Marriott Rewards (including Ritz-Carlton) - Plunge your own toilet at Courtyard Bowling Green Ky

Our toilet is plugged and the attendant tells us we have to come and get the plunger and plunge the toilet ourselves. Attendant says "All hotels are not full service hotels"....Is this what Courtyard has become? The manager, Courtyard and Marriott should be embarrassed.

They should be embarrassed? Hey, they ain't the ones who plugged the John.:D

Our toilet is plugged and the attendant tells us we have to come and get the plunger and plunge the toilet ourselves. Attendant says "All hotels are not full service hotels"....Is this what Courtyard has become? The manager, Courtyard and Marriott should be embarrassed.

Put it on the board.... Yes!

Neither did I....

Very soon marriott will ask their guests to bring their own plunger! :p

Do they have another room you can move to?

Next: change your own lightbulbs, as we're not full service, but at least we'll give you the light bulb if you come down to the desk with the burned out one.

Then they'll ask people to make their own beds......and launder the towels......and......

Th hotel won't need any employees, just an automated check in desk and store for the needed items.

Our toilet is plugged and the attendant tells us we have to come and get the plunger and plunge the toilet ourselves. Attendant says "All hotels are not full service hotels"....Is this what Courtyard has become? The manager, Courtyard and Marriott should be embarrassed.

Yes they should.

Did you talk to anyone other than the FDC re: it? What was your response to the FDC when told that? (I know what mine would have been ;)). If the GM supported the FDC, I'd escalate it to Marriott HQ.

But if the GM didn't know about the problem or FDC response (weekend), I'd cut the GM a bit of slack until I notified him/her - and based on his/her response, then I'd determine what to do about it - ie, contact Marriot HQ, contact Bowling Green local newspaper, write a report on TA, etc, if he responded badly & thank him if he responded properly.

Cheers.

Our toilet is plugged and the attendant tells us we have to come and get the plunger and plunge the toilet ourselves. Attendant says "All hotels are not full service hotels"....Is this what Courtyard has become? The manager, Courtyard and Marriott should be embarrassed.

Please please please share this with management

Please please please share this with management

Agreed...sounds like a crappy situation ;) (sorry - couldn't help myself! :D)

Agreed...sounds like a crappy situation ;) (sorry - couldn't help myself! :D)

:D :D

Cheers.

We checked into a Fairfield Inn recently and found a large insect in the room. We were allowed the use of some kind of long-handled dusting tool by the FDC to dispatch the insect, but no assistance was offered. It was purely a DITY operation. FDC said this was because she couldn't leave the reception area (of course when I came back to return the tool, she was nowhere to be found - I waited there a few minutes before I noticed her pacing back and forth outside smoking a cigarette).

We checked into a Fairfield Inn recently and found a large insect in the room. We were allowed the use of some kind of long-handled dusting tool by the FDC to dispatch the insect, but no assistance was offered. It was purely a DITY operation. FDC said this was because she couldn't leave the reception area (of course when I came back to return the tool, she was nowhere to be found - I waited there a few minutes before I noticed her pacing back and forth outside smoking a cigarette).
For whatever reason, I feel like there is a difference in the degree of bad response you got as opposed to the OP. In the OP's case, a basic of what one expects from the lowest price hotel on up, failed. And upon reporting it, and expecting assistance, as any traveler would, the OP had to deal with either (take your choice) a smart-alec (I actually used a different word beginning with "a" but it disappeared when I posted) front desk clerk, or a completely clueless front desk clerk. In either case, beyond the pale behavior.
Killing an insect in a room, on the other hand, I've done many a time, although there's nothing wrong with asking for assistance in the event of an insect invasion or an unusually large insect.

During my tenure as a FDC at a CY, there were two occasions when I had to ask a guest to either wait 15-20 minutes or come get the plunger and DITY. Both involved a line of check-ins and me alone at the property. Both guests chose the DITY route and neither complained to management. I worked 3-11 and was nearly always alone after about 8 PM. Most people understood and didn't seem to think it was a big deal.

During my tenure as a FDC at a CY, there were two occasions when I had to ask a guest to either wait 15-20 minutes or come get the plunger and DITY. Both involved a line of check-ins and me alone at the property. Both guests chose the DITY route and neither complained to management. I worked 3-11 and was nearly always alone after about 8 PM. Most people understood and didn't seem to think it was a big deal.

You presented an option. Different than just telling to DIY.

For whatever reason, I feel like there is a difference in the degree of bad response you got as opposed to the OP. In the OP's case, a basic of what one expects from the lowest price hotel on up, failed. And upon reporting it, and expecting assistance, as any traveler would, the OP had to deal with either (take your choice) a smart-alec (I actually used a different word beginning with "a" but it disappeared when I posted) front desk clerk, or a completely clueless front desk clerk. In either case, beyond the pale behavior.
Killing an insect in a room, on the other hand, I've done many a time, although there's nothing wrong with asking for assistance in the event of an insect invasion or an unusually large insect.

Agreed!

I suspect the level of "disgustingness" involved was probably much higher in the OP's situation.

I guess my (unstated) point is that many of these hotels are staffed by only one person in the evening hours which puts that individual in a difficult position when situations arise. However, rudeness (as the OP apparently experienced) and lying ("I can't leave the FD" in my situation) should not be in the catalog of acceptable responses that employees turn to in these situations.

Maybe it's a business opportunity for someone - evening "handyman" services for areas with concentrations of minimally-staffed, mid-level hotel chains...

As a FDC many years ago at a Homewood Suites, I was often all alone on the property after 7 PM or so. I always worked weekends and only on rare occasions would there be anyone else on the schedule to work with me. I must admit that I have done the same thing as the FDC in the original post. I was polite and apologetic about it, but, could not leave the front desk unattended to go throughout the hotel seeing to guests' needs. It was also my experience that there was little, if any, direction or suggestions from management on how to properly handle such situations. Not to say a FDC can't figure out how to do it, but, it helps to have some back-up plans.

It's all in the delivery "What do you htink this is a full service hotel?" sends a far different message than a polite explanation, along with an offer to either fix later or come down and retrive plunger to fix yourself.

It's all in the delivery "What do you htink this is a full service hotel?" sends a far different message than a polite explanation, along with an offer to either fix later or come down and retrive plunger to fix yourself.

Exactly. I think if the OP had been offered the option of waiting 15-20 minutes or DIY, they would have been more ok with things. But the response about this not being a full-service hotel is ridiculous.

Cheers.

Next: change your own lightbulbs, as we're not full service, but at least we'll give you the light bulb if you come down to the desk with the burned out one.

Then they'll ask people to make their own beds......and launder the towels......and......

Th hotel won't need any employees, just an automated check in desk and store for the needed items.

Some people would actually like that.


Not that I am one of them

If I was given to choice to either unplug the toilet myself or have someone else go through my sh.t to do it for me, I'd always select the former. I'd just be too embarassed...

HTB.

I can't think of anything but to say this a hilarious joke :-)