On March 27, 2011, I sent the following to Starwood Hotels through their online comment page:
During my recent visit to the Four Points by Sheraton hotel in Emeryville, California, I received some very bad treatment, and I would like to bring it to your attention.
On Thursday, March 24, I traveled from Seattle to Oakland, California for a coast guard meeting and the promotion of a good friend to the rank of Rear Admiral in the U.S. Coast Guard. Everything was set for a productive, joyous, and celebratory visit to Oakland. However, my flight was four hours late, and when I stopped for dinner, my wallet was stolen. The wallet contained absolutely all my ID, credit cards, health insurance cards, keys to my car and home, and all my readily available money.
Naturally, I was pretty upset. I had a rental car in a nearby garage, with the parking unpaid, and I had no way to do anything requiring credit cards. Also, my mind raced forward on how I was going to even get onto the plane to go home. A good Samaritan gave me $10, and the restaurant management cancelled my check and wrote a note on it confirming that my wallet had been stolen, in case that would help in any way. I got the car out of the garage, leaving me with $3.50, and proceeded to the Four Points.
Entering the hotel, I was greeted by a charming, professional desk clerk named Celso. "Good evening, Mrs. Chapman!" It seemed he knew it must be me because everyone else with a reservation had already checked in. I told him my tale of woe and asked if he could check me in based on the credit card with which I had reserved the room. He told me how sorry he was that the incident had happened and was already trying to see if he could do that. In a few seconds, he had succeeded in charging the night's room to the card, including a reserve of $50 for incidentals. So far, so good.
I had originally made the reservation for one night, but due to the celebration after the promotion ceremony, I had decided to extend it to two nights. I thought I had called to do so, but it was not in the computer. Celso said that since he had already used the card once, he couldn't do it again, but he would explain the situation to the manager, Debra, in the morning and he was sure it could be worked out.
I finally got into the room and slept around 3 a.m. Because my Coast Guard ID had been stolen, I left an early wake-up call request and skipped breakfast to ensure I could find a way to get access to the Coast Guard base in time for the ceremony. On my way through the lobby, I paused and asked if my extra night had been worked out, and was assured that it had been and that I was all set. I believe the clerk who said that was Amanda, though I'm not positive.
The Coast Guard admitted me to the base, and the promotion ceremony went well, as did my subsequent meeting. My Admiral friend's wife heard about my dilemma and got $60 the maximum out of a cash machine for me so that I could pay parking and toll fees for the rest of the visit.
With one tiny cupcake and some coffee as my food for the day so far, I left and stopped at a bank to cancel the business debit card that had been in my wallet. Because I didn't have the card number, it took almost an hour and the gracious and persistent bank officer finally got it done. Then I went to the Oakland Police Department to get a police report, which I hoped would help me with TSA the next day. That took an hour and a half. Finally I headed back to the hotel with barely enough time to change, arrange a gift bag with the cards and gifts I had brought to the Admiral from friends in Seattle, and leave for the celebration.
On my way through the lobby, which was, by the way, filled with other guests checking in and/or departing, the same clerk I had spoken with earlier called to me. She informed me that there was a problem with my payment. When I reminded her that she had said earlier that it was all squared away, she said, "Yes, but it seems we need cash payment." WHAT??? I said, CASH??? All my cash was stolen. Everything in my wallet was stolen." She turned to another blonde clerk, whose name I'm afraid I never got, and the clerk told me that since I didn't have a credit card, they would have to have cash payment. I said again that I obviously had no cash. I offered my police report and my car rental agreement, which should prove that I was who I said I was since I had to have the driver's license in order to rent the car. I also told her I had an event that evening to get ready for and all my things were in MY ROOM. I pointed out that they had a valid credit card, expiration date, and security code, which they had already succeeded in using, and that if she needed a different one, I could get that. She asked me to wait a minute and left.
I waited for what was much longer than a minute, and then I noticed her and another woman, who later turned out to be the operations manager, Debra **, slipped out of the desk area and quickly disappeared down a locked hallway, with their eyes averted. I waited quite a while longer until finally, the blonde clerk returned and asked if I had anyone anywhere who could fax them a copy of both sides of a credit card and that person's drivers license, along with a form authorizing use of that card for my room. They said they would email the form to the person.
