[2012] Best and worst Wyndham Sales Experiences...

Worst - National Harbor. Totally obnoxious, arrogant sales people who turn hostile when it becomes obvious you are not going to purchase anything.

Best - Very recently at Old Town Alexandria, which is about 8 miles from home. The sales rep, Omar, was very new and knew very little about Wyndham but was a great talker of Afghan heritage. I have experience in Pakistan so we talked about that for a while. My wife had many Afghani students when she taught ESL for years and that sparked more conversation and we moved on to Afghan food, specifically Afghan rice. Omar lives about three miles from us, we swapped addresses and the next week, he dropped off a 10 lb. bag of Afghan rice. We never said a word about Wyndham, got our restaurant card, had a nice dinner that night at the Chart House down on the river. Sweet!

WORST - Bonnet Creek about 3 years ago, Said no over and over and over for about 2 hours until finally I got angry and told them that I wasnt buying and to send over the "discovery" sales person so I could leave.. Discover person came over and tried to sell me the Wyndham Visa or Mastercard (whatever it is), I told them Im Canadian, cant hold an American Visa, she got in a huff, literally pouted us over the Gifting Office..

BEST - Tied.. Recently at Waikiki Beach Walk, talked to a "Sam", he said "oh you bought resale, hows that working for you?" I responded, "Great, love the cheap investment to start and we enjoy Wyndham".. He said "Perfect, thats real good, can I get you a coffee while I go get someone to do a quick survey".. I thought here it comes, but **SHOCK**, Sam came back, escorted us to the Receptionist who gave us the $100 Amex Card and we were out of there in less then 15 minutes
TIED WITH... About 3 years ago at Grand Desert In Vegas we had someone come up to the room.. Middle aged guy walks in with StarBucks, a dozen bagels and a container of Cream Cheese, says to us, I know you bought resale and I cant come close to anything of that value, but I have to spend 15 minutes with you.. We spent a enjoyable 20 minutes talking about Golf in the area and local stuff and he left us the $100 Buffet Gift Cert for Le Village in the Paris as promised.. Real Easy..

Robb

Governor's Green several years ago: We got a rookie salesman who was promptly replaced by a blonde b***h who claimed to be from corporate and had a slight German accent. She proceeded to tell us how stupid we were (over and over again) for having multiple properties without being "true VIP". We took her verbal abuse for about 15 min., knowing that the records she had were not up to date, and then told her it was time to end it and we left.

Don said:

Governor's Green several years ago: We got a rookie salesman who was promptly replaced by a blonde b***h who claimed to be from corporate and had a slight German accent. She proceeded to tell us how stupid we were (over and over again) for having multiple properties without being "true VIP". We took her verbal abuse for about 15 min., knowing that the records she had were not up to date, and then told her it was time to end it and we left.

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Yep, she's legendary... she's the one that comes to mind for me too and I've sat through some horrible one's before both at Gov Green and National Harbor... The last time I ran into her it was hilarious because she was brought in as the "closer" after about 30 min and withing the first few seconds of her dialogue that old familiar feeling came to me and I got a revelation that she was the one that DW and I had our worst ever experience with a few of years back. When I commented out loud, "Now I remember You" and explained all the while laughing with DW how she had been so horrible to us a couple of years back even she began to smile and asked what she did. We promptly told her how she had behaved all the while we could see the other salesmen quietly laughing. We said while still laughing that we're done and we were immediately off to gifting.

The Boxer in Las Vegas!

Well, last time we were in LV, we had Matt "the boxer" do our room visit, and as in the past, he was very nice and did a quick review of our profile, and asked us if there was anything he can review with us... When we said no, that we were fine with our current plan, he thanked us and wished us a nice time in LV, and left. I think those that have been in the game a while know that those that own resale have "figured it out", and it's not worth their time to push for a sale.

Explorer7 said:

Yep, she's legendary... she's the one that comes to mind for me too and I've sat through some horrible one's before both at Gov Green and National Harbor... The last time I ran into her it was hilarious because she was brought in as the "closer" after about 30 min and withing the first few seconds of her dialogue that old familiar feeling came to me and I got a revelation that she was the one that DW and I had our worst ever experience with a few of years back. When I commented out loud, "Now I remember You" and explained all the while laughing with DW how she had been so horrible to us a couple of years back even she began to smile and asked what she did. We promptly told her how she had behaved all the while we could see the other salesmen quietly laughing. We said while still laughing that we're done and we were immediately off to gifting.

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I'm glad I'm not the only victim here, but I think I would use infamous rather than legendary.

Don said:

I'm glad I'm not the only victim here, but I think I would use infamous rather than legendary.

