Originally Posted by
socrates
your statement that Marriott "Rewards Program not run by Marriott" isn't correct - to be specific it is run by Marriott however as noted in the program rules some awards are provided by 3rd party vendors. MI, its affiliates and subsidiaries make no warranty, express or implied, as to the condition, capacity, performance or any other aspect blah blah blah...again with that said I would encourage you to contact Mr. Marriott's office of Consumer Affairs to see if they can assist in this matter...it's shameful that Sky Mall is selling the same exact item to their direct customers (either way Sky Mall is collecting $$$ for the product, in your case MI is cutting them a check)....I would equally suggest you contact the executive offices of Sky Mall to let them know of their shameful customer service practices....unfortunately there isn't too much MI can do since it's a 3rd party vendor but perhaps executive office to executive office will help
I would respectfully disagree with the first sentence ( but love the exchange ) while technically a Marriott program, the administration of the program is completely in Skymall's court. If Marriott was truly managing the merchandise portion of the program, there would have been transparency when i expressed my concerns to the Marriott customer service and not direct me to Skymall. Granted the non merchandise part of the program, i.e., hotel rewards, may be directly administered by Marriott, they clearly are not managing the customer experience in the merchandise portion in this instance. They turned the entire process over to Skymall.
The 3rd party vendor relationship is granted and defined by Marriott, not Skymall. My loyalty is rewarded by Marriott, not Skymall. My thought then is Skymall in turn would most likely not have the same level of concern if addressed by me, rather than addressed to them by Marriott and I was surprised they indicated they would not do in the email responses to me. However, I did write ( snail mail ) to Mr. Marriott in Bethesda. No doubt it will be handled by a staff member hopefully in position to address the issue going forward. Hopefully they see it as good feedback and it helps them.
Marriott has spoiled me. The brand and the experience has been exceptional over the years. They have built a wonderful brand based on quality and customer service that has kept me loyal since 1988. Thats why I was surprised at their email responses to me. The five delays surprised me. It is not a Marriott experience. I may be beating this to death, but not intended.
Cheers and happy travels.