Sales Presentation and the Walk of Shame

[fdough1]

Well I made the mistake of signing up for a sales presentation at Crystal Shores this week. I am a Chairman’s Club level and not interested in adding anything to my portfolio. I told them this when they called me to sign up but they said that was ok and I could use the time to get updates on MVC...I believed them. My poor judgment.

The moment we got there they started the hard sales pitch on “last chance” bundle packages. They brought in the manager to help with the pitch. They were all friendly and nice till I explained that we were not interested then attitudes changed and they got short with us. The last person they brought in tried to sell us a 5 day stay here but again I told them we were not interested and he really got unfriendly. It was very uncomfortable.

We were just left alone and finally just left having to do the walk of shame where we were flatly ignored as we left.

Moral of the story is DO NOT sign up for a sales presentation with MVC if you have no intention to buy...no matter what they say.


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[dansimms]

I wouldn't hurt them to show some class and treat you well for the entire visit. You are a valued client after all. Disappointing !

 

[SeaDoc]

Well I made the mistake of signing up for a sales presentation at Crystal Shores this week. I am a Chairman’s Club level and not interested in adding anything to my portfolio. I told them this when they called me to sign up but they said that was ok and I could use the time to get updates on MVC...I believed them. My poor judgment.

The moment we got there they started the hard sales pitch on “last chance” bundle packages. They brought in the manager to help with the pitch. They were all friendly and nice till I explained that we were not interested then attitudes changed and they got short with us. The last person they brought in tried to sell us a 5 day stay here but again I told them we were not interested and he really got unfriendly. It was very uncomfortable.

We were just left alone and finally just left having to do the walk of shame where we were flatly ignored as we left.

Moral of the story is DO NOT sign up for a sales presentation with MVC if you have no intention to buy...no matter what they say.


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If treated badly, don’t forget to fill out the review form you’ll receive via email from MVW corporate. It matters a lot!!! An x-senior sales executive…


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[Bunk]

I feel your pain and "shame"

We had booked an encore for Orlando for April, 2020 which was cancelled by Covid
We had booked the encore so the grandchildren could go with us to Disney World.
We finally did the encore in April, 2021.

The salesperson was ok. Conversation was cordial but we told her upfront we had no interest in buying.
After 90 minutes she brought in the manager and left without saying goodbye. The manager , without saying hello, started in asking us why we signed up for encore if we didn't plan on buying. I told him we wanted to treat the grandchildren to Disney. I asked him why we should pay a lot of money when we can rent points from other owners. He wanted to argue with us and told me that Marriott has a program to take back our unwanted timeshare weeks and points. I told him that it didn't impress me that people who pay 10s of thousands of dollars for product can give it back for free. I told him that if I ever wanted to buy more points, I would buy directly from current owners. He said that Marriott has increased fees buyers paid so that even if we found a good deal and even if our seller wasn't a crook, Marriott would exercise its right of refusal. He wanted to stay and argue so Finally we got up and left.

The walls in the Orlando sales office are not soundproofed and before this manager came to our room, we heard the same manager arguing with the people next doo. They finally said that the person who recruited them for the presentation told them it was discuss changes in the system and that they had told the recruiter that they were not interested in buying. They also got up and left.

 

[sandcfort]

We had a MVC presentation in Phoenix and it was more of an informative, the sales guy was real nice and wasn't really a hard sell. Just went over the "benefits" of adding points and the Bonvoy point usage options. Using those points for packages (flight and hotel bundles).

 

[CPNY]

I wouldn't hurt them to show some class and treat you well for the entire visit. You are a valued client after all. Disappointing !

No such thing as a “valued customer” in the timeshare game. Let me rephrase, you’re only valued from the moment you sign the contract up until the last day of the rescission period.

 

[aka Julie]

That's exactly why I refuse to attend any presentation no matter what the person calling says. Their incentive is to sign you up no matter what. They don't care that you have no intention of buying. I tell them there is no amount of points that would get me to attend. They're "shocked."

