I don't post much unless I have an issue that is beyond my limits and the last time I got great, enlightening feedback. Here's the latest. Made a reservation on Expedia.com early Saturday afternoon using my check card (this was a huge mistake...should've used my credit card so I could have stop payment on it). I made the reservation strickly on the basis of price and the images they offer at the site. One image in particulr was the motivating factor: a picture of Padre Island beach. Having lived in Corpus Christi almost 15 years ago, I new I could just drive out to Padre and find the Days Inn. (Before I get to deep into this, let me say I was a stone throw from the expressway filling my car with gas when my battery died. Had to spend the next couple of hours getting help, a new battery and someone to install it...you would not believe where the battery is on a 99 Monte Carlo. Now you know this little trip did not start the best way) Anyway, I flew through CC and headed straight for Padre. I had not realized some of the bridges were down to two lanes, which made crossing them on a late Saturday afternoon very time consuming. After driving around and stopping in a store for a map, I realize that the Days Inn was on "North Beach". NORTH BEACH?!?!? It is actually NW of downtown on the bay between a large bridge and a Navy museum ship. And I still have to drive back over those 2 lane bridges. I was broken hearted. I was born and raised on the beaches of the pacific and the only thing I expect to see when I look out over the water is a FLAT horizon of ocean, NOT a bay full of man's stuff. True, this part of the experience is my fault...I should've done due diligence before I left...my lesson. ANYWAY, I get to the hotel and no one is at the counter. And I mean no one. I press the illuminated button to avail, but I do hear movement in the back room like someone is doing something in a kitchen or eating from a bowl. With a strong voice I say something like, HELLO? Is anybody here? HELLO? I also start knocking on the counter. Finally, I little old lady comes out, says something I could not understand and walked back into her room. Just imagine my expression. Oh, I might add that when I walked in the lobby it was redolent of curry. So, I start knocking on the door and, again with a stronger voice, say, “I HAVE A RESERVATION”. When the lady realize I was not going to be satisfied with her initial response (and my continuous knocking) she comes back out and starts talking. Again, I have no idea what she’s saying except the last part, which were her parting words: “no englee”. I can only assume this was, “I don’t speak English”. All this took about 10 to 15 minutes, which the management disputes by saying her guy was only gone for 5 minutes (deal with this a little later). As one could guess, I was completely dumb founded by all this…and the way my day was going. I left and drove straight back to San Antonio, hoping a little Jimmy Buffet would sooth my fevered brow. Did not happen. Once I got to SA, I stopped in a bar hoping a couple of beers would do the trick…nope. Went to sleep upset and woke up upset. So, it’s Sunday morning now and I’m calling everybody I can. First on the list is the Corpus Christi Day’s Inn – Paresha Desai (General Manager) would not be in until 9a. Next on the list is Days Inn Corp. – I was told I had to wait 14 days until CC Day’s Inn responds to their query. I say, “But they could take the money from my account because I didn’t spend the night there”. Customer Service asked me if I told anybody that I was leaving? WHAT? I tell her again that there was nobody there that spoke English. She asked, “Did you leave a note?” I immediately saw where this was going. “No, I just spent the last 3.5 hours on the road and nobody at the hotel was offering me any assistance. I was quite upset and drove back to SA.” She said something like it’s my fault for not leaving a note, but will talk to CC Days Inn and see what they have to say. But, it will take 14 days. During my conversation with her, she spoke with total indifference to me as a customer. I call my bank to have them stop payment on the bill. Unfortunately, like I mentioned earlier, they can’t stop payment on a check card though my account said it was pending, not posted. Now my Sunday is going down the drain. I finally reach CC Days Inn and spoke with ms. Desai. After telling her my story, she says her employee would not leave for any extended period of time…maybe just 5 minutes and nobody should’ve been there that didn’t speak English. But, (starting to really not enjoy hearing that word) she will talk to him when he comes in and will contact me sometime next week. I say, “ms Desai, in my business, if an employee upsets a client of mine, I’m not going to wait until his next shift and ask him about it (maybe this wouldn’t be appropriate for a large business, but a small business like mine, and hers, there shouldn’t be a problems…anyway, that’s just my feeling) and would call the client right back with information. She had the gall to ask what kind of business I was in…I started to answer but said, “what does that have to do with anything?” She didn’t press the question. Trying to appease me, or get me off the phone, she said she would call between 4p and 6p that day. Okay, how many of you thinks she called me? Didn’t think so. So, I called her this morning, Monday, and without so much as an apology, she said she was sick with the flu yesterday and couldn’t call. She also said her employee only went to the bathroom…less than 5 minutes. Now, I’m sure she’s going to tell Corp this story and Corp will just tell me sorry. Now my friends, what are my options…short of a couple of stick of dynamite? I really appreciated your help last time when I had a non-payment for services rendered, so I’m compelled to ask again. Thanks in advance for any words of advice. Lou (aka RocketRaccoon)
Holy **** dude. Thats horrible. I think dynamite may do the trick. I have no advice other than to call them continuously through the day cursing at them.
