Our take:  We agree with the travel industry analyst who said ‘it is the absolutely the wrong decision to make at a time when hotel demand is down from corporate business, conferences and leisure.”  It will save cash, but the timing is very poor.

In a follow up post, found here, three other brands seemed to distance themselves from Hilton’s strategy. 

Our favorite comment was from IHG’s Jim Abrahamson who said that rewards members are twice as profitable and elite-level members are 12 times as profitable.  He goes on to say “if one platinum-level member leaves us, we’d have to go out and find 12 new customers just to replace that one.”

 The server came by to take our orders.  I ordered the baby back ribs that I love and my wife ordered the fish (the only thing on the menu that she really likes).  The server took down the order and left for the kitchen.  My wife and I enjoyed our beverages and a little conversation.  About 15 minutes later, we were wondering where our food was when one of the restaurant managers came over and said ‘I’ve got some good news and some bad news.  The bad news is that we are out of the fish.  The good news is that we have everything else on the menu available.’ 

 I have no idea why they took 15 minutes to tell us that they were out of the fish.  Did they not know this when we ordered?  Maybe they were fishing out back and the fish just weren’t biting.  Who knows.  Anyway, we were annoyed but willing to move on.  My wife requested a menu so she could choose another entree. 

Not even one minute later, the server brought on my baby back ribs and held them in front of my face while asking ‘would you like these now or would you like me to bring them back when your wife’s food is up?’  Apparently, the server wanted to see me get a divorce!  I told the server that I would wait and eat with my wife so that I don’t have to sleep on the couch tonight. 

The server came back and took my wife’s second order.  A few minutes after that, a different manager came over to tell me that the restaurant was out of fish.  It was almost like they were rubbing it in at this point.  We told him that we already ordered something else. 

About 10 minutes later, the server brings my wife’s entree along with my ribs that were sitting under the heat lamp.  They had a nice twice baked taste to them.  I also enjoyed the twice baked potato that was now a three times baked potato. 

The restaurant kindly offered to give us a free dessert for our trouble.  We rarely get a chance to go out to eat; a free dessert was not worth the ruined meal.  Needless to say, we have not been back.

Got a bad service story to share?  Add it to our comments section!

Do require the guest service agent to log the request on a proper Guest Request Log

Don’t allow them to scribble the request on scrap paper, the back of their hand, or anything else but the log!

Do make sure the log has space for the GSA to log the following:  time of request, room number, guest name, item requested, teammate who handled the request, time request completed, and the time of the callback. 

Do make every GSA log down every request on the guest request log.  If a guest requests a toothbrush or requests a room change, it must be on the log.

Do make it a goal for all requests to be handled within 10 minutes.  Waiting 20 minutes for a toothbrush may seem like no big deal… unless you are trying to brush your teeth and have an important meeting to get to.

Do require that a GSA calls back every guest to make sure their request was fulfilled.

Don’t ever conduct a guest call back unless you are absolutely positive that the request was taken care of.  If the guest requested a toothbrush, the GSA should wait until the housekeeping associate tells the GSA that they delivered the toothbrush.  There is nothing more embarrassing than conducting a follow up call and hearing ‘no, I have not received it yet’. 

Don’t conduct a call back and say ‘I’m checking to see if you received your toothbrush yet’.  That makes the hotel seem incompetent.  Hopefully you know that the guest received the toothbrush because the delivery person confirmed it with you after delivery.  You are conducting the callback to make sure a guest request was handled to the guest’s satisfaction and ask if anything further is needed.

Do save all guest request logs and review them every month.  You should be checking for trends.  If last month 5 people requested a room change from room 410, you have a problem with room 410 that needs to be addressed.  Strive to reduce guest requests by reviewing past trends and being proactive in correcting them. 

Do handle 100 percent of requests within 10 minutes and complete 100 percent of call backs!

Download our Guest Request Log HERE