Source
r/sanantonio•
Lasher_

Scam Artists at the Riverwalk Mall.

Visiting SA

I'm speaking specifically about the Club Wyndham scam Artists who are literally all over the Riverwalk mall like fleas on a filthy dog. Is this something residents are unaware of or do you guys just not feel it's something to warn visitors about? Frankly, it's a glaring black eye on your city and someone should do something about them, there are tourist traps & then there's this shit.

These guys misrepresent themselves as offering tours and discounts to local/nearby restaurants while meanwhile they're trying to sell timeshares, and you literally cannot avoid them if you're in the mall, it frankly borders on harassment. My wife and I ran into over 10 of them within an hour aggressively pushing their agenda.

For the visitors to San Antonio reading this, DO NOT give them any money, whatever discounts they may or may not have is not worth being trapped in a room for 2 hours watching a presentation after which professional salespeople aggressively push you to buy timeshares.

I enjoyed the city, I loved the natural caverns and the Riverwalk but I will never again step foot in that Riverwalk Mall if I can at all help it; I've been in markets in so called 3rd world countries where I was harassed less.

End of rant, proceed with the downvotes.

Posted Feb 2, 2020, 1:53 AM UTC

3375
jguerrer•

Nobody who lives here goes to Rivercenter, so we wouldn't really know. Sorry you got scammed though :(

142
CYAAfghanistanSA Light Reporter•

I met all 3 my baby mama there though

43
Lasher_OP•

Fourth time will do it.

14
nothinfollowsme•

Nobody who lives here goes to Rivercenter, so we wouldn't really know.

Indeed. I still have nightmares over some tourist losing their marbles at me because I couldn't provide EXACT, or any directions to something downtown.

I was like:"I'm sorry, I rarely come downtown(I was there to drop something off for my dad at his work), so I'm afraid I can't be much help to you...."

Man proceeded to blurt out: "You live here and don't know where X is!?"

I was like:"Sorry." And I just walked away.

25
SimplyMoose•

I lives here and I go there occasionally

13
Lasher_OP•

Congrats, you're a unicorn apparently.

-26
SimplyMoose•

Nah dood. I just work downtown and driving to Ingram or north Star is more obnoxious than it's worth.

17
nothinfollowsme•

driving to Ingram or north Star is more obnoxious than it's worth.

There is a lesser evil between those I think. :P

2
froggyjm9•

This!

8
SynthHivemind•

Eh, my kids like the Lego thing there but the mall is a complete shithole and I hate going.

1
Lasher_OP•

Thanks, it was just $40 & my credit card company is handling it but just the sheer aggravation came pretty close to ruining my trip.

-32
froggyjm9•

You gave them money? Why?

55
incandescence14NW Side•

He’s todo chepe lol

10
[deleted]•

[deleted]

0
boogieman0330•

Residents don't go to that mall.

48
XahimsaX•

They do this all over the US in cities with big tourist destinations. Don’t acknowledge them and keep walking is the best advice I can give. Time shares are usually a hose.

46
Lasher_OP•

Yeah I know that now, but they don't tell you they're selling timeshares, we paid for a tour & discounts for nearby restaurants & I only discovered the timeshare scam when I googled the company name.

-10
fra0927•

They’re pretty common in the Orlando Premium Outlets near the Theme Parks. Major tourist trap.

19
dizug•

Yes. We got roped in to going to one of those. At the end I was seriously afraid that the salesman was going to throw one of us off the balcony at the end of his presentation when we said no. But my wife and I got 40 bucks each I think. I have seen these Wyndham guys and have avoided them. But I think I’ve only been to the river center mall twice since we moved here.

2
XahimsaX•

It sucks that you lost time, but did you get tickets or the discount or whatever it was they had? If not, BBB complaint. Not that it will stop them from changing their name or whatever, but it won’t hurt.

4
Aziz____light•

Better Business Bureau is a scam that has exactly 0 impact on a business’s ability to operate.

3
Lasher_OP•

I didn't actually attend the presentation after I found their playbook online & figured out the scam. I refused to waste 2 hrs of my time on that bs and apparently you don't qualify for their discounts unless you sit through the presentation and let them take a shot at selling you the timeshares.

-5
IceCreamEatingMFer•

Unbelievable. I found the only redditor who was born yesterday.

34
IceCreamEatingMFer•

I understand you're looking for someone to blame because you got taken, but man this one is on you.

People who look like marks are gonna get marked.

43
Lasher_OP•

I'm not looking for anyone to blame, Im a grown man & I freely acknowledge when I'm at fault.

That being said, I did read the reddit guides to the city & saw no mention of these scam artists & so I decided to shine a light on the subject.

Take it how you want it.

-11
IceCreamEatingMFer•

If you need a Reddit guide to the city to tell you “if it sounds to good to be true it probably is” or “there’s no such thing as a free lunch” you need to have a word with your mama, not this subreddit. Bless your heart.

33
Holamynameiswolfie•

Happy cake day

3
7faces•

AAHHHH well hello good sir I think ill tip my hat out to you and.... yeah have a good day. 🤣😂🤣😂 sorry loved the burn and im drunk.

-4
Lasher_OP•

If you need someone to tell you not to make assumptions without all the information, you probably should have finished high school.

-12
IceCreamEatingMFer•

I didn’t pay money to sit through a time share presentation soooooooo

26
Drinkthebongwater210•

Worst mall in San Antonio IMO

28
BakeAndStrips•

South Park and Ingram Park would fight you for that.

