Last month I stayed at Hilton’s Elara Grand Vacation Property in Las Vegas. Nice room, nice location; but the staff leave a lot to be desired. The entire place is geared around selling time shares. There are time share people working both the start and end of the check-in line; ensuring everyone gets funneled past a time share sales person for a full pitch, combined with offer for a tour. This would not be so frustrating, if it wasn’t that there are more people assigned to time share selling than there are working the front desk, concierge, and valet combined. Making the lines at those areas ridiculously long.
That wasn’t my primary gripe though. What pissed me off, was Sunday at 9 AM the time share people called my room to try to convince me again to take a tour. Like virtually everyone else in Vegas, my girlfriend and I were sound asleep. We normally leave our cell phone on silent when sleeping; but the room phone was cranked up to max. How is this appropriate behavior? It’s one thing to accost someone in the lobby; it’s very different to call the room first thing in the morning. I’m a paying customer, and should not be treated in this manner.
So, I complained to Hilton corporate. This is the response I got a week later:
Dear [Janus],
Thank you for contacting Hilton Worldwide Guest Assistance Department regarding your stay at the Elara, a Hilton Grand Vacations Hotel. Please allow us up to five (5) business days to review and resolve this matter with the hotel directly. We want you as our loyal guest and appreciate you bringing this matter to our attention. If we can be of further assistance regarding your concerns, please do not hesitate to contact us at [Removed] referencing file # [Removed].
Best Regards,
[Removed]
Specialist
Hilton Guest Assistance
And after nagging them for not meeting their own SLA; this is what I got two weeks later (three weeks since the initial email):
Dear Mr. [Janus],
Thank you for contacting Hilton Guest Assistance. My name is [Removed].
Please accept our sincerest apologies for any aggravation or inconvenience experienced during your visit.
We are constantly monitoring the performance of all the hotels in the Hilton Portfolio of Brands and measuring them against high service and quality standards. Comments from our guests enable us to continually improve and exceed those standards. Please be confident that we will follow-up on the points you have outlined to avoid recurrence.
The time taken along with the effort made to share your comments with us is most appreciated. Feedback from our guests is vitally important in our mission to be the first choice of the world’s travelers.
We want you as our guest and are hopeful that you will afford us the opportunity to provide lodging services in the future.
Should you have any additional questions relative to this matter, please contact our Guest Assistance office at [Removed] or by calling [Removed].
Best Regards,
[Removed]
Specialist
Hilton Guest Assistance
Both are clearly generic emails, with zero evidence that the rep read a single word I wrote. Am I special, or has Hilton customer service really dipped down this badly? I’ll try to email them once more, see if I can get any sort of non-generic response, but I’m thinking my only option is to vote with my wallet. Anyone had good success getting a status match with other major hotel chains (based on diamond status with Hilton)?