Lynn Kamimoto thought she was staying in a Grand Deluxe Room at The Fairfax at Embassy Row, Washington, D.C. She thought her stay included a full American Breakfast at the Jockey Club.
She thought wrong.
Kamimoto got a downgrade and missed a few meals, and the hotel didn’t seem to care about disappointing her. That’s when she called me.
It’s easy for a hotel to take the attitude, “We gave you a room, right? What are you complaining about?” But a deal’s a deal, and Kamimoto definitely didn’t get what she paid for.
Here’s her note to the Fairfax Hotel:
First, I would like to confirm that we received a Grand Deluxe Room. The Grand Deluxe description on your website copied below does not match the room we received. Our 2-double bed room did not have views of Massachusetts Avenue, nor was the larger configuration, as we instead faced a service alley with not a hint of Massachusetts Avenue visible from our room’s windows. In viewing the fire-escape map on the back of the door, it seemed that we were occupying one of the smallest rooms on the floor.
The first two days of our reservation included a full American Breakfast at the Jockey Club. On the second morning, we received a notice under our door that only continental breakfast would be available because the kitchen would be closed. We ate breakfast at the Jockey Club, and were disappointed by the offerings.
The pastries were cold and stale, as though they had been out for at least a day or two, and smoked salmon (or any protein) was not offered with bagels. Also, there was no option to toast the baked goods. When we inquired as to our bill that morning at the Jockey Club, management had told us that our breakfast was not included in our room rate.
Here’s the company’s response.
We, at Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide, strive to have the finest in guest service and accommodations; therefore, the quality of the guest experience is of the utmost importance to us. An intimate and objective knowledge of how we are doing – in the consumer’s eyes – is critical in moving the The Fairfax at Embassy Row, Washington, D.C. to a higher level of service orientation, and it is through this type of feedback that we can confirm the direction, quality and quantity of our effort. The inconveniences you experienced regarding the service you received is not acceptable to our standards. Please accept my sincere apology.
A hotel is defined by the quality of service it provides to its guests and because our success is measured by how our guests evaluate our services and facilities, I want you to know that the comments and suggestions we receive are taken seriously. They tell us what we’re doing right, what we’re doing wrong and how we can improve. Your willingness to share your recent experience is genuinely appreciated.
Please be assured that any and all of the issues you’ve raised have been addressed, and that appropriate action has been taken. I have opened Corporate Customer Service file 200910082919, to document your comments, which will be reviewed by the General Manager at the hotel to ensure that such incidents do not occur in the future. We take pride in our hotel, and do our best to prevent problems from recurring.
I do apologize that your stay with us was marred by this experience. We are an ever changing industry and always take all notes and concerns to improve the services we provide to our guests.
As a gesture of goodwill, I have arranged for 2,000 Starwood Preferred Guest Starpoints to be credited to your Starwood Preferred Guest account, with our compliments. I am grateful to you for taking the time to detail your concerns and do sincerely hope you will permit us an early opportunity to regain your confidence in our services.
Eventually, Starwood bumped her up to 7,000 points and an apology. But why not reimburse her the difference between the Grand Deluxe room and the Superior room she was given? Why not compensate her for the breakfast?
One reason may be that her letter contained a long list of other complaints, from a broken air conditioner to a coffeemaker that didn’t work. (I edited her letter for brevity.) These smaller incidents can often detract a customer service department from the more serious complaint.
I see this frequently, and more dramatically, on cruises. Passengers write with a long list of complaints — some legitimate, some not. I call it the laundry list. These grievances are frequently ignored by companies.
I contacted Starwood on her behalf. I heard back from Kamimoto a few days later:
Thank you so much your assistance. After you intervened on my behalf, they expedited my claim and agreed to refund me for the downgraded room (equivalent to $50/night despite being a special discounted rate) in addition to the 7,000 points I received.
I’m happy to hear about this resolution, but disappointed that Kamimoto had to write a letter in the first place. This shouldn’t have happened.
When Kamimoto’s stay started to head south, she should have said something to the hotel immediately, rather than waiting until after checking out. And the property should have done everything in its power to fix these problems before she left.
