Simplicty = lousy customer service and additional headaches

[dougp26364 Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close dougp26364]

I own 7 timeshares. The ONLY management company that gives me grief is the one who's motto is "simplicity."

On November 6th, I made a request to use 14,000 points for MF payment. I was told it would take 4 to 6 weeks to process. No problem I thought since I have 7 weeks until the end of the year.

A couple of days ago I called because my online account was not reflecting that payment. I wanted to be certain there would be NO PAST DUE amount. At that time I paid all my other fee's including what would be the balance of the MF's for the account the credit was suppose to go into. The rep looked everything up an assured me that there wouldn't be an issue.

Well, now I'm sitting here on termilnal hold because there IS a problem. I'm showing past due on an account that I called to make certain there woulnd't be this problem.

DRI has a LONG WAYS to go as far as being able to take care of their customers. Of all the timeshares we own, they are without a doubt the WORST of the lot as far as a management company.

So here I sit on a Friday night waiting for the next story they're going to tell me abouth what a great company they are and how they're going to take care of me. Simplicity my hind end. If it were simple, I wouldn't be sitting here on hold with their "high call volume."

Here's a suggestion, do things correctly and you won't have customers sitting on hold because everyone of them has to call in because you can't get it right!

Looks like I'll have a choice of problems now. Pay the past due amount before they start tacking on late fee's. But I won't get that money back, it will go on as a credit for next year. Or do I let them start tacking on late fee's and fight with them. They deducted the points instantly. You'd like to think they could transfer the credit just as quickly.

[dougp26364 Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close dougp26364]

I grew tired of waiting on hold and gave up. I checked the Polo Towers web site and found that I have until Jan. 10th before I'm charged with a late fee. I'll keep trying the phone but, failing to get the past due off my account before the 10th I'll make a payment, then I'll fight with DRI about getting that payment refunded to me once they get their end straightened out.

Simplicity. Apparently it's just lip service.

[Schooner Member Find all posts View Profile Close Schooner]

IMO you should pass your complaint to the Chairman and the numerous VP's. If they never hear it drom owners the problems are not likely to get addressed.

[winger Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close winger]

Doug. In case you do not know this #, try calling DRI's Polo Towers customer service at 866-309-7318. Ask for Marie or Eddy to look into this and see if they can track down the M/F-dollars. If that does not work, contact DRI at 877-DRI-CLUB and navigate to Payments... I have had decent experience the past week with these two methods to track down a few questions that were NOT too easy to answer.

[Keitht Super Moderator Find all posts View Profile Close Keitht]

From what I hear and read DRI in the US and Europe have the same motto. Treat all the membership like dirt - simplicity itself.

[dougp26364 Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close dougp26364]

IMO you should pass your complaint to the Chairman and the numerous VP's. If they never hear it drom owners the problems are not likely to get addressed.

At this point in time I'm not so sure they don't just have me on speed dial.

DRI is the only timeshare management company where one has to resort to calling the Chairman or a VP. All the others weeks we own manage to take care of business without that agrivation.

If this is DRI's idea of simplicity and being a leader in the industry, I'd hate to think how things would be if they decided to kick it down a notch. About the only thing DRI is leading in would be increases in MF's. As for service they simply don't deliver it.

[dougp26364 Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close dougp26364]

Doug. In case you do not know this #, try calling DRI's Polo Towers customer service at 866-309-7318. Ask for Marie or Eddy to look into this and see if they can track down the M/F-dollars. If that does not work, contact DRI at 877-DRI-CLUB and navigate to Payments... I have had decent experience the past week with these two methods to track down a few questions that were NOT too easy to answer.

So how many phone numbers do owners need just to get a simple request taken care of? For that matter, how many times does an owner have to call before DRI honors their agreement? They sure don't seem to have an issue pulling the plug on owners in THE Trust if fee's aren't paid on time. They sure don't seem to have a problem simply adding a special assessment in the middle of the year without warning or sending out letters to owners until AFTER the fact.

They might have 100 numbers for owners to call but, simplicity would be taking care of a request on the first call. So far, the only thing I've seen simple about this whole process is it was simple for them to take my money when I signed up to be a member of THE Club.

