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Shockingly horrible MVCI customer service. Has this happened to anyone else?

shellbelle

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I posted an abbreviated version of this under the "How happy are you with your Marriott ownership?" thread above, but I'm wondering if others have had similar experiences.

We own six weeks and many thousands of points with MVCI. I've had thousands of reservations and interactions with Owner Services that have mostly been pleasant and professional. Up until today, I was very happy with my ownership. (I have found the phone lines' currently-reduced hours problematic, and incessant issues with the website somewhat challenging, but not unmanageable.)

On Oct. 24th I made a reservation online for a multi-night stay with check-in on Oct. 25th. When it came time to check in the front desk informed me that the reservation was for November 9th. I was shocked and immediately produced the standard "summary confirmation" email titled "Marriott Vacation Club Destinations Confirmation Receipt - Reservation" that I receive with every reservation. This was easy because I had just made it the day before and it was still in my inbox. The manager on duty informed me that it was no good because their system showed a November 9th check in for that confirmation number. I logged into my MVCI account and found under existing reservations that the confirmation number in question did, in fact, show a November 9th check-in, but the email I had received from them showed the dates that I requested. When I made the reservation the "summary confirmation" screen on the computer also showed the correct dates, but of course, I have no proof of that.

My first question was (and still is) how on earth an automated system could change a check-in date like that. But my more urgent question was what to do about that night. It was very challenging to resolve because owner services' phone lines were closed, and due to time zone differences, it was the 25th at the property but already they 26th wherever the online system is hosted, so I couldn't just book another room for that night on points online and try to sort out the problem in the morning. Fortunately, the property did have a room available but only at the full cash rate, so pretty expensive. Also, fortunately, because I happened to have enough points left I was able to rebook the remaining nights of the reservation on points.

The next day I called owner services as soon as they opened. They were incredibly hostile and completely unhelpful. After an "investigation," today they essentially accused me of altering the original email to make them look bad. When I pointed out that they should be able to compare their own copy of a receipt that THEY sent with my version they said "we can't look at an email we sent from that address." They had no explanation for how a reservation could change like that; I don't think they even explored the issue because they seem to believe it didn't really happen--that I just doctored the email dates on the confirmation.

It's frustrating because there is nothing to suggest that this can't happen again, so even keeping my receipts and emails from them is useless because they will just assume that I have altered them. I hate being out $500 (cash rate for the room for one night), I hate that I have no way to prevent it from happening again, but worst of all is the insult to my integrity. I'm just livid. :mad:
 

Fasttr

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Did you also have a Marriott (not MVC) confirmation showing what you believed to be the correct dates?
 

shellbelle

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Did you also have a Marriott (not MVC) confirmation showing what you believed to be the correct dates?
I do have a Marriott confirmation as well. (As I'm sure you know, they always send both.) I didn't look at the Marriott confirmation until after the problem checking in, and it has the November 9th date on it. In the future, I'll be sure to check both, for sure. But how could it happen that there is one confirmation for Oct. 25th and another one for Nov. 9th both with the same confirmation number?

And why can't MVCI look up an email THEY sent and see it? If they're going to accuse me of tampering with something then it seems pretty reasonable to ask them to produce the original for comparison with my allegedly altered version. It's beyond infuriating to be accused of something I know I didn't do by someone who ought to have evidence that would definitively prove whether I did or didn't do it, but they can't or won't produce that proof. I'm far more angry about this than I am about the problem with the mysteriously changing check in date, although of course I am now worried about the possibility of that happening again as well.
 
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controller1

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If you haven't already, don't forget to cancel your November 9th reservation!
 

CPNY

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Shocking they would accuse you of lying and not that it could be their error. Especially since their CEO has even said their IT is inferior
 

californiagirl

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I’m sorry this has happened to you. So very frustrating! With (assumed) low occupancy I don’t see why, if they had availability, they didn’t just make the change. I know they don’t normally do that but we are not living in normal times.

