In my Florida/Georgia blogger mashup post I alluded to our horrible stay at a hotel in Savannah. Rather than just bitch to ya’ll I decided to channel my inner old lady and write an official letter of complaint to the Head Office of the hotel.
(quick recap: our hotel room was chock full of 2nd hand smoke thanks to a misplaced outdoor ashtray near our window ac unit)
Honestly I just wanted to feel like I did something to help the next guest out, but truthfully I doubted that I would ever hear back. Well last night I got an e-mail from the general manager of the actual hotel we stayed in with a very sincere apology.
The manager promised to move the ashtray and designated smoking area away from the front of the hotel and the 1st floor rooms. That was a HUGE deal for me. Yay! Then she asks if there is anything she can do to help make it up to me.
I have to say I really pondered that. Did I need something more than just helping the next guest? Part of me thought I should just thank her for making the changes and move on. But then I remembered that my night was pretty horrible and if she asked then I should put it out there- and so I thanked her for her response and then asked for a full or partial refund.
This morning I got a sweet e-mail back from the manager letting me know that she was going to refund just over half of my bill. How amazing is that?
I think there are so many moments when shit things happen, a bad night in a hotel for example, and we just accept it. I wrote the complaint so that I could feel active and not passive in my whining. But the fact that my complaint was heard and then responded to in such a great way is pretty awesome.
Now who can I write a letter to about getting Mother a job?
{ 9 comments… read them below or add one }
It’s amazing what a letter can accomplish. I’m glad that you were able to change things a bit for the next guest who stayed there and got a partial refund too.
That is great to hear, Cali, and very timely for me as I’m currently engaged in an epic battle with our new home security system company. I called them today and they are going to look into crediting us for the month we’ve been paying for the service and not getting a damn thing from them, but if they are not going to pony up, a letter will be sent and I will be heard, by gum!
You are absolutely right that it is so satisfying to just express yourself constructively, but so much better when there is an actual response that makes things better. Go, you!
Good! I think that hotel should have refunded some of your money. Definitely worth writing!
Totally awesome! You ROCK!
Good for you! Glad you were refunded. Even better that the hotel took the time to make a customer happy. Time well spent, in my opinion.
*HUGS*
Yay for you! I’m glad that they took it seriously and are taking action.
Oh I’m so glad you did this! When something really is wrong, businesses need to know, and a well-crafted complaint letter really does wonders. I have actually gotten a free car rental, a free night at a hotel, and a few other nice little prizes because I wrote polite letters calling some supervisor’s attention to a significant issue. It feels good to not only have the issue resolved but also to get a little reward out of it.
Nice – not only did you do good for you, you did good for others!
Good luck finding out who you write to about your mother’s job situation – I’m going to see who I can write to about Al’s vas deferens. If we could maybe just get *one* tube back…
Good for you! I love stories like this … proprietor of small business truly sorry, friend stands up for themselves, etc. …