Sales Presentation Question

[pricecb1]

We just arrived at Wyndham Smoky Mountains and were told the following trying to lure us into the sales update. The RCI merger is almost complete and by attending the presentation here we would be given an RCI Express account which would put our reservation requests thru RCI first (before RCI members). Also, the Wyndham Rewards card would be upgraded to Gold status with no fees (forever-no fee) and with 10 points per dollar spent.

Has anyone attended to find this information factual. I declined to attend at this point.

Thanks
Cathy

 

[MaryBella7]

I don't know anything about an Express account, but they are probably trying to give you a fairly worthless rci vacation certificate.
I also don't know about the rewards.

I do know this: they lie either outright, by omission or by candy coating a turd.

 

[paxsarah]

We all get Wyndham Rewards gold benefits included with our ownership. Go to Benefits --> Deals and Offers, then all the way at the bottom "Don't Miss Your Golden Opportunity."

 

[ecwinch]

There is no "RCI merger". Wyndham Worldwide has owned RCI for decades.

And there is no RCI Express account that has priority over other reservation requests.

Complete bunk.

 

[Avislo]

If interested, maybe go to the presentation and see what they have to say.

 

[pricecb1]

We all get Wyndham Rewards gold benefits included with our ownership. Go to Benefits --> Deals and Offers, then all the way at the bottom "Don't Miss Your Golden Opportunity."

You are right; I hadn’t read that information close enough. Thanks!

 

[geist1223]

Go to the Presentation. Set a recording device in view on the Table. Turn it on. When they tell you to remove it ask them what do they have to hide.

 

[wjappraise]

If interested, maybe go to the presentation and see what they have to say.

Bad advice Robert. These are trained sales personnel. Able to turn a “see what they have to say” into an all day affair. And one that could cost OP tens of thousands of dollars. Please do not post such poor advice.

 

[Avislo]

Go to the Presentation. Set a recording device in view on the Table. Turn it on. When they tell you to remove it ask them what do they have to hide.

Instead of attempting to tape record the conversation maybe just have your questions written down and take notes. This way would probably cause less problems. If the meeting takes to long just leave.

 

[Jan M.]

There are two types of people when it comes to going to timeshare updates or sales presentations.

1. Those who are okay to go to the updates and sales presentations, give up some of their time to collect the incentives and are well versed in spotting the misrepresentations or outright lies. They are in the minority.

2. The other type, which is the majority, shouldn't go. There are two subsets within this type.
A. The first being those who just end up angry or upset at what they hear or how they are treated. They usually discover that the incentives are simply not worth the elevated blood pressure or migraine that listening to the lies and manipulation gives them.
B. The second are those who should especially never, ever go because they are naive or gullible enough for whatever reason to fall for the you won't be able to use your points for....., what you have is wrong for you so you need to buy this, changes to what you have are coming, or any of the various other lies and misrepresentations we've seen reported here on TUG. These people are exactly what the salespeople are trained to exploit. If you are hearing something that concerns you from a salesperson it is safe to say that 99.9% of the time it is either an outright lie or a misrepresentation.

Learning to use what you own with Wyndham can be a challenge or seem overwhelming to many people at first. The website makes it much, much easier to learn than it was back in the day for those of us who have owned for years. Back in the first few years we owned I learned a lot from going to the sales presentations and updates and from helpful and knowledgeable call center reps. Sadly neither are no longer the learning tools they once were. Some people can pick up the directory and learn most of what they need to know from reading it. For others the directory might as well be written in a foreign language they don't know. Most of us fall somewhere in between. When the website became available being able to see things online for myself was a jump in light years for me in both my learning and confidence.

 

[MaryBella7]

There are two types of people when it comes to going to timeshare updates or sales presentations.

1. Those who are okay to go to the updates and sales presentations, give up some of their time to collect the incentives and are well versed in spotting the misrepresentations or outright lies. They are in the minority.

2. The other type, which is the majority, shouldn't go. There are two subsets within this type.
A. The first being those who just end up angry or upset at what they hear or how they are treated. They usually discover that the incentives are simply not worth the elevated blood pressure or migraine that listening to the lies and manipulation gives them.
B. The second type are those who should especially never, ever go because they are naive or gullible enough for whatever reason to fall for the you won't be able to use your points for....., what you have is wrong for you so you need to buy this, changes to what you have are coming, or any of the various other lies and misrepresentations we've seen reported here on TUG. This type is exactly what the salespeople are trained to exploit. If you are hearing something that concerns you from a salesperson it is safe to say that 99.9% of the time it is either an outright lie or a misrepresentation.

