Disney Vacation Club Member Services has add a number of prompts to its telephone system, allowing members to identify themselves before being connected to a live representative.
Owners calling Member Services are accustomed to having to confirm their identity before completing any point management tasks with a DVC rep. Members were typically asked to provide their unique 12-digit ID number and the last four digits of their Social Security Number in order to confirm their identity. After accessing the owner's account, the Member Services representative would then proceed to confirm additional details including the member's current mailing address, phone number and email address.
Now DVC has taken steps to gather the identifying data electronically.
When calling Member Services, owners will be given the option of entering their 12-digit Disney Vacation Club member ID using the telephone keypad. Upon acceptance of the Member ID, a 10-digit telelphone number is requested along with the last four digits of the Social Security Number. Correct entry of these values allows the member's account to be retrieved while the call is being transferred to a representative.
At any time during the process, the caller may bypass the prompts by pressing the pound (#) key.
The main beneficiary of this automation appears to be the Member Services representatives who will theoretically spend less time gathering information from each caller. Owners who opt to follow the prompts will find an even longer wait before speaking to a live agent. The new prompts extend further the already lengthy Member Services voicemail greeting. Before entering any personal information, callers are asked to select their native language and given at least two prompts to help identify the nature of the call. Additional pre-recorded greetings remind members that they can make reservations online, reveal that cabins are still available on the next chartered member cruise, and request that callers complete a satisfaction survey after speaking to a representative.
Listening to the greetings, following the prompts and entering personal data will take the average caller nearly 3 minutes to complete before being transferred to a live agent.
