# Problem at Sandpiper Beach Club



## JLB (Jan 13, 2008)

Has anyone had problems at Sandpiper Beach Club in Siesta Key.  I'm especially interested in problems with the resident manager.


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## london (Jan 13, 2008)

*Sandpiper*

Tugger "kjsgrammy" is an owner at this resort. She may have some comments.


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## JLB (Jan 13, 2008)

Thanks.  I'll try to contact her.


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## JLB (Jan 14, 2008)

I've gotten a couple of emails.  Anyone else?


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## rapmarks (Jan 14, 2008)

when I traded in in November, no confrontation with manger, but by Sunday morning I knew he would not be overly helpful;.  Definitely gave off a vibe of interest only in owners, not exchangers, nothing overt.


Funny thing, we checked out a movie Sat night, brought it in sunday morning to tell him that it froze up near the end, I heard that Pledge sprayed on it would help and we would like to see the end of the movie.  He said he didn't do things like that and threw it in the garbage.


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## Don (Jan 15, 2008)

I'm not too sure about spraying anything on a tape would be good for the tape player.  It seems like it would gum up the head.


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## rapmarks (Jan 15, 2008)

Don,  it was a DVD.  spraying it cleans up scratches.  When we stayed at the Rushes in Door county, we had the same problem with the movie Sideways.  When we brought it back, the woman behind the desk immediately got something, sprayed the disk, and said try it again, and also take one another.  We got to see the end of the movie and another movie too.  
That was not the only reason I didn't care for the manager, whenever I asked something I got the response "I don't know", but mostly it was an unfriendly attitude. And you can really see the difference in attitude from the office staff at the Rushes.


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## kjsgrammy (Jan 15, 2008)

We've never encountered any problems with Doug at Sandpiper.  Have always enjoyed our stays there.  Sorry others are experiencing problems!  We'll be there on Jan. 19th.  Will let Doug know there has been issues and see what he says.

Added:  I don't have a computer with me, so am using a computer at the library right now.  I only check messages about twice a week, so sorry if I didn't get back to anyone that had sent me an email!


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## caribbean (Jan 15, 2008)

Interesting, I have only found Doug and Kathy to be most helpful. When I first stopped by to check Sandpiper out before we decided to buy there, Doug stopped the painting he was doing and showed us around the complex and into two units. He was very proud of the upgrades he had accomplished and I was impressed. Then 2 years later when we stopped in unannounced on check-in day to take a look at the unit we had just bought from Holiday Group, he gave us the key and told us to look around because the unit had just been cleaned for the new check-in. Maybe you just caught him on a bad day. I suggest talking to him directly.


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## rapmarks (Jan 15, 2008)

I am really sorry I responded to this thread.  Next time I will keep my mouth shut. And I do not want my name mentioned to him.  
I do know my resort manager, when asked about tourist activities, answers the questions, doesn't say i don't know.  doesn't say call them yuorself.


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## JLB (Jan 16, 2008)

I guess that explains why the gentleman in your unit this week doesn't know you.   

We'll miss you by a day.
- - - - - -
Yes, I/we had an issue, which RCI is dealing with.  Because I know how the Internet can be, I make a point not to use names.  

Since we are still here, I have not said more.  I want to give _him_ an opportunity to resolve it and I don't want to further spoil our visit.  His choice of wording indicates to both us and RCI that our problem is not a new one, but at this point I will not say more because it is an issue that can still be made to go away.

The RCI rep who contacted me indicated there are some issues, because of ratings, that she needed to look into further.

As I said above, I have heard from others privately. 

I made myself available at the Tuesday morning donut meeting, when he and a couple of older gentlemen were guarding the donuts  . . . I even opened the gate for him when he arrived with the goodie cart . . . but he has not made an effort to resolve the situation.

As long as a couple of owners have reported in, do you have a newsletter, or some other way that the Association reports to owners?

Feel free to contact me by email or PM.



kjsgrammy said:


> We've never encountered any problems with Doug at Sandpiper.  Have always enjoyed our stays there.  Sorry others are experiencing problems!  We'll be there on Jan. 19th.  Will let Doug know there has been issues and see what he says.
> 
> Added:  I don't have a computer with me, so am using a computer at the library right now.  I only check messages about twice a week, so sorry if I didn't get back to anyone that had sent me an email!


