Hyatt Gold Passport - Hyatt Diamond Trial - the joy of customer service

Hi everyone,

wanted to share my experiences with Hyatt and get your opinion on it.

1) Not satisfied with Hilton after several years of Diamond.
2) Booked 19 nights with Hyatt in August. 6 of them suites.
3) Contacted customer service asking about a challenge to Diamond status. I only asked about the T&Cs and said I was interested, did not include any evidence for Diamond with Hilton.
4) Received answer that I was "enrolled into a Diamond challenge as per my request. Requirement is 12 nights in 60 days.
5) Answered stating that I did not want the trial to start immediately, since the immediate start of the trial would see me miss the requirement. I would have easily made the required 12 nights, if the trial had not started right away.
6) Got response saying: "We are sorry, not able to modify start date".
7) Answered: "Did not ask for it to start right away, please move start date to July, 1st."
8) Got response saying: "We are sorry, not able to modify start date. Please accept our decision and remain loyal to Hyatt."
9) Told them I would have to cancel all nights if they would not change their mind. I did not use the Diamond status during the time it started, did not use any upgrades etc.
10) This is the response. BTW: exactly the same as the first two rejections.

"I am sorry that you are disappointed with our Diamond Trial Tier promotion. In order to provide an equal opportunity to all of our members, enrollments in this promotion are completed upon our receipt of the request for enrollment. Due to the fact that this promotion is electronically monitored, it is not possible for us to manually adjust the enrollment date once a member is enrolled. I apologize that I am unable to modify your enrollment date to accommodate your request and I hope that this will not effect your decision to stay at our Hyatt Hotels and Resorts.

Please let me know if you have any further questions."

As a result, I cancelled all my stays in August and decided to look for another competitor. Due to a miscommunication by their service agents and absolute inflexibility mixed with a disregard for customer service, Hyatt lost a lot of $$$ from me.

I probably would have made Diamond this year anyway. However, I am not going to put up with a hotel chain that does not even care to provide their (future) top customers with an individual reply.

Am I being unreasonable here?

Regards,
Liz

What was your exact wording when you initially wrote to Hyatt and said you were "interested" in the challenge? Sad to say but I think nowadays people can/will misinterpret that word as an actual request for some kind of service.

For example, saying "I'm interested in a Diamond challenge" can be different from saying, "I'm interested in learning more about a Diamond challenge."

Overall I don't think you're being unreasonable. It was a miscommunication and your repeated attempts to remedy the situation have failed. I would probably feel the same way. It's unfortunate, actually.

With regard to Hyatt's "absolute inflexibility," Hyatt's tech and website issues/limitations are well documented here on FT so it could be more that they really can't change it, versus they won't change it.

As a result, I cancelled all my stays in August and decided to look for another competitor. Due to a miscommunication by their service agents and absolute inflexibility mixed with a disregard for customer service, Hyatt lost a lot of $$$ from me.

I probably would have made Diamond this year anyway. However, I am not going to put up with a hotel chain that does not even care to provide their (future) top customers with an individual reply.

Am I being unreasonable here?

Regards,
Liz

As far as I am concerned GP customer service is not what it used to be.

Try contacting the Gold Passport Concierge here on Flyertalk, they might be able to get this straightened out and reinstate your bookings if you would like .

It doesn't sound to me like the OP requested the challenge, only asked about the rules for it. If Hyatt is doing a once in a lifetime constraint or otherwise restricting how frequently one can do a challenge, this is outrageous. Has the OP tried to simply request a new challenge now?

Contact the GP concierge here. I hope you retained copies of your email communications about this issue, starting with your initial request for information. I also hope the time line, which you did not give, shows that you tried to correct the problem immediately rather than waiting until it became apparent that you would not meet the conditions (12 nights in 60 days?) of the challenge.

To reiterate, it would help if OP supplied details of the dates of the attempts to communicate with Hyatt, starting with the initial inquiry.

Hi everyone,

wanted to share my experiences with Hyatt and get your opinion on it.