(Photo: foooooey/Flickr Creative Commons)
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{ 28 comments… read them below or add one }
Not a very nice experience, indeed…
Hello Mr Elliott,
Let me start by saying you have a great blog and give good advice. I love reading what you have to say on each post. However, I think in this case and in others, you sometimes overestimate a company’s willingness to “give a crap”. When it comes to the normal consumer, they figure we’ll just go away and they can give ANY resolution they deem appropriate. This resolution might range from a complete brush off to some half sorted compensation. For the LUCKY FEW, they might find full restitution or satisfactory in their complaint. Yet, far too often, companies think the customer should just SHUT UP and take what’s offered. Sadly, many do just that after repeated denials. To your credit, you help MANY MANY folks get due reward. Still, you have the clout of being a nationally syndicated ombudsman with multiple contacts. We have the luck of calling the 1800 number or sending an email to the corporate level, at best. Depending on the company, this might be like beating our heads against a wall. The only one suffering during the resolution process is the customer. Once again, I am glad we have your blog and an advocate like you. Unfortunately, you often attain way more power than the average person when things don’t go as they should.
Justin
Chris,
I have to point out that I disagree with you on the fact that you thought she shouldn’t have had included a long list of complaints to the hotel. Shouldn’t the hotel be responsible for the air condidtioner and coffee maker not working among the other things? How are those not serious complaints? What if it were 90° outside and the air condidtioning didn’t work and they couldn’t open any windows? That is pretty serious. I could see that it wouldn’t be that big of a deal if those were the only complaints and I don’t know what time of the year her stay was, but those were in addition to the downgraded room and breakfast not included. Those are legitimate complaints and I feel absolutely sorry for this lady who had to stay at this hotel that didn’t care for her needs or at least what she was promised.
I will definitely make a note not to stay at this hotel when I am in the area.
But I do agree with you that she shouldn’t have waited until the end of her stay to voice her complaints. That would have created a chance for the hotel to try to make the rest of her stay enjoyable.
Chris; thank you for you timely advice:do not go South ; and keep your grievance short and sweet and right to the point; Would you advice checking a room before you check in to avoid possible problems? Also I hope her next stay will be much more pleasant.
I had heard that the Fairmont hotels provided amazing customer service and am very disappointed to learn about this incident and all the effort it took to get a satisfactory response. Buyer beware–as always.
Kelly, I think Chris is right, in fact I know from personal experience he’s right. When you send a long complaint letter, the reader’s eyes are bound to glaze over, just as mine did when I read that long, flowery, BS-laden reply from the hotel’s corporate office. The key elements of a complaint letter, as I’ve learned from this blog, are:
1) Keep it brief and stick to the high points. Choose a theme, if you will; in this case it’s “I didn’t get the deluxe room and free breakfast I paid for.”
2) Be polite. You want the person reading your letter to be on your side.
3) Try to include positive points if possible, i.e. “The desk clerk was courteous, but said there was simply nothing she could do.”
4) Most important: TELL THEM WHAT YOU WANT AS COMPENSATION. You know what it would take to fix the problem or make you feel better, so tell them.
Works for me — last time I used this method I got 15,000 miles (3/5ths of a free ticket) for my troubles.
Aaron
I agree with both Kelly AND Aaron! I do not believe we should ignore or not bring up serious failures when addressing our complaints with the corporation. They shouldn’t get a free pass on their smaller screw-ups just because they had some bigger ones.
However, Aaron hit the nail on the head in how best to structure a complaint letter…in particular, brevity…and including exactly what you want as compensation. That makes it very easy for them…just give us what we want, and we go away.
In cases in which I experienced multiple problems, the way I’ve structured my complaint letter is to note the BIGGEST issues at the beginning. These are the issues that are clearly bad enough to warrant some form of recompense. And I will go into some detail about these issues, to make the severity clear.
But the smaller issues count to. So what I will do is include these at the end, in a list format, as follows
“Beyond the larger issues mentioned above for which I am requesting compensation, there were also numerous other service failures which I feel are important to note. These include…” and then I’ll put a concise, numbered list.
I believe that including these will make the company MORE likely to give you want you want, because it’s clear that they screwed up on so many levels…and you aren’t even asking for compensation for the smaller issues.
As for that flowery letter, WOW – what a bunch of Dilberspeak horsepucky. I would avoid that hotel just to eliminate the possibility of having such an abomination of the English language EVER foisted on me!
@ Kelly
Like Aaron said, rambling letters tend to get glossed over, and when people meander with their complaints the importance of the complaint often gets lost. Its psychological, if the service rep just feels like you’re complaining about everything then your important complaint will be taken less seriously. Like you said, a non worker air conditioner in 90 degree weather is a major complaint. If it’s 70 degrees and you just like a room at polar bear temps, that a little less serious.