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## JLB (Jan 16, 2008)

Because this is a fine resort, with just the nick-picky things that one can find to complain about at any resort, and in deference to owners like yourselves who do not deserve to be degraded because of the conduct of someone not in your control, I wish to pursue a friendly and amicable resolution to the issue, letting RCI know that it has been resolved, and without having to go into the details on the Internet.

I know that if not resolved while small, things of this nature tend to grow and fester, especially on the Internet.  There's no need for that to happen.

To that end, even if the resort does not pursue that, I wish to contact the Association to do so.  I would appreciate it if you could provide me with that contact information.  Again, feel free to do that privately.

Thanks.


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## london (Jan 16, 2008)

*Resort Management Issues*

Most times issues can be resolved in a satisfactory manner if presented to management and/or the Board of Directors in a timely manner.

I am on the Board of one of our timeshares, and it is our policy to respond to any written communications promptly, either to an owner or an exchanger.

We strive to get all the information, prior to making a formal reply.

I think the timeshare community, as a whole, strives to resolve issues promptly, most times giving owners, exchangers, or renters the benefit of the doubt.

Not always easy answers.


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## JLB (Jan 17, 2008)

That is my plan, to resolve it without revealing the details, and the Association will determine that.

The issue is relatively small, but indicates an inhospitable attitude toward non-owners, a situation RCI and exchangers have the right to be aware of.


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## rapmarks (Jan 17, 2008)

JLB said:


> That is my plan, to resolve it without revealing the details, and the Association will determine that.
> 
> The issue is relatively small, but indicates an inhospitable attitude toward non-owners, a situation RCI and exchangers have the right to be aware of.




But if owners all get on and protest, oh I never saw that attitude toward me, how does it help prove your point.


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## JLB (Jan 17, 2008)

It is not my desire to prove anything.  

If proof was an issue, all anyone would have to is review the recording of the incident, since it was immediately in front of their secuirity cam.

I would be surprised if an owner had a similar encounter.  Actually, I would not expect anyone to have had a similar encounter.  Like you imply, I would expect owners to be defensive and protective, but based on contact with some privately, some want to know more.

I have learned to tread lightly and proceed with caution with issues that may reflect poorly on resorts represented by owners on this site.  

Know what I mean?  

Also, as the RCI rep told me, they want to hear about things like this, and she encouraged me to do more.  She indicated there have been some issues she needs to look at.  The purpose of forums like this is to inform, almost to the point that to be a good forum participant one has an obligation to share, to warn.

Is that not why we are here? 



rapmarks said:


> But if owners all get on and protest, oh I never saw that attitude toward me, how does it help prove your point.


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## Dave M (Jan 17, 2008)

JLB said:


> The purpose of forums like this is to inform, almost to the point that to be a good forum participant one has an obligation to share, to warn.
> 
> Is that not why we are here?


More precisely, that's the purpose of the Resort Reviews - to log resort experiences - good and bad - in a single place for others to read and make decisions as to whether to buy, rent or exchange. Those who wish to inform, as you suggest doing, would make a much more valuable contribution by writing such reviews.

Posting a warning here on a forum might find a relatively few people currently, but eventually it would be lost to those who would like to know, unless someone finds the perfect combination of words to dredge up what would then be an old thread.


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## JLB (Jan 17, 2008)

You have my permission to submit my comments as a review if it gets to the point where I am actually posting information about this resort.

We both know that the bulk of information passed along via the bbs never makes it to the Reviews, but remains available to the public through the Search feature.

PS:  Just said our goodbyes to TUGgers also here, as we are leaving early in the morning.


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## EvelynK72 (Jan 17, 2008)

Maybe it's just me but I find this thread confusing.  I have read the posts and re-read them, but I can't figure out the issue - other than the manager at this resort has an attitude and appears to treat exchangers differently.  Rapmarks gave one specific example, but I have yet to figure out what upset JLB.  I agree that reviews and postings should warn others about problems, but it sure would help to know the specifics - mainly because what upsets one person, may not upset another person.

EK


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## JLB (Jan 17, 2008)

It should not be confusing.

I have decided not to just blast away, but to see how prevalent the issue we have had is.  And to give it an opportunity to be resolved.

