westgate when we went for our presentation, and the only reason we went was so we would have somewhere to stay for one night that we didn't have to pay for so we cd get a good bargain on our plane fare). That was bizarre to say the least...when we arrived we 'interrupted staff' who were having a high old time in the room assigned to us. It was highly embarassing! Westgate is not the only resort down there with problems! LOL I laugh now, but it was late when we ck'd in and I guess the hotel staff thought no one was going to show up since our plane was late. So, my bet is, Westgate works for owners, just not for the people looking for a cheap way to stay near dis. JMHO! and I could be wrong...