keisari

Recently I stayed at the Park Hyatt Sydney with points and cash. Arrived early. Room not ready but offered upgrade (which included breakfast) for a steep price; I accepted and have no complains about the check in/upgrade process. Room was smallish but very nice and excellent balcony view. Breakfast had an amazing view and the food was very good. For this hotel and the price I did not think it was excellent.
When the survey came (on line via email) I filled it out and wrote that I noticed a few inconsistencies in their restaurants, lobby service and housekeeping. Also made a note of "email me separately if you would like to hear about the details".
A couple of days later I receive a response (long) with bla bla bla canned text saying he appreciates my response and that they will address the inconsistencies. It was signed by the manager of the hotel.
Needless to say you cannot address inconsistencies without knowing the details so the entire survey and response are BS.
Am I incorrect?

Mary2e

No, you're not

I made a few comments on a survey and within a few days, received an email from the GM asking for more details. I was not complaining but only noted issues I found in the room and indicated I thought they needed to know about it.

Kacee

It depends on the property. If a Diamond leaves noteworthy comments on the survey (positive or negative), the property will typically provide a personalized response. Usually the response will come from low to mid-level front desk staff, but that can vary based on property and the nature of the comment. IME, the GM is more likely to respond if you've left positive comments

Some properties don't send surveys and IME those are often the properties where feedback would be most appropriate.

keisari

I am not a Diamond with Hyatt so I guess there is inherently less value to my comments (money wise).
So why bother with the survey? I am not an expert is statistics and surveys but I have to assume they take the aggregate results and try to make sense of it.
Hyatt is not the only company to send seemingly useless surveys. United does it all the time. I just stopped answering.

jn in ca

My experience has been the same. Sometimes I get personalized responses clearly indicating a willingness to fix the problem when/if I stay again. Some offer clearly canned responses that do not address the issues, which I find to be frustrating, and some simply never reply at all.

For an important issue, I wouldn't depend on the surveys to convey my information.

keisari

I agree. If it is important then I would also send a direct email to the general manager or one of the other managers.
In this case I just wanted to share some general concerns. The service was very good but also inconsistent on several levels, for such a pricey hotel.

austin_modern

They do. I've got emails and calls from GMs when I've had issues. Some came with points if the issue was crappy enough. Normally I decline the points as I don't want to move down hyatts internal ranking system of guests. (Similar with AA and their dirty birds they assign to peeps who are freq whiners.)

tsz

I fill out the surveys sporadically, and there's only been a few occasions where I received a response from the hotel. I think in general I try to deal with any issues in-house before having to resort to post-stay complaint/feedback.

Interestingly, since WoH rolled around I've received an email from WoH asking to speak with me on the phone to help improve the program the 3 times I filled out a survey.

Radiant Flyer

Agreed.

Mary2e

I recently stayed at a Fairmont and filled out the review which was entirely positive, except for one item, which were the toiletries provided.. While they are higher end, the scent gives my husband a headache and I only mentioned that I should have thought to call the front desk and see if they could provide something else. In other words, it was my fault - not the hotel's.

The manager wrote back and indicated a note would be placed in our file to replace the toiletries when we come back (it was our second stay there).

I consider that excellent customer service.

hotturnip

To answer your actual question: yes, they do read them.

When I worked for Hyatt (back when dinosaurs ruled the earth) and the comments were sent in on comment cards, the results were tabulated by corporate, and sent to the hotels to address, including the specific comments. Managers definitely read them, in many departments.

Hikki1224

I have made a complaint about (terribly worn) rental shoes at fitness center. Several weeks later, I went to the fitness center at the same property, and I found that all shoes were replaced. I asked when they were replaced. Desk staff answered that they were replaced within 1 week following my complaints. So I guess comments are well read and lead to quick actions.

m0hamed

My understanding is that the surveys are taken seriously and anything less than an 8 is considered a fail.

Changes are the GM didn't send the email but his PA.

If you want to escalate them send an email to the GM directly and cc Customer Care.

HoustonConsultant

I complained in the survey about the lack of desks in the new-ish Hyatt Houston Galleria (and other new Hyatts), and a few days later I received an email from the manager telling me that if I notify them in advance, they would put a desk in my room.

That kind of responsiveness would certainly make me choose the hotel again.

CIT85

I filled a survey for PHV complementing staff service and commenting the renovation work and closure of the front entrance. I received an email from the GM thanking me for the complements and indicated that front entrance should be open in time for my next stay.