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Worst Customer Service EVER
To Whom It May Concern:
Let me preface the following comments by saying, it is unfortunate that my friends and I had the experience we did, because as young professionals,not only do we have the money to spend on vacations but we're looking to spend it.
My friends and I have been to Boston on vacation before and stayed in Holiday Inns and had fantastic experiences, however, this was not one of those times. During the period of August 16th-19th 2007 we stayed at The Holiday Inn Express Boston, located on 69 Boston Street. When researching the ideal place to stay on this particular vacation, we looked into several options. This particular Holiday Inn Express fit our budget and offered several amenities including a "24 hour complimentary shuttle." In fact, the shuttle was one of the amenities it boasted about the very most. Since we had a very positive experience at a Holiday Inn with a free shuttle the last time we traveled to Boston, we decided to give this one a try since it was a little closer into town. Upon our arrival into Boston Logan Airport, we called the hotel to get the shuttle. An individual whom I can only assume was the front desk manager gave us a time estimate of 45 minutes. Fair enough. So we wait...for an hour, before calling again. We are quoted 5 minutes.....and we wait....for another half hour, before calling again and being quoted 5 minutes. Finally, after about another 15 minutes, a COURTYARD MARRIOTT shuttle comes to get us. The driver is very apologetic, explaining that he doesn't know "what their problem is" and tells us about how they previously shared shuttles with this particular Holiday Inn, which was located very close to the Courtyard, but after a lot of turmoil, they parted ways. When we arrive to the hotel, we walk up to the front desk, clearly exhausted after having been traveling since 5:30am and then being left at the airport for 2 hours. The front desk manager comments, before we even say anything, that she knows who we are and she's very sorry. They explain that Nextel has not been working properly, and that was why everything was so confusing for THEM. We were never told this while we waited for 2 hours. Also, the shuttle only goes 2 places, the airport and the T stop, or so they say. What was it doing for 2 hours? Gina is very apologetic and says that as compensation we can rent movies for free. Since we booked through Orbitz, she says that's about all they can offer. We go upstairs to our room, exhausted and irritated, and on our way up they assure us that they will get us to the T stop. When we come back down to go to the T stop, they get us there...on foot...by giving us walking directions. Too tired to complain, we walk. When we arrive back at the hotel, we decide to order one of those "complimentary movies." We call down to the front desk to try to order one. Rushed, the clerk says says he will call back. He never does. I call again, and a very nice lady takes care of me immediately, and I explain why our movies are suppose to be free, and she's very receptive. Later, the initial clerk calls to set up my movie and I tell him the job is done.
The following night, my friends and I went to a Red Sox game. We didn't get back to the Andrew T stop until around 2am, so, deciding that walking in the neighborhood this late at night was a bad idea, we decided to give that "24 hour courtesy shuttle" another try. We call the front desk as we get off the train and he says 5 minutes, meet him at the Duncan Donuts. So we wait...in the rain...for 20 minutes, before calling again and getting the same "5 minutes", and we wait...again...for a shuttle that never comes...at 2am...in the rain...in a neighborhood with which we are neither from nor familiar with. We get a very expensive cab to take us several blocks, and walk up to the front desk to confront the night manager, which is the 3rd manager we have encountered at this point. Frankly, the man was rude. He said "it wasn't his fault" "the shuttle is a courtesy shuttle anyway" "there is nothing I can do" and my personal favorite, "it took me 3 tries to get in touch with him, i dont even know where he is, i guess he is stuck at the airport." Now, let me note, the shuttle was parked in front of the hotel when we arrived and I'm assuming they don't have more than one given the awful service. I would also like to point out the following:
A)If he didn't know where the guy was and didn't really know it would be 5 minutes, why not just SAY THAT instead of telling us it will be 5 minutes...at 2am..
B) Tied up at the airport? At 2am? How convenient that when we are at the airport in the middle of the day time, he is tied up somewhere else, but when we're at the T stop at 2am, he's tied up at the airport.
C)If it's just a "courtesy shuttle" and the service the shuttle provides isn't really that important to them (or their guests), perhaps they should not boast about it the way they do. Courtesy or not, we were still stuck in the rain at 2am and were told we had a ride that did not exist. Hotel bed sheets are complimentary as well, but if your sheets were dirty, you'd be upset.
Angry, cold, wet and tired, we go to bed. The next night we actually decide to have a calm evening before having to fly out the next day and order a movie. I explain the whole reason why the movies are suppose to be complimentary and they say they will take care of it. I also call to reserve the shuttle, since it's so reliable and all, in order to be sure we do not miss our flight. They tell us that in order to make our 8:45 flight, we HAVE to take the 6am shuttle. When I asked why, they said "because that's what time it comes." Does it seriously not run anymore in the morning after 6am? Because of this, we had to sit in the airport for over 2 hours. We should have been on a 7am shuttle, but according to the desk, there isn't one.
All these complaints are on TOP of the fact that every drink machine was out of bottled water, there was a bachelorette party spanning across 2 hotel rooms with the doors wide open, complete with a male stripper and lots of wine, that was so loud that we could hear it over our movie 6 doors down the hall, THEN, the next morning, we get a bill for the movies (which, in the end, we did not have to pay).
The entire experience was a really unfortunate one. The only redeeming factors were the maid service and Gina (the day manager), who was very sweet and apologetic. I'm not sure I will ever want to stay at a Holiday Inn again after my experience with their customer service, which, as aforementioned, is very unfortunate, considering young professionals have both the time and the money to travel. I hope you will take these comments and use them to better your customer care policies.
