From a personal e-mail response I received today from Marriott....

We are planning to begin mailing the Fall 2005 Elite Exclusive Offers in the later part of this month. They should be available online at that time as well.

We are planning to begin mailing the Fall 2005 Elite Exclusive Offers in the later part of this month. They should be available online at that time as well. While delays are always a possiblity I would look for them in a few short weeks.

Chris

I sure hope so, I'm working in Europe on a long assignment and need those buy one get one...esp. since beginning in 2007 I will probably loose my status...I'm staying in a city that has no Marriott :(

Still nothing...well except "Buy stuff as holiday gifts using your points"...hmm
Oh well...there still is 5 days left in the month.

Got to admit I am very disappointed with the lack of current offers. I usually have a few discretionary leisure stays at this time of year (Anniversary, Thanksgiving, etc.). I was looking forward to using the traditional 2 for 1 weekend night offer or something similar. With the lack of offers I may punt or downgrade to a cheaper property instead of full service. Oh well, I'll keep watching so see if some offers finally pop up.

--Jon

Marriott Concierge....
 

...11/1 and the EEOs have yet to be posted online.

Could you please look into this and post an update.

Thanks.

Based on this post, is it fair to assume that they entered a bulk mail process yesterday at the latest?

Delays are a possibility...should be a remote possibility, right? This is a repeated, operational process. Seems like the department or marketing agency responsible for producing these materials should be executing a very standard project plan that has been used and tested multiple times.

Not that I have an urgent need for my EEO...our holiday-season family trips almost always end up at Residence Inns or the like. It's just frustrating that Marriott can't simply publish dates on which the EEO's become available.

Ah, but that is why the notification from Marriott said, "We are planning to begin mailing the Fall 2005 Elite Exclusive Offers in the later part of this month". That way, since it is now November 1, the same statement works and it gives them another month to get the Elite Exclusive Offers out. :mad:

They are conditioning us to accept mediocrity as the norm. From mis-handling of BBs, to late or no EEOs, to Plat 48 hr guarantee special event exceptions, to "no suites" for elite upgrades including those of us who spend bodacious amounts of money at their properties. This is a good company, they are making lots of money, and their shareholders seem happy. BUT… if they don’t start performing and providing the customer service that they have been know for in the past, then they will see some of their best customers start using the competition. Well, Marriott, I for one do not accept mediocrity as the norm and am always receptive to using other hotel chains. Now does this mean I am going ot run out and stay only at Starwood properties. No, I intend on continuing with Marriott for the time being, but switching allegiances is always an option. There are many things with which I have been very happy with at Marriott, but it is little things like this that add up and eventually drive your best customers away.

They are also rated as one of the top employers, which makes me wonder why they keep slackers on staff that can’t even get their act together with regard to getting EEOs out on a regular basis, or insuring that hotels that book Summer Sleepover rates have BB inventory to support those bookings. Someone at Marriott is not doing their job, and they should be summarily dismissed to go find work elsewhere so someone who can do an excellent job can step up to the plate.

Who wants the soap box next?

Unfortunately the elite exclusive offers were delayed. However, they will be available online by Thursday November 3rd. This is also the date they will begin mailing them in paper form.

Thanks Chris!

Next time, save your rant for a company that actually deserves it. I have never had any BB problems and my experience is that they have been accepted a few times when the hotel easily could have declined. It's unfortunate that some hotels ran short of BBs but Marriott is not Wal-Mart. It doesn't control all aspects of its daily operations. It does, however, bend over backwards to fix a problem.

Regarding EEOs, this is an unscheduled, unpublished benefit. Many have come to expect them and, apparently, count on them but being "late" due to vendor negotiations and marketing considerations is not indicative of mediocrity, underperformance, slack or an inability to "get their [sic] act together."

The only thing that should be summarily dismissed is intolerance. Soap boxes are for storing soap, not sermons.

I look forward to and am very thankful for the latest EEOs.

I would have to agree somewhat with aaupgrade. I understand frustration has mounted. have felt this before.

The issue is company policy should be set forth and adhered to ...period. There is way too much discrepancy....everywhere within Marriott.

The lack of policy adherence has brought this tension of many to the forefront.

The mere fact that "sometimes" your BB's have been accepted, as well as mine; clearly illustrates the breakdown in policy. No one really every knows what to expect.

I LOVE Marriott, the company has been good to me, but I have brought much business to Marriott over the years, they should be good to me.

Mutual loyalty does not excuse the breakdown in policy which many of us have experienced.

