Complaining Effectively
We've all been there: the airline/hotel screwed up, either big time or small time, and you'd like some compensation. I thought it might be nice to have a thread discussing strategies for effectively getting the hotel, airline, or other service provider to compensate you for your inconvenience. After all, shouting on twitter about how you'll never stay with them again might be super cathartic, but probably won't get you much.
I recently had an atrocious stay at a Hampton Inn in New York (long story, but in short their elevators trapped me in the hotel because the front desk wouldn't send them up to me). I thought I might use that as a starting point for a discussion of how to effectively receive compensation.
I obviously sent in a complaint to Hilton (via twitter messaging, seriously, because I couldn't find the hotel's e-mail anywhere), and from there I heard from about 5 different people, who offered me five different things (a BMG certificate for a particular hotel, then for all Hilton hotels, then for a particular hotel, etc, etc....) I'm a Diamond member, and the hotel itself can't seem to agree with the chain on how to compensate me. The latest is, I said I don't usually stay at Hampton Inns and they offered me 20,000 points, which I find kind of laughable as a compensation offer.
So what are my do's and don't's?
Obviously, I find politeness is key. I always start with being polite but firm, explaining my issues and the negative consequences they had on me. I find it's useful to keep it cordial at first instead of getting angry, because this gives the possibility of "escalating" if things don't go your way.
Having a detailed list of not only complaints, but how/why they were particularly trying. For example, I have several conditions that make me extremely sensitive to noise, so when there's bad soundproofing, noisy neighbors, etc.... I can point that out to the hotel. Similarly, if I'm on a business trip and something the hotel does prevents me from conducting business (like trapping me on the 12th floor and not sending the elevator up for 15 minutes) I point out that this was not just an inconvenience, but directly interfered with my ability to conduct business on my trip.
Regarding the "I'm never going to stay at this hotel again/I'm never staing with X chain again!" statement.....for me, it's not a blanket "never use" statement, but I try to use it very sparingly, and when I've "escalated" the issue. I think it's most effective after you've given the hotel a chance to offer compensation; if you find it inadequate (or non-existent) then a polite statement such as "this kind of treatment is making me reconsider my loyalty" is, I think, appropriate. Stating it as information, rather than a threat (i.e. "This chain no longer satisfies my needs" rather than "I'm never staying with you again!!" is, I think, more effective). Thoughts?
Any additions? I've gotten a lot of miles by complaining about (perfectly legitimate, and not made-up) issues so I like to think the above is not too useless.