Gatlinburg, Tennessee – trip report part 9 – Diamond Resorts Sales Pitch

On Sunday morning we started the day very early.  After waking up at sunrise, showering and dressing, we had one final breakfast at our hotel.  Then we quickly loaded the car and checked out.  It was time to head home, but first we had to make a mandatory stop for our timeshare sales pitch with Diamond Resorts.

As it was explained earlier, the sales pitch was the entire reason for our almost spontaneous trip to eastern Tennessee and the Great Smoky Mountains.  Without it we would not have gone at that point in time.  But Diamond’s “free” trip offer was interesting, so we gave it a fair shot.

Traffic was extremely light and the sun was still rising as we easily drove south through Pigeon Forge and quickly made our way into Gatlinburg.  Although our timeshare sales pitch meeting place was classified as being in Gatlinburg, the actual location was over ten miles away from the heart of the town.  It was a bit of a drive getting there, but we made it just before our scheduled appointment.

A strange part was that when we made our appointment for this trip, we chose the Pigeon Forge vacation option.  Our hotel was in Pigeon Forge, and that part was great.  No problems there.  But our sales pitch was not only in Gatlinburg, but it was at a place way outside of town.  Later during the meeting, the salesman did mention that Diamond did have a newer location in Pigeon Forge.  Why we weren’t scheduled to meet there, we’ll never know.

THE SALES PITCH

Anyway, we arrived at the Bent Creek Golf Village and checked in for our sales presentation.  A few minutes later we were greeted by our designated salesman.  I don’t recall his name, but he was an older gentleman, perhaps in his mid to late 60s.  We did the usual “getting to know you” chit chat, and he told us about how he and his wife had basically adopted their grandson and were now raising him, so that’s why he’s working instead of sitting back and enjoying retirement, or something of that nature.  The salesman even went as far as showing us a picture of a young boy that he claimed was his grandson.

A) We have no idea if that’s really his grandson or not.  You can fake anything these days.

B) We do not care.

It’s just like the panhandlers on the side of the road.  Yes, some of them are legitimately in need of help.  But many others are not.  It’s just an easy way for them to make a few bucks.  Since there is simply so much dishonesty out there when it comes to others preying on human emotions, you have to separate yourself from your emotions unless it’s proven otherwise.

On a side note, unless you’re a pro and can easily close deals, do NOT work in sales if you really need the money.  When you work off commissions, those paychecks can be very few and far apart, especially in a business with about a 20% success rate.  That’s stressful enough without worrying about making enough money to help care for a young child.  There’s a good reason why sales workers have such a high turnover ratio.

The moment a salesman tries to pull the emotional card is when you need to take a step back and be cautious about everything.  We all have our problems in life.  If you think that I’m more likely to bond with you and make a major purchase, partially based on your sad life story, then you’re going to be disappointed.  If you badly need the money, then get out of sales.  Go find another job with steady income, even if it’s not as glamorous as the potential earnings when working in sales.

After talking about kids and society and things of that nature, the salesman switched gears and began talking about Diamond Resorts.  He made sure to mention that purchasing a timeshare isn’t for everybody.  He also pointed out that only about 20% of the people go through and purchase a Diamond Resorts timeshare.  After all, they are rather expensive.

Take note that this salesman did NOT ask us if we owned a timeshare.  He just went with the assumption that we did not.  Since he didn’t bother to ask, we did not volunteer that we already owned a timeshare (through a different company), and we know how the system generally works.  In all honesty though, we were curious to learn about Diamond and see if we wanted to switch and join with them.

The salesman continued talking about the high standards of Diamond as well as the joys of owning a timeshare, and all that stuff.  If you’ve ever been to a timeshare sales pitch, then it’s nothing new.  It seems like most timeshare companies use a similar sales pitch when it comes to promoting the product as well as educating the customers.

That’s also when the salesman said something really upsetting.  He basically said that if you’re not a timeshare owner, then all of your vacations are a “100% loss.”  He was saying that you’ve gained absolutely nothing by vacationing and NOT “owning” your accommodations.  WHAT.  THE.  F*CK?!?

This touched a nerve with both my wife and I.  We’ve very good at researching hotels and finding great deals.  We’re also very smart at travelling in general and save tons of money while also maximizing our trips and getting the most out of them.  It’s actually quite easy to do so these days based on numerous online ticket and travel deals, and a little flexibility with your vacationing.

I’m sure he was sticking with his script, but the salesman’s comment was extremely insulting.  He was basically calling us idiots since we didn’t own a very expensive timeshare with Diamond Resorts.  Oh, well excuse me.

Next it was time to start talking some numbers.

The salesman wanted us to tell him roughly how much money we spent each year for our vacations.  If you’ve never experienced this before, there’s a trick to it.  When you calculate your vacation spending, only factor in your hotel.  Do not add in meals, attraction tickets, or anything else.  The salesman is going to take whatever number you give him, multiply it by 20, and then almost double that to give an adjusted number for “inflation” for all of those years.  It’s all designed to make you think that you’re spending a mega ton of money over the twenty years, and how it’ll be cheaper in the long run to instead just own a timeshare, even if it’s one of the simpler packages.  Some sales reps will go even further and multiply your costs by 30 or even 40 (it’s all based on how many more years you think you’ll keep vacationing).  The longer you’ll be vacationing, then the easier it’ll be for the sales reps to push the timeshare angle.