Bullet points are the key to a good complaint letter. Choose 3 major issues or 2 major and 1 minor. Ms. Kamimoto could have conveyed enough dismay by just listing the following-
1) We paid for a Deluxe Room and received a Superior Room with no compensation offered.
2) Furthermore we were placed in a room with non working appliances. The air conditioner and the coffeemarker were both broken.
3) Our confirmation stated that we were to receive 2 full American Breakfast at the Jocky Club. The breakfast was downgraded to a stale continental breakfast and was billed to us even though it was supposed to be included in the room rate. Once again no compensation was offered.
Those alone should be enough to get a CS agent working on the problem. Stuff about no protein with breakfast and the lack of view are superflous details.
The lack of view is not superfluous if it is a defining characteristic of the room class, as specified by the hotel on its website.
I agree with what’s been said – keep letters to a page or less, bullet key points and pick 2 or three main concerns. I think you can add in more minor concerns if the situation warrants it – I think expectations should be much higher for service at a nice hotel, that’s what’s supposed to set them apart (or justify the price). Do be clear and reasonable about what you want in return, say the difference in price between room types and the amount you had to pay for breakfast refunded and it will increase your chances of actually getting it. In my opinion, unless you travel heavily points are useless and cash/credit is always preferred.
Also, while it is not a problem in this particular situation, I think it is important to keep the letter business-like. That should include proper grammar, correct spelling and an overall professional tone. If someone sends in a letter filled with complaints that has multiple misspellings or “text-speak,” I am sure that the company is going to think that there is no way that the person writing it is educated or intelligent enough to follow through on the complaint. I think that people often don’t realize how far proper grammar and spelling will take you and have a result in the way that a company treats you.
@Sarah – as a writer, I wholeheartedly agree!
I spent years as a freelance writer, doing various types of business-related writing including newsletters, website content, marketing materials, etc. One of my most successful niches was what I called “Corporate Communications,” which mostly involved highly-placed local executives hiring me to write their memos and emails for them! You’d be surprised how many powerful, successful people truly cannot write a proper sentence, much less an entire paragraph. And you’d be stunned to know how many business people use writers like me, even for their most routine communications. The next time you get a well-written email from your company VP, ask yourself who actually wrote it. ;-) They would often have me write their personal communications as well. Ask me how many Christmas letters I wrote!
In any case, the point is that being able to communicate in a businesslike manner is key to having your complaint letter be taken seriously, and getting the results that you want. If someone has difficulty writing such a letter, there are lots of writers like me out there who can help…do a local search for a freelance writer. Their rates are often very affordable, and it could be well worth it if the compensation you are asking for would cover it. I don’t do this anymore (I now have a corporate job), but I still get calls from local execs BEGGING me to take on one more project!
She shouldn’t have even left the hotel without a credit for the difference in the room price. Checkout is the place to deal with such issues. And while that doesn’t absolve the hotel, I laughed at her complaint that “smoked salmon was not offered with our bagels.” Excuse the capital letters, but ARE YOU KIDDING ME?? As a former New Yorker, I know full well about the inability of some people to consume a bagel without “lox.” However, it hardly qualifies as a legitimate hotel complaint.
I think it was pretty serious for Liane to complain about Starwood which is a racist hotel chain that does not let Hasidic Jews stay there with being foreign. The mere fact that they would have a jockey club – have you ever seen those little jockey figures- they are always short little black people which is clearly racist.
@LeeAnne I was a journalism major. I don’t work in it now, but it drives me crazy to see how people represent themselves in their writing. It doesn’t take much more effort to write “you” instead of “U” and it helps you to present yourself so much better. I can’t help but believe that would bring about a speedier and more satisfactory outcome when dealing with a business or an individual.
@Not Really Barbie – BAHAHAHA!! Stop it, you’re making my stomach hurt! AAHAHAHA!!!! OMG, that is one of the funniest things I’ve read in a while. Thanks for bringing a little levity to this site!
@Sarah – you are speakin’ my language. :-) The degradation of the English language, and the apparent loss of ability for most Americans to use it effectively, are among my life’s greatest sorrows. On the other hand, back when I was a freelance writer I was quite grateful for all the powerful, successful people who never learned basic rules of grammar…they allowed me to pay my mortgage! And take all those great trips that keep me reading Christopher’s columns, of course.
