AliceandPete
Mouseketeer
- Joined
- Jan 23, 2019
I called the Swan on Saturday afternoon to add my child to my reservation . The reservation wasn’t showing in their system yet ( I had booked that morning ) so I was unable to at that time. However I remarked to my husband after the call that the rep was the most courteous and well spoken customer service rep I had spoken to in a long time , if not ever. I didn’t catch his name, but would not be surprised if it was Josh.**Caution! Very, very long-winded, but there’s a prize at the end!***
Just sharing my recent experience with adding my kids to our Priceline Express reservation.
I first called the Swan to add the kids and spoke with a very nice person in their reservations department. He asked for the names of all guests staying in our room (4) and assured me the kids were added. He also gave me the hotel confirmation number that I would need to link in MDE. He said to give it 24 hours for the system to catch up to the recent change he made before linking the reservation in MDE. I checked MDE 24 hours (and then again at 48 hours) later and MDE was still showing the reservation as being for only 2 people. I stopped short of clicking “Confirm” on the MDE linking page with my thinking being I should wait until the reservation is showing the correct occupancy before linking.
I called the Swan again and this time I was told that the original person I spoke to did add my kids’ names to the reservation, but he didn’t modify the occupancy from 2 to 4. This is why MDE was still showing it as being for only 2 people. This same Swan rep. also told me that because I booked through a third party site she is not authorized to change the occupancy on the reservation. She said I would have to call Priceline to do that. Okay, no problem...
I call Priceline and explained that I need to add my two kids to the booking. Priceline rep. is adamant that since I booked and Express Deal she can not, and will not call the Swan and authorize the occupancy adjustment. I explain that this is a common practice and shouldn’t be a problem. I also explain that I have already spoken to the Swan people and changing the occupancy is not a problem as they would indeed be able to accommodate the change. She continues to refuse to do it. I politely end the phone call.
Just for kicks, I call Disney’s wholesale department as I have found them to be very easy to deal with in the past when booking Express Deals at Disney-owned hotels. The Disney wholesale CM says that because this reservation is for the Swan she can not modify the occupancy. Had it been a Disney-owned hotel it would be no problem, but she can’t modify reservations at the Swan. She also suggests that maybe the occupancy issue in MDE is and IT-related issue and transfers me to their IT department. Okay, it’s a beautiful Saturday afternoon and I’ve got a tall glass of iced tea in my hand....I’ll play along...
IT department says it is not an IT issue. Instructed me to call the Swan to adjust the occupancy and the issue will be resolved.
Called the Swan a third time. (Definition of insanity comes to mind here...) Same answer. Swan’s hands are tied due to my booking through a third party website. I am once again instructed to call Priceline. Here we go again. This should be fun.
I called Priceline for a second time and politely explain the situation. Priceline rep. begins to give me the same explanation as the previous one. Since this an Express Deal the occupancy can’t be modified, blah, blah, blah. I explain (once again) that this is a common practice and all I need is for her to make a 60-second phone call to the Swan to authorize the change. She finally agrees to call them, but not before pointing out to me (in a frustrated and rude tone) that she is going “above and beyond” for me. I think to myself, umm, okay, what do you want from me? A cookie?!! I politely thank for understanding my predicament and for agreeing to help me resolve this issue. She puts me on hold while calling the Swan. 30 seconds in to my hold time the call drops! I was calling on my cell phone, but from my house. I never have dropped calls from my house. The signal is more than adequate here. I have to believe she either mistakenly (or intentionally) terminated the call.
I decide to wait 5 minutes with the hopes that she might call me back. Many companies with good customer service practices will call the customer back if a call drops and the issue was still unresolved. I get no call back.
Ten minutes later I call Priceline again and get different rep. I explain that another rep. was assisting me with my issue and that the call had dropped. He looks at the details of my hotel reservation and tells me he can see notes from the previous rep. from a few minutes ago. He says she did add notes to my booking and stated that she called the Swan to authorize the occupancy adjustment. Hallelujah!!! I thought. (Not so fast though.)
I called the Swan to make sure the occupancy is now showing as 4 people. As luck would have it, I was now speaking to the exact same Swan rep. that the Priceline lady spoke to. He tells me he just got off the phone with her a few minutes ago and he informed her that a phone call from Priceline was not enough to authorize the occupancy change. He told her she would need to fax written authorization for him to make the change! Fax?!!! What is this, 1989?!!! I thought to myself that if she felt she was going “above and beyond” by simply calling the Swan for me, there’s no way she would ever consider actually standing up and walking over to the fax machine. That is, if they even have a fax machine in her office.
I decide to wait 24 hours with the hopes that she did send the fax and the Swan made the necessary adjustment. The next day I begin to link the reservation in MDE and it’s still showing as only 2 people. Of course it is!....
I call the Swan again. This time the Swan rep. repeats why I’ve alredy been told three times. The reservation is still showing an occupancy of only 2 people (even though they see the names of all 4 of my family members!) and I would have to call Priceline again. I explain that Priceline has been absolutely no help and I’m now at the mercy of the Swan and anything they can do to help. The Swan rep. decides that I should be transferred to the Marriott Rewards dept. This strikes me as odd, because I’m not a Marriott Rewards member. Never have been. But okay, I’ll go along for the ride.
The Marriott Rewards rep. answers the phone and she is nice as pie. Seriously, she was a breath of fresh air. Very polite and eager to help. But there’s just one problem. She’s (rightfully) a bit confused as to why the Swan rep. thought she’d be able to resolve the issue. She’s in the Marriott Rewards department, she can’t modify the occupancy. I agree with her that I didn’t expect that she would be able to resolve issue and I thank her for her time. She pauses for a moment and tells me to hang on just one second. After a two minute hold she comes back on the line and informs me that she is handing the call off to a gentlemen named Josh. The first words I hear from Josh are, “Mr. Xxxxx, I have resolved the issue and your now showing an occupancy of 4 people for your upcoming stay with us. I want to apologize for the inconvenience and we look forward to welcoming you next month.” Still in disbelief, I ask how he was able to fix this issue that 8 other people could not. Being the consummate professional, he doesn’t badmouth his colleagues. He just says that he doesn’t know everything that transpired, but the issue is 100% resolved and if I have any further issues I can call the Swan and ask for him directly. He did add that I should wait 24 hours to link to MDE.
The next day I go to link the reservation and and to my surprise (and relief!) it was showing 4 people!
So my take away from all of this:
1. Priceline customer service needs improvement. A lot of it! I do realize that I booked an Express Deal, but the rude attitude of multiple reps. was not necessary. I did remain calm, respectful and polite with each one of them. Unfortunately that was not reciprocated.
2. The Swan reps., while very kind and courteous on the phone, did seem to want to pass the buck just a bit. I was assured by the rep. that my kids were added, but all he did was add their names. He didn’t modify the occupancy.
3. That Marriot Rewards rep. was great. Of all the people I spoke with, she was the least responsible or equipped to assist, but she was the most invested in resolving my issue.
4. Josh at the Swan is by far the most knowledable rep. I spoke to when it comes to third party bookings. He did, in fact, resolve the issue in less than a minute. There’s the prize I promised at the beginning. If you’re having issues adjusting the occupancy of an Express Deal, ask for Josh at the Swan.
So after 5 days and who knows how many phone calls I’m finally where I need to be! Swan reservation is linked in MDE! I sure hope those beds are as comfortable as everyone says they are!
After reading the saga you just posted I am pretty much dreading making that call today to add my child .
You deserve a medal and handled all of that very well!