Do not fall for the trap.  Just think about the hotel costs and nothing else.  After all, that’s all that the salesman was promoting during his spiel.  At no point did he ever mention using your Diamond points to go for things like airfare, rental cars, meals or admission tickets.  Can Diamond do that?  I have no idea.  Our salesman didn’t tell us anything about that.  He was solely focused on the hotels and resorts, and not using points for anything else.  Contrary to that, the Wyndham salesman made sure to educate us on the ways of using points to cover all sorts of extras in addition to the hotel or resort.

But the bottom line is still the same.  Even if you’re able to use extra points for things like airfare and attraction tickets, the primary reason for owning timeshare is to stay in really nice accommodations.  What happens after that depends on whichever company you select and how much extra money you’re willing to spend.  But when it comes to determining vacation costs and comparing it to timeshare ownership, stick with the hotel’s costs and nothing else.  That’ll help keep the comparison closer to even.  When you do look at the total cost of timeshare ownership, do not forget to add in the yearly maintenance fees.

Put everything together, use the same math for both sides, and then see which one is a better deal for your family.  Just make sure to keep it fair and use ALL of the relevant hotel / timeshare expenses.

My wife and I don’t do a whole lot of travelling right now, but we did have a fantastic trip to Washington D.C. this past July.  We found an awesome deal and stayed in a Marriott hotel in northern Virginia.  We told our salesman about that trip and how little we spent.  He was impressed.  When he ran the numbers based on that trip plus a little extra, it was easy to see how our “20 years of vacationing” turned into quite a low number.  Again, we clearly explained to him that not only do we know how to find great travel deals, but it’s quite easy to do so thanks to many resources on the Internet.  He didn’t have anything to say about that.

It was becoming more and more clear that there was too much of a difference in spending in doing our way of vacationing (even though it’s allegedly a “100% loss”) and buying a timeshare through Diamond Resorts.  I’m sure that our salesman knew this as well as his previously upbeat attitude was now sagging and nearly flat.

But we weren’t finished yet!  On to the demo unit!

It was time to stretch our legs and go see one of those fabulous Diamond Resorts condos in person.  Our salesman told us that we were going to visit one of the units right there at the Bent Creek Golf Course.

Okay, no problem.  I assume that we’ll take a golf cart over there, or maybe even walk if it’s not too far, right?

Nope.  We were told that the salesmen couldn’t use golf carts to shuttle potential guests back and forth to the demo unit.  Nor were we walking.  Instead, we were told to get into our car and FOLLOW the salesman as he drove his car to the demo unit.  Um, okay.  I guess.

So how far away was the demo unit from the main building?  About 750 feet.  That’s it.  It was literally less than a two minute drive to the demo unit, and that was with stopping and waiting for passing traffic.  It was hard to contain our laughter for the absurdness of having to take our own vehicle to make an incredibly short drive, all while carefully following the salesman.

The first impression we had was that these buildings on the golf course have been there for a long time.  The architecture and wooden exteriors reminded me of metro Atlanta homes built in the late 1970s and early 1980s.  This place was definitely giving off that old and vintage vibe while we walked up to the ground-floor unit.

The actual condo wasn’t bad.  While it was on the small side, it looked simple and cozy.  There was even a small screen room out back overlooking part of the golf course.  It’s easy to imagine the general peace and quiet of everyday life on a golf course, and being able to spot occasional wildlife wandering around the spacious complex.

Back inside the unit, the salesmen made sure that my wife and I sit down and try out the couch (with pull-out bed).  He was very adamant about it and went on and on telling us about the great quality and how we “didn’t feel the bar” like normal on a pull-out sofa bed.  My wife and I looked at each other and didn’t say a word.  We’ve both experienced several sofa beds dating back to the mid 1980s, and even with our current cheap one at home we’ve never, ever had an uncomfortable experience or felt any “bar” under the cushions.

Whatever.  He was still damn proud about that couch.

The salesman continued talking about the high quality with Diamond Resorts and how even the kitchen appliances were brand new and just plain awesome.  We checked out the kitchen and it wasn’t anything remarkable.  To us, the appliances just seemed average and nothing screaming “high quality” like the salesman was implying.  We happen to do a LOT of cooking and baking at home, so when the salesman was hyping up the appliances, we saw right though his talking.

That was it for the demo unit.  We left the small unit, got back into our car, and made the incredibly short drive back to the main building.  Now it was time for the final sales push.

THE PUSH

It was very obvious that this particular condo in Gatlinburg wasn’t anything special, and we had serious doubts as far as what to expect from Diamond Resorts.  Plus we were still pissed about how the salesman told us that all of our vacations were a “100% loss”.  That insult alone killed the sale.  Everything else we experienced confirmed it.

