# So MAD IM GOING TO BLOW A GASKET



## daNNiebOixDD (May 7, 2012)

Mayan Palace, Grand Mayan, a scam, joke, ripping people off!

2 weeks ago went down to Rivera Maya, to stay at the Grand Mayan through a RCI exchange from a timeshare I already owned. Im stupid enough to listen to the salesperson "Enrique" from Grupo Mayan sell me a studio bedroom at the Mayan Palace. Told me I would get 1 week, and another two for free! OMG Great deal right!? better yet, "We'll give you 700$ if you dont use the week so we can rent it out to others, per week!!" Sure! Now Im here, finding out I cant rent the room out for jack m-fing shi... excuse my language. The timeshare isnt worth jack. Grand Mayan Claims to be able to sell my other timeshare I already have within 3-6 months. and now im finding out I have to sell it myself! and the f-ing guy had the nerve to say "Welcome to the family!" 

Bottom line, dont buy anything from the Mayan Palace, Grand Mayan, Grupo Maya... etc. They'll say ANYTHING to get you to buy and in the end nothing is truth. Dont rely on them selling your timeshare, or renting out your weeks, they have no part in it. Sigh Im out another 10g...


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## PStreet1 (May 7, 2012)

Contact Profecta now, before more time elapses!


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## ilene13 (May 7, 2012)

daNNiebOixDD said:


> Mayan Palace, Grand Mayan, a scam, joke, ripping people off!
> 
> 2 weeks ago went down to Rivera Maya, to stay at the Grand Mayan through a RCI exchange from a timeshare I already owned. Im stupid enough to listen to the salesperson "Enrique" from Grupo Mayan sell me a studio bedroom at the Mayan Palace. Told me I would get 1 week, and another two for free! OMG Great deal right!? better yet, "We'll give you 700$ if you dont use the week so we can rent it out to others, per week!!" Sure! Now Im here, finding out I cant rent the room out for jack m-fing shi... excuse my language. The timeshare isnt worth jack. Grand Mayan Claims to be able to sell my other timeshare I already have within 3-6 months. and now im finding out I have to sell it myself! and the f-ing guy had the nerve to say "Welcome to the family!"
> 
> Bottom line, dont buy anything from the Mayan Palace, Grand Mayan, Grupo Maya... etc. They'll say ANYTHING to get you to buy and in the end nothing is truth. Dont rely on them selling your timeshare, or renting out your weeks, they have no part in it. Sigh Im out another 10g...



They are known for those tactics.  Read my experience in a different thread.  The big difference is that after more than 4 hours we said NO.


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## Margariet (May 7, 2012)

Sorry for your misfortune. We did the timeshare presentation at the Grand Mayan last year and were done in 90 min with a very big catch. They are persistent at the Grand Mayan and play the tricks well but they are easy to handle when you are used to their methods and understand their strategy. Just be firm and smile and say 'no thanks' all the time and show no doubt at all. Think of it as a good training method but if you are inexperienced with sales presentations, better skip it.


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## Tia (May 7, 2012)

PStreet1 said:


> Contact Profecta now, before more time elapses!



Good advice , hope they comeback to read it and followup.


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## Passepartout (May 7, 2012)

Mayan's sales staff lie. Always have. I don't see them changing anytime soon. Many TUGgers like the resorts though and if you choose to keep it and pay, you will enjoy many vacations. Just not for free. 

Look at this logically, if Mayan could really rent all those units for more than they cost, why employ all those salespeople to sell them to unsuspecting Gringos that they have to pay to hear their spiel?

Do a search in the Mexico forum for customer service at grupo vidante or the name 'Karen Rose'. I have seen reports of people who have been allowed out of contracts after they missed the rescission date by them. Usually there is a 'retraction' of anything they ever said against Mayan.

For 10G you'll need do a little work. 

Most of all, don't pay anyone upfront who says they can 'get you out' of your timeshare. Those deals are scams. Every one of 'em.