@ Barbie, sorry, “Not Really Barbie”
LOL I promise you, that LeeAnne and Lianne (who is me, and has 2 “n” in her name) are 2 entirely different people. I have no interest in whatever arguments you 2 have with each other.
Off-topic to this, LeeAnne, I believe you. I’ve been tapped by my current and past employers to write things they themselves couldn’t write well on their own, and they’d be impressed to find I’m not some kind of communications, media or journalism graduate.
One thing I do in writing is put it to two sentences max per paragraph as you might notice in my comments. Currently everyone who’s read (and known) what I’ve written have said they find it easy to digest.
My next challenge, though, is how to write with as few words as possible, yet get the message across. :)
Ooops, forgot to add: I use that 2-sentence-per-paragraph writing style in my 2 past (and so far only) hotel complaints. They both got the gist, we worked things out, and they also commented how easy it was to understand what I was telling them. :)
Since this was a case of not getting what you paid for, and after being denied by the hotel for any compensation, I would have just called the credit card company and had them deal with it.
At checkout at a hotel in Miami I was charged double the printed rate on my reservation. No one at the hotel would honor the true rate that I had reserved. On the ride home, I called the credit card company and placed an inquiry with them for the entire amount. I received a letter soon after with the resolution I was wanting.
Tom
I liked the no salmon with my bagels content! bwahahahaha
Hotel bagels are the size bagels used to be! The little silver dollar sized things that were less than 100 calories, fit in the pocket and were used as a quick snack. Now bagels are a meal onto themselves and even the Ritz would go bankrupt putting in salmon in them!
Complaints that hit the high point – yes- point – single complaint – make it the big one – are ones that get results.
Format of a complaint letter – change it to fit any travel company – but here you go:
Dear [find out the name of the VP of customer service and send it there - ONLY]
On October 12 I stayed in room ___ at your hotel located at [put street address].
I had reserved a super deluxe dream boat special room with a view, and was given the motel 6 superior room with a view of the alley and a massage parlor across the way. This was not what I paid for, nor did I receive any of the amenities of the super deluxe dream boat room, yet, I was still charged the same price.
The hotel manager [insert name here] refused to make any accomodations to either my rate or the amenities. The cost of the room I reserved was $500 at night; the cost of the room I received is offered at $250 per night. I further spent $100 for breakfast which was included in the super deluxe room on the preferred club floor, whereas the key to my superior room did not provide access to these amenities.
Therefore – I request a refund of one-half of what I paid, together with one half the taxes and other fees charges, along with the $100 expended for amenities in the amount of $______. I attach a copy of my reservation, along with my final bill, which describes the expenses incurred and the lack of appropriate accommodations.
If I do not hear from you by [insert date] I will present a challenge to my credit card issuer for the amount above. If you have any further questions. please contact me at [insert phone # and / or email]
Thats all you need. If there is a laundry list of problems – offer to provide additional details thereafter in further contacts – they are really not interested that the maid forgot to replace the soap every day . . . or that you had 3 towels instead of 4.
@Tom B – unfortunately, in my experience you really can’t always count on your credit card company to rule in your favor in a disputed charge. While it is definitely a good option to try in certain situations, the problem is that the merchants can be really good at twisting the facts to make their side look reasonable.
I have had two different credit card disputes NOT go my way, even though they seemed utterly cut and dried, hands-down, open and shut cases in MY favor. But the merchants twisted facts and even lied. And I lost. (I have since cancelled that card!) But you get my point.
My opinion is that unless you have enough documentation to prove your case literally beyond a shadow of a doubt to a credit card company, your best bet is to try a professionally written complaint letter. Joe Farrell’s above is a nice template.
Joe Farrell; you have a great sense of humor; please keep it up.
Chris (Elliott),
Is there more to this story than published? (I don’t mean the edited laundry list of complaints too). I find the statement “The first two days of our reservation included a full American Breakfast at the Jockey Club” to be intriguing. This seems to imply that her stay was at least 3 nights, and also to indicate that she may have been booked under multiple rate rules. (ie first 2 nights under rate code X, remaining nights under rate code Y). I’d be very interested to see her confirmation letters and what the rate rules are listed in the confirmation letter.