So I called my husband to ensure that he would be there to receive the email, which he was. I gave him instructions for making the copies and faxing them and he set off to do that as soon as he got the email. Then I gave them his email address and they sent the email.
Thinking this was handled, I went on up to my room to start getting ready. But still no joy. My card key had been cancelled. And it just got worse. I went back down to the desk and asked if I could now have a card key that worked. She said no, that they still had no payment for the room. Then, and this was the single thing that angered me the most, she said she had been authorized to walk me up to the room and gather up my things. Mind you, this was all playing out in front of all the other guests. I told her absolutely not, I was not going to be walked up to get my things because I was NOT LEAVING. I repeated that I had several things to do to get ready for the evening's event, and she had a valid credit card, that had, in fact, already gone through once, and that the staff had told me earlier that I was all squared away. If, instead, they had told me that we had to go through this emailing, copying, and faxing routine, I could have had that going on all morning while I was at the Coast Guard base. But no, I had been assured it was all fine.
She said that she could not let me into the room until they had received payment. Just then my husband called to say he was in the process of sending the fax. Debra showed up to back her up, and I told both of them that he was at that moment sending the fax! Then Debra reluctantly said well, then, OK. She then gave me a key card that would work. I took it and then I asked where the restaurant was because I haven't had anything to eat all day, and I needed some lunch. They pointed to the corner of the lobby. So I went up, got into the room, got my computer and some work I needed to do, and headed for the lobby, where the blonde clerk was receiving the fax from my husband and, smiling brightly, waved it at me. Then I went to the restaurant door, only to find that she had told me where it was, but she failed to say it was CLOSED. But now that I was an honored guest, she offered, with the bright smile still pasted on her face, to get me a pre-packaged sandwich. I declined.
When I got back to my room and collected the day's email, you'll never guess what I found: an email from Southwest Airlines' corporate assistant manager for Proactive Customer Service Communications, apologizing for the inconvenience I had experienced the day before and sending a $100 voucher for future travel. I forwarded that to Ms. **, suggesting that she and Sheraton could take some management lessons from Southwest Airlines, who hold the gold standard in customer service, as far as I am concerned.
Fast forward to the end of the evening. When I came in from the party, the same staff was there, but when I called later to request a wake-up call, Celso answered. I told him I hoped he hadn't gotten in trouble for running that card the previous night. He answered, "Absolutely not, Mrs. Chapman. We try to put ourselves in the guest's place and handle their problems the best we can." I told him that he had done that, and I greatly appreciated his help and his professionalism, but that the rest of the staff had not been so professional. I told him they had treated me horribly. He paused and then apologized and said he was very sorry that had happened.
In closing, If I had been a staggering drunk and looked like I had just dragged myself out of a sewer, there would have been understandable reason for concern on the part of the staff. In fact, I have shown up at fine hotels after several days camping and birdwatching, dirty and disheveled, and been treated very well. But in this case, I was dressed in business attire and coherent, having already had a day's stay charged on a valid credit card and clearly equipped with enough paperwork to demonstrate who I was. And regardless, this horror of a scenario should never have been carried out in the lobby in plain sight and earshot of the other guests.
I have run businesses for more than 40 years. I thought I had seen just about everything there is to see in the way of competence and incompetence, and great and shameful "customer service," but I have never seen or experienced anything like this. Celso should receive a medal, a bonus, and a promotion, and the rest of the hotel staff needs some intensive remedial management and customer relations training. And if this is due to a Sheraton policy, whoever approved it should be in the same class.
It is clear to me that one of two situations exists at Sheraton, or at least at Four Points. Either the hotel staffs are given no responsibility, authority, or latitude to exercise judgement and make necessary, rational decisions, or they are so intimidated and fearful that they don't have the courage to do so. Either situation is completely unacceptable in a customer service environment. Regardless, I have entrusted my comfort and convenience to Sheraton for the last time, and you can be sure this incident will be well publicized to my traveling friends and associates.