kitkatft

I need to shout out how much I love Marriott at the moment.

Corporate gives staff the technical ability to service requests quickly and easily. I don't think I've ever made a special request that the person I was dealing with (or one person up from them) couldn't fulfill in a matter of seconds.

Corporate grants their staff so much flexibility. I am NOBODY -- I repeat, NOBODY. Yet I swear, over the last 5 years, I have yet to make a "pretty please with sugar on top?" special request of a Marriott hotel (or central customer service) that they didn't gladly fulfill -- today's help was so over-the-top I can't go another minute without posting.

If old-school customer service ideals include treating even award reservation holders like royalty in case they become paying road warriors one day, well, they've done their job with me.

If I could TripAdvisor an entire chain, I would give Marriott 5 stars. I'm sure they've got their issues and foibles with customer service ... but I sure haven't had the chance to run into them yet.

Corporate, if you see this, feel free to pass it up the chain. Give yourselves a pat on the back.

estnet

Glad your experience is so good - mine isn't Their phone system to reach someone is impossible, I was given 3 different emails for concierge over 3 calls - way too much time (and why isn't the email given on the website), etc.

DJ_Iceman

Some specifics on your wonderful current experience would go a long way toward establishing credibility, IMO.

ehallison

I can think of a few occasions where we've treated like royalty over the years - as if our checking in was truly the best thing that had happened to the staff! And then there are the times when the staff are indifferent and "here's your room next to the elevator." In any of the cases, I didn't take that as a Marriott thing but more of an individual property/management thing.

Like DJ_Iceman, I'd love to hear the specifics about that experience.

3Cforme

I can't say Marriott has always been wonderful to me, but it's clear the front desk staff have been trained in 3-step complaint resolution:

1. Acknowledge the problem. (Don't deflect, don't trivialize.)

2. Apologize.

3. Offer a real and immediate solution.

This has been true on international stays, award stays, 3rd-party prepaid stays, even Priceline opaque bidding stays. (Part of the attraction of Marriott for me is the relative consistency of standards - I encounter problems less often.)

I wish I could, but I won't say that Starwood or Hilton staff have routinely shown the same proficiency

Flame3601

Recent convert from SPG and have been blown away , use to think Marriot was a second class hotel chain ! Boy was I wrong ...

HHonors OUTSIDER

This is interesting. Could you elaborate on how or where you got the idea that Marriott is a second class hotel chain?

joshua362

Yes please. You could be fawning over getting the Presidential Suite when they didn't have your bed type at check-in from not getting your room at 2am because they sold it but suddenly one materialized when you complained - to everything in between.

Please dish...

NDDomer86

Corporate indeed empowers its staff to do what is necessary to make a guest happy (within reason of course), but unfortunately most Marriott properties are not corporate owned/operated which means that the Management company overseeing a franchised property decides how much or how little power to give its employees to solve guest complaints.

I was fortunate enough to work for a corporate managed property, so we were told from the beginning of training that we have full empowerment to do what was necessary to resolve any guest situations.

YoungBubbie

👍👍👍

I completely agree with you. I have found Marriott customer service to be the best. Other corporations should use them as an example of how to train their employees.
The people in MR are the most professional and helpful. What I do love is the fact that Marriott does enpower their people to resolve any issues to make their customers happy.
If something does go wrong, they have gone above and beyond to make things right in most unexpected ways. Things that even I don't have the nerve to ask for or expect.
A few weeks back, a box of tissues forgot to be replaced. When they were brought, I thanked them explaining they were truly needed as my husband had a cold. That evening I got a knock on the door with housekeeping bringing us a tray of hot tea and honey as well as cookies. Totally unexpected and most appreciated. They were listening and cared. Unfortunately can't say the same for many people these days.

Seems those Starwood naysayers are starting to see why we love Marriott. Marriot has been good to me over the years and I in turn have been loyal to them.

YoungBubbie

Didn't know that was part of the training, but I could tell that employees were empowered. None of this let me get my supervisor, I'll get back to you nonsense. Things are just taken care of.

JBord

This is exactly the reason I've stayed with Marriott over the years, as a business traveler. The number one thing I want when I'm tired and need to get 6 hours of sleep before a meeting the next morning is NO SURPRISES.

Consistency....knowing what to expect at each property, and quick problem solving have been the keys to keeping me comfortably unsurprised .

flyingmike

If someone specific did something remarkable for you then it is worth telling corporate. This happened to me once at the Marriot Metarie, outside of New Orleans. An employee went above and beyond, and at no charge, to ensure I would not go to bed hungry after a day of travel.

I sent a note to corporate about the positive experience, who forwarded it to the hotel manager. The manager sent me a note about two weeks later saying he had read my email to the entire staff and placed my email into the employees permanent personnel file.

Clearly my kudo's were a notable event and it made everyone's day. No, I do not do it when I need an extra towel, this experience was something I felt was unique and it made a difference acknowledging the employee.

Mike

estnet

Nice to see all the positive comments but OP is nowhere to be seen - troll?

dayone

You omitted the first step of the four steps of successful problem resolution:

1. Listen patiently and attentively. Let the customer tell the entire story without interruption.