RE: PWG-ANNOUNCE> In San Diego let's avoid the Suites Down

From: Herriot, Robert (Robert.Herriot@pahv.xerox.com)
Date: Tue Sep 28 1999 - 15:57:55 EDT


I challenged my bill with AMEX first, but the Marriott hotel came back and
said the bill was correct.
So the hotel had chance to fix the problem when I opened the dispute. My
conversations with the
manager came after the AMEX dispute process was finished.

On the day I checked out, I went to the hotel front desk to have them remove
charges for room snacks. I also had them add parking which they had
forgotten about. They made lots of mistakes.

Bob Herriot

-----Original Message-----
From: Mauro.DE-PONTI@st.com [mailto:Mauro.DE-PONTI@st.com]
Sent: Monday, September 27, 1999 10:55 PM
To: Robert.Herriot@pahv.xerox.com
Cc: pwg-announce@pwg.org
Subject: Re: PWG-ANNOUNCE> In San Diego let's avoid the Suites Down

     Robert,
     I had some problems with my bill at that hotel as well. When I
     received my AMEX bill summary I found that the Marriot had charged 50
     more dollars for "something". Luckily, the AMEX service managed the
     matter and I got my money back, but I was very bothered by that
     unexpected (and unjustified) billing
     
     
     _________________________
     Mauro De Ponti
     ST Microelectronics
     via Olivetti, 2 - Agrate Brianza (MI) - Italy
     Tel. +39.039.603.6578
     Fax. +39.039.603.6583
     E-Mail mauro.de-ponti@st.com
     
     

______________________________ Reply Separator
_________________________________
Subject: PWG-ANNOUNCE> In San Diego let's avoid the Suites Downtown
Author: Robert.Herriot@pahv.xerox.com
Date: 9/28/99 4:51 AM

I suggested a a recent PWG meeting that the PWG not hold their next San
Diego meeting at the Suites San Diego Downtown by Marriott (701 A St).
Several people suggested that I discuss the issue on this DL.
     
At the meeting last December, I experienced a problem with being billed for
the night after my departure at this hotel. I believe that we should not
spend our money at a hotel where the manager assumes that customers are
liars in a plausible situation where his records are too incomplete to know
what really happened. The manager told me that this situation is
infrequent, so I would expect him to give me the benefit of the doubt in
such a situation.
     
The hotel billed my AMEX card for Friday night even though I had checked out

of the hotel on Friday about noon and returned home Friday afternoon. When I

called the hotel, the manager said that he had no record of my having
checked out on Friday.
     
I explained that I had received the bill under the door Friday morning, and
I had gone to the desk to correct a small error. I assumed that I was
checked out at this point. My receipt said that Friday was my scheduled
check-out day, but it didn't have a zeroed out balance to indicate final
check-out. The hotel computer does not maintain an audit trail which would
show that I received two receipts on Friday. The desk clerk perhaps forgot
to press the check-out button. In addition, the hotel maid said that the
room was occupied on Friday night. Did she make a mistake? Did some unknown
person slip into the room? No one knows.
     
The manager's best offer was a future free night at his hotel. I finally
offered to send him a copy of my San Francisco airport parking receipt paid
on Friday afternoon. He accepted. A few days after he received a fax of the
parking receipt, he credited my AMEX card.
     
I am bothered by a hotel manager who gives less credibility to a customer
than to a computer system with flawed and incomplete information, especially

when it appears not to be a costly problem for them. I would expect good
will to be worth more than catching an occasional free-loader.
     
I hope we will stay elsewhere for PWG's December meeting in San Diego.
     
Bob Herriot



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