If it gets resolved, which is up to the resort, or if it is not widespread, there is no need for an isolated incident to reflect badly on a person or a resort.  As of now, no one has approached us to resolve the issue and we are leaving early tomorrow.  The resort staff consists of two people, they are aware of the problem, and that we are leaving early tomorrow.

We are easy to please, not the type to nitpick, but also do not appreciate  disrespectful treatment.

For now, that should be enough, that we were treated badly, the reason stated being that we are not owners here.  It was not said that politely.


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## JLB (Feb 6, 2008)

As of now, this issue has been resolved.


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## rapmarks (Feb 7, 2008)

I certainly had only a minor problem, not really a problem but rather a surprising response to me.  He just was not a friendly guy.  At the welcome breakfast, I don't believe he even said hello, just stood there "guarding the donuts".  Usually at small resorts, you have extremely friendly staff.


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## Vodo (Jul 4, 2008)

We're at the Sandpiper right now and have had a positively lovely week.  It's the second time in three years that we've managed to score an inexpensive rental for the 4th of July week.  We just came in from watching a really nice public fireworks display from the resort's beachfront (the fireworks were on the public beach just down the way).  Our unit is extremely well maintained and nicely furnished with new appliances, a flat-screen LCD wall-mounted television, etc.  The Siesta Key sand is, as always, the most fabulous we've ever encountered.

Our only "however" comes in the form of the resort manager.  He is probably the coldest, most aloof manager we've ever encountered at any timeshare property.  He berated us one day this week because we had, in an effort to not obstruct the view of any of the resort's guests, placed our popup canopy in a spot that overlapped just slightly the boundary of the adjacent condominium's stretch of beach.  That beach was completely unoccupied, so we didn't think our 4-foot encroachment would make that much difference, especially since we were close to the water's edge.  While I understand that it is probably the manager's job to keep his guests on Sandpiper property and I don't begrudge him doing so, it was his brusque and unpleasant method of advising us that didn't sit well.  I let that go because we were in fact, even with good intentions, doing something that we shouldn't have done.  I wasn't even put off when he "guarded" the donuts on Tuesday since that's something he'd done when we were here two years ago.  (He never speaks to anyone who isn't an owner, unless it's to chastise them for something.)  What did upset me, and greatly so, was his reaction to a problem this evening.  Just before the fireworks show was about to begin, a family staying at the Sandpiper realized that their 4-year-old son was missing.  The mom thought the dad was watching him and the dad thought the mom was.  After about 10 minutes of searching, the mother completely lost it.  She was running toward the resort loudly screaming "Please help me find my son!!!"  As the mom of a young daughter, I can imagine the fear she must have been feeling.  I hear a voice from behind me respond (though not loudly enough for the mom to hear), "Lady, you should have been watching your kid."  That horribly cold and callous comment came from either the resort manager or the man he had been gabbing with most of the evening.  I truly wish I knew for sure which, but I honestly believe it was the manager.  In any event, as the mother ran past the manager, he didn't say a word, offer any help or concern, or even acknowledge the situation in any way.  Thankfully, the little boy was found about 10 minutes later a few hundred yards up the beach and all was well.  But I was chilled by the coldness of the resort manager.  What an ugly heart he must have.  

Cindy


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## Vodo (Jul 5, 2008)

Oh yeah, I forgot to mention that -- although it's not a big thing, but it's part and parcel of this guy's personality -- one day this week some friends had driven over to spend the day with us.  We had four chairs under our canopy at 5:00 when resort umbrellas come down and any deserted chairs are retrieved by the manager or the maintenance guy.  Three of our chairs were filled with bodies, but the fourth one was momentarily empty because my husband was in the water with the kids.  That chair sat just slightly behind the first three but still under our personal canopy.  The manager came up from behind and slid my husband's chair out from under the canopy and put it away.  Never said a word -- just sneaked up from behind and took it.  We were obviously still using it even though it wasn't occupied at that very moment.  By policy, the resort's umbrellas have to come down at 5:00, but the chairs can be used until sunset, so it was just a smarmy thing for him to do.  Any decent manager would have at least asked if we were still using it.  Not a nice guy.


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## rapmarks (Jul 5, 2008)

when I was using the computer room one night, I was shocked to see the manager come in wearing his bathrobe to check on me; he saw the lights on and decided I was up to something nefarious.  
I had a week booked there in November, but cancelled it and got into the Glleon instead.


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