Best Wishes!

Jim Ricks


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## Paumavista (May 7, 2012)

*Read TUG  **FIRST***

It never ceases to amaze me how many people FIND us AFTER they purchase retail.  

10G is ALOT of money to me - no matter what they would have said I'd have had to do more homework than take one salesman's word for the info. 

But, it doesn't make anyone feel better to have me say what you "should have done"......I'm sorry.........

In this case I guess the OP already owns a timeshare....now they have two.....if they start reading here now they can learn to take many great vacations....not for free but for FUN!


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## mikenk (May 7, 2012)

Jim said it well.

In this day and age, no basic timeshare is worth developer prices and any promises of free vacations through rentals is false advertising.

Here is the address for "Karen Rose" which is a Pseudo name I believe for a members services group that deal with complaints

grupomayanblog@grupovidanta.com.

I would suggest you write a civil email explaining your situation and see what happens. Many have been helped. 

Good Luck,
Mike


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## daNNiebOixDD (May 7, 2012)

Thanks Mike, I will give them a contact. Believe me the resort is very nice! but they should really change their tactics to sell and be a little more honest! Promising selling your timeshare with  you, and then assisting you in your rentals  is total BULL!

I would look up tug while i was there at the resort, but the lack of internet service kinda puts a halt to that until i got back. really unfair how they can b/s their way into ppl's pockets, and then get away with it!

I will let you guys know how the emails go, but as of now, DONT BUY A TIMESHARE WITH GRAND MAYAN/MAYAN PALACE, unless the items they offer is ON CONTRACT PAPER. it isnt worth anything they say.


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## timeos2 (May 7, 2012)

daNNiebOixDD said:


> I will let you guys know how the emails go, but as of now, DONT BUY A TIMESHARE WITH GRAND MAYAN/MAYAN PALACE, unless the items they offer is ON CONTRACT PAPER. it isnt worth anything they say.



I hope you can get out of or at least cut your loses with this contract.

Your advice to avoid buying a timeshare through the high pressure type sales is good and while it most certainly applies to any Mexican resort it also usually applies to other areas as well. Retail sales of timeshares is usually NOT a good value when compared to what you can get at virtually any location / resort/ system by purchasing resale.  THAT is where the bargains are to be had. 

And no matter how you buy what the documents say are the terms you are accepting. Anything anyone says that isn't then written on paper & signed means nothing and you should never rely on it.


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## daNNiebOixDD (May 7, 2012)

Im hoping to get out of this contract as well, but im not sure what those chances are. its not so bad to own a timeshare, but for them to promise things that they dont follow through are what makes me more upset than anything. so take from my errors, and dont buy from the grand mayan/mayan palace, watch what they say and what they sell. make sure its on the paper.


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## BC Bum (May 7, 2012)

Not to rub salt in a wound but, why buy direct from them at all? People are giving their weeks away.


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## daNNiebOixDD (May 7, 2012)

I know, I didnt realize till i got back to the u.s. and found tugbbs.com


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## BC Bum (May 7, 2012)

Margariet said:


> Sorry for your misfortune. We did the timeshare presentation at the Grand Mayan last year and were done in 90 min with a very big catch. They are persistent at the Grand Mayan and play the tricks well but they are easy to handle when you are used to their methods and understand their strategy. Just be firm and smile and say 'no thanks' all the time and show no doubt at all. Think of it as a good training method but if you are inexperienced with sales presentations, better skip it.



Just out of curiosity, what did they give you aside from the buffet at del Lago? They used to give $300 cash. Last time they offered 10% off your food and drink bill.


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## daNNiebOixDD (May 7, 2012)

a bottle of tequila, and 10% off all charges by hotel including food, drinks, activities booked through hotel. hardly worth the 4 hrs we sat there tho.


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## Margariet (May 8, 2012)

$500 and breakfast for 90 min. That was a good deal. We could raise the catch by not showing up at the initial invitation. Afterwards they called us and raised their catch. That's the trick. They might double their offer if you wait long enough.