Now taking the money they could get right without having to be reminded. In fact, they took TO MUCH money and then, when called on it (numerous phone calls and E-mails) they refused to give it back. Instead they simply added a credit to my account. Now that's one thing to do when it's a couple of hundered dollars. It's a completely different matter when the difference is $700.

Yes I have the money to pay that bill and no $700 isn't going to put finacial hardship on my family. However, it's the principle of the matter. THEY OWE ME $700 AND I WANT IT CREDITED NOW, WITHOUT ME HAVING TO FIGHT THEM OVER IT OR MAKE NUMEROUS PHONE CALLS!

At this point I'm really kicking myself for not jumping on the Devbuyback proragam as soon as it came out. I KNEW what I was dealing with yet I let them convince me that things would be different. Idiot: Idiot: Idiot.

[timeos2 Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close timeos2]

So how many phone numbers do owners need just to get a simple request taken care of? For that matter, how many times does an owner have to call before DRI honors their agreement? They sure don't seem to have an issue pulling the plug on owners in THE Trust if fee's aren't paid on time. They sure don't seem to have a problem simply adding a special assessment in the middle of the year without warning or sending out letters to owners until AFTER the fact.

They might have 100 numbers for owners to call but, simplicity would be taking care of a request on the first call. So far, the only thing I've seen simple about this whole process is it was simple for them to take my money when I signed up to be a member of THE Club.

Now taking the money they could get right without having to be reminded. In fact, they took TO MUCH money and then, when called on it (numerous phone calls and E-mails) they refused to give it back. Instead they simply added a credit to my account. Now that's one thing to do when it's a couple of hundered dollars. It's a completely different matter when the difference is $700.

Yes I have the money to pay that bill and no $700 isn't going to put finacial hardship on my family. However, it's the principle of the matter. THEY OWE ME $700 AND I WANT IT CREDITED NOW, WITHOUT ME HAVING TO FIGHT THEM OVER IT OR MAKE NUMEROUS PHONE CALLS!

At this point I'm really kicking myself for not jumping on the Devbuyback proragam as soon as it came out. I KNEW what I was dealing with yet I let them convince me that things would be different. Idiot: Idiot: Idiot.

I know what you are feeling and I sympathize completely. Like II (IMO) DRI is all talk and no results. I see very little improvement over the previously horrendous Sunterra for customer service. That despite the talk, the costly changes to a new call center location and new slogans. They should have made the improvements, delivered on the slogan and THEN siad "it costs more to deliver". Owners would have been much happier and believed the hype. As it is it's all bluster, expense and zero to show for it. Very disappointing.

[winger Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close winger]

I know what you are feeling and I sympathize completely. Like II (IMO) DRI is all talk and no results. I see very little improvement over the previously horrendous Sunterra for customer service. T....

i have to disagree...at least to some degree. cust svc now, at least i can understand them most of the time. with the overseas call center, boy i was not happy. also a few times i had issues, i had escalated and issues were addressed very promptly. well, that was in the early days of diamond's sunterra buyout. not sure if i had same issues today if they will be addressed with same energy as before.
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[dougp26364 Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close dougp26364]

i have to disagree...at least to some degree. cust svc now, at least i can understand them most of the time. with the overseas call center, boy i was not happy. also a few times i had issues, i had escalated and issues were addressed very promptly. well, that was in the early days of diamond's sunterra buyout. not sure if i had same issues today if they will be addressed with same energy as before.
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......or addressed at all.

It makes little difference when you can understand the person on the other end of the phone if routine items aren't being dealt with in a timely expediant manner. Crummy service is crummy service no matter what language or accent it's in.

In fact, if customer service is going to be bad, give me back that $70 special assessment and put the call center back oversea's. I'd rather have the cash if the service isn't going to improve.

[Schooner Member Find all posts View Profile Close Schooner]

i have to disagree...at least to some degree. cust svc now, at least i can understand them most of the time. with the overseas call center, boy i was not happy. also a few times i had issues, i had escalated and issues were addressed very promptly. well, that was in the early days of diamond's sunterra buyout. not sure if i had same issues today if they will be addressed with same energy as before.
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I agree, I have had greatly improved service from the customer service reps. The real issue is that the problems I have had to deal with should never have had to happen in the first place!!