I think you're mostly just screwed. You can tell Corporate you're pissed, but, if they don't care, you're out of luck. Of course, you can boycott the company from now on, plus, you can defame them on internet BBSes.
I had issues with the Holiday Inn Express in Galveston. They tried to charge me more than I was quoted (and I had the paperwork) because they screwed up not realizing it was a holiday weekend. They also advertised a "full breakfast buffet" on the web site which turned out to be a simple continental breakfast. There was also an advertisement inferring that all rooms at a refrigerator and microwave which was not true. Although the room was nice and I got the price I was quoted (although I had to go to way too much trouble to get the manager to honor THEIR commitment), I funneled my complaints to both Holiday Inn corporate, the Galveston BBB and the city of Galveston itself. I received numerous apologies as well as a $75.00 gift certificate for Holiday Inn. I was also told to contact the Galveston Chamber of Commerce when I came back and they would provide me with some certificates, but I never followed through. To make sure my comments concerning the inaccuracies on their web site were addressed, I emailed the company responsible for creating the web site. The gentleman I exchanged emails with was quite upset that Holiday Inn gave him "inaccurate" information and the web site was changed fairly quickly/ Coincidentally, the recent Holiday Inn advertisements I see no longer feature a "full" breakfast buffet. I advise you to remain persistent, firm and polite and Days Inn should offer you compensation.
Obviously none of yall have ever stayed at the Travelodge in Lincoln, Nebraska. That place has got to be the biggest sh*thole I have ever seen in my life. Imagine driving 11 hours non-stop from Austin to Lincoln to a dumpy ass roach motel. The chick at the counter first gives me keys to a room that is already being stayed in. I go downstairs, and she says, I only have one room left, and "it smells like dogs." My buddy and I go take a look, and find one of the most foul smelling rooms I have ever seen. Urine stains on the floor, moldy shower and sink, a caved in bed, and the whole room smells like piss. We call the corporate office and b**** for like 30 minutes. They get us a room in the Travelodge in Omaha, another 60 miles away. Imagine how pissed I was to drive another 60 miles after just finishing 850 or so. Later Travelodge sent me a check compensating me for one night at the Omaha hotel. I will never set foot in another Travelodge again in my life.
Days Inn was your mistake. Spend a couple more bucks and stay at a Courtyard or Fairfield Inn, something in the Marriott chain. I've never had a problem with them.
That sucks, RR. Sorry to hear that, man. BTW, isn't that the Days Inn that Selena got shot at back in 95'?
Just a quick note to thank all those that responded...very much appreciated. Lesson 1: Never use a check card on-line Lesson 2: Quit being frugal and spend the extra dollar Lesson 3: Try Galveston next time Lesson 4: (and I really knew this already) This is the best damn BBS EVER!!!!! Although dynamite would make me feel soooo much better, I think I'll take the advise and write letters to all connected with my issue. Again, thank you. RR
I was at the Comfort Inn in Amarillo visiting my kids weekend before last and the power got knocked out during some stormy weather. Amazingly, the hotel was the only place in the entire city without power. Now, I know it's not their fault that the hotel is without power, but there's not so much as an apology from the management for our inconvenience. And after several hours, there was no estimate on when the power might be back on. There was no rush to get flashlights for the guests. The rooms were dangerously unnavigatable (if that's a word) once the sun went down. And it was muggy hot. And plus, I my kids weren't having any fun at all sitting in the darkness. So, I went down to the lobby and told them I was leaving. Instead of a "We're so sorry that this happened", I got a hurried "It's not our fault!" from the owner of the hotel. Which was the same thing I got earlier when I asked about a timeframe, etc. I called corporate and mentioned that it was dangerous to operate a hotel in the darkness, and that surely after several hours, the power company had some sort of estimate on the time and maybe the guests should be made aware of that (though I assume they did get an estimate and it was something like "next week at the earliest"). Eventually, I got a letter from corporate saying they would notify the Amarillo hotel about the problem. That's it. Not even a "We're sorry for your inconvenience at one of our hotels". I'm only glad they didn't say "It's not our fault" in the letter. The thing that was most interesting to me was that this hotel had a satisfaction guarantee that said that if there was ANY problem with the hotel, I would get the night for free. Well, there was a severe problem, but they still charged me for the night. I guess any problem is a very limited term in their eyes (there's no "act of God" clause in the guarantee that I could see). So, I'm done with Comfort Inn. They certainly don't care about customer satisfaction. It's not like you can't expect some problems beyond the control of the hotel to come up. It's how they handle those problems that makes the difference. Had they kept us updated on the progress, found some way to illuminate the rooms (my father was in a hotel that had its power knocked out by a tornado. That hotel gave out glow-sticks to the guests for illumination) to lessen the dangers, and so on, it wouldn't have been quite so bad. Worst of all, though, was the fact that absolutely no one would offer an apology for my inconvenience. And you certainly don't charge people when you have a satisfaction guarantee that you didn't live up to.