Learning to use what you own with Wyndham can be a challenge or seem overwhelming to many people at first. The website makes it much, much easier to learn than it was back in the day for those of us who have owned for years. Back in the first few years we owned I learned a lot from going to the sales presentations and updates and from helpful and knowledgeable call center reps. Sadly neither are no longer the learning tools they once were. Some people can pick up the directory and learn most of what they need to know from reading it. For others the directory might as well be written in a foreign language they don't know. Most of us fall somewhere in between. When the website became available being able to see things online for myself was a jump in light years for me in both my learning and confidence.

I am definitely a 2a

 

[DeniseM]

You cannot believe a single thing you hear in a timeshare sales presentation - the sales people will say whatever you want to hear, to make the sale. THEY LIE. Simple solution: Don't Go.

 

[wjappraise]

You cannot believe a single thing you hear in a timeshare sales presentation - they sales people will say whatever you want to hear to make the sale. THEY LIE. Simple solution: Don't Go.

Exactly. That’s why it is such bad advice to tell someone to go to a sales presentation to
“Learn” or to have a meeting. It’s not a meeting. It’s a sales presentation.

 

[pricecb1]

Yes to so many of you! I have learned more on this website than I could get from attending numerous meetings in years past. Tug is my go to for correct information. I appreciate everyone for taking time to respond.

 

[Nberrymin]

Worst experiences we have had in sales presentations occurred at Wyndham Smokey Mountains and in Hawaii. We don’t go to sales presentations anymore, period. They don’t ever have anything “new” to update you on that you can’t get the info already on TUG or on their own website! Not worth the giveaways or the hassle. As former First Lady, Nancy Reagan used to say...”Just Say No”! And I might add, Hell No!!!

 

[steve_solo]

I am fortunate to be a type 1 in Jan's grouping. But my wife is a 2b.
So when I think I have time to go because it is off season, rainy, etc, I say that she is at home when I check in. They always invite me anyway, as well as any other kids or friends to the breakfast. So everyone goes to breakfast (including my wife posing as a friend) and then gets up and leaves, except me.
The sales weasels give up on me fairly quickly after I ridicule their math, rewards cards, perks, etc.
They are adept at deciding who is a 1, 2a or 2b.

 

[bestpal38]

Bad advice Robert. These are trained sales personnel. Able to turn a “see what they have to say” into an all day affair. And one that could cost OP tens of thousands of dollars. Please do not post such poor advice.

I go to the presentations all the time. I commit to 45 minutes, and set a timer when I sit down, and when I fulfill my obligation, I politely excuse myself.

 

[ronparise]

I bought 84000 points ($12000) at my first sales presentation. I knew it was a sales presentation. That was the deal. We got a free weekend at Bonnet Creek with a friend, who was a new owner. In exchange we had to attend a sales meeting.

The next day I spent the morning on the balcony overlooking one of the pools, looking through all the paperwork for the rescission clause. We mailed our letter the day we returned home

I liked the product. So I went looking for the secondary market. I found it on eBay and bought 385000 points for a dollar. My wife was not happy at all and told me in no uncertain terms “you better figure out how to rent this s——

I had no idea what I bought or how to use it. What I did know is that I had an unhappy wife. So I figured I had better learn the system and I did.

I joined the old Wyndham owners forum then TUG. I asked questions and did the research to answer the questions posed by others. I made some reservations and rented them. All this before I took my own vacation. By the time I attended my first “owners update” I knew the system better than most of the sales force.

I could tell the experienced salesman form the new guys. The new guys would Insist that I was wrong about whatever we were talking about. The more experienced guys world say pretty quickly “I can see I’m not going to sell you anything today”

And now if you have stayed with me through this rambling post, here the point.

The best defense in a sales meeting is knowledge; you need to know the system better than they do.

VacationHopeful used to say read the directory, read it again, now read it with a highlighter. Then come to tug with your questions, That was good advice then and it’s good advice now

Armed with a good understanding of the system you will be able to spot the salesman’s lies from a mile away. Pick up your gift and enjoy the rest of your vacation

And if that happens too much you will no longer be invited to sales meetings


Enjoy

 

[cbyrne1174]

Rule of thumb: if it isn't in the member directory or your contract, it isn't true.