1) Not satisfied with Hilton after several years of Diamond.
2) Booked 19 nights with Hyatt in August. 6 of them suites.
3) Contacted customer service asking about a challenge to Diamond status. I only asked about the T&Cs and said I was interested, did not include any evidence for Diamond with Hilton.
4) Received answer that I was "enrolled into a Diamond challenge as per my request. Requirement is 12 nights in 60 days.
5) Answered stating that I did not want the trial to start immediately, since the immediate start of the trial would see me miss the requirement. I would have easily made the required 12 nights, if the trial had not started right away.
6) Got response saying: "We are sorry, not able to modify start date".
7) Answered: "Did not ask for it to start right away, please move start date to July, 1st."
8) Got response saying: "We are sorry, not able to modify start date. Please accept our decision and remain loyal to Hyatt."
9) Told them I would have to cancel all nights if they would not change their mind. I did not use the Diamond status during the time it started, did not use any upgrades etc.
10) This is the response. BTW: exactly the same as the first two rejections.



As a result, I cancelled all my stays in August and decided to look for another competitor. Due to a miscommunication by their service agents and absolute inflexibility mixed with a disregard for customer service, Hyatt lost a lot of $$$ from me.

I probably would have made Diamond this year anyway. However, I am not going to put up with a hotel chain that does not even care to provide their (future) top customers with an individual reply.

Am I being unreasonable here?

Regards,
Liz


Hello!

We'll be happy to see what we can do to assist you. Please send a PM with your GP account information, along with the corresponding emails. We're happy to help.

Sincerely,

Nick B. - Guest Relations Associate

As far as I am concerned GP customer service is not what it used to be.

Try contacting the Gold Passport Concierge here on Flyertalk, they might be able to get this straightened out and reinstate your bookings if you would like .


Right, the average level went down. Some of the "old staff" members are still around, so I only deal with them

I did a Diamond Trial awhile back and GP Staff was very accommodating on the time it started as to allow it to be during a time I was traveling.

I agree with the OP, it kind of defeats the purpose of "trying it out" if a majority of your time period covers a time your not traveling.

Good luck in finding an option

My original wording was indeed 'I am interested', hence I said 'mis-communication'. Still, this should be resolved with the customer in mind.

@Concierge: Thank you very much, but my decision to find a program other than GoldPassport to replace Hilton for me is set. Cancelled all my stays and am now looking for hotels. I appreciate your offer, but I do not want to resort on a Facebook lurker every time and customer service was so low, that I do not trust them as my choice for new hotel program.

It's probably your loss..... If you want to try something new a single mistake (by a badly trained rep) where you will now get the help to correct this, should not deter you from still trying if the program and the Hyatt locations suit you.

Doesn't seem a very rational choice.... but there's no need that it should ;)

@Concierge: Thank you very much, but my decision to find a program other than GoldPassport to replace Hilton for me is set. Cancelled all my stays and am now looking for hotels. I appreciate your offer, but I do not want to resort on a Facebook lurker every time and customer service was so low, that I do not trust them as my choice for new hotel program.

I do not think you were being unreasonable w/regard to your initial request and concerns over the 'insta-processing' of the Diamond trial. (Given that you were apparently Diamond in the past (http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/hyatt-gold-passport/1071039-hyatt-faqs-tutorial-getting-hyatt-points-please-read-6.html#post17370189), I am surprised they actually offered the challenge.) Nonetheless, if you find a program that suits your travel needs better than Hyatt, then you should certainly focus your stays at that program.

However, the characterization of the *highly* engaged/respected HGP rep on FT as a "Facebook lurker" really is not at all accurate. I know I am not alone when I say "if only ALL hotel/airline programs had as active/efficient presence on FT as the HGP rep."

At one time or another, I've encountered snafus in many (all?) of my various FF programs and no one comes close to the HGP rep on FT in terms of providing fast, reliable, effective assistance.

The phrase lurker was in no way meant to be disrespectful. I thought this was how they were called. I've heard a lot of good things about him/her, too. However, I just dont feel like relying on someone on an internet forum, no matter how good their work is.

BTW: I've never been Diamond before, my husband has.

I do not think you were being unreasonable w/regard to your initial request and concerns over the 'insta-processing' of the Diamond trial. (Given that you were apparently Diamond in the past (http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/hyatt-gold-passport/1071039-hyatt-faqs-tutorial-getting-hyatt-points-please-read-6.html#post17370189), I am surprised they actually offered the challenge.) Nonetheless, if you find a program that suits your travel needs better than Hyatt, then you should certainly focus your stays at that program.

However, the characterization of the *highly* engaged/respected HGP rep on FT as a "Facebook lurker" really is not at all accurate. I know I am not alone when I say "if only ALL hotel/airline programs had as active/efficient presence on FT as the HGP rep."

