Choice customer service is actually pretty great
May 6, 2016, 9:41 pm
#1
Original Poster
Join Date: Nov 2014
Posts: 26
Choice customer service is actually pretty great
People don't usually post when good things happen, so I thought that I would.
I joined Choice Privileges for Daily Getaways, and bought 176k points for the roadtrip I'm currently on (not Sweden value, but still a great deal). I've had two experiences calling Choice, and both went way better than expected.
1) I had booked an award for a Friday night. Cancellation policy was pretty strict, a week in advance. After the deadline had passed, plans changed and I needed to switch to Saturday night. The hotel had vacancy and the rates were the same (both in points and cash), so I though the hotel wouldn't mind. I called the hotel and they wouldn't do anything. The manager didn't really care, and said he couldn't do anything since Choice controls the reservation system. I called Choice and asked if they could help. The agent called the hotel for me, and he got them to agree to let me cancel, and cancelled the reservation for me.
2) A hotel I wanted only released smoking rooms for awards. Never released a single non-smoking room, even though they have the same cash rates. Seems to be a way to discourage people from using points. I booked a smoking room and asked the hotel to guarantee me a nonsmoking room (there was a lot of vacancy on that date) but they wouldn't. I cancelled the room. Later I called Choice and asked if they could book me a nonsmoking room. He tried, but said it would take too long for inventory to load. He instead took an initiative and called the hotel and convinced them to guarantee me a nonsmoking room. He then told me to book the smoking room online, waited until I did, then had the manager make a note on my file that I would be guaranteed a nonsmoking room.
If only Airlines were this helpful!
I joined Choice Privileges for Daily Getaways, and bought 176k points for the roadtrip I'm currently on (not Sweden value, but still a great deal). I've had two experiences calling Choice, and both went way better than expected.
1) I had booked an award for a Friday night. Cancellation policy was pretty strict, a week in advance. After the deadline had passed, plans changed and I needed to switch to Saturday night. The hotel had vacancy and the rates were the same (both in points and cash), so I though the hotel wouldn't mind. I called the hotel and they wouldn't do anything. The manager didn't really care, and said he couldn't do anything since Choice controls the reservation system. I called Choice and asked if they could help. The agent called the hotel for me, and he got them to agree to let me cancel, and cancelled the reservation for me.
2) A hotel I wanted only released smoking rooms for awards. Never released a single non-smoking room, even though they have the same cash rates. Seems to be a way to discourage people from using points. I booked a smoking room and asked the hotel to guarantee me a nonsmoking room (there was a lot of vacancy on that date) but they wouldn't. I cancelled the room. Later I called Choice and asked if they could book me a nonsmoking room. He tried, but said it would take too long for inventory to load. He instead took an initiative and called the hotel and convinced them to guarantee me a nonsmoking room. He then told me to book the smoking room online, waited until I did, then had the manager make a note on my file that I would be guaranteed a nonsmoking room.
If only Airlines were this helpful!
May 8, 2016, 11:03 am
#2
Join Date: Feb 2016
Location: DCA in the winter, SJC in the summer
Posts: 81
Completely agree - especially on hotels cancelling a reservation past the deadline, I've done that multiple times...
And when I call Choice, there's usually next to no hold time. Gotta love it!
And when I call Choice, there's usually next to no hold time. Gotta love it!
May 12, 2016, 9:31 am
#3
Join Date: Feb 2015
Programs: Choice Privileges, Southwest Rapid Rewards, Hertz #1 Club Gold
Posts: 50
My experience
When I first joined Choice Privileges around 2009 the customer service was poor. Multiple gift cards not received and the response was apathy at best.
Then, sometime within the last couple of years, Choice decided to outsource most of its phone support overseas and, just like the new website, the results were horrible. Agents were easily confused, and I was constantly put on long holds while they sought help from supervisors. Calls usually ended in frustration.
In the last few months, however, there has been significant improvement in the call center's ability to take care of business. Now if they can only get the website working properly.
Then, sometime within the last couple of years, Choice decided to outsource most of its phone support overseas and, just like the new website, the results were horrible. Agents were easily confused, and I was constantly put on long holds while they sought help from supervisors. Calls usually ended in frustration.
In the last few months, however, there has been significant improvement in the call center's ability to take care of business. Now if they can only get the website working properly.