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Yep, infamous is more on point...

Twinkstarr said:

Left the parking pass in the visor at Kona, there was a note on the car the next morning to please display it when parking at the resort.

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I've never had that happen. But I am waiting for it...

jjmanthei05 said:

I agree with RR. You don't ever have to say yes. Also if they continue the pressure pitch to sign up tell them you are staying on your friends points and use one of the 2 following excuses "you spouse is not along on the trip." or "we are both currently unemployed and friend doing us a favor giving us some time away." Either way it will stop right there.

Jason

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I find saying, "I am about to declare bankruptcy, I'm just here for one last nice trip before I do it", a quick way to end all attempts to sell you anything.

Most people won't drop the "BK bomb" because they don't want anyone to have a bad impression of them. Even a total stranger.

Worst ended up a scam

We haven't visited very many locations but Grand Desert has always been good about making sure we understood everything and accepting no on the occasions we did not buy. The thank you gift has always been worthwhile along with a decent breakfast. We do have two contracts based in Las Vegas. That is we USED to...

The WORST was La Belle Maison in New Orleans on May 19 this year. We told Aaron Martin right up front we could not afford to buy and did not want to due to recent medical bills. He seemed fine with that but found "an issue" with our account asking why we had turned down joining the trust. We were never offered anything called the trust, and of course he said they might be able to correct the problem. Then we met with Norbert Landin. The whole time we were led to believe we were doing an even trade for only a $64.70 fee... until we received a bill for over $9,000. The 7 days had passed of course but we wrote the cancellation letter anyway stating how we were misled and coerced. We were there for several hours, missed lunch with my sister and got nothing from it but two crappy wine glasses. We don't even drink wine. :annoyed:

If anyone has some help on this I'd appreciate it. Also tell me if I should repost somewhere as I know this is just a best/worst thread.

Sheryl

sds said:

We haven't visited very many locations but Grand Desert has always been good about making sure we understood everything and accepting no on the occasions we did not buy. The thank you gift has always been worthwhile along with a decent breakfast. We do have two contracts based in Las Vegas. That is we USED to...

The WORST was La Belle Maison in New Orleans on May 19 this year. We told Aaron Martin right up front we could not afford to buy and did not want to due to recent medical bills. He seemed fine with that but found "an issue" with our account asking why we had turned down joining the trust. We were never offered anything called the trust, and of course he said they might be able to correct the problem. Then we met with Norbert Landin. The whole time we were led to believe we were doing an even trade for only a $64.70 fee... until we received a bill for over $9,000. The 7 days had passed of course but we wrote the cancellation letter anyway stating how we were misled and coerced. We were there for several hours, missed lunch with my sister and got nothing from it but two crappy wine glasses. We don't even drink wine. :annoyed:

If anyone has some help on this I'd appreciate it. Also tell me if I should repost somewhere as I know this is just a best/worst thread.

Sheryl

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From the sounds of it, you have done what you could at this point in time. Wait and see what they say. If they do not respond in a reasonable period of time, follow-up to see what they are doing with the problem. Make sure you get the names of people you talk to. If you subsequently decide to file a BBB Complaint or with Consumer Protection people, they probably would want that information. Unfortunatly, since the seven day period was gone, it appears it is up to Wyndham. It appears your best course of action is to enjoy your Wyndham ownership.

I am not sure which Trust was being referred to. It almost sounds like they are taking the deeded properties back and have put you in a Trust. Your paperwork should show what trust was involved.

rrlongwell said:

From the sounds of it, you have done what you could at this point in time. Wait and see what they Wyndham said. If they do not respond in a reasonable period of time, follow-up to see what they are doing with the problem. Make sure you get the names of people you talk to. If you subsequently decide to file a BBB Complaint or with Consumer Protection people, they probably would want that information. Unfortunatly, since the seven day period was gone, it appears it is upto Wyndham. It appears your best course of action is to enjoy your Wyndham ownership.

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Thanks. We are prepared to escalate even to a lawyer if necessary. I'll keep your suggestions in mind too, probably prior to legal help. They received the letter on June 25 according to our certified mail receipt and customer service said it could take 3 weeks or so.

sds said:

Grand Desert has always been good about making sure we understood everything and accepting no on the occasions we did not buy. The thank you gift has always been worthwhile along with a decent breakfast. We do have two contracts based in Las Vegas. That is we USED to...

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YOU SHOULD NEVER BUY FROM THE DEVELOPER

rrlongwell said:

I am not sure which Trust was being referred to. It almost sounds like they are taking the deeded properties back and have put you in a Trust. Your paperwork should show what trust was involved.