At one time or another, I've encountered snafus in many (all?) of my various FF programs and no one comes close to the HGP rep on FT in terms of providing fast, reliable, effective assistance.

this is the classic they only fix it when it goes public. If the OP never goes public with this, they tell her to pound sand.

I think the OP's original request was reasonable.

I think that the GP Conceirge response was reasonable.

I think that the OP's decision to stick with whatever she finally chose was reasonable. she had no ties to Hyatt so in her world, its no loss.

I too get annoyed at the "we can't help ya" when its really a "heck no, we won't help you" thing too especially on occasions like this one.

Yes it happens everywhere but if you have no ties to the organization, if you are a future customer that may bring a lot of wanted stays, then why not maybe make an effort to work with that person when it really comes at zero cost to you. But then again that is another thread that probably belongs in omni

Come on... It's not like you as a customer won't get anything in return. That surely hasn't changed by one bad experience.

Why not give them a chance to make it right and enjoy the benefits that were clearly anticipated by asking for the trial. There will come a time that any other program will fail you as well.

Another example of status dilution ! This is turning into another UA/Continental merger story with more people who are elite than actual non elite PAX. No wonder why the line for Diamond/Platinum at check in does not work. I suggest to have a special line for Hyatt Card Platinum, Diamond matching status, Diamond Challenge, ...and one for Diamond who qualify with $$$ spent in the property.

Another example of status dilution ! This is turning into another UA/Continental merger story with more people who are elite than actual non elite PAX. No wonder why the line for Diamond/Platinum at check in does not work. I suggest to have a special line for Hyatt Card Platinum, Diamond matching status, Diamond Challenge, ...and one for Diamond who qualify with $$$ spent in the property.

It could be that people just don't pay attention. The other weekend I was at the Hyatt Regency SF in the Diamond check in line which was clearly roped off. When I was done there was a line of about 4 or 5 guests. No one was in the standard line. I heard the front desk agent ask if there were any Diamond/Plats and only one person raised their hand.

I do not think you were being unreasonable w/regard to your initial request and concerns over the 'insta-processing' of the Diamond trial. (Given that you were apparently Diamond in the past (http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/hyatt-gold-passport/1071039-hyatt-faqs-tutorial-getting-hyatt-points-please-read-6.html#post17370189), I am surprised they actually offered the challenge.) Nonetheless, if you find a program that suits your travel needs better than Hyatt, then you should certainly focus your stays at that program.

However, the characterization of the *highly* engaged/respected HGP rep on FT as a "Facebook lurker" really is not at all accurate. I know I am not alone when I say "if only ALL hotel/airline programs had as active/efficient presence on FT as the HGP rep."

At one time or another, I've encountered snafus in many (all?) of my various FF programs and no one comes close to the HGP rep on FT in terms of providing fast, reliable, effective assistance.

+1 - If you travel quite a bit, you'll encounter problems with your Airline, Hotel, Car Rental company. At times, it's the problem resolution that's what counts.

Yes, the OP didn't get resolution until she posted here and was helped out by our Gold Passport Concierge staff, but often times that's the way it goes.

Hi everyone,

wanted to share my experiences with Hyatt and get your opinion on it.

1) Not satisfied with Hilton after several years of Diamond.
2) Booked 19 nights with Hyatt in August. 6 of them suites.
3) Contacted customer service asking about a challenge to Diamond status. I only asked about the T&Cs and said I was interested, did not include any evidence for Diamond with Hilton.
4) Received answer that I was "enrolled into a Diamond challenge as per my request. Requirement is 12 nights in 60 days.
5) Answered stating that I did not want the trial to start immediately, since the immediate start of the trial would see me miss the requirement. I would have easily made the required 12 nights, if the trial had not started right away.
6) Got response saying: "We are sorry, not able to modify start date".
7) Answered: "Did not ask for it to start right away, please move start date to July, 1st."
8) Got response saying: "We are sorry, not able to modify start date. Please accept our decision and remain loyal to Hyatt."
9) Told them I would have to cancel all nights if they would not change their mind. I did not use the Diamond status during the time it started, did not use any upgrades etc.
10) This is the response. BTW: exactly the same as the first two rejections.



As a result, I cancelled all my stays in August and decided to look for another competitor. Due to a miscommunication by their service agents and absolute inflexibility mixed with a disregard for customer service, Hyatt lost a lot of $$$ from me.

I probably would have made Diamond this year anyway. However, I am not going to put up with a hotel chain that does not even care to provide their (future) top customers with an individual reply.

