Sales call received before check-in at Newport Coast

[CaliforniaDreamin']

I wasn't sure if I should post this question under an earlier thread "Sales Presentation Tactics" or start my own thread (as I did).

I am an owner at NCV, having purchased on the resale market. We visited NCV last month and, about a week before we left, I received an unusual telephone call.

The caller identified himself as an NCV employee and told me that he wanted to invite us to a seminar to discuss "recent changes" at NCV. He mentioned that the changes involved now being able to check-in on any day of the week.

It works best for us to check-in on a weekend day, so I told the caller that I wasn't interested in attending the seminar. He then became insistent and offered a pass for free golf at Pelican Hill. I told him I wasn't a golfer and then he asked why I wouldn't attend anyway. His tone became somewhat belligerent and I ended the conversation.

If there any new information that I need to be aware of? Couldn't NCV just mail this information to us? As an owner, why do I have to be subjected to what I suspect was a high pressure sales call leading to a high pressure seminar?

 

[RBERR1]

I wasn't sure if I should post this question under an earlier thread "Sales Presentation Tactics" or start my own thread (as I did).

I am an owner at NCV, having purchased on the resale market. We visited NCV last month and, about a week before we left, I received an unusual telephone call.

The caller identified himself as an NCV employee and told me that he wanted to invite us to a seminar to discuss "recent changes" at NCV. He mentioned that the changes involved now being able to check-in on any day of the week.

It works best for us to check-in on a weekend day, so I told the caller that I wasn't interested in attending the seminar. He then became insistent and offered a pass for free golf at Pelican Hill. I told him I wasn't a golfer and then he asked why I wouldn't attend anyway. His tone became somewhat belligerent and I ended the conversation.

If there any new information that I need to be aware of? Couldn't NCV just mail this information to us? As an owner, why do I have to be subjected to what I suspect was a high pressure sales call leading to a high pressure seminar?

They want you to go to the presentation so they can try to sell you DC points. The thing that they have been doing the last couple of years is to call people before they arrive versus just in the room when you get there.

 

[dougp26364]

They don't usually get insistant. When they do, I just hang up. I don't have to explain myself as to why I'm not interested in attending a presentation, I just have to tell them thanks but no thanks. If they stay polite, I'll stay polite. When they forge into the area of being rude or offensive, I don't consider it being rude to just hang up. After all, I've given Marriott tens of thousands of dollars in purchase price and MF's. I don't deserve to be treated poorly just so they can try to take more money out of my wallet.

 

[Old Hickory]

I wasn't sure if I should post this question under an earlier thread "Sales Presentation Tactics" or start my own thread (as I did).

I am an owner at NCV, having purchased on the resale market. We visited NCV last month and, about a week before we left, I received an unusual telephone call.

The caller identified himself as an NCV employee and told me that he wanted to invite us to a seminar to discuss "recent changes" at NCV. He mentioned that the changes involved now being able to check-in on any day of the week.

It works best for us to check-in on a weekend day, so I told the caller that I wasn't interested in attending the seminar. He then became insistent and offered a pass for free golf at Pelican Hill. I told him I wasn't a golfer and then he asked why I wouldn't attend anyway. His tone became somewhat belligerent and I ended the conversation.

If there any new information that I need to be aware of? Couldn't NCV just mail this information to us? As an owner, why do I have to be subjected to what I suspect was a high pressure sales call leading to a high pressure seminar?

The sales people will call you before your visit as they want to set-up a sales presentation. It is what they do. They may also represent themselves as a vacation planner but it's a sales person wanting (needing) an audience and an opportunity to make a sale.

A good salesperson is conditioned to hear "no" so I would suggest a simple and polite "no, thank you" with a smile and either hang-up or walk away.

If a phone call by a salesman is the worst part of your day, then you got it really, really good. Enjoy!

 

[SueDonJ]

With Barony and SurfWatch stays, and I think the other Hilton Head resorts, the call ahead is from a "concierge." After complaining to our favorite sales rep about the first too-pushy experience, I've found that they'll take "no, thanks," for an answer and won't pester you further during your stay.

The surprising thing is that they actually ARE concierges and can book local restaurants and activities for you, even if you're visiting during high-demand times and want hard-to-get reservations on short notice. We say no to the sales presentations all the time but they still seem happy to help us out with getting reservations. As long as they do the job they present themselves to be doing, I don't mind them asking if we're interested in a sales presentation as well.

 

[jme]

just ask your "personal concierge" (LOL) how many points they personally bought?

then follow with, "Gee, we're so much alike...."

