clivem Posted February 5, 2015 Posted February 5, 2015 (edited) Just spoke to two of Discovery's "advisors" at their store in Sea Point. They weren't able to answer any of my Team Vitality questions without phoning for help. Good start. Just shows how clued up Discovery keep their own people.First of all Team Vitality is not up and running as they are experiencing difficulties with "licensing" in the Western Cape - don't know when either.Secondly, their stance now is that you won't get refunded the promised "up to 50%" for any races you have already pre-entered for prior to joining Team Vitality. So don't hold your breath for CT Cycle Tour, CT Cycle Tour MTB or 99niner for those already entered...And their excuse: "Remember, Discovery is bringing out new products all the time. maybe join next year to save!"Clueless bunch of nitwits...Had the same with Cell C and Vitality. Based on my experiences their after sales service was shoddy and they didn't exactly come across as being knowledgeable on the very product they were selling. Had to resort to Hellopeter on more than one occasion to get simple stuff done. Based on form, conventional wisdom says Team Disco will not be without its problems for a long time. Let's all hope they don't become like the govt and loose total accountability. If you are comfortable with this then it's not that bad a deal. Edited February 5, 2015 by clivem
Stretch Posted February 5, 2015 Posted February 5, 2015 Hi , i Am truely astonished at what is going on here.Admittedly I was looking forward to saving too which I am not gonna get and I am not joining the club. But in the end It is a cycling or running club that they started with some benefits, Which we hoped would have been better. The cycle club I belong to is R500 a year. Pretty much on par with Vitality but I do not get a shirt , csa membership and no money back for any events.So Although I will not be able to milk any cow for savings this is not really that bad a deal. Like a few guys said for newbie cyclist that get a nice shirt with the R600 . And a few buck on entries here and there. I must say I do not see the need to carry on like you guys are.yup....23 pages of bitching about something that is a choice..if I had to moan about everything I didnt agree with I would drive myself insane! (ooops i'm doing it now)
Squier Posted February 5, 2015 Posted February 5, 2015 yup....23 pages of bitching about something that is a choice..if I had to moan about everything I didnt agree with I would drive myself insane! (ooops i'm doing it now)Personally I believe this is worth a bitch. This could be a phenomenal benefit for me and something that could enhance Discovery's chances of retaining me as a client significantly. I hope they get it right, as the value I would drive from this would also be significant. To this extent, they need to know they got it wrong. That's the only way they are going to make a better effort going forward. bigjoe and BBN 2
BBN Posted February 5, 2015 Posted February 5, 2015 Personally I believe this is worth a bitch. This could be a phenomenal benefit for me and something that could enhance Discovery's chances of retaining me as a client significantly. I hope they get it right, as the value I would drive from this would also be significant. To this extent, they need to know they got it wrong. That's the only way they are going to make a better effort going forward.Agreed, I don't think it is such a bitch if you have spent R24000+ entering stage races on the understanding you would get R12000 of that back over the year and now you get zip! Vangar 1
Stretch Posted February 5, 2015 Posted February 5, 2015 (edited) Personally I believe this is worth a bitch. This could be a phenomenal benefit for me and something that could enhance Discovery's chances of retaining me as a client significantly. I hope they get it right, as the value I would drive from this would also be significant. To this extent, they need to know they got it wrong. That's the only way they are going to make a better effort going forward. so why not look at from a glass half full point of view...great initiative on their behalf...sure they messed up a bit an oversold to start with but at least they are looking at offering a solution that benfits active healthy people....ironing out all the niggles and problems this year and its is something that many people will look at next year. We are so negative in this country that we need to find fault with something that someone is actually trying to do to help us..and instead of focusing on the positives we all mine down to the negatives and pick and pick at them like an old scab Edited February 5, 2015 by Stretch Captain Fastbastard Mayhem 1
BBN Posted February 5, 2015 Posted February 5, 2015 Remember, in all of this, by being healthy and active we are helping them not the other way round!
Squier Posted February 5, 2015 Posted February 5, 2015 so why not look at from a glass half full point of view...great initiative on their behalf...sure they messed up a bit an oversold to start with but at least they are looking at offering a solution that benfits active healthy people....ironing out all the niggles and problems this year and its is something that many people will look at next year. We are so negative in this country that we need to find fault with something that someone is actually trying to do to help us..and instead of focusing on the positives we all mine down to the negatives and pick and pick at them like an old scabI agree that being a positive influence is one of the greatest qualities any person can have. So cudos to you there. However, I'm also a firm believer in giving (and receiving) fair and honest feedback to enhance something that is sub-par. Vangar 1
Stretch Posted February 5, 2015 Posted February 5, 2015 I agree that being a positive influence is one of the greatest qualities any person can have. So cudos to you there. However, I'm also a firm believer in giving (and receiving) fair and honest feedback to enhance something that is sub-par. Me too..however some of the comments i see on the thread are not constructive - statements like "what a Joke" and "typical Marketing bull****" etc...I dont fall prey to marketing and all the jews in Israel would be astounded by my tight purse strings...but I certainly dont feel the need to rant about it...especially if it is something I have no intention on purchasing. And If I have intent then I would most definitely offer constructive suggestions. My point is that I found the tone of the thread extremely negative and non-constructive (with exception of course)
Pure Savage Posted February 5, 2015 Author Posted February 5, 2015 I am sorry. But if discovery goes on and on about their product on Facebook for months about it creating hype and exposure for brand and then in the end do not delivery that is false advertising. They published a list of events and then removed half of them. This thread is here to help people understand what they are signing up for. It has I am sure saved some people from being signed into something they did not want or was lied about the cash back.