If you are persistent in saying 'no thanks' and you show no hesitation or any doubt they will not waste more of their time on you. My record was with WorldMark where we left after 30 min with our freebies. My advice: go often to presentations, get experienced like the sales persons, and you will learn to say no and still receive good freebies. However if you are not that kind of person, if you are tired, shy or easy to manipulate, don't go. Don't let this thing ruin your vacation. If you know the sales psychology and if you are into sales or marketing yourself, or into acting!, just try it.


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## BC Bum (May 9, 2012)

I tried that last time. They never upped the offer, so I didn't go. I spend about $1,000 for the week, so $100 isn't going to do it for me.

The last time I attended, I thought of an offer, that I was willing to pay, outrageously low- and that's what I offered. I made them say no. It was amusing in a way. I told them everything I know about resale prices, the inability to rent etc. I try to get their pad too, just for fun. They don't like that.

Next time I'm going to have all the E-bay sales of MP printed to take with me and just leave them on the table.


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## mikenk (May 9, 2012)

I must admit; I actually enjoy the update presentations at the GM resorts. One actually only took 20 minutes and I felt a bit cheated. I do learn stuff about future plans; I know enough to frustrate (and have fun doing so) the arrogant sales people; I am always open for new vacation goodies and enjoy negotiation (which they will do); I always go with complaints and demand answers (have actually gotten some resolutions). I have found knowledge will always trump timeshare BS.

My wife takes her knitting and seems to be fine with my negotiations.

Mike

P.S. I also must admit I enjoy the process of  buying cars.

Mike


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## magdalena (May 9, 2012)

*[Post deleted]*

[_Sales offers may not be placed in the discussion forums. Please review the TUG BBS Posting Rules before posting again._  Makai Guy, TUG BBS Administrator]


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## daNNiebOixDD (May 10, 2012)

I am hereby retracting all statements posted above regarding The Grand Mayan. I have contacted The Grand Mayan and we have agreed on a new contract. Please disregard the above statements posted by me as a new settlement has been made satisfying my needs. Thank you. 

Best regards,
Danny Zhang


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## Passepartout (May 10, 2012)

Glad that worked out to your satisfaction. You have no idea how many times we have seen the same thing happen. Disgruntled buyer, contacts Mayan Cust. Service; retraction of all negative comments. All is well and ducky. It looks fishy, but if it works for you it works for me. Keep an eye on the Mexico and newbie forums and send a PM to folks Mayan has shafted telling them of your experience. I figure you could help several a week.

Consider it pay back.

Jim


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## mikenk (May 10, 2012)

Passepartout said:


> Glad that worked out to your satisfaction. You have no idea how many times we have seen the same thing happen. Disgruntled buyer, contacts Mayan Cust. Service; retraction of all negative comments. All is well and ducky. It looks fishy, but if it works for you it works for me. Keep an eye on the Mexico and newbie forums and send a PM to folks Mayan has shafted telling them of your experience. I figure you could help several a week.
> 
> Consider it pay back.
> 
> Jim



Danny, I am glad it worked out.

Jim,
Actually, their process is not fishy and is rather straightforward. Many might not like it but here is some insight from a personal perspective. I am not condoning their tactics - only explaining why we get so many resolutions.

They seem to have a good cop /  back cop kind of process. The bad cop is the contracted sales force that gets people to the table and to buy using their famous high pressure presentation with stuff that never make it into the contract. Why do they do it?  because it works and I assume most folks just live with the consequences.

Th good cop is Member Services who are employees of Grupo Vidanta who actually sign and administer the contracts. Personally, I originally bought resale a GM unit but upgraded to Grand Bliss to get the golf and other stuff, read my contract that night, rescinded the next day. Member Services asked what they needed to change to have me upgrade, I told them, and after two days of negotiation, they gave me a new contract. I agree that this is the way they should start with everyone, but in reality, I doubt if more than a few percent are even willing to read the contract. 