At a minimum there was a communication error. Obviously the hotel and Ms Kamimoto weren’t on the same page. But, the hotel is guilty of a customer service breakdown. The form letter that Ms. Kamimoto initially received seems to be a standard blow off letter that they send out to everyone that complains. Unless the hotel was full due to a special event, the easiest solution would be to upgrade her room to a higher category, but frankly, we don’t know the exact circumstance.
However, I don’t think Ms Kamimoto is also partially at fault here. When she checked in, did she review her reservation information with the front desk clerk? I always reverbalize my expectations “I reserved the X package which includes a Y room, breakfast and parking.” Is this correct? When she got to her room, and noticed the lack of a view, she could have called the front desk manager and ask to be moved to a different room. If no other room was available, she should volunteer or indicate that she is willing to move to a different room the next morning. A lot of times, the front desk will say the hotel is full. We all know that a hotel is never 100% full. Ask if a suite is available, and if an upgrade is available and what the upgrade fee is. The hotel may choose to assign you to that room on the house. My experience is that this works well if you are only staying 1 night (and the hotel knows they won’t be tying up the room for multiple nights) so this may not be applicable in this case.
The next morning, she could speak to the shift supervisor about her dissatisfaction with the current room. Again, she could ask to be moved to a different room. If they weren’t able to do so, a reasonable request for compensation should be made (ie, will you adjust the room rate because my expectation was X and it appears that you gave me) or perhaps she could have asked that room service be provided at no cost to her in lieu of breakfast at the Jockey Club.
Finally, she should have verbalized her unhappiness at check-out, even speaking to a supervisor if needed. I don’t fault Ms Kamimoto because most travellers are inexperienced and don’t know what to do when something goes wrong.
@ Joe, I hope you are being facetious and sarcastic. While the form of your letter is good, terms like “super deluxe dream boat” and “motel 6 superior room” will likely mean that letter will find its way into the circular file.
I am in the customer service industry and find that most problems arise from “failing to meet expectations.” My impression when someone starts submitting a “laundry list” of complaints (ie “light didn’t work, room had an odor (when no one else notices it), there was a “spot” on the wallpaper, “the sheet had a loose thread” etc, is that individual may be impossible to satisfy. It also diminishes the validity of the original complaint. The person reading the letter may also feel that this is someone that could never be satisfied, thus, the willingness to find a solution may tank.
If it were me, I would send a letter to customer service at Starwood, and also carbon copy the General Manager at the Fairfax Hotel.
“Dear sir/madam
I booked a Grand Deluxe Room at the Fairfax Hotel in Washington DC on the following nights : The rate rules included an American Breakfast on the following nights.
Unfortunately, I was assigned to room for the duration of the stay. In my opinion, this did not meet the specifications of a Grand Deluxe Room for the following reasons: a) The room is smaller than the standard Grand Deluxe Room provided on your website, b) There was no view and c) Some amenities such as were not working.
Additionally, my room rate included a full amerian breakfast for the first 2 nights. On the 2nd day, we were only offered a Continential breakfast which I had to have remove the bill from my account.
(if this were true, see above)
Upon check-in I spoke to who advised me that no other rooms were available. I offered to be moved the next morning, but was refused. The next day, I spoke with who promised to look into the situation. At checkout, I asked to speak to the manager but was told there was “nothing else that could be done.”
I choose the Fairfax Hotel because as a member of Starwood Properties, it has a reputation for excellent customer service. It is my opinion that my experience at the Fairfax failed to meet Starwood’s standard for customer satisfaction. As a frequent traveller, I am now hesitant to stay at this property when I return to the Washington DC area in the future. I feel that a fair compensation would be to refund $50/night, which reflexts the rate difference had I booked instead. I appreciate your time and look forward to hearing from you in the near future.
Sincerely
ugh, Chris, parts of my post were “edited” apparently by the software. Some symbols were removed which makes it difficult to read. I wish we had the opportunity to edit posts :)
In the past three years, I’ve been on conventions in New Orleans, DC, and Philly. I have never heard so many complaints as from my fellow conventioneers during our DC trip. Is there an epedemic?
While attending the meetings in New Orleans and Philly, some of my peers staying at various hotels occasionally would pop in with a story about a broken feature in the room, or a rude employee. However, these stories were NOTHING compared to the volume and intensity of the DC conventioneers at their various hotels.
A shame, because DC is a beautiful city…
Now THAT’S a review that would be appropriate for TripAdvisor!!!
not really barbie thank goodness; I did not find your comment in good taste at all. what was the point of it; it had no relevance to thecontent of the complaint.