I just got back from the College Hills show in lovely Cedar Falls, IA. It is a Fri and Sat show. Not a Sat Sun or Fri Sat Sun. It's FRI and SAT. Setup was Thurs afternoon. I'm working along all week minding my own business when my friend Paula Grill, an AFI member also doing that show, called Wed at 9:30PM. She stated that we had made our hotel reservations for LAST wk and not THIS wk, when the fair was. (I should mention here that Paula couldn't make the show now, because her husband got sick and was in the hospital.)
Ok, panic no. 1. Then she started talking something about leaving tomorrow and it hit me like a train - In my brain I had me leaving on FRIDAY! Panic no. 2. My van was not loaded, no suitcase packed and it was poring cats and dogs with lightning outside. Total drought here all month and it decides to rain TONITE. On top of all this? No reservation and one that was missed AND charged to my credit card. All $215 of it.
Somehow managed to pack what I could that nite, then got up super early after a lousy nite's sleep, to load my van. Called the hotel. It was the "Wingate" by Wynham Hotels in lovely Cedar Falls, IA. Explained my situation and got a new reservation. Asked the clerk if it was possible to use last wks charges on this wks stay since I major goofed up. Used a medical excuse, which is not a lie, because I take this cancer medication that seriously makes my brain foggy. She said I could take it up with the manager when I arrived. Wanted to mention that I made the first reservations thru Priceline. Not a bid, but one that was a sale. The price was alittle cheaper than what the show got there, for the artists. I know, I know. Priceline....
Left about 10am, all well and good but still missing a few years on my life. And the story continues......
Get to the hotel. Nice place. NOT nice manager. In fact I think a she must have worked at one of those motels where you can stop for a "nap"? You know the kind. She proceeds to tell me that Priceline should issue me a refund that they are third party only. Get to my room to call Priceline. No way on the face of this earth and then some, was I going to get a refund. Long story short, they said, "Well Wingate got paid last week so they should honor the request."
Cue to the show.... Setup was a breeze. Nice park on the campus of Northern Iowa Univ. Drive up to your space, unload, no problem. Still wigging in my head on what day it actually was, but so far so good. Fri was mid 80's with a good crowd of ohhh 70-80 yr olds. It's Fri, for cryin' out loud. Sold like nothing. Sat was supposed to be a heat wave. 95+. That did not happen. Cloudy, a tad rainy and the crowd was way light probably due to the forecast. Finally towards the end of the day, sold one piece to a great couple for $800. Again, extremely easy teardown. Get your car whenever, drive to your spot. All very relaxed. Wonderful artist hospitality house with coffee, iced tea, all the water you needed, snacks, fruit and indoor restroom. Sack lunch for the way home! Alittle disappointed in the sales, but that's always the risk you take. Wonderful quality of artists and the best balance of categories I've ever seen. Promoters were always present to check on situations. Artist party on Fri nite was good food, jazz band and open bar. Fun.
Get back to the hotel....NOT fun. My room was right by the side parking lot and exit door so I go in that way. As I walk up to my door, I see it is ajar, as in the metal bar thingie was swung out inbetween the door jam and the door, keeping in open. Panic no. 17. I slowly open the door and immediately check for my laptop. All looked good so I walked in, dropped my stuff and went to the front desk to tell the clerk about the door. She says the manager will actually be in from 11pm to 2 am (go figure) so she'll make sure and tell her. I also said I wanted to talk to her about the charge debacle before the bill was actually processed.
Called the front desk about 11:30, talk to the manager. She imMEDiately started yelling, saying she's NOT responsible and can't do anything and she's sick of talking to me and she has to balance her books, etc etc. Ran the medical thing past her again, of course, she's not budging. So I hang up. THEN I realize I forgot to mention the door. Call her back. Ask if she heard about the door.... "I checked the camera! which happens to be right in front of your door! and all the doors! in the hall were closed! I am hanging up NOW!" I was shocked to say the least. Asked her if she was calling me a liar? I'm sure she thought I was trying one last scam to get money off my room. I start to raise my voice about how dare she accuse me of that and she says "You need to talk to me in a proFESSional way! or I will escort you out of the building! Do you want me to escort you out?!"
At this point I realized maybe some liquor was involved in her mood and I just hung up.
Of course, there was the bill under my door the next day for another cool $250. I wrote her a note and had the clerk put it in her mailbox. Said that I was amazed at her reaction, calling me a liar, making me feel like I was scamming her for money off. Said she runs the hotel recklessly and she's lucky this time that nothing was stolen. Told her to check her tape again. Also left a note for the housekeeping, telling them that whomever was in my room the night before, left it open.
Boy is Wynham Corporate going to hear from me. I realize that I'm probably screwed on the refund but I do want them to know about the Manager From The No-Tell Mo-Tells. Stay tuned. If I get anywhere, I'll post again.