While in Cabo a couple of years back, I noticed many folks taking the sales presentation. It is a small resort so you see and become friendly with a lot of prople. I decided to start asking whether they bought. Many, most actually did. I started asking specifics that they couldn't answer/ I asked whether they had actually read the contract. The answer "Nope - in all cases" I suggested that they should do so and if they had any questions to go see Member Services. Two of the couples caught us later and thanked us, that they had been lied to and had gotten their issues resolved. 

Thats the process; I assume Member Services monitors this web site because of it's visibility but in reality does a pretty good job of fixing issues from the sales department.

Again, I am not condoning their practices, just explaining them from my perspective. IMHO. they will not change their tactics (nor will others) as long as people choose to hand over money and not to read the contract.

Mike


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## JoeWilly (May 10, 2012)

Mike,

I enjoy your posts.  Very straightforward and informative.  I think the people that follow your advice and get the assistance they need are very fortunate for your willingness to share your knowledge.  Keep up the good work.


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## mikenk (May 11, 2012)

JoeWilly said:


> Mike,
> 
> I enjoy your posts.  Very straightforward and informative.  I think the people that follow your advice and get the assistance they need are very fortunate for your willingness to share your knowledge.  Keep up the good work.



Thanks, much appreciated - quite sure many would disagree, but that's what makes this forum fun; lots of people with differing ideas and passionate to share.

Mike


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## pjrose (May 11, 2012)

JoeWilly said:


> Mike,
> 
> I enjoy your posts.  Very straightforward and informative.  I think the people that follow your advice and get the assistance they need are very fortunate for your willingness to share your knowledge.  Keep up the good work.





mikenk said:


> Thanks, much appreciated - quite sure many would disagree, but that's what makes this forum fun; lots of people with differing ideas and passionate to share.
> 
> Mike



I like your posts too, Mike.  I think you've helped clarify the situation of a good resort chain with a bad sales department, and who to contact to help with problems.


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## MuranoJo (May 12, 2012)

+1, I like your posts, too, Mike.  

While they are notorious for their sales engine, we have seen many examples where people have been helped by their Member Services (see Mike's post #8) even if beyond the rescind period, if someone feels they were scammed.

I don't believe I've seen examples of that from any other high-pressure-sales resort (and many of them are).


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## channimal (Jun 5, 2012)

Margariet said:


> Sorry for your misfortune. We did the timeshare presentation at the Grand Mayan last year and were done in 90 min with a very big catch. They are persistent at the Grand Mayan and play the tricks well but they are easy to handle when you are used to their methods and understand their strategy. Just be firm and smile and say 'no thanks' all the time and show no doubt at all. Think of it as a good training method but if you are inexperienced with sales presentations, better skip it.



DW and I exchanged into the Grand Mayan 5 years ago.. (thinking of going again since the 1 in 5 is up) .. and man oh man... they are the most ruthless and persistent timeshare salespeople I have ever met.  We went through so many .. "ok.. well let me just get my manager and he'll sign off on your cert to get the room credit ... " and so on and so forth.. we left out of there (thankfully buying nothing!) after almost 5 hours.  DW said "never again!" :hysterical: 
So.. anyone contemplating going to GM/MP and not saavy .. say no always and often!  I'd even go so far as to recommend declining their offer for the ts tour .. although that free breakfast was totally awesome :whoopie:


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## Margariet (Jun 5, 2012)

channimal said:


> DW and I exchanged into the Grand Mayan 5 years ago.. (thinking of going again since the 1 in 5 is up) .. and man oh man... they are the most ruthless and persistent timeshare salespeople I have ever met.  We went through so many .. "ok.. well let me just get my manager and he'll sign off on your cert to get the room credit ... " and so on and so forth.. we left out of there (thankfully buying nothing!) after almost 5 hours.  DW said "never again!" :hysterical:
> So.. anyone contemplating going to GM/MP and not saavy .. say no always and often!  I'd even go so far as to recommend declining their offer for the ts tour .. although that free breakfast was totally awesome :whoopie:



Yes, the breakfast is awesome! We went back twice. But really, try it again. Believe me, I know the sales business. It's all a game of psychology. Just don't show any doubt or any interest or they will hold you. If you know and show (I repeat know and show! this is very important!) you are never ever gonna buy, they will release you in 90 min or even earlier. Show no interest, don't follow their line, stay in control, disturb them, be annoying for other guests by talking about resales or foreclosures. Lots of tricks that will get you out. They will show you a maximum of 7 sales people with a final offer of $900 or so but then you are free. The time of sales people is valuable as well. They calculate the chance of selling to you. I can not repeat it enough: no sales person is gonna hostage you for 5 hours if the chance of you buying anything is zero. But only do it, when you don't care, when you can handle it, when you don't let it ruin your vacation and most of all, when the catch is good! The catch can be very high at the GM, especially when you don't show up at the first breakfast invitation.


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## pianodinosaur (Jun 5, 2012)

daNNiebOixDD said:


> Mayan Palace, Grand Mayan, a scam, joke, ripping people off!
> 
> 2 weeks ago went down to Rivera Maya, to stay at the Grand Mayan through a RCI exchange from a timeshare I already owned. Im stupid enough to listen to the salesperson "Enrique" from Grupo Mayan sell me a studio bedroom at the Mayan Palace. Told me I would get 1 week, and another two for free! OMG Great deal right!? better yet, "We'll give you 700$ if you dont use the week so we can rent it out to others, per week!!" Sure! Now Im here, finding out I cant rent the room out for jack m-fing shi... excuse my language. The timeshare isnt worth jack. Grand Mayan Claims to be able to sell my other timeshare I already have within 3-6 months. and now im finding out I have to sell it myself! and the f-ing guy had the nerve to say "Welcome to the family!"
> 
> Bottom line, dont buy anything from the Mayan Palace, Grand Mayan, Grupo Maya... etc. They'll say ANYTHING to get you to buy and in the end nothing is truth. Dont rely on them selling your timeshare, or renting out your weeks, they have no part in it. Sigh Im out another 10g...



We stayed at The Grand Mayan Riviera Maya in 2008.  We did this via an RCI exchange.  The resort was wonderful.  However, we accepted a package of complimentary discounts in exchange for listening to their sales presentation.  They offered to have us sell our unit at HGVC in exchange for purchasing from them.  We declined.  However, the sales staff was extremely pressuring. A 90 minute presentation turned into four hours when declined.  We did not buy anything from them.  I have no problem returning to a Grand Mayan Resort but will not accept their "free breakfast" or anything else they may offer in exchange for attending a sales pitch.


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## BC Bum (Jun 5, 2012)

I was leaving my room to go to breakfast and rec'd a call from the TS people offering breakfast and 10% off in exchange for an owners update. I agreed provided that I could do the owners update immediately and that it would be 90 minutes including the breakfast. So we met at Del Lago, ate and did the update. It took about 100 minutes. 

The pretense of the meeting was that it was an owners update and they were not trying to sell me anything.

They were pushing Bliss hard. I told them I could buy a 2BR condo in Playa for what they were charging for two months of Bliss use. They gave me their usual nonsense. "It's what people with serious money do", "you can rent your weeks", "golfers will snatch these up", "Vidanta will pay you for your weeks"-ha ha

Then the airport in PP, Cirque du Soleil, etc. I'm still waiting for that water park in RM. Been waiting 10 years now.

I bought MP in 1997 and they would love to upgrade me. But I'm not budging. Back then they gave you everything and it costed nothing. Now they give you nothing and it costs the world. My MFs are half of what they get now. I'm just fine with what I have.

