I checked into the Baltimore Marriott Waterfront today for a 4-night stay. This is one of my favorite Marriott properties, and service is normally top-notch.

Several things have happened so far:

Although my platinum status was recognized at check-in, no mention was made of the fact that the c-lounge was closed for the holidays. I later discovered this on my own. I had to go down to the front desk to inquire (and to ask about breakfast certificates).

Additionally, since I was not provided a room on a c-floor, I asked if it would be possible to send up "a couple" bottles of water (my rationalization for this is, if I was on the c-floor, you would have given me water anyway).

I was told that both the water and the breakfast certs would be delivered (apparently they needed to print up more certs).

Two hours later - nothing.

I check back with front desk and am given the certs. Also told that "room service is on the way with water."

Sure enough, a few minutes later, room service shows up with 6 small bottles of Evian - for which they wanted to charge me $18.75. No one had told them that this was supposed to be complimentary.

Later, at about 10 PM, I go to take a shower. No hot water. I call front desk - "we'll send someone from engineering right up." 10:15 - still no hot water, no one from engineering either. I call again, and someone comes about 10:20, tinkers with something for a minute, and I have hot water.

So, to summarize the issues in my first 6 hours here:

-- Didn't bother to tell me lounge was closed.
-- Didn't offer breakfast certs.
-- Didn't deliver certs and water in a timely manner.
-- No hot water; 2 calls required to get rectified.

In my mind, each of these items individually is relatively minor. What I'd like an opinion on is, at what point do a series of "small" items add up to enough that a complaint is warranted? My gut feeling is that I am starting to reach that point.

The other thing that has left me kind of sour is the fact that the lounge is closed. While I do recognize that they don't have to provide me lounge access as long as they give me breakfast, the fantastic lounge at this property is one of the key reasons I stay here. That said, I'm trying not to let this unrelated issue cloud my judgment.

1- the fact that had you been on the C Floor you would have gotten the water for free or if the Lounge was open, has nothing to do with the price of Tea in China. Id consider it as a very nice Jesture on the Hotels part if they in fact agreed and gave me the water. To tell you the turth , I never would have asked for it, as they dont owe it to me if the Lounge is closed.

What if the Lounge closes at say 10pm and you come in at 11pm , will you say had it been an hour+ earlier I would have gotten it in the lounge but since the Lounge is already closed , can you send me up some Bottles or Booze from elsewhere, and of cause there shouldnt be a charge since I wouldnt have paid if the Lounge was open till now.

2- I woudlnt care when they actually got me the BK certs as long as it was before BK in the morning, I usually will do a pass-by at teh FD and simply ask for them, Really No BIG DEAL.

3- The only thing that has any Standing to it is the No Hot water, which they took care of , as per you with a minor adjustment of something, Dont know what that thing was. Were they checking to see if the cause of no hot water was from something that wasnt in your room and hence when they found that not to be the case , they deduced it had to be something from in your Bathroom?

Since today is a Holiday could very well be they are short of Staff, and it seems as if you felt that your needs were the Only ones that needed Attention.

I would be POed if I went down and found the people who were suppose to be working on Maintance etc instead having a Poker Game. But I doubt that was the cause.

I for one wouldnt say anything, However if something Truely Major occurs, then I wouldnt hesitate to include all of these Minor items, along with that Major problem.

You remind me of a good friend who Checks In and goes over everything with a Fine Tooth Comb in order to catch something wrong. ill tell ya what I tell him, Give Me a Break!! He checked into a Hampton Inn the other night (hes a Diamond w/HH) and the welcome Gift A Bottle of Water and a candy bar wasnt in the room, I said either call up or go down and request it. He went down was told it would be sent up. It took 15 mins and in the end there was no candy Bar (the .60 kind) but instead a couple of Apples and Bananas that are always for the taking, along with the Water. Mind you this was at 12:10AM New Yrs Eve.

I do my share (OK more then my share) of complaining when things arent right. Had they not had any hot water, refused to give you BK coupons, told you theres a Gym or pool that in the end were being redone and you wouldnt be able to use and they offered no alternative, You would have a GREAT case. Now you got NOTHIN.

The Marriott in Santiago, Chile, had their Outdoor closed for Repairs a couple of weeks ago, ITS Summer time down there. Instead they told me they would pay for a Cab to/from The Ritz Carlton. Yea it would have been better if I could have simply gone down in my trunks to a Pool and a place to catch soem rays w/o having to indure a cab ride. But I said NOTHIN, they more then made up for it, even if the Ritzs Pool is small and indoors. They tried and thats what counts. Here too, you didnt lose out on anything. I wouldnt mention it at all.

You should definitely speak with the MOD or GM or email them...and simply outline your disappointment...and give them the opportunity to 'do something' for you - perhaps on your next trip.

My personal feeling about complaints is that there are three types of issues:

1) Issues that get resolved quickly and with no hassle on the part of the customer (such as the lounge or breakfast coupons in your case, maybe the water),

2) Issues that take persistence on your part to get fixed (the hot water) and

3) Issues that never get resolved or have a significant impact on your stay, such as no hot water for the length of the stay, refusal to offer elite benes, etc.

