St. Regis Deer Valley - Follow Up

Within hours of emailing the St. Regis, I received an apologetic letter.  I was very impressed by the timely response as well as the fact that it was a personal note rather than just a form letter response.  It is important to note that the majority of the time, companies don't even respond.  I also want to point out that every employee that I have interacted with has been extremely friendly and they have helped to the best of their ability.

I was also very impressed with the fact that they asked for me to give them another shot and if I decide to do so, to contact them directly.  That is a great personal touch.  While the experience was extremely frustrating, it makes me feel better to know that they actually do care, and that they took the time to try and make it right.

Here is a copy of the response I received:

Dear (Brand Interaction),

Please allow me to apologize for any aspect of your visit that did not exceed your expectations. Under no circumstances was it the norm or up to the high standards we have set for this property.

As a small token of apology, I have credited your SPG account with (XX) points. Additionally, I hope you will return and allow us to deliver a true St. Regis experience. Please contact me directly if at any point you do wish to return.

Have a wonderful New Year!

Warm Regards,

Chelsea

St. Regis Deer Valley

I recently stayed at the St. Regis Hotel in Deer Valley.  The St. Regis is supposedly known for it's exceptional customer service, and charges quite a bit for that service.  Unfortunately, I didn't get to experience that "exceptional customer service", in fact, I had one of the most frustrating hotel experiences ever.  It didn't end when I left either, there were billing problems that took time to resolve as well.

It all started on the Saturday I was checking in...  I called the hotel around noon and asked if it would be possible to get an early check-in.  The person I spoke with was very friendly and said that my room had already been cleaned and just needed to be checked, but that I was free to come in right then and they would have the room ready.  I had scheduled a massage with a Park City spa and was trying to plan my day accordingly, so I would have been fine with checking in later, but since I had the option to drop my things off first, I decided to do that.

When I arrived at the hotel around 2:30 (two and a half hours AFTER I had called and they told me my room was ready), I proceeded to the check in area of the hotel.  The associate that checked me in was new, so she was being assisted by a trainer.  She was very friendly and apologized for the extended length of the check in process.   They informed me that my room still hadn't been checked, but that it would take about five minutes and would be ready by the time I got to the lobby.  They let me know that they would call my cell phone when my key was ready.  That was no problem, so I headed to the lobby with my bags in tow.

After sitting in the lobby with no communication for about 15 minutes, I approached another front desk associate and inquired about the status of my room.  He informed me that they were aware that I was waiting and that it should be ready shortly.  I continued to wait.  At about 30 minutes, I was frustrated.  I started to worry about making my massage appointment as I still had to drive down to the spa.  I inquired again and they said it would be finished any minute.  I continued to watch people that had walked in after me receive their keys and be shown to their rooms.

The front desk associate could see that I was anxious and frustrated.  He came over to apologize a couple of times, but at the point I had been sitting there for an hour he asked if there was anything they could do. I said, "you can get me into my room, that would be helpful".  He called somebody and a few minutes later came over and said that he would be extending a dining credit for the "miscommunication".  A few minutes later he gave me the keys to my room.

One hour and fifteen minutes after arriving, I was finally in my room.  I had missed my massage appointment and called to find out that I would still be charged in full for the missed appointment.  As I mentioned above, if I had known that I would be waiting that long, I would have just done the massage before checking in.  AWFUL.

If that weren't enough, when I checked in I provided a credit card that I wanted to be used for my incidentals.  I was very specific that I wanted all charges to be processed to that card.  Because I had been provided with a dining credit (which is something I wouldn't typically have used), I ordered some room service and purchased something from the honor bar.

When I received my folio I noticed that I had been charged $80 dollars for something that was an error on the hotel's part.  I also noticed that I had not been charged for the room service or honor bar purchases.  When I called the hotel, I was transferred to their accounting department, who did not answer.  I left a voice message but didn't receive a call back.  After calling FIVE times, I finally was able to speak to an employee that was able to reverse the charge that was an error.

He also explained that the room service and honor bar charges had been charged to the card that made the reservation rather than the card provided for incidentals.  This was frustrating because I had explicitly asked to have all charges charged to the card I provided (not to mention that the purchases were made to use the credit I had been given).

