wonderbret

I have seen this in a few threads now, and i was wondering what bonus point value you would attach to a given bad situation.

Dirty room at check in?
No available room at 3pm? (or other posted check-in time)
Room being walking into while you occupy it?

feel free to add other situations and any relavent experiences.
Also with those past stories, please include where you were.

Gracias/Danke/Thank you.

keeton

In my experience, I have gotten 2500 points on two occasions. Both were due to maintenance issues - a non working A/C in one (in Florida!) and bad plumbing in another. I thought the 2500 points was SOP.

If the room was dirty on check in, then a new room should be assigned immediately. If done in a timely manner, I don't think compensation is necessary. This has happened to me on more than one occasion.

If the room is not available at check-in time, then I would think the 2500 points would suffice.

Being walked in on is a serious security breach. 10,000 points, or even a free night's certificate would not be out of line. Something should be offered for the "walker" as well since they were probably embarassed as well.

drtdk

I guess this is what's it's come to. We now expect travel to be guaranteed. Everything should be perfect. When it's not, every shortcoming should be compensated. Staying at a Marriott is now a trip to Westworld.

tcook052

Agreed. While I can understand and applaud a location for offering a goodwill gesture at times and in places and determining those on a case-by-case basis, isn't it a little much to expect every time there isn't a pen in the room, for example, I should get something? To each their own after all I guess but it seems a little "glass half full" even for me.

MikeBU

interesting... i've never asked for nor expected any compensation in points for anything going wrong... only twice in many years I have sent a letter to the GM that made clear my disappointment with a stay. In both cases, I have received full refunds on my credit card. I chalk up minor issues as 'stuff happens'... On a couple of other occasions I have voted with my wallet; switched to a starwood property when not satisfied with the MI property.

bigguyinpasadena

I have recieved points over MAJOR problems.Never on minor ones.I have a three strikes rule on minor things-and will only contact a manager when three minor things occur during the same stay.
And,as is pointed out in this excellent post
http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/showp...70&postcount=1
These are minor things that are easily handled when the staff is trained properly.
And here is my main gripe with Marriott-THEY DO NOT TRAIN THEIR STAFF Thoroughly!
This starts from the VERY top with the folks at customer service and marketing down to desk clerks and housekeeping staff.
Everything seems to be aimed at turning out a mediocre product at the least possible cost.

indyscott

Dirty room at check in?

I would expect a prompt resolution of the problem (immediate re-assignment or 30 minutes to clean?) and a sincere apology.

No available room at 3pm? (or other posted check-in time)

I would expect a truthful explanation of the situation and a firm time when a room would be available. A complimentary appetizer or drink at the bar would be a nice touch as well.

Room being walking into while you occupy it?

This is a more serious situation - I would expect some form of compensation for the person who got walked in on depending on the situation, say 25%-off rate for a person who was sitting in the room watching TV up to 100% for someone imposed upon while undressed or sleeping. If this was a case of double-assigning a room, the in-walker should get a room upgrade or some other small amenity (more or less depending on the size of party, length of walk, unpleasantness of the walk-in scenario, etc).


Unfortunately, this type of system would require the employees dealing with the situation to be empowered to grant compensation which could also lead to abuse of the system if not well-managed...

Also, I would add the caveat that employees should also be empowered to deny compensation to any customer who was rude, obnoxious, "fishing", or nit-picking.

rahmanbar

While I certainly want the points properly due me (arrival, regular, bonuses by dint of status or promotion) I think I can say that I've never tried to extort points.

What I really desire is a hassle-free stay.

To wit, I recently had an occasion wherein an alarm clock in a vacant room next door to us went off at about 5:30 AM on three consecutive mornings (of a four-night stay) and securiy or housekeeping had to turn it off.

On the same stay, there was, as usual, an unneeded delay in getting on our way the last day because an EEO wasn't credited properly.

Did they more than make it up to me (w/o me soliciting)?

Decidedly, yes - credited one night's charge, (and a second per the EEO).

A digression-
(On a prior visit - Labor Day weekend getaway, the outdoor pool was not available (with no prior notice for the final summer weekend) because sales committed the area for two weddings (you can imagine the uproar on the part of scads of guests).

That time too, apologies offered and points generated.

But back to my main point -- I tried to impress to the MOD the importance (at least to me), of not being awakened the second and third times by the alarm - that mishandling of the EEOs was experienced at least three pror times.

I'll get my points via status, cc, bonuses etc.

What I want from a property is a hassle-free stay (though I recognize that doling out points is certainly a tangible reaffirmation of regret and apology).

