Simplicty = lousy customer service and additional headaches

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

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.

If it wasn't for the fact I have timeshare with 3 other companies, I'd really be down on timeshares based on my DRI experience. When I read about Marriott or Hilton owners complaining about their issues, I can't help but think that they don't have a clue how bad things can really be.

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

Well congratulations to me. The CS rep was good on his word that I wouldn't pay any late fee's. As of this morning, my account shows a balance of $0 with no past due amounts.

Next year, my decisions will be made by September so I can avoid the holiday rush and have this settled long before the last dog dies.

At least now I should be able to begin planning how to use my points. Now that I.I. has changed the points required for units. I suspect I have held out more than I need. I'll have to make adjustments around June to see if I need to save any of 2009's points to 2010.

Right now, I'm just relived that the balance if finally showing $0 due and no past due amounts. Hopefully, DRI will get the kinks worked out and this system will become as simple to use their motto implies.

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

great news Doug. glad you didn't blow a hose over this mf issue. remember DRI is relatively new and lots of changes in their systems undoubtedly occurred of the past year. delays like this are bound to occur especially if any manual processing (e.g. mailing a check to Polo Towers) is involved. lots of moving parts, including people, lots of places where things can get hung up.
Posted via Mobile Device

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

...

Next year, my decisions will be made by September so I can avoid the holiday rush and have this settled long before the last dog dies. ....

i'm on the road today, but isn't Nov 1st the first day you can 'apply'/'request' to convert points to the next year's mf's ?
Posted via Mobile Device

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

great news Doug. glad you didn't blow a hose over this mf issue. remember DRI is relatively new and lots of changes in their systems undoubtedly occurred of the past year. delays like this are bound to occur especially if any manual processing (e.g. mailing a check to Polo Towers) is involved. lots of moving parts, including people, lots of places where things can get hung up.
Posted via Mobile Device

Neither DRI nor the system they inherited from Sunterra are new. I've owned at a DRI resort since 1998 and that purchases was in tower 2. I believe Polo Towers began construction somewhere around 1991 or 1992. I'm relatively certain that Sunterra and their points system has been around at least as long.

i'm on the road today, but isn't Nov 1st the first day you can 'apply'/'request' to convert points to the next year's mf's ?
Posted via Mobile Device

Lord I hope not. I'm not one to want to push things to the last minute and then hope things get done. When they say 4 to 6 weeks, I wonder if they're taking into account the holiday's in that period of time? If so, and based on this years personal experience, then Nov. 1 would be the latest I'd want to push converting points to MF's. In not, then they would only be giving owners a 2 week window to make the decision to convert points to MF's. Either way, it wouldn't be making life very simple for THE Club members who wish to convert points to MF's.

Next year, I'm starting my quest around the first part of September and I'll see what happens. I do not pay my bills late and I certainly don't want to hit any deliquent fee's. I also want my HOA to have the money by it's due date of January 1st. HOA/BOD's depend upon that money to pay expenses. When owners are late, they don't have the cash on hand to pay bills. Can you imagine how happy a resorts employee's would be if the HOA/BOD didn't have the funds to pay their wages? How about the owners if the HOA/BOD had to borrow money and pay interest, just to meet expenses, and then passed that cost along to owners in the form of addtional MF increaases next year.

No, I would certainly hope that members could make that decision and notify DRI before Nov. 1st. If not, then I'll be on the phone bright and early that day, no matter where I might be, to make my request. I obviously have not had the best experience this year by waiting until Nov. 5th to make my request. I was 5 days past due and 4 days before the late fee's would begin. That, IMO, is cutting it to close.

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

Neither DRI nor the system they inherited from Sunterra are new. I've owned at a DRI resort since 1998 and that purchases was in tower 2. I believe Polo Towers began construction somewhere around 1991 or 1992. I'm relatively certain that Sunterra and their points system has been around at least as long.....

Yes true, BUT the integration of two companies together involves computer systems and people. I was there at Polo during the conversion in Jun 2007 (?) and it (process and system) was a mess from the looks of the contracts people on site.

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

Hopefully, by next year much of this will be worked out. That is unless DRI manages to find a way to aquire another system like Bluegreen. Then we're right back where we started.