Am I being unreasonable here?

Regards,
Liz

Greetings ,
Hyatt has shown me excellence and heartfelt customer care in my decades with them.
I admire many of the folks in Omaha. They are frequently bright educated and a pleasure to speak with.
During some select interactions though rarely they have shown me great levels of incompetence too as they did sadly this week without a follow-up.

My suggestion when you have an escalated issue as in this case get a senior manager who can look into your situation and hopefully make it right or come up with a better solution.
In the end losing out with a relationship with Hyatt as a top tier member is a big mistake and I've been in all the majors for years.
At the end of the day many of the Hyatt hotels/food dining options are better and take recognition above and beyond most Hiltons hand down

Cheers

OP, I too asked for a special start date last year for my dismond trial i was told to fax my info when i was ready to start It was honored and I'm so happy with Hyatt. I too was Hilton Diamond but have not looked back. The customer service here is outstanding!

Every program will have some customer service issues but the response from Nick is great! At Hilton it took over months to have my points put back. At Hyatt any issues are resolved quickly wit Nick.

+1 - If you travel quite a bit, you'll encounter problems with your Airline, Hotel, Car Rental company. At times, it's the problem resolution that's what counts.

Yes, the OP didn't get resolution until she posted here and was helped out by our Gold Passport Concierge staff, but often times that's the way it goes.

This is it. I have had bad experiences with Hyatt and with other travel providers I use. The thing that has kept me loyal (especially to Hyatt) is the excellent and quick resolution to my issues, and the availability of numerous channels to take my issues to. The HGP rep on FT is one of the BEST avenues and to dismiss it as some low grade internet presence is incredibly short sighted. The future is through internet and such mass media..to expect resolution only through the conventional method of phone or letters, is to dismiss the reality of customer service in todays world, and to negate the incredible value offered by Hyatt through intelligently offering a quality, responsive service online.

The phrase lurker was in no way meant to be disrespectful. I thought this was how they were called. I've heard a lot of good things about him/her, too. However, I just dont feel like relying on someone on an internet forum, no matter how good their work is.

BTW: I've never been Diamond before, my husband has.

Just curious, what was your motive for posting if you weren't willing to give Hyatt a chance to make things up to you? :confused:

I was actually wondering if it was me being a DYKWIA or if I was correct in being upset about the low level of service.

I was actually wondering if it was me being a DYKWIA or if I was correct in being upset about the low level of service.

I, like others, think that you are being unreasonable but as someone who earns Diamond status through stays and spends am glad there will be one less Diamond around. Personally these days I cannot think of one industry where there aren't customer service issues at one point or another.

I was actually wondering if it was me being a DYKWIA or if I was correct in being upset about the low level of service.

I think you being upset initially is fine - but rejecting the help by our Gold Passport Concierge was to me why did you complain in the first place - this is speaking as a regular member not the forum mod. I have been very impressed with the Gold Passport Concierge staff here on FT (Nick, Chrissy, & Brock as well as their boss Dana who posts occasionally) - the prior GPC was much less effective - when she resigned, I asked Jeff Zidell to provide a more effective staffing who can actually complete requests (or clarify an issue without having to run the idea through layers of bureaucracy like the previous GPC). Also, a few years ago, the GP call center was staffed by people who routinely handed out information that was blatantly wrong (a lot of this was pretty basic stuff) - lately it's been much better (not perfect and I never expect perfection due to turnover etc). This issue was a beyond basic though so perhaps the agent and the supervisor did not know how to accomplish what was being asked - but in the end the GPC staff was willing to do what you wanted.

The only program to my knowledge that has a more active "lurker" on FT is Starwood. Some other forums, like National ostensibly does have a lurker but he/she never posts.

I was actually wondering if it was me being a DYKWIA or if I was correct in being upset about the low level of service.

Was there really a low level of service? It was a miscommunication, which you acknowledge. After reviewing the first post, the CS agent did send an email explaining the exact reason that changing the start date was not possible. Then GPC reaches out to offer additional help. Sounds like a good faith effort to me.

If it were me, I'd be less concerned about the problem and more interested in the solution.

Ask to speak to someone who is empowered to either extend your current challenge or grant you another one upon its expiration.

2) Booked 19 nights with Hyatt in August. 6 of them suites.