I had a problem with Marriott Rewards a few years back. I discovered a sizable difference between what should have been in our account and what was actually showing online. I called Marriott and went round and round with the woman who answered the call. Several times I asked to speak with a supervisor. When this phone rep realized I wasn’t going away I was finally connected with a supervisor. From the moment the supervisor came on the line she had an attitude. In full disclosure my patience was gone so I wasn’t as cordial as when I began with the original phone rep. She said that the only way to resolve the issue was to do a full audit of the account. She said that would take several minutes. I said ok I have the time. After a heavy sigh she began. At the end she said she found a discrepancy of x number of points. More than I realized were missing! She said she couldn’t account for the missing points but “as a gesture of goodwill” she would put that number of points in our account. (She never said she was replacing or returning them.) Her tone of voice and the way she phrased everything hit a nerve with me. I told her I was glad they were being RETURNED but there was no “goodwill“ about it. We were both glad when the conversation ended!

I wish you the best with getting this resolved. Maybe take a screenshot next time...
 

pedro47

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I am very sorry this happen to you. Wishing you the very best of luck.
Please try to enjoy your vacation.
 
Last edited:

jme

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Send email to President & CEO of Marriott Vacation Worldwide Steve Weisz >>>..... Steve.Weisz@vacationclub.com.
1. https://ir.marriottvacationsworldwide.com/corporate-governance/management
2. https://ir.marriottvacationsworldwide.com/board-directors-management/stephen-weisz

He has another person to whom he usually delegates resolution of problems.
It's a higher level of service than Marriott's Customer Service resources.
I have communicated with him on three occasions in the past, and he read my emails, responded, and then his
associate helped to quickly resolve my issues. He and the associate were very gracious and helpful.
I believe in going to the top, and Mr. Weisz is the top.....underlings don't care because it's not "their" company,
and they are quick to respond to all complaints with stock answers from the handbook instead of pursuing the truth.
Good luck
 

pedro47

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Send email to President & CEO of Marriott Vacation Worldwide Steve Weisz >>>..... Steve.Weisz@vacationclub.com.
1. https://ir.marriottvacationsworldwide.com/corporate-governance/management
2. https://ir.marriottvacationsworldwide.com/board-directors-management/stephen-weisz

He has another person to whom he usually delegates resolution of problems.
It's a higher level of service than Marriott's Customer Service resources.
I have communicated with him on three occasions in the past, and he read my emails, responded, and then his
associate helped to quickly resolve my issues. He and the associate were very gracious and helpful.
I believe in going to the top, and Mr. Weisz is the top.....underlings don't care because it's not "their" company,
and they are quick to respond to all complaints with stock answers from the handbook instead of pursuing the truth.
Good luck
Outstanding Reply.
 

bogey21

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My first interface with Marriott Customer Service was when they first entered the TimeShare business (Sabal Palms and Monarch). Customer Service was spectacular. Like many companies that grow spectacularly Customer Service deteriorates....

George
 

shellbelle

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If you haven't already, don't forget to cancel your November 9th reservation!
Thanks. I already did cancel it, but appreciate having good TUG-ers looking out for me. :hug
 

shellbelle

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Send email to President & CEO of Marriott Vacation Worldwide Steve Weisz >>>..... Steve.Weisz@vacationclub.com.
1. https://ir.marriottvacationsworldwide.com/corporate-governance/management
2. https://ir.marriottvacationsworldwide.com/board-directors-management/stephen-weisz

He has another person to whom he usually delegates resolution of problems.
It's a higher level of service than Marriott's Customer Service resources.
I have communicated with him on three occasions in the past, and he read my emails, responded, and then his
associate helped to quickly resolve my issues. He and the associate were very gracious and helpful.
I believe in going to the top, and Mr. Weisz is the top.....underlings don't care because it's not "their" company,
and they are quick to respond to all complaints with stock answers from the handbook instead of pursuing the truth.
Good luck
Excellent advice. I will follow it--and fortunately, I can mostly copy and paste my explanation of what happened directly from my TUG post, so it won't even be that hard to do. Thanks so much for your suggestion.
 
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shellbelle

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Past: DVC: Old Key West & Saratoga Springs, Westin: KaAnapali Ocean Resort Villas & WKORV North, MVCI: Mountainside & Summit Watch
I’m sorry this has happened to you. So very frustrating! With (assumed) low occupancy I don’t see why, if they had availability, they didn’t just make the change. I know they don’t normally do that but we are not living in normal times.