Anyway, I was happily surprised to find that in addition to the breakfast for three and 10% off, I also rec'd a $300 US credit. Not to mention the exchange rate was 14.2 Nice!


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## MuranoJo (Jun 6, 2012)

BC Bum said:


> I bought MP in 1997 and they would love to upgrade me. But I'm not budging. .... My MFs are half of what they get now. I'm just fine with what I have.



Same here.    I purchased a MP 1999 original purchase resale in '02, and I'm hanging in there through all the upgrade levels and tearing down the old MP buildings.  I have a contract for a week, with low m/f, limited m/f increases, and low transfer cost.  Plus it's holiday weeks.  I'm also not budging.


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## Margariet (Jun 6, 2012)

BC Bum said:


> Anyway, I was happily surprised to find that in addition to the breakfast for three and 10% off, I also rec'd a $300 US credit. Not to mention the exchange rate was 14.2 Nice!



Yes, we had a great catch as well. We didn't show up at the first invitation, so they raised the catch. We received breakfast and $500 credit on the resort bill. All in 90 minutes. And we had used a very low deposit of TPU's. Besides the apartment was great. I would go there immediately but I don't think they invite me again!


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## mikenk (Jun 6, 2012)

Margariet said:


> Yes, the breakfast is awesome! We went back twice. But really, try it again. Believe me, I know the sales business. It's all a game of psychology. Just don't show any doubt or any interest or they will hold you. If you know and show (I repeat know and show! this is very important!) you are never ever gonna buy, they will release you in 90 min or even earlier. Show no interest, don't follow their line, stay in control, disturb them, be annoying for other guests by talking about resales or foreclosures. Lots of tricks that will get you out. They will show you a maximum of 7 sales people with a final offer of $900 or so but then you are free. The time of sales people is valuable as well. They calculate the chance of selling to you. I can not repeat it enough: no sales person is gonna hostage you for 5 hours if the chance of you buying anything is zero. But only do it, when you don't care, when you can handle it, when you don't let it ruin your vacation and most of all, when the catch is good! The catch can be very high at the GM, especially when you don't show up at the first breakfast invitation.



Margariet's posts are interesting as someone who doesn't mind the sales presentations; I actually don't either. However, the majority find them miserable to attend. Here is an interesting analogy (at least to me) about the differing attitudes. 

We have all had the ubiquitous calls from Telemarketers; Their ploy: open by thanking us for past contributions and giving us the opportunity to give again; if you say no, then they go to spiel #2; then spiel 3 and so on. How you react to these would seem to indicate whether you should ever attend a TS sales presentation: You could:
1: Hang up as soon as they start.
2: listen to the opening to see what it is about; say no politely and hang up immediately without listening to another word.
3: Actually listen to spiel 2 (and 3) and have to say no again - sometimes even apologetically. 
4: You continue to listen and eventually say yes based solely on the telemarketers words.

IMHO. anybody in the #3 or #4 categories, should NEVER attend a timeshare presentation. My wife is a #3, somehow she thinks it is impolite to hang up on a telemarketer. At a TS presentation, you can't just push a button and have the shark disappear, so if you are unwilling to hang up on a telemarketer, you have no business in a timeshare meeting.

Mike


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## klpca (Jun 6, 2012)

mikenk said:


> We have all had the ubiquitous calls from Telemarketers; Their ploy: open by thanking us for past contributions and giving us the opportunity to give again; if you say no, then they go to spiel #2; then spiel 3 and so on. How you react to these would seem to indicate whether you should ever attend a TS sales presentation: You could:
> 1: Hang up as soon as they start.
> 2: listen to the opening to see what it is about; say no politely and hang up immediately without listening to another word.
> 3: Actually listen to spiel 2 (and 3) and have to say no again - sometimes even apologetically.
> ...



My husband has an interesting way to deal with telemarketers. He was given a toy for Christmas (joke gift) called the "fartmaster". It is gadget that makes six different farting sounds. As soon as the telemarketer starts their spiel, he starts with the fartmaster. He puts it right up to the mouthpiece of the phone and start pushing the buttons. He gets such a kick out of it that it is pretty funny to watch.