No offence to the op, but your objection doesn't add up. Today is 8 July 2012. If you booked 19 nights in August (frankly the room type is an unnecessary fact), then you would have made the 12 nights within 60 days requirement, and thus be qualified as a Diamond until March 2014.

As such, what exactly, is the complaint? You are getting what you wanted?

As mentioned on countless threads. A trial of the top tier elite status is a privilege and not a right, as is a status match.

If it were me, I'd be less concerned about the problem and more interested in the solution.

Ask to speak to someone who is empowered to either extend your current challenge or grant you another one upon its expiration.

Yes, I think it would make sense to give Hyatt the chance to make things right.

Hyatt CS has gone downhill, but it is still not bad relative to other chains. I doubt SPG, IC, Hilton, or Marriott have significantly better customer service, and could indeed be worse than Hyatt.

Yes, I think it would make sense to give Hyatt the chance to make things right.

Hyatt CS has gone downhill, but it is still not bad relative to other chains. I doubt SPG, IC, Hilton, or Marriott have significantly better customer service, and could indeed be worse than Hyatt.

could indeed be better too

Can't speak for IC or Hh

but SPG which is in a league of its own (and I mean that in a positive way) is to me the slam dunk winner in CS relations; Marriott has been fabulous to me to the point where I think its better than Hyatt was to me at its peak

I think you being upset initially is fine - but rejecting the help by our Gold Passport Concierge was to me why did you complain in the first place - this is speaking as a regular member not the forum mod. I have been very impressed with the Gold Passport Concierge staff here on FT (Nick, Chrissy, & Brock as well as their boss Dana who posts occasionally) - the prior GPC was much less effective - when she resigned, I asked Jeff Zidell to provide a more effective staffing who can actually complete requests (or clarify an issue without having to run the idea through layers of bureaucracy like the previous GPC). Also, a few years ago, the GP call center was staffed by people who routinely handed out information that was blatantly wrong (a lot of this was pretty basic stuff) - lately it's been much better (not perfect and I never expect perfection due to turnover etc). This issue was a beyond basic though so perhaps the agent and the supervisor did not know how to accomplish what was being asked - but in the end the GPC staff was willing to do what you wanted.

The only program to my knowledge that has a more active "lurker" on FT is Starwood. Some other forums, like National ostensibly does have a lurker but he/she never posts.

In my experience the original lurker was the most accomodating one, but that is long long ago.

I was actually wondering if it was me being a DYKWIA or if I was correct in being upset about the low level of service.

It is good that you take time for self analysis. The jury has spoken, and I agree with the majority decision. The math had me puzzled, too.

No offence to the op, but your objection doesn't add up. Today is 8 July 2012. If you booked 19 nights in August (frankly the room type is an unnecessary fact), then you would have made the 12 nights within 60 days requirement, and thus be qualified as a Diamond until March 2014.

As such, what exactly, is the complaint? You are getting what you wanted?

As mentioned on countless threads. A trial of the top tier elite status is a privilege and not a right, as is a status match.

This happened a while back. I contacted them in late June. So as I said, I missed the requirement by just a couple of days.

And no, as I pointed out in the inital post, I did not get what I wanted. I asked about the conditions and was enrolled instantly and then denied the chance to have the trial start at the date I wanted it to start.

Also, I accept the fact that it is, as you put it, a privilege. However, a cusotmers business can be a privilege, too. In deciding to be inflexible and also rather unhelpful, Hyatt lost this privilege, just as I lost the privilege of the trial.

One last comment about why I did not give GPConcierge a chance: I use forums relatively seldomly. I am a traditional person who has to resort to phone calls or, at max, emails. While I am sure about the fact that the GP team on FlyerTalk does a good job, this is just not what I am looking for. I want customer service on a good level the traditional way. Hyatt did not seem to be able to offer this. Would I have been a long-term Hyatt customer, I probably would have taken up on the offer. I am not, however, since I shall be moving on and seek my luck with SPG.

Also, this was not meant to be pure rant or complaint. I also wanted to get your opinion on whether I was misjudging what happened. Thanks to everyone who took the time to comment.

And no, as I pointed out in the inital post, I did not get what I wanted. I asked about the conditions and was enrolled instantly and then denied the chance to have the trial start at the date I wanted it to start.


When I inquired about the Diamond Trial this past December, I received a response confirming that it was available and providing instructions to send a copy of my Hilton statement. Only after I did so was I confirmed as enrolled.

So here is where I am confused: did you go ahead and send a statement with your initial inquiry, or did the GP representative go ahead and enroll you in the Diamond Trial without it?