Back inside the main building, we sat down and the salesman asked us how we felt about Diamond.  I told him the truth.  I told him that, to us, this particular condo at Bent Creek Golf Village was only mediocre.  We were not impressed, especially for the premium cost of owning timeshare with Diamond.  We also told him that when we vacation, we don’t spend anywhere near what it costs just for the annual maintenance fees, let alone the additional cost of paying off the timeshare.

That’s the truth.  Right now, Diamond Resorts is significantly more expensive than what we’re close to annually spending on vacations, not just for lodging, but for fuel, meals, souvenirs, and any other expenses as well.  And why is that?  It’s because my wife and I are great at finding deals, and in the end we’re saving tons of money.  Why basically pay list price for an item when you can use coupons and promo codes to get it much cheaper?  It’s the same concept with finding hotel deals.

The salesman was visibly upset.  He quickly got up and stormed off to his boss, the sales manager.  We knew exactly what he was going to tell the manager.

A few moments later the sales manager (a younger lady with glasses and long brunette hair) quickly walked to our table, sat down, and she was very upset.  She began ranting about how this place (the Bent Creek Golf Village) was basically “a three-star hotel” (those really were her words), and that we “shouldn’t expect a five-star hotel” everywhere we go with Diamond.  She was also very demanding to know EXACTLY how we were able to stay in a Marriott hotel in Washington D.C. for such a low price.  The manager told us that she used to work as a travel agent (or she had an agent as a close friend, I don’t remember exactly), but she presented herself like an expect in the travel field.

But the point was simple.  Very close to but without saying it exactly, the sales manager was blatantly calling us liars.

Fine, bitch.  Want to know exactly how we saved money?  Our hotel was in northern Virginia (the D.C. metro area), and it was very close to a Metro station.  The hotel gave us free rides to and from the station, and from there it was an easy train ride into town to visit the Smithsonian, memorials, and other points of interest.  More importantly, during the week of the Fourth of July, our particular hotel was only charging about a third of what it normally did throughout the summer.  So, yes, we stayed at a Marriott in the D.C. metro area for dirt cheap in early July.  Deal with it.

That was exactly what we told the salesman an hour prior to that when we initially ran the numbers.  Obviously he failed to pass on that critical information to his boss.

She then responded, “Oh, it was outside of D.C.”  Apparently she was assuming that we stayed right in the middle of D.C. where everything costs a fortune.  Nope.  Her assumption was wrong.

The manager then shifted and began talking about the numbers and doing the usual double and triple talk about how Diamond Resorts is still really affordable even when you draw diagrams and look at the paper sideways.  She tried smiling and laughing while explaining everything, but everything about her was phony and extremely pushy.  We wanted nothing to do with her.

We were finished with these people.  No deal.  Not even close to one after dealing with a rather sloppy and insulting presentation, and then being verbally harassed by the manager of all people.

FINAL THOUGHTS

After finally leaving the sales presentation, my wife and I both looked at each other and asked if that really happened?

Yes, it did.

We were insulted by the salesman (Remember, all of our past vacations have apparently been a “100% loss.”  Absolutely nothing was gained by them.  Nope.  Nothing at all.), we were shown an average condo presented as top-quality for a company that charges a premium price, and we were interrogated and nearly yelled at by a rude and very pushy sales manager.

This is Diamond Resorts for crying out loud.  Impress us with that quality they like to brag about so much.  Don’t use an obviously older complex as a demo unit and then get upset when the prospective buyers call you out on it.  Show us what you can do, dammit!

That’s clearly not the case for the timeshare demo unit outside of Gatlinburg, Tennessee.

One of the biggest points of owning timeshare is so that “average people” can get a small taste of luxury for a week or two each year.  We pay a premium and then some when you factor in those annual maintenance fees.  As a result, we also expect something well above a mediocre “three-star resort.”  After all, the salesman clearly told us that only about 20% of the prospective buyers commit to Diamond.  More importantly, that means that 80% of them do not purchase Diamond for one reason or another.

You can’t get mad about those 80% who do not buy when they have a poor experience like we did in Gatlinburg.

While the timeshare presentation from Wyndham was amusing because the salesman acted like a classic sleazy salesman, the presentation from Diamond was insulting and rude.

Our exhausting experience with Diamond was finished and it was time to hit the road.  To add insult to injury, it was nearing the middle of the day and Gatlinburg had gridlock traffic.  It took us an extra thirty minutes before we finally left Gatlinburg and headed south for the drive back home.

Will we give Diamond Resorts another chance in the near future?

I honestly don’t know.  We went there willing to learn about the company and to give it an honest comparison to what we already own, but the experience was horrible.  From the insulting and over-hyped sales presentation (complete with the absurdness of requiring us to drive ourselves around the complex), to the rude, cold, and bitchy sales manager, that was a terrible experience.  One can only wonder if Diamond Resorts ever tours its sales offices to see how they’re operated.