27
Drinkthebongwater210•

They would probably win lol

10
mikespikepookie•

What is the best mall?

3
scripttease•

My vote is La Cantera

10
naribelaHere's Honkin' at You, Awful Drivers•

That’s a shopping center not a mall (Ok some may call them small malls or open air malls, but we’re comparing closed in ones like Ingram etc)

1
scripttease•

Ahh. Man I used to like Rolling Oaks mall when I was growing up, but that was back in the 90s and early 2000s. 🤣 I went the other day and it was so sad and empty. I can’t really speak to the other malls, but North Star is the second most familiar I’m with and I’ve only been there a few times and not even in the last 5 years. I shop at target a lot.

1
TaylorSA93•

Eisenhower Marketplace

7
ThreeNC•

D. None of the above

4
[deleted]•

[deleted]

28
Chris71102NE Side•

I thought they only went there for work

16
scripttease•

This very same thing happened to me and my husband in Lake Tahoe 4 years ago. We were going to purchase a helicopter ride for a discounted price for that evening because no one had booked it yet or so we were told. We thought it was a good deal and seemed legit. The place had its own building and was giving “tours” and “excursions” of all sorts. Very deceiving! Before we purchased anything though the old man had us read over a contract and me being an auditor read over very quickly and the last line was talking about the time share sit in thing we had to do in x amount of days. Saw that crap and immediately told my husband to put his credit card back in his wallet, but before he could (he was so damn confused) the old man grabbed husbands credit card and played a bit of tug a war with him. Had to explain to my husband it was a scam. Such bullshit and sorry you had to go through that.

To explain my husbands confusion... we were entirely sold and pumped on this flight and it was pitched to us with no gimmicks. I read the fine print first because husband was getting ready to pay so when I started saying no no no he was like, “what’s wrong?” And then the old man struck. It was CRAZY and I will never forget the adrenaline that went through my system because he scared the shit out of me. We sent an email to the company and they never responded.

6
brianl289•

This is like tourist/travel 101 anywhere you go. I don't pay attention to anyone trying to sell or offer a damn thing. If you think rivercenter was bad dont ever do to the cancun airport. Sorry you had a bad experience but at least now you know. It isnt any different no matter what touristy city your in.

6
unikittyUnite•

They aren't interested in San Antonio residents. They want to talk to tourists from out of town.

I walk by their store front in the mall frequently with my 10 year old. My son loves Legoland, Dave and Busters and malls so we go there frequently. They quickly look at everyone walking by and use visual cues to determine if the potential target is a tourist or not, if the entire family unit is present and their general household income. I must look like a resident and don't have a spouse with me so they never have approached me.

They also have a booth at North Star Mall. Here they are targeting rich tourists from Mexico I think. I can spot a rich Mexican national from miles away so I'm sure they also have the skills to do this.

5
njm1314•

What kind of a loser falls for a timeshare salesman?

5
Goochi_Lover•

I had no clue honestly

4
mb_4889•

What was the company name by the way?

1
Lasher_OP•

Club Wyndham, Google them they've been scamming a while apparently.

2
starshame•

Yeah dont EAT at the rivercenter mall or anywhere around there. Place is rife with cockroaches and mice according to health inspectors.

1
brianl289•

Honestly that goes for all of downtown. River walk and hotels aren't an exception.

1
Noonsky•

Are there parts of town without roaches? I just assumed that was part of living in the south...

2
brianl289•

It's extra bad downtown with the added water. Don't even get me started on the rats/mice

2
Noonsky•

I live downtown, I have seen two non squirrel rodents in 3 years. Probably the main benefit of the absurd feral cat population!

1
[deleted]•

[removed]

1
runningxbackwards•

There is a major issue with your rant. Your upset that you got caught I get it, but did you get the gifts they promised...where you forced to go on this tour to obtain your gifts...where you held against your will after the 2 hours were completed. Timeshare is like any other pyramid scheme. Sometimes it works for people and sometimes it doesn't. It's all up to you. Plenty of people are aware are these companies and there tactics. Guess what I dont need time share, but if I'm ever in Vegas I sure do like free show ticket, and I have some free time to kill. Just be a little smarter about the choices you make and the people you talk to. Like others said, this is a world wide practice. Hell, when I was a kid my parents got us free accommodations and Disney World tickets for doing a Timeshare tour, and they didnt buy crap. Guess what I had a great time at Disney though. The same thing goes for the reps at HEB trying to sell you on a Spectrum package. I hate Spectrum, but some people dont. If it's not for you, just keep walking. Life will keep moving. Don't be upset because other people are finding a different way to make a living...ultimately it's just sales.

1
Jazzy_Junebug•

Is this the first time you've travelled outside of your city? They do this in every large tourist area. I cant even think of a place I've been to that doesnt have these types of scams going on. Just ignore them and keep walking.

1
Tayloraa3•

My old manager loved finding these people on vacation because he'd get free meals and excursions for his family just for a presentation lol

0
birdguy1000•

Thanks for the heads up

-4
seedster5•

This black guy tried to rob me today near the riverwalk. My multitool has a good size blade....

-19
_Auto_Moderator•

What did he try to rob you with?

2
seedster5•

He made threatening gesture and told me to empty my pocket. I took out my small blade and he walked away

0
_Auto_Moderator•

wtf is a threatening gesutre

6
seedster5•

Front step to get in my way like he was going to fight me

1
Lasher_OP•

Multitool and a blade, nice! I'm assuming he took that too.

0