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I think they sold CWA to the above poster - I think that is what they meant when they said "joining the trust"

massvacationer said:

I think they sold CWA to the above poster - I think that is what they meant when they said "joining the trust"

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I would tend to agree, but then this part is there: "until we received a bill for over $9,000", this makes it why I do not know for sure. Normally, a new developer purchase is cash, credit card, or loan at point of sale. They got a bill for $9,000. Hopefully, the poster will come back and clarify.

Rent_Share said:

YOU SHOULD NEVER BUY FROM THE DEVELOPER

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That is a judgment. Yours. It may not apply to others.

chapjim said:

That is a judgment Consensus. Yours. It may not apply to others.

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- Find a post where all but those trying to justify their own mistake(s) don't unilaterally recommend rescinding ANY Developer Purchase


I am of the opinion you shouldn't engage in the game for the trinkets, the model is based on the room being full

Chapjim:
Oh yeah. When for instance?

Rent_Share said:

YOU SHOULD NEVER BUY FROM THE DEVELOPER

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AMEN! Couldn't have said it any better or clearer. 99%+ of the time any developer sale is a bad deal due to the high overhead & other markups. Buy resale.

Rent_Share said:

- Find a post where all but those trying to justify their own mistake(s) don't unilaterally recommend rescinding ANY Developer Purchase


I am of the opinion you shouldn't engage in the game for the trinkets, the model is based on the room being full

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good argument and its always fun to discuss the relative merits of a developer purchase, but for the op that ship has sailed.

I know a guy that made several developer purchases, the last of which was at La Belle Maison... I dont know the details but when pressed (by a lawyer) Wyndham reversed the La Belle Maison transaction and put him back where he was, And they returned over $25000 to him.

So dont give up, I bet you can get your $9000 back

chapjim said:

That is a judgment. Yours. It may not apply to others.

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You could say that when someone tells you not to eat the yellow snow, he is giving you a judgement but his advice should be followed because he knows what he's talking about.

You could buy retail but it's as repulsive as eating that yellow snow.

What is better for Wyndham when it comes to a hard sell or a soft sell?

A hard sell to people who will not buy is their way of saying do not come back.

am1 said:

What is better for Wyndham when it comes to a hard sell or a soft sell?

A hard sell to people who will not buy is their way of saying do not come back.

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From my personal experience and knoweldge, the hard sell is great for short term results but terrable for long term results.

We, or at least I, tend to forget how relatively recently the current Wyndham Vacation Ownership has been in place. As I understand it, Wyndham Vacation Ownership came into its present form around 2006, a few years later, Wyndham was in serious finacial trouble. However, it appears to be doing relatively great now (I do not follow the finacial end so I do not know how much is due to better performance and how much is do to stock repurchases).

I think the re-organization of the various timeshare related activities that involved both RCI and Wyndham Vacation Resorts that were reported in the last few years are benifical to existing owners of timeshares. Only time will tell. I do not know how many sales people Wyndham has now vs. at its high, but my impression is there are significantly less. During the problem times a few years ago, I saw one report attributed to a Senior Wyndham Worldwide Officer that talked of "right sizing" the timeshare business. I hope this is what is being implemented. I think it would be wounderful for existing timeshare owners if Wyndham Vacation Resorts were downsized to just Management Company functions and re-sale services (for Corporate Wyndhams benifit or otherwise).

I know others may not agree, however, being part of the Wyndhamland empire is not necessarily a bad thing. Look on the bright side, you could have owned Enron Stock when it crashed.

You Typed A Mouthful.

timeos2 said:

99%+ of the time any developer sale is a bad deal due to the high overhead & other markups. Buy resale.

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Correct again, sir -- specially in view of the inescapable fact that those "new" timeshare units the timeshare companies are flogging for big bux will have been previously occupied by the time any "new" owner shows up & checks expecting to vacation in that "new" timeshare unit.

It's only pristine & new & never-stayed-in one -- 1 -- time.

Once. That's it.

After that, the timeshare unit is used-used-used, just like any eBay resale timeshare or TUG Bargain Giveaway el freebo timeshare out there, never mind that the timeshare companies still price it like new.

After that 1st couple or family checks into the timeshare unit, it is no longer new any way you shake it. That is why, as a practical matter, there is no such thing as a new timeshare. And that is why it is not only dumb but also insulting to the buyer's intelligence to charge major full-freight money for those non-new timeshares. It's amazing that the timeshare sellers are able to do it with straight faces.

Buy timeshares resale (or get'm el freebo). Save thousands of dollars on exactly the same thing as full freight, or the equivalent, or something even better.

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