New DVC General Manager

[Liquidice]

I was speaking more to those putting all the blame for cuts on the "beancounters" and not realizing the general (and sometimes specific) direction comes from above in many cases.

I have also worked in foutune 100 companies and one thing I also noticed is that the quantity and responsiblities of those with VP in thier title varies greatly. One company just had a handful of SVP's and this was a company with 150k employees around the world, while another similar sized company, handed out VP titles like candy. No idea where Disney falls in that range.

I definitely agree with you there, there are companies I've worked with where everyone you talk to is a VP, or a CTO. At first I was impressed to have met the CTO of one company only to find out she was 1 CTO of over 200 in the company. She eventually moved over to our company and her title is a lot less distinguished than CTO.

 

[Liquidice]

As for the IT issues, dealing with something like that right now, hence my procrastination here...

The "I want it fixed now" order came from on high months ago and it's still being worked becuase there are so many varied inputs to the customer facing front page that come from systems and legacy processes around the company. To fix some of them would actually require a rebuild of how departments and business units were orignily set up in the system many years ago. Trying to come up with workarounds for such issues is torture! All this doesn't mean Disney systems don't suck, but I kind of understand why.

Yeah I agree, I wasn't trying to say if a SVP said I want this fixed come back in 1 week for an IT issue it would suddenly be magically fixed. I'm in IT, so I definitely understand the nuances of issues that Disney is facing (although I can't defend how long it takes them to fix the gremlins, they just took a multiple day outage to upgrade the systems and many of the bugs still remain). It might be a different story if you're an e-commerce company and your website is down ... suddenly your primary source of revenue is gone ... the message is probably a lot different there and not just driven by customer complaints

I was more thinking if the SVP got a lot of complaints from customers about lets say the point allocation for the year - they should be empowered to say - figure out how to fix this and come back to me. Which I assume is something that actually occurred with the 2021 point charts and in years prior as well (thank goodness for the smart people who run all of those spreadsheets each year).

 

[justadreamaway77]

Yeah I agree, I wasn't trying to say if a SVP said I want this fixed come back in 1 week for an IT issue it would suddenly be magically fixed. I'm in IT, so I definitely understand the nuances of issues that Disney is facing (although I can't defend how long it takes them to fix the gremlins, they just took a multiple day outage to upgrade the systems and many of the bugs still remain). It might be a different story if you're an e-commerce company and your website is down ... suddenly your primary source of revenue is gone ... the message is probably a lot different there and not just driven by customer complaints

I was more thinking if the SVP got a lot of complaints from customers about lets say the point allocation for the year - they should be empowered to say - figure out how to fix this and come back to me. Which I assume is something that actually occurred with the 2021 point charts and in years prior as well (thank goodness for the smart people who run all of those spreadsheets each year).

Are you sure they upgraded the systems? My husband is in IT and he said they would go down for a few days for physical movement of the servers only. He personally has had to oversee a physical move like this for his company. When they came back online, nothing seemed better to me.

 

[chalee94]

I get this perspective but wouldn’t dvcm have ultimate decision for the resale restrictions? Sure dvd can decide to sell a new resort with those restrictions but wouldn’t dvcm have decision if a resort with resale restrictions can join the same association as existing resorts?

I don't think DVC would have any independent decision making authority in that case, no.

I mainly get upset with dvcm vs dvd because dvcm has fiduciary responsibility to act in owners interest but often appears to act in Disney’s interest. Dvd I do not believe has any commitments to members beyond doing what allows them to sell the most product with customer satisfaction high enough to continue to sell in future.

For me, whoever was responsible for point charts when 2 of last 3 charts had to be rolled back due to questionable practices should not have job in role that is supposed to represent best interest of dvc members.

This is the biggest problem to me. Two sets of "miscalculated" point charts that both happened to be miscalculated in Disney's favor. And Terri was promoted?

What is the incentive for the new numbers guy in charge? 1) Don't screw up the point charts or 2) screw them up in a subtle way so that we can get away with it?

 

[RivShore]

I definitely agree with you there, there are companies I've worked with where everyone you talk to is a VP, or a CTO. At first I was impressed to have met the CTO of one company only to find out she was 1 CTO of over 200 in the company. She eventually moved over to our company and her title is a lot less distinguished than CTO.

Perfect example of what I was referring to, though I hadn't ever seen it with a C title. That's taking it a bit to far!

 

[kes601]

q

Are you sure they upgraded the systems? My husband is in IT and he said they would go down for a few days for physical movement of the servers only. He personally has had to oversee a physical move like this for his company. When they came back online, nothing seemed better to me.

Their email specifically said they were upgrading their systems. Now, this does not mean the website, I'm guessing it was the backend database servers.

 

[RoseGold]

Hey Bill, FIX THE WEBSITE. I don’t want to call someone for an hour because you can’t run a website. If you want to count beans, this works better for everyone.

 

[RoseGold]

You know, they did a survey, and you want more availability for members use only, so they are doing away with free lead guest other than owners, so there is now a charge. Please, I hope not... but everything will be "by member demand".

I did the website survey.

Just fix the website! Everyone would agree it’s a giant waste of everyone’s dues and time.

 

[Micca]

He went to Duke, so he clearly can't be trusted...

I'm sure he'll be implementing the complete Fuqua experience for members

Fuqua School of Business, Duke University

 

[Roughians_satchel]

Are you sure they upgraded the systems? My husband is in IT and he said they would go down for a few days for physical movement of the servers only. He personally has had to oversee a physical move like this for his company. When they came back online, nothing seemed better to me.