This happened a while back. I contacted them in late June. So as I said, I missed the requirement by just a couple of days.

And no, as I pointed out in the inital post, I did not get what I wanted. I asked about the conditions and was enrolled instantly and then denied the chance to have the trial start at the date I wanted it to start.

Also, I accept the fact that it is, as you put it, a privilege. However, a cusotmers business can be a privilege, too. In deciding to be inflexible and also rather unhelpful, Hyatt lost this privilege, just as I lost the privilege of the trial.

One last comment about why I did not give GPConcierge a chance: I use forums relatively seldomly. I am a traditional person who has to resort to phone calls or, at max, emails. While I am sure about the fact that the GP team on FlyerTalk does a good job, this is just not what I am looking for. I want customer service on a good level the traditional way. Hyatt did not seem to be able to offer this. Would I have been a long-term Hyatt customer, I probably would have taken up on the offer. I am not, however, since I shall be moving on and seek my luck with SPG.

Also, this was not meant to be pure rant or complaint. I also wanted to get your opinion on whether I was misjudging what happened. Thanks to everyone who took the time to comment.

Hello OP (That's Original Poster) for our more traditional users. I think we've beaten this horse dead.
I guess Hyatt is not the right chain/program for you. I'm sure others will be more than happy to accomodate you. Good luck and leave those suites to us.

In deciding to be inflexible and also rather unhelpful, Hyatt lost this privilege, just as I lost the privilege of the trial

And who is inflexible now?

Sorry but I'm having a hard time understanding why you did take the effort to post and then not accept the help that is offered. Claiming "the traditional way" is really weak and it seems you had made up your mind even before posting.

Why ask for anybody's opinion when you're just going to ignore it?

I would take any help that is offered to correct this relatively minor error and try the GP program and the Hyatt properties so I could really judge if it's worth your money. It will just take a simple private mail and you will be all set...

I just finished a Diamond trial (successfully). I think that the issue is that they have to manually enter your start date in the system, which then starts the 60 day clock ticking. They don't have a way of setting the start date at a point which will occur in the future. Like the OP, I had made some advance reservations in connection with an upcoming conference and other travel before asking about the Diamond trial. The phone representative explained that I should e-mail Hyatt GP 24 to 48 hours prior to the actual date that I wanted to start the trial. I did that and it worked out fine.
I had some other hiccups at the start of the Diamond trial, but things are working very smoothly now (in fact, I am about to write a positive post about a recent experience).

I have also had a recent customer service experience with respect to the Diamond Trial that is highly frustrating.

I am a GP Platinum member and also a Platinum (top-tier) member of the Fairmont presidents club. I recently called GP customer service to inquire about a Diamond status challenge and was assured by two representatives on the phone that they would accept my Fairmont status for the challenge. However, upon emailing my proof of status, they simply sent a form letter denying my request because is was not SPG, Hilton or Mariott.

I have stayed about 20 nights at the Hyatt Regency Houston over the past two months and will probably need to stay in Houston for business a total of close to 100 nights over the rest of the year. However, because of this I am seriously considering spending those nights with one of those competing chains that will match status with Fairmont.

The really sad part about this is that there would be little downside for Hyatt. As mentioned, I am already a GP Platinum, so if I did not complete the challenge, I would simply revert to the status I already have.

I agree that the Diamond trial is a privilege, and I should not feel entitled to it. However, the fact that I can get that level of treatment from Hyatt's competitors gives them a competitive edge for my dollars. Additionally, it is probably most frustrating that I was repeatedly told I was eligible for the trial, and then denied via form letter - this does not inspire a lot of confidence in GP customer service.

Wirelessly posted (Mozilla/5.0 (Linux; U; Android 4.0.4; en-us; DROID RAZR 4G Build/6.7.2-180_DHD-16_M4-31) AppleWebKit/534.30 (KHTML, like Gecko) Version/4.0 Mobile Safari/534.30)

Soooo..if you have 20 nights already...and are doing 100 more...your major anger is that they won't let you have the challenge (which would you would be wasting anyway) even though you could easily EARN the status by spending 30/100 more nights at Hyatt? This would leave you enough nights to earn top status with another chain too.

I have also had a recent customer service experience with respect to the Diamond Trial that is highly frustrating.