I had a problem with Marriott Rewards a few years back. I discovered a sizable difference between what should have been in our account and what was actually showing online. I called Marriott and went round and round with the woman who answered the call. Several times I asked to speak with a supervisor. When this phone rep realized I wasn’t going away I was finally connected with a supervisor. From the moment the supervisor came on the line she had an attitude. In full disclosure my patience was gone so I wasn’t as cordial as when I began with the original phone rep. She said that the only way to resolve the issue was to do a full audit of the account. She said that would take several minutes. I said ok I have the time. After a heavy sigh she began. At the end she said she found a discrepancy of x number of points. More than I realized were missing! She said she couldn’t account for the missing points but “as a gesture of goodwill” she would put that number of points in our account. (She never said she was replacing or returning them.) Her tone of voice and the way she phrased everything hit a nerve with me. I told her I was glad they were being RETURNED but there was no “goodwill“ about it. We were both glad when the conversation ended!

I wish you the best with getting this resolved. Maybe take a screenshot next time...
I once had an issue where their computer system generated two reservations for one request. I contacted Owner Services to cancel the duplicate reservation and, like you, was told by an irritated-sounding supervisor that they would cancel the duplicate and return the points "as a courtesy." I didn't say anything but thought in my head, "that's not a courtesy, it's standard procedure with cancellations." You're right--it's annoying that they act like they are doing us a huge favor when, in fact, they're just following sop.
 

sfwilshire

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I don't doubt your narrative at all and would have been livid regarding the poor service. That being said, in Marriott.com at least, you can easily have different dates with the same confirmation number if you modify the reservation. I have done it often and the confirmation number remains the same.

Regardless, even if you had made an error (which I'm not suggesting at all that you did) the customer should always be right. As suggested by another poster, the manager on duty should have just changed the reservation dates to match your paperwork. I would have probably slept in the car before paying that rate, just on principle.

Any company this large will have a bad apple here and there. I always complain to the highest level I can find when I have a serious service failure. If nobody complains, the company may not be aware of the poor employees. How they respond to the complaint tells me a lot about the company.

Let us know whether they respond in a satisfactory manner.

Sheila
 

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I don't doubt your narrative at all and would have been livid regarding the poor service. That being said, in Marriott.com at least, you can easily have different dates with the same confirmation number if you modify the reservation. I have done it often and the confirmation number remains the same.

Regardless, even if you had made an error (which I'm not suggesting at all that you did) the customer should always be right. As suggested by another poster, the manager on duty should have just changed the reservation dates to match your paperwork. I would have probably slept in the car before paying that rate, just on principle.

Any company this large will have a bad apple here and there. I always complain to the highest level I can find when I have a serious service failure. If nobody complains, the company may not be aware of the poor employees. How they respond to the complaint tells me a lot about the company.

Let us know whether they respond in a satisfactory manner.

Sheila

You modified MVC dates on marriott.com? I have done it often on normal hotel reservations. Not with timeshares.
 

bazzap

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You modified MVC dates on marriott.com? I have done it often on normal hotel reservations. Not with timeshares.
I guess if you make a cash booking through MI for an MVC timeshare stay you may be able to modify the dates on marriott.com.
I can’t see how you can do so for a refular booking through MVC?
 
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sfwilshire

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You modified MVC dates on marriott.com? I have done it often on normal hotel reservations. Not with timeshares.

I should have been clearer. I was speaking of hotel reservations.

Sheila
 

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NboroGirl

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I remember the "as a courtesy to you we will" on something that was NOT a courtesy. We had booked our villa for the week and invited friends to join us. They would be staying in the studio lockoff portion. My DH and I decided to go down a day early because we would save a lot on airfare, so we booked a studio at our resort for the night before. As it happened, Marriott decided to have us keep the same lockoff and give us the rest of the 2BR villa for the week, only we had slept in the lockoff the night before and our friends were coming the that day and would be staying there. Since we had 2 different reservations (and never asked them to be linked or keep us in the same unit), Marriott wasn't going to clean the lockoff before our guests arrived. They kept telling me I would have to pay for the cleaning. I debated this with so many people before finally talking to someone who told me as a courtesy to me they would waive the cleaning fee. (Then it took all day and several visits to the front desk to actually get them to DO the cleaning.) ARGH.
 