THIS right here is a perfect example of Terri's HORRIBLE COMMUNICATION. She never did explain why they were down, what we could expect when they went back up. People are far more understanding if they're given a reason - and don't tell me she didn't know why they were shutting the whole system down for 3 days.

This makes sense about moving servers; and why things are just the same, just as bad as before. Could you have told us that Terri? That you understand the frustration of the website, and this shutdown is a first step in improvements we will be making.

Ugh. Deaf ears.

 

[RoseGold]

This is the biggest problem to me. Two sets of "miscalculated" point charts that both happened to be miscalculated in Disney's favor. And Terri was promoted?

Nobody said she was promoted. I mean, no one was thrown under the bus for that either, as they have yet to admit anything at all…

The charts are high school math, and we are watching you.

 

[AvidDisReader]

Yes, the email specifically states Terri was promoted. I cannot accept mincing duties between DVD and DVC, the bottom line is Terri was responsible for looking after the members best interest. Those 2 horrendous chart manipulations lays at her door - You know the saying the buck stops here. That being said is it a surprise that the ultimate bean counter Bob Chapek would want another bean counter to head this division?

 

[Liquidice]

Are you sure they upgraded the systems? My husband is in IT and he said they would go down for a few days for physical movement of the servers only. He personally has had to oversee a physical move like this for his company. When they came back online, nothing seemed better to me.

I work in IT too, and I actually assume most things like this (I know banks and some more highly sensitive systems still live on-premises) are in the cloud now - so physical moves are mostly a thing of the past.

In any case, yes they stated there was a systems upgrade going on. Normally you probably would try to minimize downtime for changes - but perhaps if they were lets say migrating their database to a completely different platform, it is a more simple transition to quiesce the database and then take a snapshot of it and migrate.

Certainly not the best way to do it in terms of customers, but I've certainly seen it done before - especially since this is not what I'd consider a mission critical system.

I have noticed since the system came back online that I don't need to logoff the website to ensure I can log back on. Previously if I forgot to click logoff, the page would just stop working forever and I'd need to clear my cookies just to get the logon page to pop up. Now if I forget to logoff, it will allow me to log back on. So there were some improvements. The ghost booking is something new too - not an improvement, but a new bug introduced

This is the actual text from the email:
"The team at Disney Vacation Club will be implementing new technology systems which will cause most Member systems (both online and phone) to be unavailable beginning at 10 p.m. EDT on Saturday, July 17, 2021. This transition is expected to be complete on Tuesday, July 20, 2021."

 

[FSUSammy]

I have noticed since the system came back online that I don't need to logoff the website to ensure I can log back on. Previously if I forgot to click logoff, the page would just stop working forever and I'd need to clear my cookies just to get the logon page to pop up. Now if I forget to logoff, it will allow me to log back on. So there were some improvements. The ghost booking is something new too - not an improvement, but a new bug introduced

Interestingly enough I used to have no issues with logging in before their "upgrade" and have all kinds of issues logging in post-"upgrade" including having to clear my cookies lol So I guess while it improved for some folks it got worse for others.

 

[Liquidice]

Interestingly enough I used to have no issues with logging in before their "upgrade" and have all kinds of issues logging in post-"upgrade" including having to clear my cookies lol So I guess while it improved for some folks it got worse for others.

LOL that is funny that it fixed it for me but the exact same problem has been created for you. Not funny for you, but funny the way things work sometimes.

But it does indicate some kind of change - even though it isn't a positive one for you.

 

[Marionnette]

Yes, the email specifically states Terri was promoted. I cannot accept mincing duties between DVD and DVC, the bottom line is Terri was responsible for looking after the members best interest. Those 2 horrendous chart manipulations lays at her door - You know the saying the buck stops here. That being said is it a surprise that the ultimate bean counter Bob Chapek would want another bean counter to head this division?

It doesn't specifically call it a promotion. Notably, the email mentions that Bill was "promoted" into his new position. Terri "is moving to another important role". To me, that reads "lateral move".

 

[AvidDisReader]

It doesn't specifically call it a promotion. Notably, the email mentions that Bill was "promoted" into his new position. Terri "is moving to another important role". To me, that reads "lateral move".

But she is the superior to the new guy as he answers to her, yes it is a promotion

 

[DonMacGregor]

But she is the superior to the new guy as he answers to her, yes it is a promotion

Terri, I’m pleased to say, is moving into another very important role within our organization, serving as senior vice president of Commercial Strategy for all of our Disney Signature Experiences businesses, including DVC.

Sure sounds like a bump-up to me.

 

[ABE4DISNEY]

After 10+ years of ownership, my favorite GM was Claire ( I can't remember her last name) who was promoted to Paris Disney. Her letters were so warm, she communicated often, she offered some of the very best annual pass discounts, plus many fun promotions. She made it feel like a special club and I loved that I had invested in it. I know that I am only entitled to discounted rooms, but there seemed to be more extras at that time for being in DVC.

I also have a few GM's that I have no memories of...just empty suits to me. Ms. Schultz had that vibe to me as well and then the wheels fell off. Even if you take the pandemic out of it, there were the point chart issues, the MS phone issues, the website issues.... I just feel relieved to say goodbye. I wish her well in her new position and hope for more from the new GM. Just my 2 cents.

 

[bakerworld]

We went to two shareholder meetings where Terri presented information obviously compiled by her 'underlings'. She was unimpressive at the meetings and unimpressive as the DVC Manager. All most makes me think DVC Management is just a title and not a producing position.