Customer Service Secrets from Hotel Deca

My husband and I had a hotel stay that wasn’t up to par. However, it was followed by an excellent stay that was beyond our expectations. The hotel in question has earned our business for life!

You see, we purchased an overnight hotel stay at  Hotel Deca via bloomspot, a daily deal site. When we arrived, we noticed lots and lots of purple and green. The UW Huskies were playing their final home game against the Oregon Ducks. This hotel was filled to capacity with football fans.

When we entered our room, we were shocked and disappointed to find our room was little more than a broom closet. The bed was a full size, smaller than a queen. It was pushed into a corner. Even with that, there was very little floor space. Oddly, the closet was huge, but that wasn’t really helpful. We immediately contacted the front desk to explain that the room we purchased was supposed to have a balcony, a fireplace, a slate bathroom with a soaking tub and shower. This room had none of those things. In fact, the bathroom was so small, one almost had to step into the bathroom, go behind the door, then close the door. We were told the hotel was totally full and there were no other rooms available. We made the best of our stay and had a nice time.

The next morning as we were leaving, we again spoke to the front desk person. I showed him the description of the room we purchased and nicely explained it was very different from the room we had. He said he understood that and that’s why he gave us complimentary parking, a $12 value. Apparently my expression showed I wasn’t very satisfied with this. He immediately got the manager.

When the manager came out less than a minute later, I kindly showed her the website description of what we thought we were getting then told her about the room we actually got.

It turns out, the website descriptions were inaccurate. This really wasn’t the manager’s fault and there was nothing that could be done that day. The manager asked for my email and said she would get back to me. I assumed I would never hear from her again and we would never go back again.

When we arrived home a few hours later, I checked my email. Waiting for me was an email from the manager asking if we would please consider another stay with them, this time in the Isabella Suite, which was the room described on the website. In addition, she offered us complimentary parking, a bottle of wine and free breakfast for 2.

I’ve got to tell you we didn’t hesitate for even a second. We booked our Suite visit and it was awesome! Here’s the complete review of our Suite Couple Getaway.

Not only did we have the Isabella Suite, the bottle of wine was waiting for us in our room, along with two wine glasses and a bottle opener. There was also a handwritten note from the manager thanking us trying the hotel again.

Two things could have happened:

1)      The management of Hotel Deca could have said, “Sorry, but we’re full. You get what you get and you don’t have a fit.” I likely would have told everyone that Hotel Deca has rooms the size of broom closets.

2)      The management of Hotel Deca could have made up the bad experience, just like they did! I would write a glowing blog post including links to Hotel Deca. I would have told everyone I know how much I love Hotel Deca. I would post about it on my blog, my Facebook and Twitter, which I did.

I really appreciate that Hotel Deca went above and beyond with their customer service. I feel extremely comfortable telling people to stay at Hotel Deca. I now know if there is a problem, they will take care of it…not simply take care of it, but ensure any wrongs are made right. Lastly, the website now accurately reflects the rooms so that won’t be an issue in the future.

Hotel Deca, thank you for an amazing stay, an excellent example of customer service, and a delightful Couple Getaway!

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