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"Parking Pass" annoyance

famy27

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We just returned from a stay at Glacier Canyon in the Dells. As always, we had to go pick up our parking passes from Member Services. A very friendly (for the moment) young woman named "Harmony" gave us maps, info on the area, coupons, etc. Then, she said someone would be stopping by our unit the next morning with a gift for us. I said, "No thanks, I don't need a gift." She informed me the gift is fudge, and everyone loves fudge. I said I don't, so she offered me a $25 gift card. I declined and said I just want to go to the waterpark and be left alone.

At that point, she asked if we'd had a bad experience with someone visiting our room in the past. As a matter of fact, we had. She said they don't do owner updates anymore. Nobody would talk to us about our ownership. It's just a survey about how we like our unit so they can keep their Gold Crown status. I told her to put the survey under my door, and I will fill it out. "No, no," she tells me. They only have a good return rate if they fill out the survey face to face. On and on this goes until I firmly say that I only want to enjoy my time at the waterparks, I don't want anyone coming to my room, and I don't want any fudge. She then proceeded to snatch the $25 gift card comp she offered me out of my hand and snapped, "Have a nice day!" at me. Harmony, indeed!

To add insult to injury, somebody else from Member Services calls the next morning to say they'll be dropping down at 10:30 to fill out the survey. Grrrr. I let them know we were in our swimsuits and headed out the door and would not be there at 10:30. He wanted to know what time would be convenient. Never! So frustrating.

So, my question is: What happens if we never pick up the stupid parking pass? Do they tow your car? If the parking pass is actually required, how do you get out of Member Services without the relentless badgering?
 

vacationhopeful

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Check in (or request the parking pass) after they go home. The Front Desk has parking passes also --- at most resorts.

But they will still call the room. So, disconnect/unplug the phone.

Then they will leave notes under your door. Throw the trash in the hall and call maintenance to complain about trash in the hall.

When you leave, write a letter of complaint about the litter always being in your hallway. Maintenance will have a record of them picking the stuff up off the floor.
 

bnoble

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I have a simple line that nearly always works: "I would be wasting your time." When they try the "Oh no, it's just a survey" line, I pause a full five seconds, looking them dead in the eye, and simply respond: "Don't insult me. This is not my first time around the block."

Then I leave the phone unplugged. So far, I've never been home when they "stopped by".
 

yumdrey

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Once I checked-in after 8pm at Bonnet Creek.
Front desk gave me parking pass.
Member Service was calling me a day after checked-in.
I unplugged phone.
Had peaceful vacation.

Now I tell them "My husband is at home, he couldn't join this trip", then they lose interests on me.
 

chriskre

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Play games with them.:p

Take the parking pass.
Tell them a time you'll be there toward the end of your trip and don't show up.
Disconnect the phone and have a great vacation. ;)
 

siesta

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"no, that's alright. my wife isn't with me"

Game over :wave:
 

vacationhopeful

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...Take the parking pass.
Tell them a time you'll be there toward the end of your trip and don't show up.... ;)

Careful with this. By setting the appointment, the sales group can now OPEN your ownership records and update your history/attendance with them.


IMHO, the fewer times they review your account ==> the better for YOU!
 

Free2Roam

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Once I checked-in after 8pm at Bonnet Creek.
Front desk gave me parking pass.
Member Service was calling me a day after checked-in.
I unplugged phone.
Had peaceful vacation.

Now I tell them "My husband is at home, he couldn't join this trip", then they lose interests on me.

If you don't want to wait until the parking pass people are gone before you check in, tell them you have to run and you'll be back later for the parking pass. Come back later in the evening when they're gone and get one from the front desk. And - as previously recommended - unplug the phone. This works for me.
 

famy27

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"no, that's alright. my wife isn't with me"

Game over :wave:

My husband actually wasn't with me. I told them that, but they didn't care. They really needed me to answer their "survey."

Hilariously, when she was trying to get me to take the $25 food gift certificate, she gave me a form that said for attending the owner update, I would get the certificate. However, they crossed out the word "update" and wrote "survey" on it instead. Boy, did that look official.

They've bothered me before, but this was the most relentless I've seen them. I wonder what percentage of owners do the survey and take the free fudge?
 

chriskre

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Careful with this. By setting the appointment, the sales group can now OPEN your ownership records and update your history/attendance with them.


IMHO, the fewer times they review your account ==> the better for YOU!

What are they going to do to my account? :p
I bought it resale and don't get any bells and whistles with the purchase so I don't see what they can do with it except maybe cancel my ownership. That might not be a bad thing. :rolleyes:
 

Karen G

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What happens if you just say "No" forcefully and don't go into any other conversation with them when they try to make an appointment? Can you just take the parking permit and quickly leave?
 

Dilpic

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Why is it I feel bad about just saying "no" and they have no problem lying to my face? I was told by the checking out lady that I don't have to go through Member Services for my parking pass. When you check-in, just ask the person behind the counter to get it for you. I found out that most of the people working at the resorts don't like the sales people either.
 

famy27

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What happens if you just say "No" forcefully and don't go into any other conversation with them when they try to make an appointment? Can you just take the parking permit and quickly leave?

It depends on the resort. At some Wyndhams, they hand the parking pass to you right away. You can say "no" and head for the door. At Glacier Canyon, they hold on to it while they give you the pitch on your "welcome gift" and survey. Parking passes held hostage!
 

sue1947

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Parking passes aren't actually required

The parking pass is just a sales ploy; they aren't really needed. If they aren't with the check-in materials, just head on to your room and ignore it (and unplug the phone).
 

antjmar

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So, my question is: What happens if we never pick up the stupid parking pass? Do they tow your car? If the parking pass is actually required, how do you get out of Member Services without the relentless badgering?
I wondered the same thing just. We just got back from Bonnet Creek the place is "gated" you have to drive by security to get in! Why do you need a parking pass??? :shrug: We forgot to hang it up one night and car was still there and no illegally parked warning stickers on it! As others have said at most locations just a sales tactic.
 