I am a GP Platinum member and also a Platinum (top-tier) member of the Fairmont presidents club. I recently called GP customer service to inquire about a Diamond status challenge and was assured by two representatives on the phone that they would accept my Fairmont status for the challenge. However, upon emailing my proof of status, they simply sent a form letter denying my request because is was not SPG, Hilton or Mariott.

I have stayed about 20 nights at the Hyatt Regency Houston over the past two months and will probably need to stay in Houston for business a total of close to 100 nights over the rest of the year. However, because of this I am seriously considering spending those nights with one of those competing chains that will match status with Fairmont.

The really sad part about this is that there would be little downside for Hyatt. As mentioned, I am already a GP Platinum, so if I did not complete the challenge, I would simply revert to the status I already have.

I agree that the Diamond trial is a privilege, and I should not feel entitled to it. However, the fact that I can get that level of treatment from Hyatt's competitors gives them a competitive edge for my dollars. Additionally, it is probably most frustrating that I was repeatedly told I was eligible for the trial, and then denied via form letter - this does not inspire a lot of confidence in GP customer service.
Have you tried to negotiate with the hotel's general manager to get the Diamond status on-site perks in the meantime until you officially become Diamond? Many properties take very good care of their regular guests, better than they do of new elites in their hotel chain. You would of course miss some Hyatt-program benefits such as extra points in following this path.

I have stayed about 20 nights at the Hyatt Regency Houston over the past two months and will probably need to stay in Houston for business a total of close to 100 nights over the rest of the year. However, because of this I am seriously considering spending those nights with one of those competing chains that will match status with Fairmont.

Multiple Hyatt nights in Houston. Brings back memories. Been there and did that. Where I first became a hotel status junkie.

Downtown FS, North Loop FS, or HP? The location is very convenient to wherever your business is, or your business is all over town? You do or do not have (need) a car?

There is being Diamond. There also is a numerical score based on recent stay activity. As noted above, and especially if your stays are all in one place, hotels tend to start kicking things in at least 5 or 10 nights early, and if they are not ask. (20 in the bed and a 100 night advance booking should get attention).

Why did you pick Hyatt Diamond over somebody else to start with? What is the objective? (Still a good choice for free vacation nights, if not the obvious choice it used to be). Frustrating perhaps, but if the reasons Hyatt was your first choice still apply you are on well your way and (presumably) doing it on company money (I wasn't).

There are not (or didn't used to be) clubs in the Houston properties, so you are not missing anything there. The Marriotts and Sheratons do (did), so if that's the point cut your losses and start over. Otherwise why quit now.

Hi everyone,

I probably would have made Diamond this year anyway. However, I am not going to put up with a hotel chain that does not even care to provide their (future) top customers with an individual reply.

Am I being unreasonable here?

Regards,
Liz

IMHO you are very unreasonable here and you harm yourself more than the Hyatt Group looses revenue :o

You experienced what I would call a "one-time-subpar-service" out of several reasons: not well-trained staff, staff making assumptions that this Diamond trial wouldn´t be really important in view of the great hotel stays and your history and so on. So at the first glimpse I would have reacted similar like you.

But on the long run it is NOT important if you are treated as returning customer, Diamond or whatever if you have a look on the Hyatt properties and there value for money .

So regardless if you are travelling for business or for leisure Hyatt and the GoldPassport loyalty programme has great Unique selling features:

1.) A nearly self renewing Regency Club upgrade for only 3,000 points.
2.) Superb architecture and towers in many cities of the World.

IMHO the Hyatt group has the best hotel of the world in Shanghai. As well as another great properties and sophisticated architecture.

It has the full range of modern architecture and hotels in renovated classical building complexes.

Therefore I *think* you harm yourself more if you stay in other hotel chains with nearly the same price range but not such great buildings like Hyatt.

So if I would be you I would divide my revenue between Hyatt and any other hotel chain of your choice. ;)

Hope this helps.

Lisa,

I am curious... what hotel chain did you decide to go with that you believe will provide you with better service?

Every chain has its issues... and not every employee is perfect... so not sure I would have "taken my toys and ran" as you chose to do.

Sounds like Hyatt did what you asked (even you admitted you communicated wrong) and when they did it, you got upset. And you did not want to give them a chance to repair the issue. That is harsh.

I don't understand the point of this thread.

Were you looking for guidance, which was offered by posters and a HGP rep, or was this simple an opportunity to publically renounce your dealings with Hyatt?

Seems that you're more content with having something to gripe about than you are trying to actively resolve the issue. That brings my post full circle.

