<font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="2">Originally posted by kelly786:
First of all I would like to join the others in thanking you for being willing to share your expertise and knowledge with the rest of us. My questions are:
1. What is an effective way to complain about room conditions and/or service? As an example, I was at a Ritz Carlton property recently and found the bathroom to be in very unhygenic condition. When I called front desk and informed them of this they first put me on hold for 5 minutes and then came back and said someone would be up to take care of it soon. Half an hour later someone did come to clean the bathroom. That was not a very pleasant way to start a relaxing weekend. Any suggestions.
Also in the same vein, I have read many times that one should ask for upgrades but I never know quite how to put it. My concern is always that I don't want to tick the front desk personnel off. Any advice on how to approach asking for an upgrade without seeming pushy???
Thanks in advance</font>
1. Kelly, your welcome, glad to be of help.
First of all, I'm surprised to hear a Ritz rented you a room with a dirty bathroom, they have very high cleanliness standards. In any case, if something warrants lodging a complaint, they best way to do it is contact the manager of the specific department directly. Don't call the front desk unless they checked you in to the wrong room or something. If the room is dirty call the housekeeping manager. If your room service breakfast is cold, call the room service manager. If you call the wrong dept. you're just going to get the runaround. Be polite and courteous and the problem will be solved, yelling and screaming does you NO good.
As far as upgrades go, it ultimately depends on who's behind the desk. You just have to be friendly, maybe strike up a conversation and simply ask politely. Don't say "I need an upgrade." Try something like "if you had a larger room available I could really make use of it." Again, if you are staying for multiple nights it is less likely you will get upgraded, but if its a one night stay your chances are pretty good.
Hope that helps!