BAD CUSTOMER SERVICE
I arrived at the hotel around 12:15pm on 8/9 to check-in. When I went to the front desk, I was told that no rooms were vacant and clean at the moment. I understood this since it was before the regular check-in time. So, I notified the two ladies at the front desk (Jerrie and I can't recall the other girls name) that I was in town for business and needed to get some work done before I had to go and meet with my client. I also needed to iron a shirt before that time, and stressed the importance of getting a room as soon as one becomes available. I am on the road traveling for work 90% of the time that I work, and it is nice to be able to sit at a desk in privacy while completing tasks. I told them where I would be sitting and that I would check back in 30 min to an hour. The time came and I went back to the desk and was told nothing was ready. They seemed a little irritated by me at this point, and I thought I was being polite and pleasant with my request. Thus, I went and sat back down to continue my work. The lobby only had one other person in it that I believe was also waiting for a room and, to my knowledge, had arrived after me. I went back again to check after waiting another 30 min to an hour and was told to wait another 20 minutes and one should be ready. So, I went back to work and wait. By this time I was getting cold because I was still in shorts and a tshirt and had flown in from a warmer climate. After 25 minutes, I went back to check and was told a room wasn't ready. I noticed that the front desk agent was making room keys and placing them in a box. I used to work for a couple different hotels and I know that, with most PMS systems, the room needs to be vacant and clean before you can make a room key for that preblocked guest. I also know that the average room turn-around time from 'Vacant Dirty' to 'Vacant Clean' is about 45 minutes. At this point I had waited well over twice that time. I asked to speak with the general manager and was told that he was in a meeting and couldn't speak with me. I then said that I am a HHonors member and felt this service has been unnacceptable. The front desk agent said something to the affect of, "Oh! ou're an HHonors member?!", and then acquired my number which was not on the reservation. She then radio'd to housekeeping to put a rush on a room and notify her when it was clean and available. I feel bad for any guest that did not have an HHonors number attached to their account before check-in. I had to get on a conference call, so I went back to where all of my things were setup and made the call. I was hoping to be in a quieter place for the call, and this other person's child in the lobby was constantly making noise. This made it difficult to communicate effectively on the call. Finally, after about 3 hours a room was ready for me to check into. I get treated a lot better at Starwood and Marriott hotels.