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A couple of years back we agreed to an encore package. We were coming to end of our use period so we booked Oceana Palms adjacent to another reservation we had next month. We just got a call from Orlando Sales about our stay and the presentation. We were told we were going to the presentation on our last day at noon. No choices - that is when we were going - end of discussion. When I said that might be an issue since my Mom was flying out that last day, his response was “that is the only time we have in the 5 days”. When I was hesitant and asked if I could check and call him back he informed me that now we were in 30 day window so no changes. But he literally had just called and that was his first attempt. This was first time we were hearing this. Then he suggested we just cancel if the one date and time they offered was a conflict (with fee of course). And reminded me we signed a contract to go to presentation. His whole attitude was rude and he was literally devoid of personality. He even quizzed us to see if we had made travel arrangements. We own Marriott - we are premier. So we understand we have a presentation, have done a few of these in our lives, but have never been told they have one time and day available, no changes allowed, and why don’t we just cancel. I know it is Covid but I also know we stayed at Crystal Shores during height of Covid and they had many times available. He tried to blame the one time available on local regulations. I also knew this wasn’t true - this is FL we are talking about - nothing saying a sales office can only open for one slot a day. The upshot was I contacted MVCI and Oceana Palms Sales called and said they had afternoons available any of the days - that the Orlando guy was just being inflexible. Why do you want a guy like this in Sales? He isn’t going to sell many with that attitude. For a new customer this may be their first experience with the club - that would rub me the wrong way for sure.
 

TheTimeTraveler

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A couple of years back we agreed to an encore package. We were coming to end of our use period so we booked Oceana Palms adjacent to another reservation we had next month. We just got a call from Orlando Sales about our stay and the presentation. We were told we were going to the presentation on our last day at noon. No choices - that is when we were going - end of discussion. When I said that might be an issue since my Mom was flying out that last day, his response was “that is the only time we have in the 5 days”. When I was hesitant and asked if I could check and call him back he informed me that now we were in 30 day window so no changes. But he literally had just called and that was his first attempt. This was first time we were hearing this. Then he suggested we just cancel if the one date and time they offered was a conflict (with fee of course). And reminded me we signed a contract to go to presentation. His whole attitude was rude and he was literally devoid of personality. He even quizzed us to see if we had made travel arrangements. We own Marriott - we are premier. So we understand we have a presentation, have done a few of these in our lives, but have never been told they have one time and day available, no changes allowed, and why don’t we just cancel. I know it is Covid but I also know we stayed at Crystal Shores during height of Covid and they had many times available. He tried to blame the one time available on local regulations. I also knew this wasn’t true - this is FL we are talking about - nothing saying a sales office can only open for one slot a day. The upshot was I contacted MVCI and Oceana Palms Sales called and said they had afternoons available any of the days - that the Orlando guy was just being inflexible. Why do you want a guy like this in Sales? He isn’t going to sell many with that attitude. For a new customer this may be their first experience with the club - that would rub me the wrong way for sure.


Not sure if you meant by "last day" as the day you are leaving, or the day just before you leave..... I have always found that for some reason they like to do their presentations on the day just before I leave.

I've always tried to change it but they are very inflexible for some particular reason........



.
 

hcarman

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Not sure if you meant by "last day" as the day you are leaving, or the day just before you leave..... I have always found that for some reason they like to do their presentations on the day just before I leave.

I've always tried to change it but they are very inflexible for some particular reason........



.
Funny - for us they have always wanted them on the first or second day. But there has always been plenty of flexibility.
 

dioxide45

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Not sure if you meant by "last day" as the day you are leaving, or the day just before you leave..... I have always found that for some reason they like to do their presentations on the day just before I leave.

I've always tried to change it but they are very inflexible for some particular reason........



.
They never want to schedule a presentation for the day you are actually departing. The "I have a plane to catch" is too easy of an excuse to get out of a sales presentation or not be able to complete a purchase.
 

csalter2

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They never want to schedule a presentation for the day you are actually departing. The "I have a plane to catch" is too easy of an excuse to get out of a sales presentation or not be able to complete a purchase.

Actually, I have done this on more than one occasion.
 

bizaro86

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Funny - for us they have always wanted them on the first or second day. But there has always been plenty of flexibility.

That makes more sense to me. I bet many people don't research until they get home which saves them some recissions if people go early.

I can't think why they would want people at the end of their vacation...
 
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