Journey
San Francisco,#2UPDATE EX-employee responds
Thu, October 15, 2009
I worked for Shell Vacations at the Donatello Hotel in San Francisco very briefly several years ago, and I can verify that what you are claiming is basically company policy.
Shell Vacations does not want to deal with young women, they do not want to deal with a bunch of little kids, they do not want to deal with an unmarried woman in the kind of relationship that your inthey would think it unstable or something.
I was hired to sell those awful vacation ownership units to married couples, which of course excludes gay couples (numerous in San Francisco), single people, basically any person not in a church sanctified union regardless of how much money they have. Needless to say I quit.
Still, the guy you talked to should have been able to disqualify you for whatever reason without offending you. Probably an idiot.
Jolson
Redding,#3Consumer Comment
Wed, May 06, 2009
First, I'm very sorry to hear about your situation. I have been with Shell since before I was married. They've been incredible to work with. It has definitely been worth our investment. It is a value time-share from my perspective, you have some nice properties and it is definitely an upgrade from your traditional hotel, but the quality is just a notch above a good hotel. A "resort" is typically a bit of a stretch. But back to your experience with the sales team.... First, it sounds like half of the problem was the confusion caused because "Joe" signed you up, which he probably shouldn't have. Had you signed up, you could have said "Mark" the guy at the concierge table said I could bring my kids. Which could have saved yourself from an awkward situation. Second, the guy at concierge was possibly wrong, depending on how old your kids are. As I recall they don't want you to bring kids under a certain age to the presentations. At some sales office they have facilities to watch you kids, but not at most locations. Third, it sounds like the sales guy you spoke to was either new, ignorant or just plain bad. I have gone into these presentations and simply say, "I'm here for the free gift, I'm not buying today". About half the time they totally respect it, other times they still try to "work the numbers". But in all cases, it's been handled professionally. They always are told to have their manager sit down, regardless if your buying or not. It's the same that you see at most car sales lots. It sounds like the biggest problem with the second person was due to the confusion over "Joe". But the fraud they are trying to protect against, would be for both of you to attempt to go to a presentation separately and receive two gifts. Unfortunately at least half of the problem relates to your specific family dynamic and how you kind of slipped through the cracks of understanding. If "Joe" had no place in the decision process, what place did he have in signing you up for it. Could they have been more understanding, probably.