why is membership services closed on weekends

[KANSAS]

did dvc members, make this decision, so that our annual dues, could be kept down?
or was this decided by some other authority??

Interval International is open till late at night and on weekends.

 

[msdis]

Because by friday they are sick of us.

 

[PamOKW]

MS has never been open weekends. They also used to close for lunch. I imagine it is a cost-saving measure.

 

[Disney Doll]

Because everybody deserves time off????

I think there is one night when they're open late, isn't there??? Maybe Thursday???

 

[Caskbill]

I'm sure it's to keep dues down. By concentrating during normal working hours they can keep employment to basically one shift.

If they went to late nights and weekends, costs would definitely go up, but there would not be any appreciable increase in the number of calls, they would simply be spread out more so there would be more slack time between calls.

With over 100 people manning phones, adding 4-hours at night and 24 hours for a weekend (12 hours Saturday, 12 hours Sunday) to make 12/7 coverage (don't even think about 24/7), that's a 44 hour increase per week, or 110% increase.

They could surely reduce staff and not need all 100 at one time, but it would still probably require a hefty increase in total employees (cast members).

Figure in benefits, vacation time, sick time etc, and increases in electricity for lights/computers, water, heat/cooling systems running 44 additional hours per week, extra phone costs assuming the rate they pay for the 800 number is for x number of hours of usage, etc., it could all add up.

For our part, no big deal not having weekend or evening hours all week. I don't receive U.S. mail delivery on Sundays or holidays and still manage to do just fine.

 

[Lisa P.]

As Fairfield grew larger, they expanded their Member Services hours gradually. They've stayed open an hour later, here and there, into the weeknight evenings (now to 10 pm). Along the way, they added Saturday daytime hours and recently, Sunday daytimes. Having a broad Member base across many time zones makes a difference too. DVC's is heavily concentrated in the east coast, isn't it?

Business & Accounting are all still only weekdays, 9-to-6. But reservation services and new owners' services have expanded as the member base grew and the demand was evidenced by longer waits on hold. By expanding, they've virtually eliminated these waits and no longer have a Monday morning crunch.

IMHO, it would be odd if DVC didn't do the same kind of gradual increase in MS hours eventually. They've already picked up the weekday lunch hours. I would think they just need to reach membership number benchmarks and a fairly consistent phone delay to justify the cost of adding hours and staggering staff schedules.

 

[Happy Birthday Cat]

I don't think the long term answer is weekend shifts but a web based reservation system. It would keep cost down "big time" and allow 24 hour access, 365 days of the year.

Welcome to the 21st Century!

HBC

 

[Dean]

I feel the reality is that DVC has grown enough that additional hours are needed. MS should be openearlier and later throughout the week AND at least on Saturday mornings. They should be able to do so with minimal additional staff and expenses. IMO, the time has since come and past that this change was needed. I'd agree that a more involved online reservations system is also needed and in the long run, should control costs.

 

[DVC-Don]

Originally posted by Dean
I feel the reality is that DVC has grown enough that additional hours are needed. MS should be openearlier and later throughout the week

Agree. There should be more than one evening to take calls.

 

[Pinnie]

I am going to add my .02 here and say that they do need to expand MS hours. With the addition of more members at SSR, there are going to be longer waits on the phone. In my case, I have a job that doesn't allow me to access the phone during my working hours, so I end up trying my hardest on Thursday nights.

I also agree that a web based reservation system is LONG overdue.

pin

 

[Lexxiefern]

While I agree I would love longer MS hours, I must say that MS is way ahead of CRO and WDTC. I just called to book a last minute trip this month and I had to call back a couple times to modify and PS's etc. I was on hold an average of 15 minutes per call! I will only wait as long as 20 then I hang up and call back at a different time.

I have never had to wait that long with MS. I think 8 minutes is the longest.

I do agree though that with all the new members and with SSR MS will probably become much busier. I would love to see Saturday morning be open.

 

[bicker]

I've never had a problem doing my reservations during MS business hours. I'd have no problem with them extending hours, as long as they covered the cost of extended hours by charging folks who use the extend hours an additional fee, rather than forcing all members to bear that cost, even though only some take advantage of it. It's like daily maid service.

 

[KANSAS]

bicker
I would like to see a 5 hour period on saturdays, that MS, would be open. I think that alot of people, cannot make personal phone calls at work and this would be fair
do you still feel that people who call on saturdays, should ahve to pay a surcharge??

 

[bicker]

Since it is a real-estate interest, and not simply a membership, any change in service-level from the documented spec is unfair. That's like selling someone part of your land, with a driveway easement, and then they go and put a toll at the foot of your driveway.

 

[GAIL HAYDEN]

Originally posted by KANSAS
bicker
I would like to see a 5 hour period on saturdays, that MS, would be open. I think that alot of people, cannot make personal phone calls at work and this would be fair
do you still feel that people who call on saturdays, should ahve to pay a surcharge??

These people who cannot make personal phone calls from work don't have lunch hours or are not at home on the night that MS is open? Next we will want Sunday hours too, cause we are too busy on Sat. to make the call.
Online reservations, IMHO, are the way to go.

 

[GAIL HAYDEN]

Originally posted by bicker
I've never had a problem doing my reservations during MS business hours. I'd have no problem with them extending hours, as long as they covered the cost of extended hours by charging folks who use the extend hours an additional fee, rather than forcing all members to bear that cost, even though only some take advantage of it. It's like daily maid service.

ITA

 

[Werner Weiss]

One big advantage of the current, single-shift, Monday-Friday hours is that this arrangement allows Member Services to hire and keep good people.

Unlike typical call center employees — or most other service sector employees, for that matter — the MS CMs always have weekends off, and, aside from the slightly later hours once a week, they never have to work evenings or nights.

That's good for the CMs, and that's good for us — because we get to plan our DVC stays with experienced, committed, knowlegable, long-term employees.

 

[Doug7856]

Originally posted by Werner Weiss
... That's good for the CMs, and that's good for us — because we get to plan our DVC stays with experienced, committed, knowlegable, long-term employees.

While I would like to see evening/weekend hours, I have to agree with your comments!

 

[PamOKW]

Werner makes an excellent point. The quality of MS is terrific. One current solution for those who can't call is to use the e-mail. While it's not as immediately gratifying, it does work.

 

[GAIL HAYDEN]

Originally posted by Werner Weiss
One big advantage of the current, single-shift, Monday-Friday hours is that this arrangement allows Member Services to hire and keep good people.

Unlike typical call center employees — or most other service sector employees, for that matter — the MS CMs always have weekends off, and, aside from the slightly later hours once a week, they never have to work evenings or nights.

That's good for the CMs, and that's good for us — because we get to plan our DVC stays with experienced, committed, knowlegable, long-term employees.

Excellent point!!!!