Alot of lessons learned here.....Not using Priceline anymore, getting a HUGE dry erase calendar, talking to my oncologist about this medication and opening a bottle of wine.
Cheers and many sales to all!
Comments
Barry, thanks for that. I'm looking into it. I did go on their site and I talked to their complaints dept. this morning. The person there took down all my info apologizing like crazy. Now that I have the info you gave, I'll ck further and keep you all informed. This mgr so stunned me with her response that it took me totally by surprise and shocked me into I don't know what. I'll be ready for this if unfortunately, there's a next time. Thx again!
Alison, this is not about crossing fingers or hoping, etc. If you haven't called corporate yet, you're in need of some serious help. It took me all of 30 seconds to find the phone # and a list of corporate officers.
http://finance.yahoo.com/q/pr?s=WYN+Profile
Ask to speak to the CEO by name. There is a link to Wyndham World Wide and on their web site there is a tab that takes you to a page called "corporate responsibility". You will be surprised when you call that you may be able to talk to the CEO Stephen P. Holmes. More than likely you will be talking to a VP in charge of public relations. You should get the results you are looking for. There is no way I would have paid for that room last weekend.
Thanks much for that Bridget! Well put. I actually did think about the laptop being compromised too. Keeping my fingers crossed. Thanks for the compliments, my friend and I hope I run into you again too! Good luck to you.
I was at CH as well. I stopped by your booth and I loved your work, especially the peacock. You might not remember considering what a terrible weekend you were having. Shake it off, you have great work, and I hope you do better at your next show. I too thought it was a very well run show, very nice people! My sales were light however, but that is the story with my shows this year. Just a note, not to add one more thing to your weekend, and chances are remote, but, just because your laptop was still there does not mean that you are out of the woods. Make sure that nothing has been compromised. Hope I run into you again sometime and good luck.
regardless of who's at fault, the attitude of the manager was inexcusable. She was unprofessional, hostile and rude. I would call Corporate explaining the situation and that you intend to share the information with other artists using the hotel. You may not get a refund but you should at the very least receive an apology and the assurance no one will have to be assaulted with such poor behavior again there again.
Yes, Munks, the hotel is not responsible for my mistake. I know that. These were discussions I had with the manager on and off all weekend as I was trying whatever I could to see if they could comp the stay. The hotel was not busy that weekend or last weekend so missing out selling the room wasn't an issue. I may have sounded like I badgered her but I did not. Just thought they could have been a tad bit sympathectic? Guess not. When I write corporate it won't be to get a comp for my mistake. It will be to report the manager. Think I mentioned that in the post. Great idea Richard. I do need to stick to one chain and Hilton is a great one. Thanks again to you all for your advise and thoughts!
Hi Alison, Your tale got a sympathetic sinking in my tummy for sure. It brought back the memory of when my husband called the airline to confirm our reservations for the next day and discovered that the reservation was for THAT day and we had missed our flight! Obviously that happened before PC's. I still remember it, though. One good thing.....I'll bet that you double check your dates from now forward. That manager was a real jerk!
If I can offer some advice that has worked for me for years. I spent the last 8 years traveling as much as 20 days per month throughout the Southeast. I was responsible for my own expenses and for making hotel reservations as well. I used search sites such as Expedia, Priceline, etc to locate availability of hotels in a given area and then called the hotel direct to book my reservations. It always appeared when I didn't that there was an adversarial relationship between the hotel and the "third party". In addition I would recommend that you become a member of some brand (such as Hilton, Holiday etc) in order to establish a stronger value as a customer. I was a Diamond member with Hilton and believe me anytime I had a problem, which was not often, they would jump through hoops to satisfy me. I would drive an additional 10 miles or so in order to stay at a Hilton brand hotel in order to accumulate valuable points but also just in knowing that someone really cared about my being there. It doesn't cost any more and in most cases you can negotiate a lower rate and receive free room upgrades.
I am sympathetic that you had to go through a rough weekend like that, but someone further up the comments list, asked the question why a hotel chain should pay when a customer makes a mistake. They (the hotel) have bills to pay too, and that manager is responsible for a profit at that location. She held a room for you that she might have been able to sell to someone else. Going to "corporate" with the matter doesn't seem fair. Take a deep breath, then try to look at the issue from her side. On another note, I was at College Hill too, glad you kept the oldsters enertained on Friday over on your side of the hill. People willing to part with $ must have come our way instead :)
Alison, if someone left my hotel room door open, I would have been livid. I think Munks has a point about the calendar mix-up. When dealing with corporate, I would only mention it in passing if at all. The treatment you received from the manager and having your door left unlocked and obviously open are enough to warrant some type of compensatory relief. Regardless of how you spoke to the manager, her reaction was uncalled for. You are the customer and if she didn't like what you were saying, there were far better ways for her to handle it than becoming defensive
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