Annoying call habits of II

[dougp26364]

Last month I deposited our 2018 unit and requested a March 2019 exchange. The other day I received a call from II letting me know there wasn't a match yet (really? No kidding?) and wanting to know if I would add resorts or dates. I suggested they not waste there time until, oh, lets say, when there's a chance of getting a confirmation. Maybe hold the calls until March of 2018. Seemed reasonable to me.

The rather blunt, bordering on rude, response was they would call every 30 to 45 days until a reservation was confirmed. Seems like an idiotic rule to me and one I find extremely annoying

 

[SmithOp]

I've updated my account to make this number my preferred contact (your area code) 555-1212.


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

 

[Born2Travel]

30-45 days? That would be nice... I get calls almost every day and sometimes twice a day if I don't answer the first one. I would rather they only call if they have something I'm looking for. I agree - a waste of everyone's time and resources. I guess it's nice to know they are looking at the requests, but it IS annoying.

 

[tschwa2]

They don't check before the call is made. Any one with an open ongoing request is set up so it will auto dial and then when you pick up it will connect you to the next available agent (if you don't hang up before it connects to someone). In my experience, they then quickly look up my account and tell me that they see that I have a search and they are checking if anything is available. No nothing is available, do you want to add more dates or more resorts? I see you have platinum but it expires in October would you like to pay to extend that now? Is there anything else I can do for you today?

I would get calls daily- usually I would not pick up and at least twice on Friday, sometimes even if I did pick up. You are able to opt out of these calls but you may then miss if they are calling with an actual near match that might work. I did opt out so no more calls. I hope that if a larger size matches with the upgrade in size they will still call so I could pay the fee but I don't have a lot of faith in the process.

 

[MuranoJo]

^^ I was going to say RCI allows you to opt out of calls like that, which I did.
I figure they email usually if there's something to note about an ongoing search, etc.

Same thing with RCI, they try to get you to expand the search, then move on to trying to get you to deposit something or upgrade your membership. But I only heard from them maybe once a month--if I didn't answer the phone, it came close to harassment as they called every day.

 

[gmarine]

You can request that you receive no calls at all. You will still receive email confirmations of an exact match but no other calls. It has worked for me with many requests over many years.

 

[melissy123]

I would love to opt out of receiving no calls. But that would also mean if they had a two bedroom available (when I needed only one bedroom), II wouldn't call me to see if I wanted to pay for a unit upgrade.

 

[Sugarcubesea]

I would love to opt out of receiving no calls. But that would also mean if they had a two bedroom available (when I needed only one bedroom), II wouldn't call me to see if I wanted to pay for a unit upgrade.

This is the only reason I do not opt out...

 

[gmarine]

I would love to opt out of receiving no calls. But that would also mean if they had a two bedroom available (when I needed only one bedroom), II wouldn't call me to see if I wanted to pay for a unit upgrade.

You can also note your account to specifically request no calls for alternate resorts except for upgrades in unit size.

 

[dougp26364]

You can request that you receive no calls at all. You will still receive email confirmations of an exact match but no other calls. It has worked for me with many requests over many years.

When I asked the rep about opting out, that's when I was rather rudely told I didn't have that option and they'd call me every 30 to 45 days. Sort of ticked me off and thus the reason I posted this thread. It's easy enough to change my phone number on my profile and do my own "opt out". I can put the correct number back on my profile closer to a reasonable date to expect a possible match to my request. It seems absolutely stupid to annoy a customer every 30 to 45 days when the exchange date requested is in 2019. There is absolutely NO WAY this request can be matched until the early part of 2018. That's a lot of wasted time when their reps make idiotic phone calls.

 

[gmarine]

I'd call back and speak to a different rep. You can absolutely request which calls you want. I almost always have some ongoing search with II, including one currently for the last 6 months and I dont get any calls asking me to accept alternate resorts. Unfortunately you know how poorly trained and uninformed many of the II reps are.

 

[dougp26364]

I'd call back and speak to a different rep. You can absolutely request which calls you want. I almost always have some ongoing search with II, including one currently for the last 6 months and I dont get any calls asking me to accept alternate resorts. Unfortunately you know how poorly trained and uninformed many of the II reps are.

It was just as easy to change my phone number to 555-1111. There are no active phone numbers that begin with 555, which is why those numbers are always used in television and movies.

As you've noted II reps are often poorly trained. Why bother attempting to speak with another one?

 

[gmarine]

If you dont want any calls at all then change the number in your account. However if there is a larger unit available and II wants to see if you want to pay an upgrade fee you wont get the call.

Thinking about it, I'd want II to be able to contact me by phone if needed. If I had a resort confirmation and there was a problem at the resort like fire or storm damage etc and II needed to contact me I'd want them to have the correct info.

 

[tashamen]

I'd call back and speak to a different rep. You can absolutely request which calls you want. I almost always have some ongoing search with II, including one currently for the last 6 months and I dont get any calls asking me to accept alternate resorts. Unfortunately you know how poorly trained and uninformed many of the II reps are.

This has also been my experience. I haven't received calls from II in years.

 

[2rebecca]

Last month I deposited our 2018 unit and requested a March 2019 exchange. The other day I received a call from II letting me know there wasn't a match yet (really? No kidding?) and wanting to know if I would add resorts or dates. I suggested they not waste there time until, oh, lets say, when there's a chance of getting a confirmation. Maybe hold the calls until March of 2018. Seemed reasonable to me.

The rather blunt, bordering on rude, response was they would call every 30 to 45 days until a reservation was confirmed. Seems like an idiotic rule to me and one I find extremely annoying

I recommend you post this on the II forums. I had a poor experience with a call from II last summer and posted about it there. After posting on the II forums I got a call from Mark, a very helpful II rep, to discuss it.

