I've never written a blog post extolling a service provider. So far. Today that changes, and with good reason.
I've always been a big fan of Starwood. They maintain great properties, have a fantastic loyalty program and I've always had a great experience with their staff. So I was surprised recently when a charge showed up on my credit card for a stay I had cancelled. I called them. They have real people picking up the phone when you call. No waiting, no clicking through annoying menus, or sitting at my desk going "agent, agent, agent" until the voice recognition software finally cuts through my accent to figure out what I'm saying.
The person on the phone was polite, and promised to contact the property right away. Sure enough, late the same night (11.30PM or so), I received an email from the property giving me details on why I was charged. It appears they never received notice of my online cancellation. I wrote a return email saying that yes, I had made the reservation and cancelled it online and no, I didn't have a confirmation number to share with him. A reply quickly came back that said "You don't need to give us any more information. We'll reverse the charge, and credit your card immediately." Two days later, the refund showed up on my card. That was it.
Two emails, no need for "supporting evidence" to back up my claim, no fuss, and a refund that showed up promptly. Is anyone surprised that I'm more loyal to Starwood than ever?
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3 comments:
Looks like work and life is balancing for you... One post per day for 4 days in a row!! No complaints... Keep journalling!
Hey Nisha. I run a travel reviews website and this is stuff I hear all the time from travellers. That they love a no-fuss approach to situations like this and will remain pretty loyal. In spite of which, most hotels find it pretty difficult to do this. Mystifies me no end, since the big bosses at various hotel chains that I have spoken to tell me that this is exactly what they have instructed their staff to do. Either they are not being fully truthful with me or they are not getting through to their people. Anyways, bully for Starwood.
ps. I did google up Nisha Pillai, but what the heck:)
@Hari:
There's a difference between instructing your staff to do something and enabling them to do it. Enabling your staff to do the right thing is very difficult to do. Not only do you have to set policy, but also line up systems that enable people to implement that policy. What good is a no-fuss refund policy if the employee is only going to be measured against a net revenue target?
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