Beolab

It seems to me, that more and more members on this great forum are having issues with the incredible mess at Hilton IT. I felt it was about time to center all these complaints in one thread, so that Hilton can read all frustrations in one central spot. In my opinion Hilton IT just does not seem to be able to keep up with the times.

This guest feedback will hopefully and finally get their attention and the systems working properly. We have read to many endless promises by Hilton representatives here, without significant improvements. If a bank had the IT systems that Hilton has, with all the mistakes and errors, they would be out of business very quickly. The amount of time needed to get things sorted out is becoming unacceptable. Just a few issues I keep running into:

-Points often not posting correctly in line with ongoing promotions
-Airline miles often not posting correctly in line with ongoing promotions
-Nothing posting at all after stays
-Never receiving any email statements even though opting in many times
-Never receiving Hilton promotions by email even though opting in many times
-Never receiving partner promotions by email even though opting in many times
-Website down many weekends for maintenance, but little or no improvements
-The "It's not you, it's me" message when the website crashes
-Battles with the Diamond Desk over promotion registrations they can't find
-Having to make screenshots of all registrations & bookings as proof for disputes
-Endless Diamond Desk email chains because emails are not read correctly

Issues raised in this thread by HHonors members as of 31st of October:

-Continuing problems with the HHonors App
-Having to log in over and over for years now
-The annoying Captcha needed for logging in, difficult on small screens
-Discrepancy in quality of individual hotel websites. Especially the "rooms" page
-No photos or only small room photos on websites, making it hard to see anything
-The bad functionality of the HHonors Apple Watch App

This is my first post of this kind ever on this forum, but after reading so many posts regarding Hilton IT mess ups and members frustrations, it seems about time to take action. The most recent example seems to be the HHonnors App Triple Points Promotion that so many members have issues with. We all spend a lot of money at Hilton, often staying at heir hotels for several months a year. The company has very, very healthy profits. So they should finally take care of their back office once and for all. Let's get this IT party started!!!

ehallison

Well I don't think it will get their attention. But if you're looking for a complete list, let's add the annoying captcha requirement. Why can't I log in 1x/day from my computer without clicking the box?

aww3583

I think this should be highest on the list.

We all know there are IT issues. Every HHonors member I know, regardless of status level, system engagement, age, demographic, etc. has had some type of issue that relates back to IT. It's not a secret.

Here on FT, most of us are near or at the Diamond level, and we use the Diamond Desk to communicate issues to the corporation. This creates a paper trail for the benefit of both parties.

It is painfully evident that the Diamond Desk is not staffed appropriately. The response time is too long and the response quality is laughably substandard.

Other rewards programs have increasing levels of customer service for as you increase in reward program status. If that's the case at Hilton, can you imagine the (lack of) service the lower tier members get!?!

Example of mind-boggling responses from HHonors Diamond Desk in the past year:

1. I include my HHonors number, full name, email address, and phone number in every communication to them. Every initial response I get starts off with "Hi, I'm _____ and I look forward to helping you. Please confirm your full name, email address, and phone number so I can look up your account." Since the Diamond Desk is incapable of more than one response every 24-hours, this delays the response/resolution by at least another full day.

If Hilton's IT was competent enough, they should build a webform where you input your basic information and the complaints/comments are immediately routed your issue to the appropriate personnel.

2. Regarding the Q4 Triple Points Promo, in four consecutive emails, the Diamond Desk said I needed to register for the promotion despite confirming that I received bonus points for the Q3 Double Points promo. In each response to them, I included a direct link to the HHonors website that listed the T&Cs for the Q4 Triple Points promotion. In the final three responses, I started my response with "PLEASE READ MY ENTIRE RESPONSE AND CLICK THE LINK TO THE HHONORS WEBSITE INCLUDED BEFORE RESPONDING." No such luck.

