BuildingMyBento

Among my favorite letdowns is a hotel selling its rooms for the same/inflated prices (e.g. during a event) even while construction is taking place inside/next door.

Also, on a recent trip to Egypt, the manager at a 3 star (according to Egyptian standards) hotel mentioned that wi-fi wasn't necessary to have in guest rooms because "we're simply a 3 star hotel..." though, I only brought it up because some OTAs mentioned that wifi was also offered in rooms.

Badenoch

The main 4 Ps when dealing with any bureaucracy: Patience, Persistence, Politeness and Paperwork. These are the most important.

The 5th P is Perspective. The person you are talking to is the only person who can help you even if it is only to pass you on to their superior. They listen to complaints all the time. There was someone crabbing at them before you and will be someone next in line. Don't make it personal and take your frustration out on them.

Low Roller

I think this is they key to it all and it is amazing how many people ignore it. Dealing with complaints is a crappy job and making it worse will not make that person want to help you more. I generally open with "I'm hoping you can help me with a problem."

emma69

I have a few rules I try to abide by when complaining:

I try to do it as soon as possible - for example, in a hotel I am not going to fume for the entire stay but instead try to get it resolved so I can enjoy the rest of the trip

I try to be reasonable in my expectations, and my expectations for resolution.

I try to work with the person helping - in some situations, a refund of money is a lot harder than, for example, upgrading a room, comping the parking, getting a bottle of champagne delivered so I am willing to see what e.g. the front desk agent has the power to do if it would be satisfactory to me. I thank the people who helped once the issue is resolved to my satisfaction. In some instances I have sought out their manager, to complement them on their staff member.

I try to remember that the person I am speaking to is rarely the one who caused the issue (I have seen too many people lay into front desk staff, waiters, FAs etc.) If they lack the power, seniority, or simply language abilities to help, I will ask for management but I find it more effective giving the first point of contact the respect that they are authorized to help.

I try to keep my tone moderate and my body language neutral.

I try to be factual about the complaint and avoid rhetoric.

When all else fails, I have no problem cracking out a more hard line version of myself but honestly I find I have to do that very infrequently.

pon18n

I never get why people feel the need to vent out and throw tantrum over your service person. I always try to be as polite and as understanding as possible.

Just a few weeks ago I got stuck at ORD due to weather, and I went over to service desk to ask for amenities. The service person told me I'm not eligible because it's weather related. Having been through this situation just a few weeks ago, I'm well aware that my frequent flyer status would more than qualify me for the amenity and that he doesn't know .....

Now, I could either choose to be a [edited] because that guy obviously is an idiot, but it doesn't help anyone but to irritate both parties and waste my time. So instead I politely told him, "I'm pretty sure that's not how it works". He then walked to his sup and got confirmed what I already know. He profusely apologized and we went on our business.

I wish him a good night and comment that I hope he gets to go home soon because his shift was already over but there were still 30+ people in the line.

So I was completely in the right and he was trying to rob me off my benefits (due to being ignorant about my rights), but come on, it was a long line and he probably has hours to go before he could return home. In the end I got what I was asking for and we both felt a little better about our experiences. Decency goes a long way. It doesn't matter who's in the right or the wrong.

pinniped

Was there an emergency at this hotel? What caused the elevators to be taken out of commission and under manual control for 15 minutes?

I'd be more concerned that there was no way to simply walk downstairs and out of the hotel. Or, if you are mobility-impaired, that the hotel couldn't do an assisted evacuation faster than 15 minutes - if there was really an emergency.

On the Hilton side, they may see a guest who's been offered BMG's (those can be valuable), then 20,000 points, all for a 15-minute inconvenience. It seems like they've made a pretty good offer already and at some point may just think you're complaining to complain.

Often1

Value - The property (carrier/car rental outfit) knows more about you than you know about you. Don't bother telling them about how much you spend or your status. They know whether you control your organization's spend or simply stay where you are booked. So, stick to the facts they don't know.

Loaded terms - "Lie", "Rude" and the like require qualification. If you use them, explain exactly what you mean. When you ask for a freebie 3-bedroom suite upgrade suite and the front desk says no, that is not rude.

Culture - It may be OK to be rude in the US, but in some countries it is not. Once the tone of your note takes a rude tone, you are done. It does not matter who you are.

Threats - If you are going to sue if the property does not send you $1 Million, then say so. Otherwise, don't say so. When you threaten to jump ship, why waste more time?

Realism - Comping 10 days of a $900/night room because a light bulb was not replaced is a bit over the top.

jrl767

"polite and understanding" to the individual in question, yet insulting and demeaning about the same individual in your FT post

I suggest he was neither "ignorant" nor deliberately "trying to rob you" ... I suggest a better description might be "uninformed" and therefore following what he thought was policy

again, true when spoken in the moment but more credible when written in the recap after the fact

pon18n

My apology if I came out insulting or demeaning. I was just trying to make a point here. I was just repeating what I have witness most other would have said if they were put in my situation. I do not, in any way, think that way.

The_Bouncer

100% spot on.

Trumpeting your status just makes you sound like a DYKWIA. If they're interested (and they're probably not), they can check in two seconds.

DrRodneyMcKay

Apparently they had a plumbing problem a few days before. They also insist that because of this fact, they can't meet their 100% satisfaction guarantee since I was "made aware" of this before checking in and offered a refund on my non-refundable rate (I was not). It turned into a "I say, they said" situation - I"m pretty sure if they told me I could cancel a nonrefundable rate I would have asked about the small print.

The hotel does have stairs, but I was on the 12th floor. I'm not mobility impaired, but it sounded like a disaster waiting to happen if there was someone mobility impaired in the hotel. Also, the hotel fiasco happened at least several times, and I also booked that particular hotel so that I could be close to where I was for business in NYC, since being late was not an option. The non-functional elevators that were not disclosed to me at check-in really threw me for a loop because of that, since I was essentially stuck. So it was less of an inconvenience and more of a "I was late to my business meeting and it looked very bad and you were responsible and gave me no other options" kind of thing.

In the end, I called the Diamond line, and they offered me 50,000 points (the actual price of one night at that hotel). I was good with that, then they ended up sending me a $150 gift certificate on top of that, probably because they sent me in an endless loop of "we'll refer you to the hotel" and the hotel kept insisting I was lying.

Low Roller

I'm glad you finally got a satisfactory result. Effective complaining can be a valuable skill!

DrRodneyMcKay

I get the sense that they threw a lot of money/points at me to get me to shut up. Left me with a bit of a negative feeling, but on the bright side, I now have a two-night stay at the Waldorf Astoria on Valentine's Day that's costing me a total of $71 for the entire stay so...I'm pretty satisfied (if still ticked off about the hotel lying to my face about informing me of the issue at check-in).

YoungBubbie

Perfectly said about the 4 P's.

They have rewarded me well over the years.

Being polite and friendly will get you remembered if they are researching the issue.

You must be patient as it might take time to get a satisfactory resolution.

You must be persistent. Most people give up and that is what they are counting on. Even if they say "this our final decision," give it one more shot. This is when the need to escalate to the top comes into play.

Always keep the paperwork to back up your claim.

Allan38103

Lots of good advice in this thread, and some not so good.

Another approach would be to use the "case study" approach, as in many med schools/biz schools/law schools. There you study actual cases and learn by example what works and what doesn't.

Pick any FT forum that seems relevant, and start looking at the complaints posted (there will be hundreds too choose from). Which ones seem effective to you? Why? Which ones seem to be a waste of time? Why? By looking at several, some patterns, both good and bad, should emerge.