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

i doubt any further aquisition will take place in this financial environment. costs money which is hard to come by. also i hope dri management is smart enough to see they have ALOT of internal issues to resolve (some may or may not be attributed to the Sunterra buyout) before more expansion.
Posted via Mobile Device

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

i doubt any further aquisition will take place in this financial environment. costs money which is hard to come by. also i hope dri management is smart enough to see they have ALOT of internal issues to resolve (some may or may not be attributed to the Sunterra buyout) before more expansion.
Posted via Mobile Device

Looking at just this past years history, I seriously doubt that any internal issues they might have would stop them from aquiring another timeshare company. It certainly wasn't going to stop them from buying Bluegreen. If that deal had gone through, imagine what that would have done to CS.

The only thing stopping DRI from buying out another brand is the current financial market. Those markets can change rapidly. Who would have thought at the begining of the year that things would be the way they are right now. While it's not likely to turn around as quickly, stranger things have happened.

If given the chance, I would not bet that DRI would pass up what they believe to be an attractive offer to buy. The current state of the companies ability to service it's existing owners won't slow them down one bit. It wasn't going to slow them down 6 months ago and the problems of today existed at that time as well. Nope, the only thing slowing them down are bankers smart enough not to finance an expansion at this time.

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

...and based on this years personal experience, then Nov. 1 would be the latest I'd want to push converting points to MF's. In not, then they would only be giving owners a 2 week window to make the decision to convert points to MF's. Either way, it wouldn't be making life very simple for THE Club members who wish to convert points to MF's.
...

I spoke to a rep today about my missing points. He has seen just a handle of issues where annual pts were not allocated correctly, but normally my 1000-2000 pts range; mine was for over 10k pts, equalling one of my units' annual pts.

Anyways, I asked him when can I deposit pts for 2010's MF's. He stated the earliest time is Nov 1st, 2009.

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

I spoke to a rep today about my missing points. He has seen just a handle of issues where annual pts were not allocated correctly, but normally my 1000-2000 pts range; mine was for over 10k pts, equalling one of my units' annual pts.

Anyways, I asked him when can I deposit pts for 2010's MF's. He stated the earliest time is Nov 1st, 2009.

That is just flat out ridiculous with the speed they handled my request. With 2 holiday's before the end of the year and then New Years Day on top of that, plus their stated timeframe of 4 to 6 weeks to get the funds credited, they REALLY need to start at least by October 1st and probably should allow owners to at least request the option starting in July.

By getting a head start or, by allowing owners to declare their intentions, they can be better prepared to handle the requests in a timely manner, even if they don't send the check to the HOA's until December.

Inefficiency does not work towards the motto of simplicity. I made my request on November 5th and the funds weren't credited until my MF's were past due. Granted they weren't into the late fee phase but, they were still past due. I don't think 4 days would have made much difference.

IMO, it's obvious that, if you want those funds credited to you HOA on time, you must make your request on November 1. Since that's the first day you can make your request there appears to be little room for error.

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

...

IMO, it's obvious that, if you want those funds credited to you HOA on time, you must make your request on November 1. Since that's the first day you can make your request there appears to be little room for error.

Guess what, Doug? I already placed a recurring annual reminder on Nov 1st (with a three-day-prior reminder) !!! in case I want to use pts for MF's ! No need to stress.

[idofabric Member Find all posts View Profile Close idofabric]

At least you got to use points for the MFs! I tried to and was told by DRI that I would have had to make that decision by June of last year to pay the 2009 MFs! I called 2 times, and both times was told it was to late.. that was last Nov, 08. Guess I got an English speaking person with no idea of what they were talking about...

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

At least you got to use points for the MFs! I tried to and was told by DRI that I would have had to make that decision by June of last year to pay the 2009 MFs! I called 2 times, and both times was told it was to late.. that was last Nov, 08. Guess I got an English speaking person with no idea of what they were talking about...

The June deadline, I believe, applies to saving points forward to the next year, not for using points to pay MF's. It's just one more example of DRI having to many irons in the fire to keep up with all of them.

I've used a portion of my points to pay MF's for the last two years. I didn't do this by June either year. I don't know if it makes a difference or not but I do own enough points to be Silver Elite. Maybe that has something to do with what you were told and what I've been allowed to do the past two years.

[idofabric Member Find all posts View Profile Close idofabric]

I don't think it makes a difference on point ownership- we are Gold Elite... I think it is just a "name" to make us feel better that we have a ton of points. (Ok, we did buy them...and we do use most of them every year, more fool us!)
I do not remember all the great perks we were promised about when we got to that level, but I do remember being told that we could us the points for MFs... but as I said when we tried the first time it was to soon, and the second time I asked/tried it was to late. ?
As for some of the other perks, I think the are passing in the wind, some of them remind me of foul swamp gas in a good wind....they weren't usefull to us, but might be to some....