On January 27, my husband, 6-year old son and myself set off to Indianapolis to fly to Orlando, Florida on vacation. Because our flight was leaving at 8AM on January 28th, we decided to stay the night at a hotel near the airport and do "Park & Fly" for the week that we were gone. I had called on January 26th to make a reservation at Days Inn for the following night. At the time I asked about the Park & Fly rate and was told that they offered 7 nights free parking with one nights stay. I was given a total of $96.43 (including taxes and fees) for one non-smoking room with two double beds, two adults and one child, and were guaranteed late arrival. We arrived at Days Inn at 11PM on January 27. My son was asleep in the back seat, so I went in alone to check-in and my husband stayed in the van. When I gave the clerk at the desk my name, he said that they didn't have a reservation for me. I gave him the confirmation number and he said that they had me in the system for the 26th, not the 27th. I told him that there was a mistake on their part and asked if they had a room for us that night. The clerk said they did but he would have to charge me an additional $25 to leave our vehicle there for 7 nights. I asked about the free parking with one nights stay, and he said that we weren't booked with the Park & Fly rate. The Park & Fly rate evidently costs more, so in the end the parking really isn't free. Because it was so late and we were all so tired, I didn't really have a choice. So I paid the additional money and finished checking in. When I went back out to the van to unload our luggage and get the rest of my family, I found my husband standing outside of our van with an upset look on his face. He said that while I was inside, a Days Inn shuttle bus had hit our van with my husband and son IN it. The driver's name was Mary and she didn't seem to be bothered with what had just happened. She said that she tried to squeeze between our van and the curb, but there just wasn't enough room. My first concern was that my husband and son were okay. They were shaken up but seemed unharmed. I then looked at the incredible damage down the side of my van, and then went back in to talk to the front desk.By now the man that had been helping me was gone and a lady was there. I told her what happened and she got on the phone and called he General Manager, Dennis Anderson, at home. He said that all of the insurance information was locked in his office and no one else had a key. I asked why the insurance information was not in the shuttle bus, but he had no answer. He said that he would get me a copy of everything in the morning. I told him that we were leaving at 6AM the next morning to catch our flight, and asked if he would be in that early. He said no, but he would make a copy of everything for me and leave it at the front desk for me to pick-up when we got back on February 3. I said okay, but that I was going to call the police so that there would be a report on file. The girl at the desk told me that calling the police wasn't really necessary. I stood my ground and told her that at the very least, my insurance company would want a police report. So she called 911 and asked for a Sheriff to come out. The Sheriff got there within 30 minutes and took a report. I overheard Mary, the bus driver, telling him that she didn't do the damage to the front of my van - only the damage to the back. I immediately jumped in and asked her how on earth she believed that she didn't do ALL of the damage? She said she didn't know, but just knew that she didn't do it all. I'm not sure if she was saying that because she was scared of losing her job, or what. So, I decided that arguing with her was pointless and went back in to speak with the lady at the front desk to order a wake-up call for 5AM the next day. I mentioned to her that it would be very hospitable for the hotel to comp part if not all of our room cost, since the accident had caused us a LOT of inconvenience. She told me that she was already working on it with her manager, and that she felt bad about what happened.
The next morning I went to the front desk and asked (the same lady) if she had received authority to either discount or comp our room. She said that her Manager told her that we could take it up with their insurance company, and if they think we deserve anything extra we can get it from them.?!?!? My mouth dropped open and I told her that I was blown away by that comment. I didn't have time to say much else because we had to leave for the airport.
When we got back on February 3rd, it was again late at night. The same lady was at the front desk that was there when we checked in. I asked her for the envelope that was supposed to be left with me with their insurance company information enclosed. She said that Dennis must have forgotten to leave it because there wasn't anything there for me. She called him again at home, and he told her to tell me that the insurance company is Fireman's Fund, and gave me the toll free number. He told her to tell me that he would call us at home the next day with more detailed information. At that point, I told her to tell him that I said he is a complete *, and that I would be reporting this whole situation to the Days Inn Corporate Office and as many of his superiors that I could find.
Today is February 15, and my van is still not fixed. I have been communicating with Carla Cain of Fireman's Fund since we got back, and they are disputing that their driver caused all of the damage. An investigation is under way and I should hopefully have resolution by tomorrow at the latest. I guarantee that if they don't agree to repair all of the damage that the shuttle bus did to my van, I will turn everything over to my attorney. This has got to me the most blatant example of awful customer service that I have ever experienced in my life! I advise everyone who needs a hotel in the Indianapolis area to NOT use Days Inn Airport location.
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