Member Experience Specialist Team pilot program

[Darstarr]

My family will be vacationing with two other families in July, 13 people total. One of the other families used their points to get the booking window so the following emails were sent to her.
This one arrived a couple weeks ago:

We are not planning a lot of ADR’s and we had already purchased tickets and linked everyone through MDE but we wanted to make sure our two rooms were close together. We also requested two hard to get ADR’s (Space 220 and Roundup Rodeo).

I will let you all know if it works out. I wish I had known sooner as getting all 13 of us linked was a challenge and required a few calls to MS.

 

[CastAStone]

Please do let us know! I saw some people getting these on other sites but they never followed up as much as you are

 

[Doberge]

Yes, I'm also curious about this. We have a trip coming up the first week of July so it doesn't look like we've been selected.

How new or seasoned is the booking member. I'm curious if they're newer as many of the services the team can assist seem geared to newer guests, stuff like setting up the app, etc.

I'm also curious if the booking member has already done check-in steps through the app, like maybe doing that makes more likely to be selected (I've not yet done it).

I'm tempted to call the number. We're celebrating two kid birthdays so we have different things we want to do.

 

[nickys]

I have seen maybe 6-10 reports of people getting selected for this, so it doesn’t seem to be a common thing. I think some thought this was tied in with, maybe even fuelled, the rumours about tiered DVC membership, whereby for a fee per year you got concierge level benefits like this.

I’m curious to see if this is expanded at all. But it does raise a question of who is paying for these CMs to provide this service, even as a pilot?

 

[Phonedave]

There is an article on it in the DisneyFiles this month. The one CM they interviewed that is assigned to this had a lot of years with Disney.

They mentioned that one group was going as a celebration of life for a relative who recently died. The CMs arranged for a bottle of that persons favorite champagne to be in each room.

I think they said they had 4 (or was it 10) total CMs assigned to this pilot, so not a lot at this time.

 

[Phonedave]

I have seen maybe 6-10 reports of people getting selected for this, so it doesn’t seem to be a common thing. I think some thought this was tied in with, maybe even fuelled, the rumours about tiered DVC membership, whereby for a fee per year you got concierge level benefits like this.

I’m curious to see if this is expanded at all. But it does raise a question of who is paying for these CMs to provide this service, even as a pilot?

That is a good point, we pay via dues for our DVC CMs (booking CMs not sales CMs). Adding in this service adds in additional cost. If it is a carve out, and is funded by sales of the service, that is one thing. But if it is somehow rolled into dues, then that needs to be looked at.

 

[nickys]

That is a good point, we pay via dues for our DVC CMs (booking CMs not sales CMs). Adding in this service adds in additional cost. If it is a carve out, and is funded by sales of the service, that is one thing. But if it is somehow rolled into dues, then that needs to be looked at.

I have to think it’s coming out of the marketing / sales budget. Like Moonlight Magic etc.

 

[Darstarr]

Yes, I'm also curious about this. We have a trip coming up the first week of July so it doesn't look like we've been selected.

How new or seasoned is the booking member. I'm curious if they're newer as many of the services the team can assist seem geared to newer guests, stuff like setting up the app, etc.

I'm also curious if the booking member has already done check-in steps through the app, like maybe doing that makes more likely to be selected (I've not yet done it).

I'm tempted to call the number. We're celebrating two kid birthdays so we have different things we want to do.

She is a seasoned member and I agree that the services seem kind of “basic”. I thought maybe we got selected because we have two rooms including a GV.

 

[Darstarr]

I’m curious to see if this is expanded at all. But it does raise a question of who is paying for these CMs to provide this service, even as a pilot?

Knee jerk I want to say “we are” but… is that allowed?

 

[Darstarr]

I'm tempted to call the number. We're celebrating two kid birthdays so we have different things we want to do.

You didnt get it from me

 

[CastAStone]

I have to think it’s coming out of the marketing / sales budget. Like Moonlight Magic etc.

I’m sure this is correct. It would make sense as a new blue card benefit. Club 16 1/2 if you will.

 

[Darstarr]

There is an article on it in the DisneyFiles this month. The one CM they interviewed that is assigned to this had a lot of years with Disney.

They mentioned that one group was going as a celebration of life for a relative who recently died. The CMs arranged for a bottle of that persons favorite champagne to be in each room.

I think they said they had 4 (or was it 10) total CMs assigned to this pilot, so not a lot at this time.

This is a graduation trip for my son and his two best friends. I guess we could think of something to ask for. For research purposes of course.

 

[Doberge]

You didnt get it from me

Get what from you?

I think there's some value for the ADRs you mentioned. We'd like to get Roundup and maybe BOG.

I think there's also some value to time saved not jumping through hoops for other reservations. Some ideas we've tossed around include the Behind the Seeds tour, day boat rental, fireworks cruise, a July 4 Poly cabana, and DVC Splittsville package. Not sure we'll do all of that but if be great to give a final list and just have it done.

And if it becomes a paid service in the future? It might be DVC's effective upcharge way into Moonlight Magic. It'd be hard to have a paid service and tell guests they can do everything *but* Moonlight Magic. Let's say it's $100 for length of stay planning. If all a family used the service for was to have Moonlight Magic booked it might become the *only* way to get into MM.