Where service falls apart is in all the structures that should be in place to support the customer and customer service reps. It starts with a heavy handed bureaucratic/legalistic approach by head office in laying out a framework of rules and regulations to protect the corporation’s interests with little regard for the owner’s interests. Even the Customer Service Reps can't explain some of the rules consistently. If you want a customer focused business to fail, let lawyers run it (no offense to those of you who are lawyers, you are great to have on call when needed!).

Loading Boards with DRI employees etc. doesn't militate in favor of owner interests either. Layer on to this an accounting system that is dysfunctional and non responsive, a corporate attitude that seems to ignore the need to focus on efficiency and cost control, a non consultative approach to adding "benefits" we pay for (II Gold), virtually non existent communication with members about proposed changes or what is being done about issues and you have a recipe that will defeat even the most well intentioned customer service representative!

[dougp26364 Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close dougp26364]

I agree, I have had greatly improved service from the customer service reps. The real issue is that the problems I have had to deal with should never have had to happen in the first place!!

Where service falls apart is in all the structures that should be in place to support the customer and customer service reps. It starts with a heavy handed bureaucratic/legalistic approach by head office in laying out a framework of rules and regulations to protect the corporation’s interests with little regard for the owner’s interests. Even the Customer Service Reps can't explain some of the rules consistently. If you want a customer focused business to fail, let lawyers run it (no offense to those of you who are lawyers, you are great to have on call when needed!).

Loading Boards with DRI employees etc. doesn't militate in favor of owner interests either. Layer on to this an accounting system that is dysfunctional and non responsive, a corporate attitude that seems to ignore the need to focus on efficiency and cost control, a non consultative approach to adding "benefits" we pay for (II Gold), virtually non existent communication with members about proposed changes or what is being done about issues and you have a recipe that will defeat even the most well intentioned customer service representative!

So what you seem to be saying is, the CS reps are very nice and responsive but, they can't do anything, don't understand the system or rules and are rendered essentially non-functional by the sytem they work it.

Great, I like a friendly person to tell me I'm screwed rather than someone speaking in an accent I can barely understand while telling me I'm screwed. It gives me a warm fuzzy feeling when I can understand them, even when they're about to hit me with late fee's because THEY can't seem to get the money transfered in an expediant manner.

Having an English as a first language CS rep might make the rest of you believe that you're getting good customer service but it's not doing a thing for me right now. Bad is bad no matter what language you speak.

Of course it's not helping my attitude that I can't even get through to an English speaking CS rep right now because of "abnormally long wait times" when I call. So even speaking with someone I can understand means sitting with the speaker phone on while I try to get something else accomplished. That might not be so bad if I actually had the time to sit and wait on them. Right now, I don't. I'm working a long number of days in a row running up to having a week off. This means DRI either has to get it right (something I don't have faith in right now) or, I'm going to have to pay the additional $700 and then fight with them about it. I've already had to do this once over a $155 charge I shouldn't have been billed.

I wouldn't say I minded paying this fee now if I knew I could get it refunded. However, while DRI is good at taking your money, they don't seem to want to give it back if they take to much. Instead they would rather issue you a credit on your account and just keep your money.

Yep, having those CS reps I can understand sure makes it feel like DRI is providing better customer service. I guess I'd feel a lot better about my situation if I could speak with one of them after that abnormally long wait time the nice recorded message keeps telling me about.

[Schooner Member Find all posts View Profile Close Schooner]

Have you tried escalating to a manager?

[winger Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close winger]

I just noticed my 2010 points is 33% less than it should. Yet another example where problem should not have happened. So I sent an email last night to Club Membership issues (this is the topic I chose). I will see how good/bad the resolution is and report out (or not LOL) here.

[dougp26364 Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close dougp26364]

Have you tried escalating to a manager?

If I could speak with a human, I would do that. So far, ever time I've called lately, I get the "you're call is very important to us" message and find myself on terminal hold. I suspect there may be several people with issues this time of year that need escalating to a manager.

The one time I got through to pay the remainder of my fee's, I was promised the fee's would be paid and that late fee's would not be charged. Since it's not in writing, I'm not counting on it. It would be one reps word against mine and I feel I'd be on the short end of that stick.