RocknRolla Posted February 5, 2015 Posted February 5, 2015 I find the ill tought out, rush to market marketing blurb offensive. If you are supplying a product, make sure you have your ducks in a row, before requesting people to part with money, and become mobile billboards. BBN, GLuvsMtb and Vangar 3
Captain Fastbastard Mayhem Posted February 5, 2015 Posted February 5, 2015 (edited) I find the ill tought out, rush to market marketing blurb offensive. If you are supplying a product, make sure you have your ducks in a row, before requesting people to part with money, and become mobile billboards.Am I a brand whore if I'm already wearing the shirt they'll be providing as a running / gym shirt? I got it when the product was originally unveiled last year. I must say it's actually quite comfortable. It's made of one of those moisture wicking materials and performs pretty well. It's actually now my go-to cycling shirt... EDIT: But I agree with you. It's the very reason haven't marketed this to my clients yet - I wanted to see how it would work, and if I could derive some benefit from it. If I can't, then nobody can... Edited February 5, 2015 by El Capitan Vangar 1
RocknRolla Posted February 5, 2015 Posted February 5, 2015 I must say it's actually quite comfortable. It's made of one of those moisture wicking materials and performs pretty well. It's actually now my go-to cycling shirt... At the end of the day for the shareholders it's all about the money wicking matrial's performance... Captain Fastbastard Mayhem and BBN 2
Captain Fastbastard Mayhem Posted February 5, 2015 Posted February 5, 2015 At the end of the day for the shareholders it's all about the money wicking matrial's performance...HAHAHA! Yeah, true that. Also - what people don't seem to remember is that Vitality is run as a separate, self-supporting business. Yes, it has spin-off benefits for the other regions of Discovery's offerings, but it has to be at least minimally profitable or at least break even in order for it to work for them. On the Life side, the savings that Vitality brings through is passed on through their additional offerings which, if you're a top tier Vitality member, make it almost impossible to get the same cover for the same cost at a competitor after about 4 or 5 years, due to the cost savings that are passed down to the client. The only ones who come close are Momentum with their Multiply benefit, but that's also a HUGE benefit - up to 60% off your life premium if you're a "private club" member - their equivalent of Diamond. On the health side, there are also savings, cos the more "engaged" members actually don't need to use the med aid as often as those that are disengaged. Which is how they're able to get those partnership agreements in place with the specialists, and enhance their coverage with partners and at least attempt to limit their premium increases. It all ties in to Vitality - so I can assure you this - they want this to work, cos they want to know that people are actually taking the time out to start getting fit and healthy. Less CABG's (coronary artery bypasses) less hearties, less cancer and so on. IOW - less cost to them, which means less cost to us down the line. A medical aid by definition cannot make a profit. ALL their profit goes to reserves. Where Discovery Health make their money is through the administration of the fund itself - not the med aid. So if their costs go down, our costs go down... But yes - this has indeed been disappointing. I hope they make a huge rally to get it back up to the point that it was back when it was unveiled, which actually got me excited about the whole thing.
RocknRolla Posted February 5, 2015 Posted February 5, 2015 I hear what you say Cap. And the mind boggling intrecacies of fund management and benefits is above my mental ability to comprehend. I am a bit sceptical because personally I have eperienced the opposite of all the marketing blurb about their products. Maybe I am doing it wrong, but things that irk me about their savings that gets passed back to the member is that thy take the whole families spend into consideration when it comes to savings on the insured's life. I have a 3 kids witht he youngest being 3, and as most parent would know, the first couple of years are spent depleting ones medical aid on doctors visits with ENT's and tonsilectomies and grommets and day to day spend. Personally I rarely go to the doctor, as I am genrally healthy, but these buggers found a nice loophole to have to pay back less. as one's premiums increase every year, so too does the list of benefits decrease, or the procedures not covered increases. it's a necessary evil. Captain Fastbastard Mayhem 1
Bub Marley Posted February 5, 2015 Posted February 5, 2015 Remember, in all of this, by being healthy and active we are helping them not the other way round!Lol. Pretty sure that you being active and healthy, can only be a benefit to you.
Marthinus Steyn Posted February 5, 2015 Posted February 5, 2015 Wow guys there are way too much negative noise around this. Typical greedy human being behaviour. No matter how you look at it, the bottom line is this - You pay R600, just to start off with you get - an Ftech shirt (worth at least R500), Your CSA licence (R195). In my books that on it's own is a negative figure for them if you can add up... And that's WITHOUT the savings in races, that benefit in itself being a market disruption for any club out there. They have always said up to 50% as reiterated so many times on this thread. Off course you will get greater discount for larger races, it makes business sense, something lacking a bit on this thread it seems. The list of events are updated quarterly. And also calculated WITHOUT the vouchers, so what if you have items already, buy someone else a gift! That's what I'm gonna do. Let us rather take a step back and realize what's happening here. Vitality is world leading in whatever they do and how many people were against it years ago about it being just a gym benefit etc. Now everyone is doing it!! And saving lots of $$$$. I'm sure all on this thread are either diamond or pearl or whatever status where you have your program. As cyclists we should be veeeeery grateful that a large institution like this is starting to see proper value in us cycling miles and miles each day. 10 years ago it was just the Argus and a few others, today it's a massive industry because of these corporates. Off course there are niggles when launching products. Focus on the positive and read the faq's. https://www.discovery.co.za/portal/discovery_coza/web/linked_content/pdfs/vitality/team_vitality/team_vitality_faqs.pdf Regards and safe cycling!
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