I had a problem with booking that was handled unprofessionally by an employee of the Towneplace Redding named Devan. I complained to corporate, as well as to the hotel manager. Ultimately, the management corrected the problem for me and my family, and I stayed there a couple of weeks ago as originally planned. I was hopeful for a pleasant stay and to put the hassle of my booking problems behind me. In large part, our stay was pleasant. I have no complaints about the hotel itself or any members of the staff, except for Devan. Everyone else was wonderful, very attentive, and helped to make our stay an enjoyable one. The hotel was clean, room well stocked, breakfast was good, and any of our needs attended.
Devan, however, continued her extremely unprofessional behavior and I am, frankly, shocked if Marriott chooses to continue to allow her to represent it. My complaint about how Devan handled the booking snafu was appropriate and detailed events exactly as they occurred. I was not rude, mean, or unprofessional during that process. I hope Marriott encourages customers to provide feedback when they are dissatisfied with service, as I was during the booking process.
When I arrived after a grueling drive in extreme heat with three small children, I approached the front desk with a tired smile on my face, and proceeded to check-in. The woman at the desk said she could assist me. She requested some of my identifying information to begin the check-in process. She began typing info into her computer terminal to check me in. No problems. As soon as I provided my full name, however, she looked up with a scowl on her face, turned on her heel, and walked away and out of the reception area into an adjoining room behind a closed door. She did not say another word to me, did not tell me another representative would be with me shortly, just rudely, walked out. There were no other employees around. I stood there stunned. Although I suspected, given the shocking reception, that the woman at the front desk was Devan, I later learned conclusively that it was her. About a minute later, another employee appeared from behind the closed door and checked me in without a word about what had just happened. He was very pleasant and helpful. I was shocked by the rude "welcome" by Devan, and struggling to process it as I checked in with the man in front of me. Had I been alone, I likely would have been so angry that I would have walked out and found somewhere else to stay. As it was, I was fatigued, had my family of two toddlers and my two-month old infant in tow, and my husband waiting in the car to begin unpacking for our stay, which was to attend the memorial service of my late father. I was in no state to make a point in reaction to Devan's unprofessional behavior by taking my business elsewhere. Clearly, Devan believes that it is appropriate to abuse a customer with rude, unprofessional behavior simply because they complained about her service performance. Instead of recover from her stumble over the booking issue, Devan made the entire situation worse by treating a customer in a deplorable manner. As a business owner, I would be appalled if any of my employees treated a client in the same manner.
As you might imagine, I avoided having to interact with Devan for the entire stay, although that was difficult since the hotel is small, she worked the evening shifts, and there was often no other personnel around. I asked my husband, my sister-in-law, or my brother, whom were also staying at the hotel, to interact with the front desk when I knew Devan was there. On one occasion when the rest of my family was not with me, I was forced to interact with Devan. She was rude and insolent. She did answer my questions, but did so with a smirk, not smile, on her face and an impertinent tone of voice. I felt like I was talking to a bratty teenager with an attitude problem. Someone should explain to Devan that her tone of voice, facial expressions, and body language communicate an unprofessional and inappropriate demeanor to customers. I really could not believe her attitude, so at the end of my questions, I asked her why she was being so rude and told her that I felt she should apologize for her behavior. She smugly looked at me and said, "I'm sorry you feel that way." That is not taking accountability for her rude behavior, and was thoroughly dismaying. I am disappointed and absolutely dissatisfied with her "service" in every way possible. I have rarely had such horrid service in my lifetime. In fact, this may take the cake! read more