As some of the others have mentioned, I too have a 5-6 month old OGS and I've only been called when an alternate resort w/ a larger room was available. My request is for summer 2018, so I'm not ready to add other resorts/destinations yet. However, I do appreciate the effort they are making trying to match me with something available. There must be something in my profile that prevents them from calling me all the time. I bet if you can talk to Mark he can help update your profile so you get the calls you want/need, but not the annoying ones.

 

[2rebecca]

I've updated my account to make this number my preferred contact (your area code) 555-1212.


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

Why that number? Is it some sort of joke number, or someone you hate?

 

[dougp26364]

555 is an unused prefix of the phone companies and its the prefix you hear when a tv show or movie has a charachter give out a number. There are NO valid phone numbers with the prefix 555

EDIT: oops, I guess they finally released the 555 prefix except for the numbers 555-0100 to 555-0199. Guess I'll have to modify it to 555-0111. Or maybe I should change it to a prefix of 666?

 

[dougp26364]

This the way it should be. No overbooking and no bumping. Standby ok.

I recommend you post this on the II forums. I had a poor experience with a call from II last summer and posted about it there. After posting on the II forums I got a call from Mark, a very helpful II rep, to discuss it.

As some of the others have mentioned, I too have a 5-6 month old OGS and I've only been called when an alternate resort w/ a larger room was available. My request is for summer 2018, so I'm not ready to add other resorts/destinations yet. However, I do appreciate the effort they are making trying to match me with something available. There must be something in my profile that prevents them from calling me all the time. I bet if you can talk to Mark he can help update your profile so you get the calls you want/need, but not the annoying ones.

I really don't want to get a phone call to discuss a phone call. I'm experienced enough that I know what I want, when I want it. If I need something, I have their phone number. I'll call them.

The point is, they're calling me about a request that has VERY LITTLE chance of being fulfilled until, at the earliest Feb. of 2019.....and they'll want to call me about it every 1 to 2 months. It might not bother me as much if they started calling when there was a reasonable chance of a match of some sort at a resort I hadn't listed, but no, they'll start calling and annoying me a full year ahead of time.

 

[Quadmaniac]

I used to get those all the time, but I set my number to a text only number that will take voice messages when someone calls and I don't answer. It doesn't vibrate my phone really - I have to be looking at my phone to know it is even receiving a call. I use this number on on applications and forms I fill out so if someone calls, I screen all their calls and not disturbed by stupid sales calls from different places. I use Textplus and it will ask you what area code you want to assign you a number. Has worked great, whenever II did call for an upgrade, they leave a message.

 

[mjm1]

I have been annoyed by these calls in the past as well, until today.

They called and I almost didn't answer it. But, I did. Before the rep could say much I asked if this was just a call to let me know they are working on our ongoing search. She said "no," which got my attention. She shared that they had a match for us at Marriott Newport Coast Villas for next April (our desired post-tax season location next year), but needed to discuss the unit up-size fee, since we traded in our MDS1 1BR unit. We paid the fee and are happy with the exchange. I let the rep know that many people find the general update calls annoying and she sounded like she hears that a lot and understands.

So, while I may still be a bit annoyed with such "update" calls in the future, I now have a little different perspective. Especially if we are trying to up-size the unit.

Best regards.

Mike

 

[dougp26364]

I have been annoyed by these calls in the past as well, until today.

They called and I almost didn't answer it. But, I did. Before the rep could say much I asked if this was just a call to let me know they are working on our ongoing search. She said "no," which got my attention. She shared that they had a match for us at Marriott Newport Coast Villas for next April (our desired post-tax season location next year), but needed to discuss the unit up-size fee, since we traded in our MDS1 1BR unit. We paid the fee and are happy with the exchange. I let the rep know that many people find the general update calls annoying and she sounded like she hears that a lot and understands.

So, while I may still be a bit annoyed with such "update" calls in the future, I now have a little different perspective. Especially if we are trying to up-size the unit.

Best regards.

Mike

That's great except my request is nearly a YEAR in advance of any potential matches ( March 2019). I asked not to be called until it was closer to when a potential match could be made and was told they would call me every month regardless. Seems idiotic to me.

 

[Saintsfanfl]

I had my number bogused for a while and do you know what happened when I had an exact match that needed to be confirmed due to no onsite parking? I got a call and a voicemail which I promptly returned. I don't know if the same thing would happen on a size upgrade. Probably not.

The really annoying calls come from people that work out of their house on commission. They have very limited training and likely do not have full access to the entire system. You can always tell these types of reps because they start by fumbling around not really knowing what you even have on request.

 

[Saintsfanfl]

That's great except my request is nearly a YEAR in advance of any potential matches ( March 2019). I asked not to be called until it was closer to when a potential match could be made and was told they would call me every month regardless. Seems idiotic to me.

That's the problem though. To the commission rep if they can convince you to take Williamsburg they could match you now. They will try anything. I just ignore all their calls and if they ever leave a vm I will listen.

 

[pedro47]

The problem is so many times there is no "VM"

 

[dougp26364]

For now they just won't have my phone number. Once we get within 13 months of our first potential travel date, I'll consider giving them my phone number. Even then that's assuming I think they "might" have something to offer I would accept.

The issue is, I've done this long enough I know what I want and I know what I'll accept. Typically all of those options are in my original request.

It's not so much that they call. It's more the issue of me asking them not to bother calling until 12 months away from my travel date and being told by II tough cookies, we'll call you every month even though we know, and you know, there is no possible way your request could be confirmed. It's that arrogance of "II is in control and we're going to pester you, even when you ask we don't do it" that ticks me off.