Customer Service. Or Lack There Of.

I travel a lot.  Anyone who's a friend of mine or Deb's knows this.  Lately, I travel to Las Vegas a lot, and since 2006, we've had a time share that has three places in LV, so we don't book hotels there.

But almost every other place we travel, where there is not one of our timeshare resorts?  I try to stay in Holiday Inn Express hotels.  These hotels are run by Intercontinental Hotels.  They are nice, always clean and have great staff.

Their hotels run the gauntlet from the Intercontinental Hotels, which is their top of the line hotels, down to, Staybridge and Candlewood Suites.  Which are extended stay places that cater to guys who work in a town for a week at a time.

They include the Crown Plaza hotels.  Which I have to admit, are pretty swanky.  The Holiday Inn which is pretty nice, but not a Hilton, and still affordable.

Deb and I stayed at the Intercontinental in New Orleans for the Sugar Bowl game a few years ago.  For a week.  Two room suite.  Awesome restaurant, great room service.  Just a block from Bourbon Street.  Just about three blocks to the Superdome for the game.

I like these hotels.  So years, and years ago, I joined their Priority Club.  So I would get points and get upgrades and free nights, etc.  And I USE it!

That week at the Intercontinental New Orleans racked up some POINTS!  A lot more points than when Phil and I stayed in the Holiday Inn Express in downtown Detroit for a couple of nights a few years ago (let's go Red-Wings!).

Today, I decided that I would use some points to get us a hotel on Miami beach.  We're going into Miami four days before we leave for Cuba.  I want my son to see the Everglades, and Miami Beach and Miami.  I went to the web site for Priority Club, found a hotel at, "mid-beach".  Holiday Inn.  Right across the street from the beach.  Close to, South Beach.  Close to North Beach.  Free wi-fi.  Sounds good.

The web site would not work.  I could get in, and it offered me a room that would have been $175 a night, for 15000, "points" per night and forty bucks.  I have 53K points.  So I'll take it.  But the booking won't go through.

Go to the phone.

I'm on the phone about an hour.  Talked to four different people, spent WAY too much time on hold.  Finally get through to the person who can help me, and it's going to be 20K points a night and $60, but still beats the crap out of $175 a night.  I'll take it.  And she asks for my credit card number, expiration date, and security code.

Not a problem.  I called YOU, you didn't call me out of the blue and ask for this shit.  It will be just a minute while we run this, please hold.

And hold, and hold, and hold.  Shit!  Must have taken another ten minutes before the woman came back on and said, and I shit you not, "We ran your card and it went through (no kidding?  I have a Platinum Card and I paid it down to a balance of ZERO on Tuesday) but our computer system has a problem right now.  Could you please check back every little while to see if you reservation went through?"

I KNOW about the computer problem.  That's why I'm on the phone with you, you moron!  And not only no, I will not check in for the next few hours to see if you did your job, FUCK NO!

You work for one of the biggest hotel chains in the world, but you can't write my information down when the computer goes down, and send an email confirmation to a Gold level member of YOUR rewards club, who's stayed at EVERY level of hotel you offer over the last 15 years?  Maybe it's time for me to start staying at Hilton's.  Just saying.

Lets just say, I expressed my displeasure.  Not rudely.  I was not angry.  Well, I was, but I didn't talk to this woman, "angry".  I simply told her, "Not acceptable.  You WILL email me a confirmation of this booking shortly.  I have been on the phone with you for an hour to book four days in Miami, and I'm a Gold level member of your rewards club.  Good bye."

Phil was sitting in the room at the time.  He KNOWS how I get.  And he even said, "You were very nice to them even though you were pissed."

The email confirmation was on my email by the time I got upstairs from using the old computer which is attached to a printer, to my NEW computer, which is a lap top.

Why does this have to happen?  I've spent, oh, I don't know?  A MILLION SIX, with these people over the last 15 years.  I had more than 50K, "points" with them in their rewards program.  I'm a not only a repeat customer, I'm a loyal customer.  I actually like their hotels better than my time share.  Wyndham hasn't replaced their old TVs with flat screens yet, doesn't have wi-fi, or HBO.

Yet, I had to be on the phone for an hour, for something as simple as booking a hotel room, in a Holiday Inn, on Miami Beach, more than three months in advance, and use my reward points?  What kind of a reward is that?

It seems more like a punishment for making them come through on their promise of rewarding you for staying with them.

Kind of a pain in the ass.  Instead of a reward.

sayin...