posted 01-14-2003 07:43            

quote:

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Originally posted by David Roe:
No.

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Bruce F. & Judy Czajkowski, Kansasville Wi. Judy is a teacher and Bruce is retired (and off his much needed medication)and thinks(?) that you are never to old to have a happy childhood.

posted 01-14-2003 08:55            

quote:

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Originally posted by David Roe:
...we go to elaborate lengths to make sure we’re doing everything we can to ensure that we’re giving our Members the best possible opportunity to get the exchange they want.

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David, with all due respect, this is a very subjective statement. I quantify "best possible opportunity" by reviewing where I am today versus several years ago. I can say without equivocation that the system is not continuing to provide the "best possible opportunity". Bonus weeks have diminshed through these additional venues you have put in place in order to capture more business. These are from my own observations.

quote:

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Originally posted by David Roe:
“marketable inventory” category (at which point they are still available for exchange), which refers to weeks that members historically simply do not want or use.

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Please explain this concept more clearly. What is the timeframe for a week to be eligible for "marketable inventory"?

quote:

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And, all of the weeks in RCI’s rental inventory are offered to members at a significant discount off the price charged to the general public.

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There have been many threads on this BBS about the outrageous prices of rentals in RCI. Some upwards of $3000. I would not call that a significant discount. What is the discount percentage for the RCI member who pays the annual RCI membership fee as well?

quote:

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edited post to include some examples of pricing

Resort Name: Clowance Estate and Country Club
Resort ID: 2828
Location: Cornwall, ENGLAND
Max Occ/Privacy: 6/4
Check-in Date: 09/06/2003 - 09/06/2003
Priced From: $5,000.00

Resort Name: Passage House Club Hotel
Resort ID: 2718
Location: Devon, ENGLAND
Max Occ/Privacy: 4/4
Check-in Date: 09/13/2003 - 09/13/2003
Priced From: $5,000.00

Resort Name: Walton Hall
Resort ID: 1065
Location: Warwickshire, ENGLAND
Max Occ/Privacy: 6/2
Check-in Date: 09/06/2003 - 09/20/2003
Priced From: $5,000.00

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TIA.

Rita

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Carpe Diem!

posted 01-14-2003 09:40            

quote:

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Originally posted by David Roe:
Not True.

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David, it's very difficult to know what you're responding to in this case. It would help if, instead of clicking the Reply button, you clicked the Quote button. That would insert the original post, in bold, as I've done here. You can then go to the bottom of the post and insert your answer. If it's a short one like "No" or "Not true," then we know exactly who and what you're responding to. With both of today's responses, we have no idea who you are responding to.

posted 01-14-2003 10:06            

In the spirit of of your statement above, I hope you will elaborate on your "No" and "Not True."

Jim

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Our Family Webpage

posted 01-14-2003 12:17            

quote:

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1.a RCI has been modifying and tweaking the infrastructure to improve site performance. RCI is continuing to modify the Mainframe in order to bolster site performance.

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Performance is one problem with the website. The main problem is the constant error messages you receive when trying to perform transactions. This cannot all be related to performance. It would seem they would first and foremost fix the errors in the current application.

For example, very rarely do I leave an RCI session without the following error:

quote:

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For internal use only : Exception in toggleWeeksSystem:WeeksAdapter Transaction not found
Due to internal error, the system is unavailable.

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There should be an ongoing list of bugs and bug fixes with associated dates etc...

quote:

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2)David Roe, EVP & General Manager, RCI Membership Business
2.a. David explained the role of the RCI Internet Advisory Board

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What is that role? Ongoing on temporary?

quote:

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2.c David mentioned to the Board that RCI has invested a large amount of time and money into a CRM program to better serve our members.

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What is the CRM program?

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Carpe Diem!

posted 01-14-2003 12:34            

quote:

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Originally posted by Pat_Rita:
What is the CRM program?

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CRM = Customer Relationship Management

This is a software program that allows an organization to keep records of all contacts with its customers, so that it can see a history and use that history to improve service or offer additional, relevant products. With a good CRM program, each time you call in a note is made in your file, along with notes from the person who talked to you. The next time you call in, that history is available so you don't have to repeat yourself or engage in he said/she said discussions.

CRM software does much more than this, of course, but that's it in a nutshell. It should make the job of the telephone rep much easier and ultimately provide better service to the customer.

posted 01-14-2003 13:09            

I am a happy RCI points member in England with the following two aspects of RCI Points letting the system down:

1) The RCI Points statements sent out three or four times a year are absolute rubbish and are very rarely correct. I know a lot of other RCI Points members and this has been confirmed to me a number of times. So much so that i feel very sorry for your staff answerring the telephones as this must be a nightmare.

2) More importantly is the web Site or should I say the LACK OF IT. We were promised not for the first time at the AGM in June 2002 that the RCI Points Web Site would be totally live including being able to make live transactions etc by the end of 2002 at the latest. As at today we cannot do anything on the Web site except for looking at the resorts which is basically useless. Please could you advise me what the position is for this as surely in these days more complicated web sites have been produced and are working with no problems.

As stated above I like the RCI Points system and i think it has a great future but only when the above are sorted.

posted 01-14-2003 14:17            

First of all may I say it is very nice to see that RCI are trying to sort out Members general problems.

I am a very happy Points member with the exception of the non existent web site and the real value of my Pure Points and I would like to ask you to look at the following and explain to me and my fellow European members who are worried about this position:

I have E mailed you re the web site previously.