He refuses to attend timeshare presentations with me, but perhaps if I encouraged him to bring the fartmaster??


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## mikenk (Jun 6, 2012)

klpca said:


> My husband has an interesting way to deal with telemarketers. He was given a toy for Christmas (joke gift) called the "fartmaster". It is gadget that makes six different farting sounds. As soon as the telemarketer starts their spiel, he starts with the fartmaster. He puts it right up to the mouthpiece of the phone and start pushing the buttons. He gets such a kick out of it that it is pretty funny to watch.
> 
> He refuses to attend timeshare presentations with me, but perhaps if I encouraged him to bring the fartmaster??



Actually, your husband is a different category. He is a "#1 with a mean streak."

To be effective with a timeshare salesman, the fartmaster would probably need "odor included" to really shorten the presentation - maybe even clear the entire room.

Mike


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## jbcoug (Jun 6, 2012)

mikenk said:


> Actually, your husband is a different category. He is a "#1 with a mean streak."
> 
> To be effective with a timeshare salesman, the fartmaster would probably need "odor included" to really shorten the presentation - maybe even clear the entire room.
> 
> Mike



You make this sound like a bad thing.

John


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## mikenk (Jun 6, 2012)

jbcoug said:


> You make this sound like a bad thing.
> 
> John



No, to the contrary; I see great possibilities. Every time you hear a lie, you push the button. This tactic might clean up the entire industry in weeks.

Mike


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## BC Bum (Jun 6, 2012)

When the telemarketers call I have a couple of games I like to play when I have the time and inclination. One is to ask them to hang on and I put the phone down. I pick it up every few minutes and tell them, wait one more minute and put the phone down again. I keep giving them excuses and try to see how long they will stay on the line.

Another game is I agree immediately with everything they say and I am so eager that I want to wire the funds immediately so I need their bank account number and routing number so I can get that money to them as fast as possible.

Then of course there are the funny voices and accents and making believe that you are giving the phone to different people. Making up stories and putting on little plays for them.

So much fun.


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## klpca (Jun 6, 2012)

mikenk said:


> No, to the contrary; I see great possibilities. Every time you hear a lie, you push the button. This tactic might clean up the entire industry in weeks.
> 
> Mike



possibly the best use for a fartmaster! :rofl:


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## pittle (Jun 6, 2012)

I totally agree with BC Bum and Muranjo with their comments yesterday - many of us have some great deals with Mayan Palaces since we bought early on and regardless of what some people say - they still sell these and the Maintenance Fees are much higher than what our older contracts are.   We also have fewer limitations for resales.

Besides, if you upgrade - you have more years with higher maintenance fees.  Now that I am 65, I do not want another 25 years of timeshares.  We kind of figure that once we are past 82-83, we can rent where we want to go.  We will have enjoyed some of those Sr. Certificates for a few years and I think Hubby will be 86 when the last one of those expires, so Grupo Mayan does not have anything else to offer us. We are not golfers like many of you, so they cannot entice us with that.


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## Retsel (Jun 28, 2012)

*At least this is not Hacienda del Mar*

My wife and I are members at the Mayan Resorts.  While we have had persistent sales people at the sales meeting and they employ "sales math," none of the sales meetings are as bad as the one that we had at Hacienda del Mar in Cabo.  At Hacienda del Mar, not only were we lied to about some of the perks, we were also lied to about the contract itself (saying that it is an every-year program when in fact they were cajoling us into an every-other-year program).  Even the contract was set up to read both ways....   

I have read many different complaints about timeshares, but Hacienda del Mar seems to be the worse (except for that Belaire place in Puerto Vallarta which still has not been built).  

Mayan resorts will respond to complaints, while Hacienda del Mar just does not care about you nor about what you say about them! (or else they would have addressed our problem two years ago).  Profeco is still working to get our money back....