 

[ljmiii]

I had a great sales presentation in Boston and a good one in South Beach - I had no interest in buying more so we filled the 90 minutes with information about how best to use MVC. I also had reasonable one in Waiohai...what I wanted to buy they didn't have in inventory - an even year OF MOC sequel week to use in a hybrid purchase.

 

[Swice]

Well I made the mistake of signing up for a sales presentation at Crystal Shores this week.

The absolutely worst experience EVER was when we were in Marco Island just after Crystal Shores was announced. I was in complete shock over the way we were yelled at and treated. Here's the funny thing: I had every intention of buying Crystal Shores (until I saw the price list). It took me a long time to get over that one. And I would add, because of that experience, my guard is still "up" and I doubt it will ever fully come down.

There was a time when Marriott Vacation Club presentations were totally first class with no pressure (we were treated so well that we vowed to eventually buy - and we obviously did). After the points program was introduced, there was a period where we encountered some "less than intelligent" sales reps. About five years ago, they all seemed to become super aggressive. Right before Covid, we sensed a sales culture returning to a more professional manner. Our two experiences over the past eight months were again professional and I would recommend both (at Myrtle Beach and Hilton Head).

 

[Dean]

We had a favorable experience at Crystal Shores within the last few months. I think it's the luck of the draw as to who the salesperson is and who the "manager" on duty is. It probably does vary somewhat by the location based on the senior sales staff at a given location. I'm no longer passive in such situations though.

 

[AwayWeGo]

I made the mistake of signing up for a sales presentation at Crystal Shores this week.

Did you at least collect some worthwhile freebies for putting up with the time-consuming sales pitch & the rude treatment ?

-- Alan Cole, McLean (Fairfax County), Virginia, USA.​

 

[bnoble]

From my point of view, life is too short to spend any part of it dealing with what is likely to be an unpleasant experience in a sales presentation.

 

[farinc]

I enjoy attending sale‘s presentations if I have the time and they offer something worthwhile for my time. It doesn’t bother me in the least if I’m pressed to buy, even if they are rude. I just look at them and smile, which makes them even more irate.

 

[Dean]

I enjoy attending sale‘s presentations if I have the time and they offer something worthwhile for my time. It doesn’t bother me in the least if I’m pressed to buy, even if they are rude. I just look at them and smile, which makes them even more irate.

I tend to enjoy them as well if not overly adversarial. I'd do them uncompensated without my spouse consistently if they would actually schedule them and at a reasonable time but they normally won't. In the past I've worn my TUG T-shirt to a couple of them. Over the years I've done a number of uncompensated tours as well. My wife on the other hand would rather be shot in the foot than do them so we don't do them as often as I'd prefer.

 

[rickandcindy23]

Yeah, these negative salespeople on timeshare presentations are what bother me. I get nervous going in, wondering if the salesperson will be nice or not. No one goes into a presentation saying, "I am definitely going to buy," so it's up to the salesperson to be pleasant enough and convincing enough to get a yes. If they aren't nice, who wants to go again? If they present anything negatively, it's as though they are pushing you to a no. It's counter-intuitive. Be rude and condescending, and you will never sell a thing.

 

[mjm1]

The presentations we have attended with MVC have generally been good experiences. Occasionally we get a sales person who isn’t as professional as we would like. We usually enjoy the conversation. It’s unfortunate that not every salesperson is up to that level of professionalism.

Best regards.

Mike

 

[Dean]

I'm suspect there's a method to their madness. I'm sure their tactics work to a degree but also the sales staff don't want you touring with them if you're obviously very unlikely to buy. Thus I suspect that they are purposefully trying to set it up so you don't tour again to improve the chances of them getting a more receptive subject over time. It's such a common occurrence that I've often wondered if it were formally taught to them but I've investigated that over time and can't convince myself it is and all of the data I have from some that I have some trust in in that world suggests it is not. Thus I must conclude that it's a certain type of personality with a character flaw that is more likely to end up in that business.

