Announcements

I found the following post from a user named Sue. 

“We received the infamous call from Sundance Vacations and the telemarketers ARE very polite but they start out with a brazen lie by saying they’re not trying to “sell” anything.They’re trying to “sell” a vacation membership. You’re NOT obligated to buy but they ARE trying to “sell” something.

When a company lies from the get go that’s a Red flag. Sundance Vacations is spending money on telemarketing salaries and other marketing costs but they’re not trying to “sell” anything? C’mon, get real!

Sundance Vacations is in the business of selling vacations, why don’t they just be honest about it? What are they trying to hide?” Unfortunately she is unhappy with us because she feels we misled her.  I have already offered our apologies for the misunderstanding.  But we really need some additional customer feedback on this issue. Our telemarketers tell potential customers that we’d like them to, “attend a brief introduction to our services” and that “there is no obligation to purchase anything”. 

 Do most customers understand that they are indeed attending a sales presentation?  I think so. 

But what do you think?  Do we need to be more in your face, “this is a sales presentation” in order to achieve total transparency.  Why don’t we just use the term, “sales presentation”….Umm, because “attending a sales presentation” sounds about as much fun as getting a root canal.  “A brief introduction” is a much better choice of words and our introduction is upbeat, fun and informative;  not at all like a root canal.   Is presenting an idea in the brightest most positive way good advertising or intentionally misleading? 

 Does the fact that there is no obligation to purchase anything properly indicate that there is something to purchase?

 Is a professionally packaged message bad?  We want to hear from you.

Tis’ the season for vacations, and most people are taking advantage. Sundance Vacations employees know the importance of vacations; after all we are working for a vacation company. We also work very hard to make vacations more affordable and memorable to numerous families across the nation.

This year, a popular spot for vacationing is the Jersey Shore. The main attraction you ask? Most people would say, the boardwalk. In South Jersey alone, three resort towns have them, Atlantic City, Ocean City, and the Wildwoods. The Wildwoods, which consists of Wildwood, North Wildwood, and Wildwood Crest, hold a plethora of activities. The towns are widely known to have some of the finest beaches in New Jersey. At the shore, you will find boardwalk standbys in multiple amounts. From t-shirt shops and jewelry stores, to arcade casinos the shore provides it all. In addition to the boardwalk and beaches, Wildwood also offers amusement and water parks to entertain the family. Pizza, hoagies, ice cream, fudge, soft pretzels, and the ever so famous saltwater taffy dominate the boardwalk menu. Just the thought makes your mouth salivate.

Sundance Vacations occupies 22 vacation properties for your convenience at the Jersey Shore. Some include: Surrey Beach House (Voted “Best Shore Motel” by Philadelphia Daily News), Wildwood By the Sea, and Mali Kai to just name a few. As the archway in North Wildwood boasts, the shore is home to “the happiest people in the world.”

Hopefully you’ll get a chance to vacation this summer, and if you do remember the Jersey Shore is waiting for your visit.

Have you visited the Jersey Shore? What was your favorite spot? What is your most memorable vacation?

I’ve just returned from my family’s annual vacation. This year we visited Ocean Village in West MD. Our unit was a beautiful three bedroom, 3 bath, two story, very clean and in a very peaceful and serene location. I was able to jog every morning around the resort without the fear of being mugged; this was a pleasant experience since I live in the hood. My five children, husband and I had a wonderful time. We all played tennis, poorly, but we played nonetheless. There was also a gym, an indoor and outdoor pool, a Jacuzzi and a basketball court.

We visited the beautiful MD beaches as well as Rehoboth beach and their boardwalks. We ate at the ever-popular Green Turtle, which was absolutely delicious whether your going for a light seafood fare or your heavy-duty sliders, I know because being the parent of five; it is my God given right to try everything they order. We also ate at Salvatore’s Italian restaurant that made all of their meals fresh and I mean from pasta to bread and pizza dough!! It was very good and we were told by our waitress that we were the happiest family she ever had the pleasure of waiting on…of course we were, we were on our Sundance Vacations vacation, together!! We ate at several other restaurants but these two were our favorites this year.

My four daughters were in heaven because they go to shop till’ my husband and I dropped at all of the outlets!! "But Mom, look how much money we saved you!!" How can you argue that?

As we packed to go back home, six sad faces were asking me, "can we take one more vacation this summer and if not, where are we going next year?" The six sad faces included my husbands, as usual! I can’t blame them I feel the same way!!

It’s a tough job to try out these resorts so we can better assist our clients, but someone’s gotta’ do it!!

Seriously, thank you Sundance Vacations for the opportunity and thank you TAN and Lani for the joy and ease in booking these vacations!!

-Judy Romanelli (Customer Service Manager for Sundance Vacations)

Sundance Vacations has a new home. The company will move their corporate headquarters on June 13^th. The new corporate address is 264 Highland Park Boulevard, Wilkes-Barre, Pa 18702. The new office is actually a hop, skip and a jump away from the previous Sundance Vacations office. All phone numbers will remain the same, so don’t worry there isn’t any extra work for you. Just make sure you take notice to the new address. Sundance Vacations is proud to be moving into a bigger building. The company is growing rapidly, hiring more and more employees each day, so as you can imagine we needed more space. The new office is 47,000 sq. ft and Sundance Vacations will occupy about 17,000 sq. ft. The company plans to lease out the other remaining space. Sundance Vacations founders, John and Tina Dowd are sad to leave Kidder St, but happy that they are finally going to settle into an office that provides more room for growth and expansion if needed.