For #1, I put it under the "Things happen." category and move on.

For #3, I definitely expect some sort of compensation.

The tricky part is #2: Depending on how I feel about the hotel or the staff's efforts to fix the problems, I may or may not say something to management. In this case, it is your favorite hotel, so it sounds like they were short-staffed for the holidays, although not having hot water is a particular pet peeve of mine.

I would say that you can complain if you want to, but you may want to give them the benefit of the doubt. If you notice a consistent pattern of things going downhill, that is the time to step it up.

Mike

I had decided that I wasn't going to complain...until I got up and there was no hot water again this morning.

I spoke to the MOD and was assured that the situation would be rectified, and was offered 10,000 points for the inconvenience. My feeling is that that's fair, so long as the problem is corrected by the time I return to the hotel today.

That to me now is a MAJOR problem, and I too would have complained and in passing have mentioned the other small things except having to wait for the water since the lounge was Closed.

If still there for a few more days, perhaps switch rooms? Maybe this room just has bad kharma?

Sorry to hear about your experience, especially the hot water part. That sucks. I'm assuming the sink has hot water and that the shower control is defective....

Pat

Unfortunately, no hot water in shower or sink. I had to shave with cold water this morning.

Agreed

Usually, there's an engineering panel somewhere in the room which controls the feeds. Can't imagine what's up. Have you seen any of your neighbors this morning?

Personally, I'd move and demand compensation for the inconvenience. This isn't the FSU, after all, and even their better hotels have hot water.

Edited to add that I would ask that a bellman be sent up to move my things. If an alternative room wasn't immediately availble, then to move my things to the curb, as I would be checking out and heading to a competitor.

Pat

I ended up moving rooms after returning today. They claimed that they worked on the water while I was out, but things still weren't right.

I decided not to request any additional compensation for several reasons:

1) Already offered 10,000 points
2) MOD sent up an additional 4 liters of Evian today (going back to my request for water last night).
3) They gave me a better room than the one I had.
4) This property is usually very good, and I guess I'm inclined to allow them a "free pass" so to speak.

I like the way you THINK and especially for feeling that they made Right by you. I can understand things Happening, but it did get out of Hand when the Hot Water issue wasnt able to be resolved the 1st time around.

At least you had a made up room and didnt find your towels etc waiting for you on your door as others did at other Marriotts, this weekend.

Glad it was ALL resolved to your liking

Yes, it sounds like you handled things very well. I agree with your attitude that these were not major items taken individually, but together they definitely impacted the enjoyment of your stay.

Unfortunately, the only problems I tend to have with Marriott are in this exact same category. Little things, that even one poster here chalked up to whining, but I guess I've come to expect a certain standard of service (dare I say excellence?) from Marriott. When it's not met, by a series of things that I just KNOW aren't right, I struggle with how to handle the situation.

Kudos to you for both your attitude and the way you handled things.

My personal guideline for determining when I am nitpicking or have a valid complaint is really to assess how much I've been inconvenienced and how quickly management works to rectify the situation. If they seem to be giving it the old college try I am less likely to be annoyed than I am if it seems I am being ignored (like the time in an Orlando Marriott where we were given 3 pillows in a room they knew was occupied by 4 people, and it took 3 NIGHTS and numerous calls and visits to the front desk to finally get it right).

Similar to your situation, we were in a newer Marriott (also in Orlando) where the water was not usable for portions of 2 of our 5 days there. Upon bringing it to the attention of the management, we were comped two free nights (which I thought was extremely generous).

Having said all that, I will sheepishly admit that my husband has complained to the front desk over situations that were less of an inconvenience than those you describe

Sometimes a timely "We're very sorry" will prevent unhappiness over a "small inconvenience" (or even a few of them) to escalate into a major brouhaha.

I guess I'm like most of the people who have posted so far. Minor annoyances to me, such as rude or innattentive staff, missing items in the room, bad maid service, or such, I just brush off. Everyone's going to have a bad day. If it doesn't affect me, or is a very minor issue to resolve (I need more towels/soap), I forget about it immediately.

More major things, like no hot water, doors that don't lock, loud neighbors, I wouldn't hesitate to call and give them a chance to fix.

When they've heard my complaint and ignored it, or tried multiple times to fix it, I get more firm. Not angry, but I tell them exactly what I want and what I expect: points, new room, to talk with the manager, whatever it is. They don't know me and don't know what makes me happy. I'll let them know, in a positive way.

I'd also talk to a manager about staff if it really became a problem. Most of the time I approach this as an opportunity for the manager to 'educate' the staff. I'm sure that almost all of the employees WANT to do a good job. I don't want to come across as "I-know-your-job-better-than-you-do", so I try and present things as calm and rational. And again, I tell them what I expect: "I would appreciate if you would talk to that employee and let them know that there are better ways of handling this issue, such as..."