And for now I'm sure this is not being paid for by members directly but must be coming from some fund that has excess to allocate to a pilot project. Marketing is possible. Maybe from management fees.

 

[nickys]

Get what from you?

I think there's some value for the ADRs you mentioned. We'd like to get Roundup and maybe BOG.

I think there's also some value to time saved not jumping through hoops for other reservations. Some ideas we've tossed around include the Behind the Seeds tour, day boat rental, fireworks cruise, a July 4 Poly cabana, and DVC Splittsville package. Not sure we'll do all of that but if be great to give a final list and just have it done.

And if it becomes a paid service in the future? It might be DVC's effective upcharge way into Moonlight Magic. It'd be hard to have a paid service and tell guests they can do everything *but* Moonlight Magic. Let's say it's $100 for length of stay planning. If all a family used the service for was to have Moonlight Magic booked it might become the *only* way to get into MM.

And for now I'm sure this is not being paid for by members directly but must be coming from some fund that has excess to allocate to a pilot project. Marketing is possible. Maybe from management fees.

The wording doesn’t suggest the team have any special access to any ADRs, tours etc. Justbthat they’ll try and book for you. And that means having to give them free rein as to timings etc. I’m sceptical as to how they’ll do when everyone wants Space 220 on the second day of a 4 night reservation. I honestly don’t see Disney giving DVC a jump start on reservations.

 

[Sirwalterraleigh]

Hmmm…interesting

 

[Doberge]

The wording doesn’t suggest the team have any special access to any ADRs, tours etc. Justbthat they’ll try and book for you. And that means having to give them free rein as to timings etc. I’m sceptical as to how they’ll do when everyone wants Space 220 on the second day of a 4 night reservation. I honestly don’t see Disney giving DVC a jump start

I don't see Disney guaranteeing anything other than the bare minimum, and then everything on top is just "magic."

There's also absolutely the ability to monetize reservations for everyone, DVC and non DVC. In a world with Genie+ and LL at this point I kinda expect paid reservation access. If told a family can pay $99 to begin booking reservatioms at 64 days, ahead of other guests at 60 days, I think enough people would pay. Disney would just the us the same spiel about giving guests "options." No guarantees, just like G+ has no guarantees.

And if DVC comes along and says "hey, blue card holders, for the same $99 our dedicated team will begin searching your requested reservations for you at 65 days, one day sooner, *and* we'll book them for you" then Disney magically creates a blue card benefit on top of an upcharge.

 

[Darstarr]

I am wondering if we still try for the ADR’s or see how good our Member Experience Specialist is. I think we still try.

Also, after reading the article in Disneyfiles (thanks @Phonedave ) my friend and I spoke about this pilot program and we decided to give our Specialist some work. (Again, for research only, we are NOT high maintenance).

I will let you know how it goes.

 

[Phonedave]

The wording doesn’t suggest the team have any special access to any ADRs, tours etc. Justbthat they’ll try and book for you. And that means having to give them free rein as to timings etc. I’m sceptical as to how they’ll do when everyone wants Space 220 on the second day of a 4 night reservation. I honestly don’t see Disney giving DVC a jump start on reservations.

As I mentioned, the one thing in the Disney Files article said that the CM found out that the trip was a remembrance trip for a deceased family member, so they arrange to have the deceased's favorite champagne in each room.

That is something that they can handle. Ordering cakes, having a gift basket, a call from Mickey, maybe even something like a room preference. Little out of the ordinary things to make a trip more special or memorable. Not things like booking primo dining reservations, or getting you first in line to something.

Now if you said something like this is likely going to be somebody's last trip, and their favorite place to eat is *wherever* they might make an effort to set something up - maybe dinner with a kitchen tour or a meet the chef type thing. But I don't think "my son's favorite thing is to eat at 5:30 PM at the most popular restaurants" is going to fly.

 

[correcaminos]

Interesting! I haven't read my Disney Files magazine. I could have used help for this trip - I travel with a family we adore and try to help make amazing.

In fact I gotta try to figure out something for kid and I while others are out fishing LOL. We're 33 days out so they couldn't have helped even if I wanted them to.

But sounds interesting and I'll be curious if this is the whole paid extras they were talking about. For me it all depends on who does what, for what I'd pay. We've done VIP tours, concierge, and other types of special extras so I'd be more likely to use.

 

[nickys]

As I mentioned, the one thing in the Disney Files article said that the CM found out that the trip was a remembrance trip for a deceased family member, so they arrange to have the deceased's favorite champagne in each room.

That is something that they can handle. Ordering cakes, having a gift basket, a call from Mickey, maybe even something like a room preference. Little out of the ordinary things to make a trip more special or memorable. Not things like booking primo dining reservations, or getting you first in line to something.

Now if you said something like this is likely going to be somebody's last trip, and their favorite place to eat is *wherever* they might make an effort to set something up - maybe dinner with a kitchen tour or a meet the chef type thing. But I don't think "my son's favorite thing is to eat at 5:30 PM at the most popular restaurants" is going to fly.

Ours hasn’t arrived yet, usually takes a week or so.

I do wonder how they select people for the pilot.