chix

Seriously dude. They lied and I was not rude. To say the least, they were incredibly rude by being adamant that there was no possibility that I was correct in knowing the benefits.

You were not there so you should not pass judgement. It was a very stressful event and they needed to know better so they don't do this again to future guests.

As far as getting something for nothing... Obviously you do not know the purpose or definition of what a guarantee is!

chix

Thank you Joshua. Perfectly stated!

BeatCal

As is being adamant about something they thought was true being rude. As you state it was "a stessful event" - that stress was most likely brought on by you continuing to tell them they "owed you".


As to passing judgement, I own a hotel bought out by Marriott and understand the "learning curve". Marriott DOES not teach them all ins and out.

Instead of hassling the the employees, the OP should have done what he finally did and contact Mr Marriott.

chix

Harassing the employees.... ha ha. They harassed me. If I took your advice the guarantee would not apply as you need to address the guarantee before you check out.

If you read my entire post you will notice that I tried to discontinue dialogue with the adamant liar mod by calling CR. CR worked it out and advised that the $100 would be waiting in the morning when I checked out. It wasn't.

This pretty much summed everything up that I was not rude or harassing.... when I insisted for the cash vs a thousand or two MR points, another non manager employee admitted on the side when the mod disappeared into the back office for a couple mins. She shook her head and admitted in disgust what a jerk her colleague was being. Her point is it's common sense that any person would prefer or be due $100 vs a few MR points. You could see her body language that she despised her MOD (Jay).

Remind me to never stay in your hotel.

SkiAdcock

Hey guys, let's not make this personal with each other.

Marriott has the guarantee for a reason, to ensure that Marriott properties comply with policy (whether that be PAG, breakfast, room). Marriott should train new employees/properties when they come on board. If they don't, that doesn't make it the guests' fault. Guests shouldn't have to know the basic policies more than staff.

Civil discourse & common sense on both sides can go a long way. Are there some (generic some) elites who are DYKWIA w/ staff & try for gotcha's on guarantees? Yes. Are all elites that way? No. Are there some (generic some) Marriott associates who don't know the rules or forgot to offer the PAG & then, instead of owning it/handling it properly, double down & lie about it? Yes. Are all associates that way? No.

There have been times when a FDC forgets to offer me the PAG or it's not delivered. Depending on their demeanor I'll cut them slack/remind them nicely & not ask for the $100 guarantee. If, however, they push back/are rude/lie, then heck yes I'm going to invoke the guarantee.

Way up thread (this is a long thread) we've had examples of employees/managers turning themselves into pretzels to avoid paying the $100 to elites, claiming that the guest chose points when in fact the elite wasn't asked at all which they preferred & which triggered the invoking of the guarantee. Some said it's stored in the Plat's profile whether they prefer amenity or points (which of course is not true).

Cheers.

chix

Thanks and perfectly stated. You remind me of me. That is exactly my attitude. Never would of asked for the cash if they treated me kindly.

joshua362

Did your or Delta's hotels have a loyalty program before the changeover date?

Being in the hospitality industry, was the concept of loyalty programs a completely foreign concept?

The big picture of everything that was needed to know before accepting Marriott guests was a few clicks away on the public website.

Cleary Management chose to ignore, not learn, not implement, not train then make excuses and weasel out of their new obligations.

wxguy

I recently used mobile check-in for the first time. It appears that doing so automatically selects the points (it says "if you wish the F&B credit let us know when you arrive). So if I'm reading this correctly, using mobile check-in means one cannot invoke the arrival gift guarantee.

Points Scrounger

At more than one brand, I've had the clerk ask about the amenity preference with a mobile checkin.

pharmawalk

We had a nice Platinum welcome gift of a bottle of champagne, and a cheese/crackers and fruit plate at the JW Marriott in Cancun.


PS: Delta Kananaskis acknowledged our status promptly and upgraded us to the "mt. Kidd' suite.

The smallest state

Delta Kananaskis is a fantastic property. I have been treated famously there.

lucycan

Had a very poor check in experience at the new REN Gateway ATL and forgot to invoke the guarantee.

SkiAdcock

So that's on both of you then - the property for screwing up & you for not invoking the guarantee.

I believe we have a property thread so feel free to update it w/ specifics.

Cheers.

BeatCal

ski
I agree. but there are many employees. Esp at a new hotel that has not learned all of the Marriott rules. And they are not that great of teaching all of them.

I was not at the OPs hotel. But I can tell that more often than not, when a guest is told "we don't do that" (by error or truth) - the customers starts to argue with the employee and then the manager. This sounds like what the OP did. If one is "adamant" then one is arguing with the employee which is harassment. If you do that at an airport, you are likely to be arrested

I do not do much for those customers that harass my workers. But if he asks once or twice and then asks for the manager and then says he will discuss it with Marriott - I bend over backwards to help him in the future and thank him for his education.

I will admit there are a lot of A.... at hotels. I used my Marriott discount at a hotel in Savannah (that was just taken over my Marriott) and I was given a room in the basement. The manager than told me that they give out rooms based on the amount $ and as mine was essentially free, I was in the basement. Luckily I recorded the conversation and called corporate in front of him and played the tape and, he got sent for further training. But I did not argue with himeother than tell him he was wrong and that Marrriott treated their employees as if they were all Princes which is why they have such a high retention rate.

captainbaker

We have roughly 300 flight crews and all are Marriott people. There are a few who are really anal about the whole 'Being recognized at a Platinum member'.

Ive invoked the $100 rule 3 times in 20 years. The last time was 5 years ago at a Marriott casino in Puerto Rico. We walked up to the front desk and the person behind the desk would not put down her cell (texting). My flight attendant said 'excuse me' after about a minute. CRS looked up, rolled her eyes and slammed down her cell.

It went down hill from there. No thank you for being a Plat member, just lots of aggravation from us interrupting her twitter war. We finished up and regrouped back a half hour later in the lobby bar. We all felt a little disrespected as regular guests, let alone Platinum etc. Long story short, I asked for the $100, she said there is no such thing. The Shift manager confirmed the claim. I told him I would call Salt Lake while he looks it up. About 10 minutes later, he walks over to our table and asks to talk to me in private. I assumed so he could make things right and apologize. Nope, he doubles down. "Do you really need the $100? Are you really that poor? So you want her to get fired?"

I responded, "No, No and thats your call". He had the $100 bill in his pocket along with a receipt for me to sign. At that point, I told him to get two more $100 bills for my crew members. I should have written a letter, but when I write my first letter to Marriott, I want it to carry some weight.