But, it's not addressing the problems (and what I'd prefer - that remedial actions will be taken in an effort to preclude them being repeated.

bigguyinpasadena

My feelings exactly!Do it right the first time so that I do not have to complain.
And if I have to be the one to train your staff-damn right I want compensation.

cliff_rock

Not Marriot, but at a Sheraton in Boston I was given a credit voucher to use in the hotel bar to order a drink or snack while I waited for room to be made up. Then the desk clerk brought the key to me. I appreciate gestures like this as more sincere compensation for your inconvenience, rather than points hush-money after the fact.

GeorgeBurdell

I picked up 3,000 MR points today from the GM at the Springhill Suites Kennesaw (Atlanta). Their internet access was down most of the morning. I was probably the first person to report it around 6am.

I received the email indicating the bonus points not long after I got a call from the front desk confirming that it was back up. I didn't know why I got the bonus points until I got back to the room later in the day and found a handwritten notecard with a dozen fresh cookies (yummy!) apologizing for the problem.

The problem didn't have a huge impact on me since I was able to check email with my cell phone and I had my office fax a copy of a document I needed to print to the hotel for me. But I like the way the hotel handled the issue, especially since it was a problem caused by a non-Marriott vendor.

BTW, this is the same bunch that services the Marriott Greenville where I've been staying for work the past couple of months. The front desk staff were complaining to me about how ignorant their tech support staff were. I agreed with them since I had other experiences with this ISP, none positive. Marriott needs to find another ISP for their southeast properties, one who doesn't outsource their tech support to some third world nation.

darthbimmer

Agreed. I chalk up a lot of minor problems to the notion that "stuff happens". And what constitutes a major problem is largely a matter of how well the staff responds to them. For example, twice in recent months I've walked into a non-smoking room that reeks of smoke. What compensation is that worth? All I ask is prompt reassignment to a fresh room of at least the same class I'm paying for -- which the front desk did in both cases. Overall, a purely minor inconvenience, thanks to quick and effective response. (ObPeeve: The true problem is Marriott thinking they can create non-smoking rooms simply by switching the placard on the door from "Smoking" to "No Smoking".)

An example of where compensation is deserved starts with me finding the heat or AC in my room is broken. What's that worth? Well, if they can move me to an equal or better room with working HVAC, nothing. I figure they don't know the heater's broken until somebody tells them, and perhaps I'm the fellow to whom that duty falls. But then the SECOND room had broken heat. I started wondering if the hotel had shoddy maintenance. Yet I simply reported the problem and asked for another room. I did not demand any other compensation until the THIRD room also had broken heat. Then it became clear that the "almost totally booked" hotel had a handful of bad rooms and couldn't (or wouldn't) give me anything better. At that point I believe a refund, or at least the equivalent in points, is appropriate.

bitburgr

I got 5,000 points for not getting turndown service/chocolates at a Marriott last year. To be clear, I was ~not~ looking for 'compensation' in my note...as a matter of fact, I was complimenting the hotel over the notable improvement in service over a previous stay at the same hotel.

Still waiting for 20,000 points over a problem with a maintenance issue I recently had (again, not looking for 'compensation' but while talking to a manager at the desk while asking for a new room she made an offer. I just wanted a satisfactory room...but I'm taking the points.)

hsh101

I've also chalked up some incidents to "stuff happens". I've walked in on a double-booked room, and luckily didn't catch anyone in an awkward situation. I informed the front desk, and that was that. Maybe I was entitled to some bonus points or comped stay, but this was at a hotel that I spend >75 nights a year. They know me by name, and take care of me in other ways.

If they ever miss my platinum welcome gift, I'd just walk downstairs and ask them if I could grab something from the snack area instead. They've given me the welcome gift a couple of times when I was still only gold, and I never returned it in those cases

lexdevil

...for literally having poop rained on me. We were staying in a double double late one night when we heard the sound of running water in the hallway. Looked outside to see water dripping from the ceiling tiles. Called front desk and they said they'd call an engineer. Twenty minutes later, no engineer, but a giant whooshing sound as the ceiling tiles in the hallway came down. Called front desk again. They said it was a toilet overflow from the room above (yuck!) . Then it started "raining" in our room. Called the front desk and they said to come down to get keys for a new room. As we packed, all of our stuff got rained on. Asked the front desk for change so we could use the washing machine to clean our clothes. They wouldn't/couldn't, but I did talk them into letting us use the machines that are used for washing the linens. Once we got to our new room, found it was a king and a sofa bed. I took the sofa bed, which then proceeded to tear my pajamas (there was a sharp metal piece on the frame). Wrote to the manager requesting compensation for the pajamas, but got nothing for the entire ordeal. Needless to say, I haven't been back.