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Soooo..if you have 20 nights already...and are doing 100 more...your major anger is that they won't let you have the challenge (which would you would be wasting anyway) even though you could easily EARN the status by spending 30/100 more nights at Hyatt? This would leave you enough nights to earn top status with another chain too.

Actually, the frustration comes from being told I could do the challenge over the phone (twice), and then being told no I can't via email. My sense is that the email customer service reps could give me the challenge, but they are just lazy (i.e., why their initial responses were form letters asking for the information I had already sent in the initial email.)

You're right, I could stay another 30 nights and "earn" status, but if that's the way things should be done, why offer the challenge at all? Why do any hotel chains offer status match? Its because people who stay lots of nights will choose to spend their money there over a competitor if they do.

Multiple Hyatt nights in Houston. Brings back memories. Been there and did that. Where I first became a hotel status junkie.

Downtown FS, North Loop FS, or HP? The location is very convenient to wherever your business is, or your business is all over town? You do or do not have (need) a car?

There is being Diamond. There also is a numerical score based on recent stay activity. As noted above, and especially if your stays are all in one place, hotels tend to start kicking things in at least 5 or 10 nights early, and if they are not ask. (20 in the bed and a 100 night advance booking should get attention).

Why did you pick Hyatt Diamond over somebody else to start with? What is the objective? (Still a good choice for free vacation nights, if not the obvious choice it used to be). Frustrating perhaps, but if the reasons Hyatt was your first choice still apply you are on well your way and (presumably) doing it on company money (I wasn't).

There are not (or didn't used to be) clubs in the Houston properties, so you are not missing anything there. The Marriotts and Sheratons do (did), so if that's the point cut your losses and start over. Otherwise why quit now.

I actually started the Hyatt because it is the closest hotel to my employer's downtown office. Since that time, my work has shifted so that 85% of it is out by the Galleria. I've stuck with the Hyatt because I like the hotel, but I imagine I would like one of the Westins or the JW Mariott by the Galleria as well (and they would be more convenient).

Thanks for the tip about the actual hotel manager - I originally posted hoping the Gold Concierge would also reply to my concern, but I will try that avenue as well.

Just curious, what was your motive for posting if you weren't willing to give Hyatt a chance to make things up to you? :confused:

There are many motivations to post reviews. Personally, when I post negative elements of my stays in hotel reviews here, I don't expect anyone to contact me or offer me compensation. I do it in the hopes that my review will benefit the community by allowing FTers to make more informed choices, with the secondary hope that it possibly benefits the property/company in making improvements.

In this case, OP's motivation seems clear as it is stated explicitly in the OP. But there are other benefits. Someone reading OP's complaint will now know that care is needed in preventing miscommunication when inquiring about Diamond trials. ;) It also allows HGP to review the current policy on starting trials which seems far too strict. Certainly it's better for HGP than not getting feedback at all.

For the record, while I value the contributions of the GP Concierges here on FT and their presence has a positive impact on my opinion of HGP, I have to admit I fully understand OP's position as far as feeling that customers shouldn't need to explore alternative communication channels in order to get problems resolved.

I actually started the Hyatt because it is the closest hotel to my employer's downtown office. Since that time, my work has shifted so that 85% of it is out by the Galleria. I've stuck with the Hyatt because I like the hotel, but I imagine I would like one of the Westins or the JW Mariott by the Galleria as well (and they would be more convenient).

If you're going to be in Galleria, I don't think there's any reason at all to stay at the HR downtown.

Am I being unreasonable here?


Contrary to all the Hyatt guys here who said you're being unreasonable, NO, I don't think you're being reasonable.

Hyat GP rejected your request to adjust start date 2-3 times, not just once. They were being unreasonable. You had no vested interst in GP, so you had nothing to lose by going somewhere else.

Yes, Hyat GP may be a good program, and yes GP Diamond benefits are great. But, if they cannot even get the customer into the door to show them how good they can be, they have lost. In the world of customer service, everyone has choices. If GP customer service chose to be inflexible, then why should the customer be flexible.

Considering how difficult it is to bring in a new top level customer, just look at credit card companies, I'm surprised that GP initial customer service, face to the customer, was this bad.

You'll enoy being SPG Plat. Even though US hotels are mostly so, so, the benefits you'll receive in Asia are outstanding, and Europe is very good. The new breakfast benefit for SPG Plat has worked out great for us in Italy recently.

never have a problem with hyatt diamond line