 

[Bunk]

Does anyone have an idea at long the average timeshare salesperson remains in this line of work at places like MVC. I don't know how much their base salary is, and I don't know how much commission they make, but it would be disheartening and stressful if I were to try to do this job.

 

[ljmiii]

Does anyone have an idea at long the average timeshare salesperson remains in this line of work at places like MVC. I don't know how much their base salary is, and I don't know how much commission they make, but it would be disheartening and stressful if I were to try to do this job.

The best MVC salesrep we've had said he had been at Custom House for over 20 years. It showed.

 

[rthib]

I always enjoy my experiences. I use it as a time to ask lots of questions about the area, what places they have visited etc.

I don't find any value in getting confrontational about why I am not buying. If I say I don't want to buy because resale is cheaper, that is inviting him to convince me that my reasoning is wrong. I don't argue with them and they don't argue with me.

I simply say no, came because they invited me to get an update and I am always interested in learning what is new but at this time I am not interested in expanding my portfolio.
Never had much push back other than the usual, price won't ever be this low because (New, Anniversary, Before crowded time, slow sales, end of month, Covid ...)
Simple say, I understand but willing to pay a little more in the future if interested.
Pleasant experience and wife gets the $$$ for her Spa Day.

 

[Dean]

Does anyone have an idea at long the average timeshare salesperson remains in this line of work at places like MVC. I don't know how much their base salary is, and I don't know how much commission they make, but it would be disheartening and stressful if I were to try to do this job.

Not sure about length in the business, I suspect it's a group that are in quite a while and a group that are in no more than 12-18 months. It's not uncommon for them to make a quarter of a Mil though.

 

[dannybaker]

We rarely attend a sales presentation but we attended one in Marriott Ft Lauderdale a couple weeks ago. It was painless and we left with $200 Visa card. 85 minutes in the sales person was reminded we were leaving in five minutes. we felt MarriottVacationClub did a good job overall and maybe a pain factor of 2.

 

[davidvel]

If treated badly, don’t forget to fill out the review form you’ll receive via email from MVW corporate. It matters a lot!!! An x-senior sales executive…


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Hi doc, hope you are well! Curious if you have ever attended a presentation since you left and your impression if so. Or is that breaking some unwritten code?

 

[frank808]

I tend to enjoy them as well if not overly adversarial. I'd do them uncompensated without my spouse consistently if they would actually schedule them and at a reasonable time but they normally won't. In the past I've worn my TUG T-shirt to a couple of them. Over the years I've done a number of uncompensated tours as well. My wife on the other hand would rather be shot in the foot than do them so we don't do them as often as I'd prefer.

We are the same way. I like them but wife HATES to attend them.

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[dioxide45]

We have been to many of these. We are apparently moochers for going to so many timeshare presentations (these are comments I actually receive on my YouTube channel). We actually had a pretty good experience at Crystal Shores last September. The timeshare salesman was friendly and professional. He hadn't herd of TUG and I thought him several things. The sales manager however was far different, short and perhaps rude. He didn't care about TUG like the salesman did. Basically once he knew that we knew what TUG was, his goal was to find out if we were going to buy and if not, get out. I guess that is the way to do it, but no need to treat your guests like that.

We kind of has a similar experience at Grande Vista. Salesman was friendly, he even worked at Wyndham previously, but sales manager was abrupt and not very friendly at all.

This is something you see in car sales. They get people who are friendly and outgoing who are able to relate to be on the front line and the sales manager is usually someone hold up in the back who the sales person runs back to for tips and strategy on what to take back and try to get the sale. The sales manager is often referred to as the puppet master in car sales. He pulls the strings and the salesperson is just the messenger. It seems to work, at least in car and timeshare sales, otherwise they wouldn't take this strategy.