 

[CaliforniaDreamin']

Thanks, all

@Old Hickory - Point well taken. It just annoys me a bit that I would receive a somewhat high pressure sales call (disguised as a opportunity to learn about "recent changes") while currently an owner.

 

[BocaBoy]

With Barony and SurfWatch stays, and I think the other Hilton Head resorts, the call ahead is from a "concierge." After complaining to our favorite sales rep about the first too-pushy experience, I've found that they'll take "no, thanks," for an answer and won't pester you further during your stay.

The surprising thing is that they actually ARE concierges and can book local restaurants and activities for you, even if you're visiting during high-demand times and want hard-to-get reservations on short notice. We say no to the sales presentations all the time but they still seem happy to help us out with getting reservations. As long as they do the job they present themselves to be doing, I don't mind them asking if we're interested in a sales presentation as well.

The pre-arrival calls from the Maui Ocean Club are also from a "concierge", not from someone in the sales department. Once on property they are great resources. Setting up sales appointments is only a very small part of what they do. I actually welcome and appreciate these pre-arrival calls.

 

[jme]

The pre-arrival calls from the Maui Ocean Club are also from a "concierge", not from someone in the sales department. Once on property they are great resources. Setting up sales appointments is only a very small part of what they do. I actually welcome and appreciate these pre-arrival calls.

The only reason they "do those things" is to disguise the fact that the primary purpose is to get you into the sales presentation. If they only did that exclusively, they couldn't truly claim to be a "concierge", so that extra set of duties evolved to complete the story.......

Having said that, we happily use them to make local dinner reservations, even at restaurants that don't take reservations------somehow they've developed a relationship with those places, and they indeed get you right in, and a great table to boot. For that reason alone, I tolerate the calls. We are able to avoid 60-90 minute waits at our favorite spots.

 

[BocaBoy]

The only reason they "do those things" is to disguise the fact that the primary purpose is to get you into the sales presentation.

Well, then why did I get such a call before each of my last three trips (MMC, MOW and Maui Ocean Club)? I had attended a sales presentation in late November and these three trips were all in the two months after that, which meant that I was not eligible to schedule another sales presentation so soon. The calls started out by them telling me I was not eligible to schedule a sales presentation but they wanted to check on my room preferences and go over a few other items. The calls were very helpful, especially the one from Ocean Watch where we had never stayed before.

I am not denying that an important purpose of pre-arrival calls is to schedule a sales presentation for those eligible (which, by the way, I personally welcome), but these pre-arrival calls are much more than that. And the people making those calls, at least in my experience, are not in the sales department.

 

[dioxide45]

I am not denying that an important purpose of pre-arrival calls is to schedule a sales presentation for those eligible (which, by the way, I personally welcome), but these pre-arrival calls are much more than that. And the people making those calls, at least in my experience, are not in the sales department.

While not in the sales department, I believe they receive a commission/incentive for everyone they sign up that also attends a sales presentation. So while they are not in the sales department, they are still selling the presentation.

I have also found that the person on the phone may say you are not eligible for a presentation, but when you get there and talk to the person you get your "welcome gift" from, they are more than happy to sign you up for a tour with incentives. The eligibility rules are very lax. Our five tours in 12 months proves that.

 

[pedro47]

I hate this because I am on vacation or going on vacation. This is my R & R time. Why should I have to listen to another sales pitch ?

 

[SueDonJ]

I hate this because I am on vacation or going on vacation. This is my R & R time. Why should I have to listen to another sales pitch ?

You don't have to - just say no.

I do agree that they can sometimes make you feel like they want to bleed you dry, but really they can't win no matter what they do. If they don't try to schedule presentations, they'll be ignoring what has historically been a lucrative customer pool for them AND they'll tick off the folks who like being able to add Marriott Points to their accounts for only an hour or so of their time. If they do try to schedule them, they tick off the folks like you who don't want to be bothered. How are they supposed to know which set of folks you belong to, if they don't ask?

 

[BocaBoy]

That must vary a lot by resort. In fact, I was told at Ocean Watch that each resort sets its own time limits, largely based on how much time the sales force has available. At Williamsburg, Ocean Watch, Ko Olina and Maui they consistently said we were not eligible at every step of the process because our last tour had been too recent. Maui is the place we have the most experience and they have always adhered strictly to the rules. The time limit there has changed from year to year, from as long as 9 months to as short as 3 months, but they have adhered faithfully to the rule then in effect.