3. The Diamond Desk gave me an arbitrary number of "oops, our fault" points to make up for the Triple Points Promo confusion. They never actually resolved the missing Triple Points and the "goodwill" points were less than that owed to me from the promo. I told them this, then they removed the "goodwill" points and adjusted all of the points for the stay in-question. They took away random amounts of base points and promo points for no reason. Lauren got involved and the points were returned to their appropriate levels after a week.

I whole-heartedly agree with the OP's list. I think there is no incentive to improve the email communication regarding promotions. The more customers enrolled in the promotion, the less money in Hilton's pockets. I stumbled upon the 10-stays/10k-points promo by accident. I took screen shots every step along the way so when I don't get the points, I have proof I was enrolled.

It shouldn't have to be this way.

Beolab

Very annoying that if we did not check websites, such as this one or www.loyaltylobby.com, on a regular basis, we would never find out about most of the ongoing promotions at HHonnors.

toomanybooks

App on my iPhone today was useless also.

Numerous problems, including inability to click on "hotel info" link while contemplating booking and get anything back. Kept kicking me off.

I echo the complaint about having to log in over and over and over and over. This has been going on for years.

kt85

get rid of the captcha when logging in via desktop.

Beolab

Selecting storefronts, rivers & road signs, seems to be another issue that many are tired off.

Points Scrounger

Especially on a small sized phone screen!

aww3583

Use the app?

milesmilesmiles

I've never had to use the captcha on the mobile app, just on the full site about every 3-4 days.

RogerD408

These issues go way beyond just IT. The entire program has hiccups from time to time and it's very frustrating for the customer. Everyone will point their finger at the computers, but guess what, it's people that writes the programs the computer runs (been in the industry for decades and heard them all, even made up a few myself).

We have moved to a society that is being driven by the bean counters and unless you can put a contribution to revenue on a task it's not going to get the funding it needs. IT, and any support group for that matter, does not have an income stream they can point to saying this is what I'm worth to the company. But let them mess up and someone will find a way to say how much they cost the company! Support is one of those things where if you produce a good product you shouldn't need a huge support investment. But if you don't, then support becomes the "dutch boy" that keeps everything together while a fix is produced.

From my personal experience with HH, I called in about a promo not posting and the person on the Diamond desk emphatically claimed there was no such promotion and that HH would never have done one such as that (obviously trying to get me to go away empty handed). I requested to speak with a supervisor and was informed she WAS a supervisor, so I asked for her manager! She put me on hold for about 10 minutes and came back saying how she just returned from maternity leave and had not caught up with her email and was going to post the credit I earned. Now I'm all for working mothers and anyone doing their job, but getting back on the phones before being up to date on current activities is just wrong.

Even though this was several years ago, guess what sticks out when I hear Diamond Desk? As a manager I once had was fond of saying: It only takes one Ah Sh*t to wipe out 10 Atta Boys.

Beolab

That was a very clarifying post! With Hilton being mostly owned by a greedy private equity fund, which does not care about guests experiences, but just the bottom line, your story makes a whole lot of sense.

Beolab

Keep your comments coming.

emofeng

Wow! I was just going to post and ask for help regarding the points I received from a previous stay. I looked at my points activity from my previous stayed and noticed my "base point" awarded was 730. I think to myself...this is SO LOW as I spent >$200 at the property and I figured I would earned at least 2000 base points at the minimum.

Anyhow, I chatted online with a rep. and he quickly acknowledged the issue and rewarded me with the correct base points of 2487. When he made this adjustment, i noticed that my "mobile app offer" bonus was not included. Rep said I was not registered(even though I was registered for the double points promo). I even showed him another previous stay that included the mobile app offer...and he tells me, "the points will be reflected in 6-8 weeks".

I had a hard time telling him the points should be reflected right away via online chat. I decided to call customer service and the rep. gave me the mobile app offer points to my account right away.

Very frustrated. Not sure how they initially calculated 730 base points vs 2487.

krazykanuck

Your complaints are like asking water to not be wet. Hilton IT is so bad that I don't even try to understand it in real time. God forbid you try to use the website on the weekend...