Careful in the hotels out there

Gatica · 22-03-2012 10:11AM

clint_silver wrote: »

...You raised it with them, they would have raised with staff, would have looked at other complaints, seen what was there and decided themselves whether they had a problem, it may have been a guest staying there you said yourself there were rude guests, so may in fact have been a one off. ..

Personally, what I got from the story is that this happened to them, and then it happened to someone else they knew a week later. The possibility that a guest stole their property is unlikely as they would not have had a key to the bridal suite, whereas the staff would have.

I think when it comes to personal events that you invest so much time and money into, they're that much closer to our heart. How the hotel handled it does not seem appropriate, even if they were waiting for the guards to investigate it, i.e. they should've felt like they had not done right by them and should've tried to make it up to them with an apology, at the very least, or offered something like free stays or dinner (even if the couple didn't wanna take them up on it after those events).
Isn't the motto "the customer is always right"? Why assume that your patrons are lying to you and trying to incriminate your staff? There's no need to respond to it by accusing your staff right out, but at least acknowledge that it could be true.

3ndahalfof6 · 22-03-2012 02:14PM

maintenance and housekeeping are the only ones who should have a key to your room,

unless there are master keys all over the place replacing lost keys which would leave it possible for a guest to do it on both occasions (I have seen this happen, keys for rooms lost and master keys handed out)

which would still put the hotel at fault.

clint_silver · 22-03-2012 03:13PM

Gatica wrote: »

Personally, what I got from the story is that this happened to them, and then it happened to someone else they knew a week later. The possibility that a guest stole their property is unlikely as they would not have had a key to the bridal suite, whereas the staff would have.

I think when it comes to personal events that you invest so much time and money into, they're that much closer to our heart. How the hotel handled it does not seem appropriate, even if they were waiting for the guards to investigate it, i.e. they should've felt like they had not done right by them and should've tried to make it up to them with an apology, at the very least, or offered something like free stays or dinner (even if the couple didn't wanna take them up on it after those events).
Isn't the motto "the customer is always right"? Why assume that your patrons are lying to you and trying to incriminate your staff? There's no need to respond to it by accusing your staff right out, but at least acknowledge that it could be true.

I do agree in one sense, Only the thief will know who really took it so then right minded thinking people have to work off what was probable and what was possible after that. Its possible a guest did it but its probable a member of staff did it.
However, I disagree with the customer is always right, see someones earlier story about finding an envelope ages later when they thought it had been stolen. I have many of my own stories of customers thinking they were right whilst being nowhere near it. So what do you do? you must keep an open mind until anything is proven, what staff were on that weekend? could narrow it down to 3-4 staff very easily, have they any record of theft before or since, narrow it down further. If theyve no records of theft and the staff have been there years, what do you do as the hotel manager? staff have to have keys.
So now it comes down to how the manager interacted with them, at what point, whilst keeping an open mind, do you accept the customers version of events (in any circumstances not just here)?
You keep an eye on things, tell the customer youre working with authorities, only the hotel and the gards know theres been thefts there, you offer something, a hotel stay, a meal, something to appease and make the customer feel wanted, though Im surprised they reimbursed for price of the watch, that would be a matter for insurance I would have thought.

Most of all, after the amount of money OP spent, I would have thought they should have bent over backwards for them, it doesnt sound like they done that.

Gatica · 22-03-2012 04:20PM

I realise that "the customer is always right" can only be true up to a point. Even when the customer is wrong, like in the case that someone mentioned, where they found the envelope awhile later, most reasonable hotels and staff would still feel apologetic.
One may wait for the outcome of an investigation to right a wrong, if such occurred, but you don't have to wait for that to issue a "We're so sorry this has happened to you. We'll do everything we can to find a solution." Send them flowers, or offer whatever it is would make them happy. At the end of the day, the hotel's reputation often rests on these type of events and how then handle them.

cabrwab · 22-03-2012 05:12PM

I agree completely the customer is not always right, but you need to play down how you pawn them off with telling them they are wrong, you are right but still come across composed
.
I deal with the worst type of people in work, smile to your face tell you good job, but then look for money off the final bill.
Our bill was settled, we brought up the rudeness of the staff on the night shift.
Easy enough to know who was on that night.
Working very close with the hotel industry.

If the hotel said to us we are very sorry this happened in our hotel, we will look into it for you, after all you spent so much in this establishment, and instead of giving us a hard time because we brought back up the complaint a few months later, say we will put procedures in place this won't happen again, a staff member will not be so rude to a bride again.
We apologise.

If they did that we'd be singing the praises of the place.
Even though I genuinely do not want anything free, I want to highlight the fact they were rude on trip advisor, and rude in there final communication with us, informing us of a room safe.

I don't know who took the watch not for me to decide and I don't know if my insurance excess would cover much of the watch I don't know how much it cost but my excess is €500.
But they gave money thinking it would be the end of it, perhaps, if somebody even the sales girl we dealt with all the way contacted us.
The cheque arrived in a envelope with a compliements slip, no personal note nothing, like we were a company they owed money too.

cooranig23 · 27-03-2012 05:26PM

i was in the Radisson in Dublin a few weeks back and i was shocked at this idea
of a 'turn down service'

they come in to your room at 6.30pm and place an apple on your bed.. it's pointless.. i wasn't there at the time..

.. but it's an open invitation for them to look around the room..

and as i was untidy i had all by belongings thrown around the place..

they obviously saw what i had in the room.. so what's stopping them from coming back

i'd never trust does foreigners.. they may seem nice but there's no guarantee

Gatica · 27-03-2012 06:20PM

I don't believe the issue is with "foreigners", as you put it... The problem with things going missing in hotels (or anywhere where someone is left unattended with someone else's belongings) has always been there, irrespective of where you are or where the dishonest people come from - they can be local as much as foreign.

Zaph · 27-03-2012 08:09PM

cooranig23 wrote: »

i'd never trust does foreigners.. they may seem nice but there's no guarantee

So you'd be ok with an Irish person doing the turn down service then? Because the courts and prisons never have to deal with them at all. :rolleyes:

Seriously, cop on to yourself, re-read what you just typed and then have a good think about how stupid it was.

Careful in the hotels out there

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