What will you miss about the old Sundance Vacations office? Do you have any memories you would like to share?

Sundance Vacations employee Abby Wheeler just returned from a trip to Panama City Beach, Florida. If you’re looking for a great time Panama City Beach, FL is the place to go. I enjoyed my first vacation of the year there and had an unbelievable time. The nights were an experience of their own. My friends and I enjoyed the Shaggy Marlin on our Saturday night where we rocked out to a band from Atlanta, Ga and danced to an amazing DJ. Also, for all you non-smokers the majority of the bars in Panama City Beach are non-smoking including the Shaggy Marlin.

We enjoyed the authentic Mexican restaurant for Cinco de Mayo where we enjoyed top shelf margaritas, quesadillas, nachos, and salsa. Panama City Beach is also a spot for Spring Breakers and bikers. I was amazed by the "Thunder Beach" rally while there I saw hundreds of bikers lining the main road. I missed out on the Spring Break festivities, but I heard it was one crazy time. MTV is also known for hosting one of their Spring Break spots in Panama City Beach, so you know its a good time! But, If you’re looking for the kind of action I would recommend not planning your vacation during the months of April or May.

The beach was beautiful. (White sand, teal-green water) what more could you ask for? The peaceful, calm water was a relaxing experience especially after our crazy night at the Shaggy Marlin. The atmosphere coupled with the people in Panama City Beach was yet another unexpected experience.

Everyone was laid back and friendly. I enjoyed conversation with people from London, Boston, and Atlanta. I enjoyed myself so much I’m planning to go back this summer. So if you’re looking for a relaxing, yet eventful time, Panama City Beach, FL is the place to go!

Abby Wheeler-Harrisburg, Pa-Sales Office

The word scam is tossed around a lot.  What is a scam?  According to dictionary.com- scam means a fraudulent scheme to make a quick profit.

I think the phrase intentional should be part of the definition.

We recently visited Universal Studios Islands of Adventure.  The popular Orlando theme park offers an upgraded ticket for avoiding long lines, Express Pass Plus. In addition to their admission, thrill seekers spend up to $45.99 to have the Express Pass Plus option added to their admission.

We found the wait times to be grossly exaggerated at each attraction.  Could it be that you can’ t sell expensive extras if the wait time is only 5-10 minutes?  That’s where I think the phrase “intentional” is important.  I don’t know if Universal execs are trying to under promise and over deliver or if there is an intentional exaggeration of wait times in order to “make a quick profit” on the Express Pass Plus sale.

Even though the wait was posted as 10 minutes we walked right on the Flying Unicorn.  But the peculiar event that raised my suspicion was that the line was so short we were tempted to ask the attendant if we could stay on and ride again.  We chose to exit and walk around because there were a handful of people(about 10)  waiting to get on.  When we got around to the posted wait time it was being changed to 25 minutes!  We knew it was bogus so we entered the queue and walked back on.  We experienced a similar exaggeration at Spiderman.

In closing, while visiting the Disney theme parks (where they do not charge extra for the Fast Pass option) we found the wait times to be very accurate.  We were asked on two occasions to carry timer cards to the ride attendant so wait times could be measured accurately.

So you decide, intentional scam or inept measurement.  Either way, enjoy your next Sundance Vacations’ trip to the Orlando area.

Brian and Kristine visited our King of Prussia location and became clients of Sundance Vacations on December 12, 2007; they met with Rhonda Fisher.  During their meeting, Rhonda was informed that Brian was with Cambell’s soup USA. Rhonda told them about the charity endeavors of our company and they thought it was great that we stay so involved in helping the community. A few days later, Brian and Kristine returned with their family and 5 cases of soup in tow! They asked that the soup be taken by our folks to the St John’s hospice in Philadelphia. We would like to thank Brian and Kristine again for their generosity and kindness. It is people like them who make coming to work such a positive experience.                                                                                                                                          

What volunteer or charity work have you been involved in? Do you have any ideas or suggestions for charities that you think Sundance should participate in?

The employees and management of Sundance Vacations extend a big congratulations to John Stewart of Randolph Township, New Jersey. His entry was selected as the winner of the Sundance Vacations sweepstakes promotion for 2006.

General Manager for Sundance Vacations, Joe Molitoris, delivered the great news to the winner.  The guidelines of the Sweepstakes allow the winner to choose either a luxury car valued up to $70,000, the Ultimate Sports Giveaway which would include 6 tickets to the sporting event of his choice, private jet transportation, luxury hotel and a VIP party or $50,000 in cash.   Mr. Stewart’s biggest question was how soon could he get his money.

The answer to that question is…really soon.  An official presentation ceremony is planned for February 3^rd.  Mr. Stewart will receive a check for $50,000 during a half time ceremony at Saturday’s Seton Hall basketball game.

The lucky new Jersey resident was randomly selected from among 811,000 national entries.  He registered at the Meadowlands State Fair in July.

The question of the day seems to be, what would you choose if you were given the choices Mr. Stewart was given?  The car? The Sports Giveaway? Or the cold hard cash?

We welcome your thoughts or comments~

Kathy O’Mara, Communications Director                                                                                         komara@vacmail.com