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What are they going to do to my account? :p
I bought it resale and don't get any bells and whistles with the purchase so I don't see what they can do with it except maybe cancel my ownership. That might not be a bad thing. :rolleyes:

You are exactly whom they want! Resales make ZERO profit for Wyndham, but those who buy ("Upgrade") from the resort just paid thousands in profit.

TS
 

timeos2

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As a now former Wyndham owner - in no small part due to these extremely irritating games - we have no real file for them to play with. But even prior to selling we took up asking for the pass well after hours or simply ignoring it. We also ignore all calls (last week at Nashville there were no less than 2 PER DAY). We had no pass and no trouble with parking.

No wonder the front desk hate the sales weasels - they are probably sucking up all the eggs!

Ignore if there is any hassle at all. And, unless you are strong enough to play with them & waste their time, never accept or at least skip any "update". Actually we prefer to schedule one for near the end of the stay & then "miss" it. We hope they are inconvenienced at the very least. They more than deserve it.
 

suzanne

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We just spent a week at the Wydham Cypress Palms in Orlando. Told guy that I did not want his free gift was not interested in his sales pitch as I had no intentions of buying another timeshare due to hubby's health. Was told it wasn't a sales pitch, it was to let us know about all of the RCI changes for weeks owners. (Yeah Right). Told him flat out that I was a TUGGER and could probably tell him more about RCI than his entire staff knew put together. Next morning phone was ringing in main unit at 8:30, we knew who and did not answer, the phone started ringing in the lock off side of unit. We ignored it too. Calls came every morning thru out the entire week. Plus notes left on the door. They never give up, so we laughed about it and proceeded to throw away their nortes and did not answer the phone.

Thats why we always carry our cell phones. We only talk to people we want to talk to on vacation.:D

Suzanne
 

Kozman

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Another option is to keep an old parking pass and lay it upside down on the dash so the date is not showing. Just make sure they didn't change colors or design. I don't think they actually use the pass unless there is a problem with your car like someone backed into you, you left your lights on or you are blocking someone, etc. I do this often. Other times I just tell them if they persist 'What part of NO don't you understand'! I have no problem getting rude with them if my answer doesn't sink in the first time.
 

chriskre

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You are exactly whom they want! Resales make ZERO profit for Wyndham, but those who buy ("Upgrade") from the resort just paid thousands in profit.

TS

Not gonna happen so they're just wasting saliva.
Honestly they don't want me. I'd only be wasting their time.
Actually once I tell them that I'm single that's usually my ticket out. ;)
 

VacationDiva

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We just got back from La Belle Maison in NOLA and had a similar experience. The people at the front desk and other staff were just completely wonderful (We love Todd :)), but the staff at the "concierge desk" pestered us the whole time about meeting to take their "owner's satisfaction survey".

We also had my sister with us on a guest reservation and they saw her as "fresh fish" and were especially aggressive in trying to get her into a sales room. We managed to get her out of their clutches and proceeded to ignore twice-daily phone calls and messages under our doors. We also unplugged the phones and communicated by cell phone- a good tip. We completed our five night stay without taking their infernal survey and this will be our MO from here on out.

The final point I'd like to make is that we really love the Wyndham properties and feel that we get excellent value traveling in this way. The aggressive sales staff is the fly in the ointment, but having learned how to manage this, we consider them a small annoyance that can be ignored. We have decided they will not ruin a minute of our vacation. It works for us :)

Kristin
 

Rent_Share

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The final point I'd like to make is that we really love the Wyndham properties and feel that we get excellent value traveling in this way. The aggressive sales staff is the fly in the ointment, but having learned how to manage this, we consider them a small annoyance that can be ignored. We have decided they will not ruin a minute of our vacation. It works for us :)

Kristin


As an owner why should you should be entittled to quiet enjoyment
http://legal-dictionary.thefreedictionary.com/Quiet+enjoyment

"In the covenant of quiet enjoyment, the landlord promises that during the term of the tenancy no one will disturb the tenant in the tenant's use and enjoyment of the premises. Quiet enjoyment includes the right to exclude others from the premises, the right to peace and quiet, the right to clean premises, and the right to basic services such as heat and hot water and, for high-rise buildings, elevator service"
 

chriskre

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Enchanted Isle resort.

Bourne

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Another glacier canyon update. Still out there.

This time I decided to play along. At check in, I pretty much agreed to everything and was in and out under 30 sec from 'member services' section.

After getting the kids settled, went back down and let them know it was not an obligation and I wanted to cancel. Few minutes later, they had upped the ante to $100 in dining credits and tokens. One last no and they converted it into an Amex offer. Intrigued, I played ball. The whole conversation took three minutes or so.

Next morning, the rep shows up and monotone answers and eBay resale had him done in 11 min flat. You need two people to have a conversation. :)

I have to admit...the fudge is good. ;)
 
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chriskre

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Just got back from Ocean Palms in Pompano and I let the girl set the appointment as a tentative appointment. She called me the night before. I cancelled the appointment and told her that we just didn't have time right now to waste on this sales pitch. Of course at this point she upped the offer to $100. Originally we were offered 3 tickets on the Jungle Queen which I actually would have used but we ran out of nights. :wall:

She (Ashley) went from icky sweet nice to cruella devill in a matter of 3 minutes. :annoyed: She started scolding me for wasting her time and she wanted me to know that this was a BIG inconvenience for her. Whateverrrrrrrrrrr. :rolleyes:
 
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