The entire experience, from check-in to following up on the bill was frustrating and anything but "world class service".  Not only did I have to deal with all of the hassle of the check in and the billing follow up, but I had to pay for a pricey massage that I was unable to receive because of the poor customer service.  Not what you would expect from a brand that prides itself on offering great customer service.

During the check-in fiasco, I was tweeting about my frustration.  The St. Regis replied and asked for more details, so I will be sending them a link to my blog post.  I will post any follow up information that I receive.

Thanks again to all of my loyal readers for following!

ZAGG - Invisible Shield Retail Store

This weekend I had another unfortunate experience with my local ZAGG Invisible Shield corporate owned store.  I have actually been to this store five times and have received horrible customer service five out of five times.

The first time I visited ZAGG, it was upon the recommendation of an employee of the Apple store.  I had heard good things about the protective film they had for iPhones, so I thought I would check it out.  I left the store less than impressed, but actually returned about a week later to have a shield installed on my iPad.  I had hoped the poor customer service was a fluke, but my next experience was even worse.

I upgraded my iPhone some time later and received the same lackluster service.  I am not sure if the product they use for the covers has changed, but I have had to replace the film three times since upgrading my phone.  Each experience has been worse than the last.  The invisible shield is supposed to come with a lifetime guarantee, and if you return within 14 days, you can have it reinstalled with no additional charge.

Immediately after my last installation, I noticed it was installed incorrectly and let the employee know.  I was reassured that it would take time to dry and that it would be fine within a couple of days.  On the 14th day I called the store and asked if it would be possible to come in the next day to have it replaced.  The employee I spoke with said it wouldn't be a problem, so I headed in the next day to have it replaced.

The next day when I went to have it replaced the "manager" happened to be working.  I could certainly tell that the leadership of this store was setting the tone for the rest of the employees.  He made sure that I knew he was the "only one that could make a call like that" and made me feel as though I had done something wrong.  He then lectured me for a minute before reluctantly replacing my cover.  I noticed that there was another defect, but he assured me that it would be fine.

Needless to say, it wasn't fine, I had to go back again this weekend.  Because it was beyond the 14 days, I had to pay for replacement (despite the fact that I had raised my concern before that point).  The "manager" and one of his employees were working, and were so involved in a conversation when I walked in, that they didn't even speak to me during the interaction.  The conversation was so intense that the associate forgot to give me my credit card back.  I didn't notice until I received a call from the store saying that I "had left my card there".  No apology or anything other than the tone of me being an idiot for leaving it there.

A business like this really is based on customer service and clearly they are missing the mark.  It is unfortunate that the manager continues to lead the store.  If I worked for that company I would ensure that the manager was either trained to handle a leadership position, or hire somebody that could.  It isn't a coincidence that all five of my experiences in this store have left me not wanting to return.

Olive Garden Catering - Mistake Turned Opportunity

Recently, a colleague of mine left our company prompting us to have an in-office catered lunch for a group of around 30 people.  One of his favorite restaurants is Olive Garden, so we contacted our local OG and ordered the food a couple of days in advance.

When our administrative assistant arrived to pick up the food, she was told that they didn't have an order for us.  Rather than leaving it at that, they offered to call around to see if the order had been called into another location by mistake.  After calling four other locations, they determined that it must have been their error and the paperwork had been lost.

The catering manager came out and introduced himself, apologizing for the situation and vowed to take care of it.  He immediately offered drinks while the kitchen began to prepare the meal that they hadn't anticipated.  We had ordered a lasagna which is something they have to cook in advance.  They rearranged another pick up time to allow us to take one that they were in the process of cooking.  The manager had everything ready within 15 minutes, allowing the food to make it back in time for our going away party.

The manager at Olive Garden was quick to rectify a situation that could have been a very bad brand interaction.  Because of the quick thinking and flexibility of this manager, 30 people had a positive experience with the Olive Garden brand.  I can speak for myself when I say that I will be more likely to visit Olive Garden, a restaurant that I hadn't typically visited in the past.

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