Retsel


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## herindoors911 (Jun 30, 2012)

Was the cold swimming pool water issue at The Grand Mayan in Cabos ever fixed?   Husband didn't want to go back for such a long time, but now he may be more flexible.


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## rpennisi (Jul 1, 2012)

herindoors911 said:


> Was the cold swimming pool water issue at The Grand Mayan in Cabos ever fixed?   Husband didn't want to go back for such a long time, but now he may be more flexible.



We were at the GM in SJ del Cabo in February.  The pool closest to the ocean was heated, no problem getting in and swimming as many were doing.  The pool farther from the ocean was unheated and cold and unused.

On the other hand, there were lots of free "beds" all around the pool complex.
Ron


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## x3 skier (Jul 1, 2012)

*My telemarketer approach*

Anyone who really knows me understands I do not use my "legal" name for anything except legal documents. I have used a nickname as far back as I can remember. 

When someone calls and uses my legal name, after determining (about 95% of the time) it is a sales pitch, I tell them he died. Sales weenies then just ask for Mrs. X3 Skier and then I tell them she ran away to Australia which caused the heart attack and death. Of course there is always the off switch. 

I thought about doing that to the political calls which are seemingly unending this year, but I am afraid they will then send in a ballot with my name on it.  

As far as TS sales, if I can get them up to my hourly billing rate + 50%, I go and waste their time.  

Cheers


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## BocaBum99 (Jul 1, 2012)

daNNiebOixDD said:


> Mayan Palace, Grand Mayan, a scam, joke, ripping people off!
> 
> 2 weeks ago went down to Rivera Maya, to stay at the Grand Mayan through a RCI exchange from a timeshare I already owned. Im stupid enough to listen to the salesperson "Enrique" from Grupo Mayan sell me a studio bedroom at the Mayan Palace. Told me I would get 1 week, and another two for free! OMG Great deal right!? better yet, "We'll give you 700$ if you dont use the week so we can rent it out to others, per week!!" Sure! Now Im here, finding out I cant rent the room out for jack m-fing shi... excuse my language. The timeshare isnt worth jack. Grand Mayan Claims to be able to sell my other timeshare I already have within 3-6 months. and now im finding out I have to sell it myself! and the f-ing guy had the nerve to say "Welcome to the family!"
> 
> Bottom line, dont buy anything from the Mayan Palace, Grand Mayan, Grupo Maya... etc. They'll say ANYTHING to get you to buy and in the end nothing is truth. Dont rely on them selling your timeshare, or renting out your weeks, they have no part in it. Sigh Im out another 10g...



Whatever you do, don't kick your dog.


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## VacationDeb (Oct 4, 2012)

*Helped by "member services?"*

This is so interesting to read about Mayan Palace. We bought many years ago, in 2003 I think, with the exact same pack of lies: we'll connect you with this company who will sell your other timeshare for you at XYZ (very good) price, and on the years you can't use it, there's a rental pool you can use to rent it out at a profit. 

Before then, I'd had no experience with salespeople just completely out and out lying to me, so wasn't on the alert. I complained over and over. I used the timeshare a number of times, went on the updates, and always complained to the new people. We actually saw the original saleswoman some years later - she'd been promoted to a VP or some senior sales exec position! - we complained about how she lied to us back then. Nothing ever changed! Now we most of the time deposit the week, and exchange back to our original timeshare, which we actually like (well 1 location, not all of them, and certainly not the exorbitant maintenance fees...). 

Now I'm reading this thread, where someone actually got taken care of?! (the guy retracting his statement). I'm astounded. Is there any chance of that happening with such an old membership? If so, how?! any advice? 

Thanks,
Deborah


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## drguy (Oct 4, 2012)

Vida is opening a resale division when Celebrate is opened.  If/When that happens, you may be able to sell your timeshare through them.
(This may just be another lie from the timeshare sales weasels).


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