I have become tired of policing my points, account, bonus offers etc. It has become unfortunate that it is refreshing when I check into a hotel, (using whatever offer Marriott dangles my way) that the clerk knows what to do! That is an obvious indication that we have been conditioned to accept not only mediocrity, but ineptitude somewhat regularly.

When Marriott "schedules" an EEO policy for the FALL, please have it available for the FALL; or at least do not identify them as such. This delay has occurred for years, well before online offerings.

Dash

I'm sorry but I don't share your frustration and tension. There has not been any "sometimes" to my BB acceptance experience. My point was that they have been accepted in cases where the terms state they would not be (e.g., one-night stays, special rates). This isn't indicative of a breakdown in policy but an individual property accommodating a long-time customer.

My experience over the years has, thankfully, not conditioned me to accept mediocrity or ineptitude, whether it is regular or occasional. In the rare case there is a question, I politely escalate the issue as a learning exercise for all, including me.

Although I don't believe that Marriott "schedules” EEO's, I'm pretty sure that Fall is not yet even half over.

And we were ecstatic the last quarter when EEOs not only came out on time, but also online. We complimented Marriott as if something abnormal had happened. All of us had our expectations pleasantly set that this was the new Marriott. Our bad.

Regarding point postings which went unmentioned in my previous post. I called Marriott 5 times over point postings for a recent stay. The first of these 5 times I called the Platinum line I got a recording that lines were busy and to call back later. When I called back later, and a subsequent time, I was on hold for 5 minutes. Today, my last two calls on this matter, the first call in the late AM their systems were down and I had to call back later. The second call I was on hold for maybe a minute and was very pleased with that. The CSR insisted that I was not due the points in question, to which I replied that the issue had already been resolved but the points were never posted. I asked to speak to the original CSR that handled the matter. She put me on hold for about 7 minutes. She came back to inform me that the other CSR was on a long call but that she had investigated it, apologized for her confusion, and had now posted the points to my account. It is like pulling teeth to get this stuff resolved. It actually seems like it has gotten worse over the past year and getting through to the Platinum line has gotten really bad over the past month. I asked the CSR during call number 2 about it and she matter of factly said they were under-staffed; no apology in any form or fashion for delays in answering calls. With the exception of this CSR, all of the CSRs have been exceptionally nice on the phone; there follow-up however has been less than stellar.

Like dash I love Marriott too, and I spend between $15-20K personal dollars and I do expect a certain level of service. Waiting on hold on a Platinum line, jumping through hoops to get points posted, checking into Hotels that don't have BBs to support their reservations, on time EEOs, etc. is not what I expect. These are things that have been complained about before, and are easily rectified.

Summer Sleepover rates are capacity controlled and should be relative to the number of BBs given to the respective hotel - not complicated, a simple data entry issue. BTW, I have not had any issues with BBs being accepted; but have had many issues with BBs being issued. Only on 1 occassion have I NOT had to ask for the BB I was due. Sorry if my previous post implied I had probems using BBs.

Something is wrong with either staffing, priority queuing at Marriott's Customer Service Center, or there has been a huge increase for reasons folks are calling Customer Service (hmmm...).

Points posting, an issue that has been discussed for YEARS here on FT and probably directly correlates to why it is taking so long, or our inability to get through to, Customer Service.

On time EEOs can be done, as evidenced by last quarter.

In the Trailing Twelve Months Marriott had $1.08 Billion Gross Profit, EBITDA of $592 Millioin, and Nwt Income avilable ot sotckholders of $619 Million. How about hiring some CSRs for the Customer Service Center it may well be worth the investment.

Thanks! In the grand scheme of things, they missed Chris' prediction from a month ago by 3 days. Not worth a pagelong rant. :)

Regarding overall mediocrity, I see that problem in other chains a lot, lot more than Marriott. In general, when I stay at a FS Marriott/Renaissance, I know I'm going to have a good stay overall because the properties are consistently good. Can you say the same thing about Hilton or Sheraton? Sure I have frequent front-desk issues with BB/PP/EEO certificates, but look on the bright side: HH and SPG don't even have those certificates to begin with! These are important features that have driven a lot of Marriott stay activity for me in the past year.

So I won't make a mountain out of a molehill. I wish Marriott provided more direct upfront communication about things such as EEO. By now, it's an operation that should be on the marketing calendar for Spring '06 and beyond. But overall, the program still rocks and the properties themselves are still superior to the competition.