With regard to Pure points the value of Pure Points in Europe are non economic since the conversion factor of Points Partner transactions and the new 2003 management fees were put in place by RCI Points. To give you a couple of examples please see below:

If a European Member owns 30,000 or 50,000 Pure Points and assuming this member has more than 106,000 Points in total then the costs will be as follows:

30,000 Pure Points: Man fee to RCI Points of £204
50,000 Pure Points: Man fee to RCI Points of £340

In the case of 30,000 Pure Points if you use a points Partner transaction using the 18,800 Points per £100 conversion these would be worth only £160. With 50,000 pure points these would be worth £266.

As you can see the Points Partner transaction values do not even match the fees paid on these and therefore are now basically a waste of ones money. This was not the case previously until the conversion rate changed from I think 15,000 per £100 and the management fees went up.

As a European member cannot join RCI Points without purchasing some pure points surely RCI can see that this will put off future members from joining. Also the current members will eventually be forced to give up the Pure Points that their own if this situation continues.

I do know that this matter is worrying a lot of Eropean members as I am a member of MORPS which is a European Website just like TUG and this subject has been disscussed at length by many members.

posted 01-14-2003 14:51            

Let me add my voice in welcoming you here.

Can you tell me when the "View Your Travel Plans" section will be working again? I know from TUG that many of us are experiencing the same problem.

I have been unable to view my reservations and my online searches for over two weeks now. This makes it very difficult to know when one of my searches has got a "hit". I may have missed some holds because I didn't go online to confirm them.

I did send an email into RCI a few days ago, but not got even a form letter response yet.

Thanks,

posted 01-14-2003 15:00            

Congrats, Dori. Looking forward to seeing you and Mike.

posted 01-14-2003 15:10            

There really are gremlins out there!!!

Just immediately after I posted the previous message, I tried one more time, and for the first time this year was able to view my travel plans, including the important point that I have a unit on hold! So either there are gremlins at work, or you fixed it for me instantaneously. (The problem is I believe neither hypothesis.)

I just rang RCI though because there is no notification regarding for how long the unit will be held for, before being released. The old web site used to tell us. A quick word with your web programmers should fix that.

I have noticed generally that I am more successful on your new web site with Explorer than with Netscape, and am more successful at work (T3 line) than at home (DSL). Perhaps more grist for the mill.

Thanks again,

posted 01-14-2003 15:10            

Is that true? If that is the case, how can you tell us you intend to be open and communicate with all of the RCI members on this bulletin board?

posted 01-14-2003 16:18         

I spoke with Madge & she will be answering the questions posted in detail.

posted 01-14-2003 19:03            

quote:

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Originally posted by David Roe:
quick point however - our "stated policies" are contained in our Terms & Conditions which is given to new members when they buy their interval/Points at point of sale.
It is also published to read on RCI.com under the About Us tab.

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According to those policies, David, RCI can do anything it wants with any deposited week. Is that the answer you intended to give? "We can do whatever we want"?

posted 01-14-2003 21:32            

com.rci.exception.RCIBaseException: Error Posting Fee Exception in postFee:WeeksAdapter WeeksAdapternull

posted 01-15-2003 08:07            

However, I can be very clear about the fact that RCI has no plans to eliminate the Weeks program. We know that many Members prefer RCI Weeks, and so not only do we do not plan to remove the Weeks option for resorts or members, we continue to enhance our traditional exchange program, with new resorts, new exchange features, and improved service. RCI's foundation was built on the one-for-one exchange -- we will continue to stand proudly on it.

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Welcome to TUG. While the above quote may be true,WHY when I went to a presentation for converting to Points did the resort salesman (He told me that he was trained by RCI) state to me that within the next 5 years most owners will convert to Points and there will no longer be any weeks available for Weeks owner to trade into?

posted 01-15-2003 08:27            

quote:

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Originally posted by Walt:
Welcome to TUG. While the above quote may be true,WHY when I went to a presentation for converting to Points did the resort salesman (He told me that he was trained by RCI) state to me that within the next 5 years most owners will convert to Points and there will no longer be any weeks available for Weeks owner to trade into?

Walt

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Hi Madge,

We here at Shawnee were under the impression that these meetings were not necessarily sanctioned by RCI. Many of our owenrs have been contacted about attending under the 'pretense' that they were updating RCI members on changes to RCI, and one of your reps. told our Resident Services office that RCI will always notify it's members in writing of any policy changes - leading us to believe that these meetings were being held independent of RCI's knowledge or authorization. Can you clarify that for the benefit of any RCI member who may be contacted to attend these meetings?

posted 01-15-2003 08:55            

How are two people going to address so many issues? I applaud your courage. I have only respect for you, first for trying to understand and then explain years of very complex financial arrangements.

My suggestion to other Tuggers would be to offer their knowledgable input and feedback as how the system worked for them. It is from these actual experiences that we can all benefit.

The bigger questions of corporate policy when it comes to how certain decisions are made in regard to broader issues such as the weeks offerred on a Bonus or Rental basis, involve so many factors it seems impossible to take a position as to whether the program is right or wrong.

I think we all want RCI to remain in business so let's respect they need to see a profit in most of their decisions.

David and Marge, I think your responses have been well thought out and very effectively written. Thanks for taking on such a huge task, especially with the website still being perfected.
Can I add the Interval International website had problems as well. Maybe, we could offer our input from our experiences with the II website.

Constructive input and feedback from the customer base is always valued. Let's try to focus on how we can help Dave and Marge rather than vice versa.

John