Minor hotel annoyance

[rlk]

We are currently on vacation, staying in a nice boutique hotel. When we first got onto our room, a few outlets by the desk didn't work. One desk lamp and a hanging ceiling lamp do not work because they must be connected to the blown fuse, making the room very dark once it gets dark outside. I called the front desk last night to let them know and reminded them again this morning. We just returned to our room and nothing was done. I called down again and was told "Sorry, we must have forgot, we'll check tomorrow." The forgot response annoys me. I'd rather them say that they tried but can't fix it until tomorrow.

 

[PrincessShmoo]

We are currently on vacation, staying in a nice boutique hotel. When we first got onto our room, a few outlets by the desk didn't work. One desk lamp and a hanging ceiling lamp do not work because they must be connected to the blown fuse, making the room very dark once it gets dark outside. I called the front desk last night to let them know and reminded them again this morning. We just returned to our room and nothing was done. I called down again and was told "Sorry, we must have forgot, we'll check tomorrow." The forgot response annoys me. I'd rather them say that they tried but can't fix it until tomorrow.

How long are you staying there? If it was me, and I was staying more than 3 days, I'd be demanding (yes, demanding) a new room (with working outlets). It's not right that they keep putting you off. I'd also be sure the owner of the place knows about the situation. If it's the owner that's putting you off, that's really sad.

 

[rlk]

How long are you staying there? If it was me, and I was staying more than 3 days, I'd be demanding (yes, demanding) a new room (with working outlets). It's not right that they keep putting you off. I'd also be sure the owner of the place knows about the situation. If it's the owner that's putting you off, that's really sad.

We are here until the 24th. Unfortunately, we have a family suite and there isn't another one available.

 

[PrincessShmoo]

We are here until the 24th. Unfortunately, we have a family suite and there isn't another one available.

Sad. My only suggestion would be to talk directly with the owner of the place. And ask for at least a reduction in the cost.

In my case, if it still wasn't taken care of by day 3, my husband would probably rig up some sort of lighting (he's an electrician) in the room, and if they didn't like it, they'd better fix the problem.

I've noticed recently that many hotels have lower wattage (think that's the proper word) in the bulbs, making the rooms dark. I usually have to turn on all the lights in the room to get proper lighting.

 

[lorimay]

We are currently on vacation, staying in a nice boutique hotel. When we first got onto our room, a few outlets by the desk didn't work. One desk lamp and a hanging ceiling lamp do not work because they must be connected to the blown fuse, making the room very dark once it gets dark outside. I called the front desk last night to let them know and reminded them again this morning. We just returned to our room and nothing was done. I called down again and was told "Sorry, we must have forgot, we'll check tomorrow." The forgot response annoys me. I'd rather them say that they tried but can't fix it until tomorrow.

They are putting you off probably because they are aware, and it requires an electrician to fix it. They don't want to pay a Saturday/Sunday "fee" to call them in. They had to have been made aware before you.

 

[Frozen Canuck]

We are currently on vacation, staying in a nice boutique hotel. When we first got onto our room, a few outlets by the desk didn't work. One desk lamp and a hanging ceiling lamp do not work because they must be connected to the blown fuse, making the room very dark once it gets dark outside. I called the front desk last night to let them know and reminded them again this morning. We just returned to our room and nothing was done. I called down again and was told "Sorry, we must have forgot, we'll check tomorrow." The forgot response annoys me. I'd rather them say that they tried but can't fix it until tomorrow.

We went through this about a week ago at a hotel we were staying at. When we checked in, the room we were given had not been cleaned AT ALL. My husband found the housekeeper on the floor and notified them of the issue. They nodded and we decided to go get something to eat to give them time to clean it. When we got back a couple of hours later, it still hadn't been cleaned. My husband called the front desk who said someone would be up shortly. We toured the hotel a bit, but were tired and really wanted to settle in. This was late afternoon, and as it was, we were only going to be able to stay in the room until 2:30 am because we needed to catch our flight. Another call and we were told someone would be up in 5 minutes. 15 or so minutes later, my husband called and demanded another room. They were reluctant to put us elsewhere, but he didn't back down and we were promptly relocated down the hall. We were given free appetizer coupons, which didn't do us much good at that point.

Since you can't simply ask for a different room, I would question the front desk as to what they plan to do in order to get you some illumination because your room isn't workable in the condition that it is in. Whether that means they run an alternate cord from a working outlet so you can get some lights on, or get their maintenance crew fixing it in a timely manner, is up to them. I hope you get this resolved soon.

 

[sam_gordon]

I would give them one more chance to fix things, based solely on it being a Sunday and they may not have a maintenance guy in today.

Whether you wait another day or do so today, be calm but firm. Ask them what they are going to do to make things right. Ask them if they think having a room without working lights or electricity is safe for their guests. I don't know that you have a leg to stand on to demand a reduction in the fee. If nothing gets done, I'd turn to social media to post about your experience. Be factual, not emotional. Let other guests know about the problems you had and that management wasn't willing to help solve them.

