Aloha…Or Not?
Two days before hopping on a plane to begin a Clarity Break in Hawaii, something about my trip became very unclear.
“PLEASE READ: Important information regarding your upcoming stay at the Autograph Collection Koloa Landing Resort at Poipu”
Bold type, large print: the email’s subject line jumped out at me. First thought: great, they’re giving me the Presidential Suite. Second thought: I’m screwed.
Upon opening the email I was faced with the starkest, most lawyerly looking page of type. No pictures, no color, nothing personal, nothing at all like the typical nicely-designed Marriott emails I normally receive as a longtime “honored guest”. I thought it was a scam.
As I read the email, I realized that if it was in fact legitimate, which now seemed likely, “I’m screwed” seemed the right response.
Apparently the hotel I had booked through Marriott reservations was not a Marriott when I booked a month ago but was supposed to be one by the time I arrived. But it wasn’t working out that way. Perhaps the new construction and renovations weren’t completed. Or the deal fell apart.
I called the Marriott customer service number listed on the email. The person who answered knew nothing about the email or what I was talking about. After a few holds as the agent wandered around talking to various managers, I was forwarded…to Ireland.
An absolutely wonderful fellow, Oliver Conroy, Guest Experience Specialist, got on the line. He also had no idea what I was talking about but immediately said he would figure it out and take care of it. I forwarded the email to him and he got to work.
During a 45-minute phone call, he also talked to a few managers, did some research, kept me informed of what was going on, and finally booked me at another hotel, the Kaua’i Marriott Resort.
And then he did an amazing thing. He told me he would call the Koloa Landing Resort when the managers had arrived in the morning Hawaii-time, cancel my reservation there, and ensure that I was not charged for the room in spite of it not being a Marriott and a cancellation fee being due. And he’d report back to me.
The next day I received a wonderful email from Oliver telling me all was well. The Koloa Landing Resort was cancelled with no fee. He had talked to his colleague Deborah at the Kaua’i hotel and she had assured him all would be taken care of. And it was. I was upgraded to a nice ocean view room and some resort fees were waived.
I have no idea what Marriott was thinking sending off such a horribly designed and written email two days before an “honored guest” was due to arrive at one of their hotels. Even worse, they had neglected to put anything into their systems so that when someone received the email and called to find out what was going on, their agent could easily explain it. Apparently, no one thought it through. Very un-Marriott like and awfully customer unfriendly.
Oliver Conroy saved the day. He soothed the angry customer with his calm manner, his exceptional service, his willingness to personally commit to overseeing the situation until it was fully resolved, and his follow-through.
As I sit here on a deck at the hotel writing this, the sun is rising over the ocean, waves are crashing on the shore, and perfect clarity is washing over me. And the final words of Oliver ring in my ear “let me know if I can help you with anything else.”