[Gemme]

Originally Posted by Reach

I am thinking about the lost art of "making the customer" happy. When My girl was here she had plugged her phone charger in next to a reading chair that was in the room. On her trip back home or once she got home she realized it was missing. When she spoke to Me about it I distinctly remembered it being plugged in by the chair.

So, I placed My first phone call to the hotel where I spoke to Stephanie and she wrote the information down and said she would have one of the maids check the room. I never heard back from her.

So, I placed My second phone call to the hotel where I spoke to Sarah. Well, clearly Sarah was "having a bad day" because she was not even the least bit friendly or helpful. She point blank told Me, "I am not about to pull one of my maids off from cleaning rooms just to check on a phone charger." To which I said, "Sarah, I realize you are busy and that you probably are working with limited staff. I understand. However, if this were My first phone call, I would take that comment on the chin and find some more patience. However, it is not My first call." She wrote My information down and said someone would get back to Me.

I never heard from anyone.

So My girl had commented last night about, just buying another one. I said, OH NO- no spending of the money unless we have a clear answer that it is gone.

I called this morning and spoke to Stephanie. Apparently, the charger had been found on the day I spoke to Sarah. The maid had brought it to her. Sarah, decided not to call Me and we surmise she got rid of Stephanie's note. So, when Stephanie did not see her note where she left it she thought it had all been taken care of. Until today.

She also talked to Me about the other complaints they have had about Sarah but no one would put anything in writing (guests that is). I said, well I would like to attribute this all to a bad day and maybe it was. However, given this has dragged on for a bit of time, I was not happy.

I also think sometimes the "bad day" thing is used as a cop out for people that likely should not be in that position. They may have strengths in other areas but customer service is not one of them.

Long story short, I will pick the charger up when I go out for errands. I am also going to write an email in regards to how wonderful Stephanie was.

I worked in the hospitality industry for many, many years. I would pay good money that Sarah is like that all the time. I would NEVER have said that to a customer, even if I truly felt that way. How rude!

In addition to your praise for Stephanie, which I would offer plenty of, I would mention something about Sarah. Maybe just like you did here in the time line, that the charger was found the day you spoke to Sarah but no one contacted you, etc.

A problem can't be resolved without attention to the issue. Stephanie would not have mentioned previous issues with staff to a customer...another no no....unless she were personally frustrated with Sarah's behavior and the lack of consequence for it. I get that. I've been there too.

For the record, unless the cleaning staff is being charged with cleaning a ridiculous number of rooms and they are just rushing and doing bare bones cleaning, the charger was found and stored in lost and found the day you checked out.

If you truly, truly appreciate Stephanie, you'll do an online review in addition to your email to the hotel and specifically mention her. Lots of businesses now put pressure on employees to garner online feedback, given how social media driven the world is now.

I'm glad someone found the charger and you'll be able to pick it up soon.