 

[bcla]

I don't necessarily consider myself a demanding person, but if there is something that needs to be attended to I will ask for it and perhaps even insist on it.

I've certainly been late in a room where we told housekeeping not to enter. But later we called and asked if we could get our room cleaned and was told that they were very busy getting rooms ready for new guests. Fair enough, but they were able to get us fresh towels (a huge pile frankly). I remember once I accidentally pulled out an ethernet cable, and maintenance came up promptly. Over the years I've seen a hotel handyman come in to fix a lock that was stuck. Something as basic as electricity should be something that's a priority.

Of course be polite, but firm.

 

[Shanti]

I would talk in person to the owner/manager about the dark room, bringing up the safety concern and inconvenience, and ask how they are going to address it. They should then have some kind of plan to get you some lighting. If they offer that, I would accept it but also politely ask for a reduction in fee, since the room has not been properly lighted for a couple of days, and any make-do solution they offer still won't be quite what you paid for: a room with normal, fully-functional lighting.

They should at least take off one night's cost, imo. Not saying that they will, but that would be decent customer service in my book. If they are unhelpful, I would allude to the fact that you will be sharing the facts of this unsafe situation with the Better Business Bureau (and actually do it), and post your experience on Yelp and Trip Advisor. But I would first firmly & politely push for a fee reduction in this case. Without something as basic as proper lighting, you certainly deserve it.

 

[bcla]

I would talk in person to the owner/manager about the dark room, bringing up the safety concern and inconvenience, and ask how they are going to address it. They should then have some kind of plan to get you some lighting. If they offer that, I would accept it but also politely ask for a reduction in fee, since the room has not been properly lighted for a couple of days, and any make-do solution they offer still won't be quite what you paid for: a room with normal, fully-functional lighting.

They should at least take off one night's cost, imo. Not saying that they will, but that would be decent customer service in my book. If they are unhelpful, I would allude to the fact that you will be sharing the facts of this unsafe situation with the Better Business Bureau (and actually do it), and post your experience on Yelp and Trip Advisor. But I would first firmly & politely push for a fee reduction in this case. Without something as basic as proper lighting, you certainly deserve it.

If it's part of a chain it would help to document what the issue was with them. Even if the individual management won't quickly address it or refuses to provide some sort of compensation, corporate might.

 

[Flight]

No lights or electricity? Room not cleaned?

Not paying.

 

[kimblebee]

Go to the front desk tomorrow instead of calling. It's much easier to placate someone who is on the phone as opposed to standing right in front of you.

 

[Gumbo4x4]

Are you positive the outlets aren't connected to a wall switch that is just in the "off" position?

 

[Micca]

If there are a couple of lights out in a suite of room I guess that's no big deal. If you're sitting in a room in darkness when you don't want to be that's more than a minor inconvenience.

 

[rlk]

Update- They came to our room later that evening and fixed the problem (not sure what it was). We are in France and with adjusting to the time change, I just didn't feel like dealing with any issues. Now that we have more light and working outlets, I am happy. Thanks to all who respond.

 

[PrincessShmoo]

We are in France

That explains a lot. Especially if you are US citizens.

 

[NHdisneylover]

Update- They came to our room later that evening and fixed the problem (not sure what it was). We are in France and with adjusting to the time change, I just didn't feel like dealing with any issues. Now that we have more light and working outlets, I am happy. Thanks to all who respond.

Small botique hotel in France? That is the missing part of the equation!
DH has a lot of work travel in France. He's flat ought bought and replaced broken shower fixtures rather than keep waiting for the never going to fix it there.
Heck, even at the Sequoia Lodge at DLP in May we were promised someone would come look at hte A/C which was not working for 4 days in a row (asking at least twice a day) before we finally refused to leave until they sent a maintenance person with us---at which point they looked and admitted no one had ever checked it and turns out no one could for another day and there were no other rooms available. sigh. welcome to France (and, no, I don't think that the PP is correct taht being American makes much differnce. We have French, Spanish and German friends who all have similar complaints)

 

[PrincessShmoo]

Small botique hotel in France? That is the missing part of the equation!
DH has a lot of work travel in France. He's flat ought bought and replaced broken shower fixtures rather than keep waiting for the never going to fix it there.
Heck, even at the Sequoia Lodge at DLP in May we were promised someone would come look at hte A/C which was not working for 4 days in a row (asking at least twice a day) before we finally refused to leave until they sent a maintenance person with us---at which point they looked and admitted no one had ever checked it and turns out no one could for another day and there were no other rooms available. sigh. welcome to France (and, no, I don't think that the PP is correct taht being American makes much differnce. We have French, Spanish and German friends who all have similar complaints)

I can only speak from my experience. On our trips to France, we always seem to be singled out once the restaurant servers/hotel front desk/taxi driver/tour guide figures out we're US citizens.

All the way from out and out being ignored that we were even sitting in a restaurant, to having tour guides suddenly break out into very bad English on our tours.